A Brief Guide to Buying Property In Spain

Making a decision

There is an important point to make about the mental process of house hunting. Of course you want to buy the ‘dream’ property, the ideal property, the best there is given your budget. But don’t fall into the trap of searching for the ‘perfect’ property, as it may not exist. To avoid frustration, you should try to find the best property on the market, rather than the perfect property full stop. Perfectionists will always want to see one more property just in case it is the one, but the chances are they will end up with nothing, or have to compromise in the end.

So choosing a property always involves making some compromises, but once you have made a decision, act decisively. If you are buying a resale property, decisive action sends the right message to the vendor, with whom you will have to negotiate the price. Vendors who are keen to sell will value the fact that you are a serious buyer, and can complete without wasting time, so use this to your advantage in the negotiations over price. Always try and find out as much as you can about the vendor’s reasons for selling, and don’t be shy about making an aggressive offer. The research you have done into property prices will be useful in deciding how much to offer, and where to draw the line. But don’t sign anything or make any payments before doing due diligence.

© Mark Stucklin (Spanish Property Insight)

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