David Brydon

The Property Buying Process in Spain.



Posted: Friday, October 02, 2009

by David Brydon
BCN Rentals

If you're new to a culture and country it's easy to make mistakes, and while most mistakes can be fixed easily, some can cost you a lot of time or more importantly money. One such circumstance could be the buying or selling of a property. Let's look at both sides of the spectrum here, with specific focus on Spain .

In cities like Barcelona , it has almost always been a sellers market. The owner of the apartment puts the price and it's up to the highest bidder to make the purchase. With so many estate agencies and private owners selling their properties, it's completely normal for a property owner (normally an apartment within an apartment block) to choose the price and then either employ the tactics of an agency to sell the property or use their own means. Property Surveyors are not called to a property until the financial entity has given the go ahead to approve the loan on the property. This can often lead to confusion and discrepancies within the Barcelona neighbourhoods such as the Old Town .

Take for example a typical old town apartment block. There can be as little as four and up to fifteen apartments in an old town apartment block, each having the same original structure, but equally having had restoration work or improvements carried out over the years. The common result is that a completely renovated apartment with all the mod cons can be released onto the market at a fairly high price. However, the neighbours in the same building, with the same square metres can then also decide that they can put their "antique" apartment on the market for the same price, judging by the fact that the other owner can charge that much and therefore they can too. As nothing is regulated by the bank's surveyors until a later stage, it's often difficult to choose the best properties to look for.

This is where an established Real Estate Agency can come in handy. Such agencies can sift through the noise, and prepare a custom-made list of properties that fit any buyers' needs. Forget wasting time on over-priced, over-publicised properties, and get a local point of view from an established agency. They will be the ones to tell you if the property is over priced, and if a bank will process a loan on such a property. They will also know local information, if buildings were constructed with asbestos, or other toxic materials, and other things which at a first viewing, a buyer may not see.

For Luxury Barcelona Real Estate and Long Term Rentals in Barcelona talk to Modus Vivendi in Barcelona.
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