How to buy an Apartment in Spain

It’s scary to sell an apartment, and even more so to buy one.

In this article, I will try to cover immensity and tell you about the main stages and documents when buying an apartment.

For each stage I will give references to our detailed analysis of the relevant topics.

What you need to know before you buy.

Buying an apartment is always a multi-faceted task. It requires time, care and caution on the part of the buyer.

We recommend estate agents Torrevieja help with choosing your dream apartment.

How to prepare for buying:

Find an apartment that you like and are happy with the price.
Check the legal clearance of the apartment, if you buy it on the secondary market, or the reliability of the developer, if it is a new building.
Collect the necessary documents.
First decide what kind of apartment you need: one, two, three, or maybe a studio. In what area is it located. In what condition. How much does it cost.

Before you buy an apartment that you like, you have to check that it is legally sound. In simple words: check the documents and make sure that the apartment really belongs to the seller, and, for example, is not the subject of a lawsuit. I will tell you more about this on the next page.

Risks of buying an apartment

The main risk of buying a second home is the dark past of the apartment. At first glance, everything is fine, but then it turns out that the documents are fake, and the apartment had other owners.

Buying with a false power of attorney. Buying an apartment by proxy is always a risk for the buyer.

Therefore it is better to contact a reliable agency.

Uncoordinated sale. The apartment can have more than one owner.

To sell such an apartment, you need the consent of all. If after the sale of the apartment it turns out that one of the owners was forgotten, the transaction can be invalidated.

If the apartment is owned by spouses, and sells it one of them, ask for a notarial agreement of the second. If there are children among the owners, the consent to the sale of the apartment is taken from the guardianship authority.

If the owner has debts for electricity, heating or water, he should pay them himself. These debts are not transferred to the new owner.

But if the owner did not pay for capital repairs, the debt will pass to the next owner. This debt is assigned to the apartment, and it will have to be paid by the new owner.

Ask the owner to show receipts for payment for the previous month and see if there is a debt. And then arrange with the owner to repay the debt or make a discount on the amount owed. In fact, debts for housing and utilities are the lesser of all evils.

How to Buy

You can buy an apartment completely with your own money, by installments, with a mortgage, using maternity capital or military mortgage.

Housing buy on the primary or secondary market. It is possible to buy an apartment in a new building by share participation agreement, by assignment or through a cooperative. On the secondary market – under a contract of sale.

Negotiating with the seller

Negotiations with the seller have two aims: to check the apartment and reduce the price. We just told you about the first one.

How to bargain. When buying an apartment on the secondary market always ask the seller for a discount. Call a larger amount, so that in the end come to half of the price. You can strengthen the argument by saying that you liked a few apartments, but you choose and are willing to make a choice in favor of the seller who will concede the price. You can be picky: say that the area is cheap or the yard is not fenced, the house is paneled, the floor is crooked. But don’t make a complaint, so as not to spoil the relationship.