Buying property without risk is certainly possible.
Below, we publish an article written by our partner, lawyer Alicia Miranda from the Ripoll Abogados law firm.
The first and most important piece of advice is: TAKE YOUR TIME! It may have taken several years to accumulate enough money to buy a property, and you shouldn’t spend it on the first thing you see.
You don’t usually buy property very often, maybe 3-4 times in your life, which is why it’s important to take your time, make sure it’s secure and be patient.
Yes, we know this isn’t always easy. Some agents and brokers are keen to finalise the deal as soon as possible, as soon as you show interest in a property. The argument we get is pretty much the same: that someone else is interested in the property and is willing to pay a deposit. If you don’t pay right away, you will therefore lose the property. This is a common argument, we’ve heard it for many years. Even at a time when it was very difficult to sell! Well, what we can say is that when there isn’t much to sell, an agent has to push harder to get a buyer to sign the contract and secure the property.
Please note that the first contract, where you sign and pay a deposit, is absolutely binding with all stipulations such as price, the condition of the property, terms and conditions. Once this first contract is signed, you do not have the option to withdraw, even if you discover that the condition of the house is not as you expected or that there are other problems with the property.
The stipulations included in the contract may not be good enough for you to cancel it and get your money back. Especially if the seller doesn’t agree with you. It may be that the seller has built on the property, such as a new garage, a new swimming pool or a BBQ, and has not registered this. In that case, it won’t be registered in the property register or on the title deed. This can cause problems if you want to sell the property in the future and it is not possible to legalise the situation. The reason may be that planning regulations have changed and you cannot make changes to your property or it is not legal to make these changes. This happens quite often.
That’s why it’s important that before paying money or signing a contract, you get advice from a lawyer who can check that everything is legal and correct with the property, and who contacts the town hall, property registry, tax office and others. It can take time to collect these answers, in fact it can take a few days or weeks.
The fact that the contract states that your deposit will be returned is not in itself a good enough guarantee that this will happen. Your reason for cancelling the sale may not be good enough for the seller. So, he can persuade you to buy even if you find out that you don’t want the property, for various reasons.
In conclusion, it is entirely possible to buy a property in Spain with zero risk, but you need to make sure you have an advisor, as well as enough time to check that all the legalities are in place and time to draw up a contract that suits you and your case.
For each sale/purchase, a separate contract should be drawn up for you. A lawyer is the only one who can ensure that all stipulations, terms and conditions cover you in the best possible way.
I don’t mean to scare you. We’ve helped thousands over the past 23 years without any unpleasant surprises. What we ask for is time to do a good job for you. Let us who can do this do our job. Sometimes we have to fight both the seller, the broker and our own client who doesn’t understand but is eager to finalize the purchase. We are responsible if something goes wrong.
The question is: What do you want?
- Risk someone else stepping in and buying the property (which happens very rarely)? or
- Risking your money and your dream? There are thousands of properties for sale in Spain.
[Photos: ©pixabay.com]
