REAL ESTATE – MARBELLA – Buying an off-plan home in Spain: what should I keep in mind?

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Buying an off-plan home in Spain: what should I keep in mind?

Buying a home before it is built is an upward trend, and, although it has a series of highly valued advantages among future owners, it also has certain risks that should be borne in mind.

Spaniards prefer to buy new-build homes to second-hand homes. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the demand for newly built homes rose by 18% in June 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Why buy a home off plan?

 

The interest in buying off-plan homes lies in the option of being able to personalize the acquisition and, for example, easily complete it with spaces such as a storage room and a parking space. In addition, this type of purchase has other advantages:

• The guarantee of having modern, efficient finishes and in accordance with the Technical Building Code (CTE).
• It usually has common areas such as a swimming pool or services such as a concierge.
• It means a saving of money (up to 30%), as a general rule, with respect to homes for sale of new construction already completed.
• If you do not have a savings cushion that is too high, it is possible to pay for the future home little by little, until reaching at least 20% of the final purchase price, taking into account that mortgages usually cover a maximum of 80 % of the appraised value of the property.

What to keep in mind when buying an off-plan home?

The most common is that a person finds out about a new housing development through a real estate portal or through an advertisement. Before requesting more information about the promotion, it is best to look for references about the promoter. Thanks to the Internet, today it is very easy to find articles about other constructions that this entity has carried out, in relation to its reputation or to find testimonials from other clients.

If the references found are positive, the next step is to contact them and request official documentation proving that they have the permits to carry out the project, that they have the corresponding building license and, of course, that they confirm the ownership of the land on which it is going to be built.

With all this information, and as far as possible, it is advisable to keep copies, including commercial advertisements. In the event that later on there is a controversy that, in the worst case, ends in the judicial sphere, any document can serve as evidence to corroborate the legitimate interests of the client.

Once the time has come to sign a private contract with the entity, which includes both the exact price of the house, it must be borne in mind that it must expressly set:

• The tax applicable to this type of purchase is VAT. Before signing, you have to confirm whether or not it is included in the price.
• The date established for the delivery of the keys.
• The penalties that the promoter would incur in the event of delays in the work, which are usually of an economic nature, in favor of the client.

Request and verify all the details of the property

One of the problems for many off-plan homebuyers is that, in the end, the home doesn’t exactly match the idea they had. This can be due to two reasons: because they were not informed enough before acquiring it or because some changes were made that were not contemplated during the construction. For this reason, the most advisable thing is to ask the developer for both the approved plans for the house and the quality memory from the beginning. What is quality memory? It is the document that collects in detail all the materials that are going to be used in the building, in the interiors and, if possible, in the common areas, as well as the facilities that the house will have. In this way, it will be possible to imagine with the greatest possible realism what the house will be like.

Talking with us before the purchase is for us one of the most important meetings and that, many times, with the rush and the illusion (understandable), many buyers overlook. That is where we must emphasize, and give the client, the real and future vision of his next acquisition, whatever it may be.

Marbella WOHNEN Immobilien

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