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Hi, this is my first time of posting at this forum which I have recently discovered and looks very good.
I had already been to one of your recommended Real Estate Agents and I found that he was advertising houses that were much bigger than the escritura permissions. He didn´t like this when I told him.
Should a good agent not check this sort of thing.
Regards Willem -
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In probably half of the resale villas we have on our books the declared size of the villa in the escritura is smaller than actual villa. This is because the owner has extended the villa without declaring an obra nueva. Making this declaration costs money and the universal temptation is to build – with or without permission – and then forget to make a declaration.
However, the natural moment to put matters right is when selling the property. Providing that an agent has explained to a seller that he will have declare the added metres of property at the notary before he sells, then I believe that the agent has acted entirely correctly.
He would be acting incorrectly if he told the seller to expect the buyer to declare and pay, or advised the seller and buyer to omit any mention of the added space when preparing the new deeds.
In theory, everybody should make a declaration of obra nueva as soon as their extension has been finished. But for better or worse, we are not living in Switzerland.
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With banks tending to lend only on what is on the escritura and not what is actually constructed then its always best to double check with your agent what the status of any property is, especially if you need a mortgage.
I walk away from probably 3 out of every 4 potential listings I am offered because of problems such as those described (terraces converted to bedrooms, illegal extensions, etc.). It sometimes seems a shame because some of these properties look great but they’ll only cause problems and heartache in the end when the valuation from the bank comes in at 300k and you were hoping for half a million. Would be great if you could sort out the obra nueva at the point of a sale but try doing that in Marbella and guess what is happening right now? NADA.
Watch out also for agents who list total square metres including terraces as you may think you’re going to see a property of 120m2 but end up seeing a tiny flat with a big 60m2 terrace.
Developers have knack of quoting total square metres for a property which can include, for example, your share of the communal changing room next to the swimming pool so always ask for a floor plan with actual room dimensions on it from a developer or make sure that the agent has seen the escritura if it is a resale.
From time to time we’re left to estimate the size of a property and if its a stunner we’ll take the risk and put c. (circa) m2 so that the client knows this is an approximation.
Also, if the property is really special and you are made aware of any potential size declaration problems…and you don’t need a hefty mortgage… then please don’t have a go at the agent and dismiss it out of hand. I just bought one of this type of property myself and will sit out the 2 or so years it will take to sort out the (legal) terrace extension that has no obra nueva because I reckoned that the house was worth it!
Hope this helps.
Sarah Dodgson
(Costa del Sol Agent) -
Hi there and thank you for your replies. The house has not been added to since it was build 10 year´s ago and has already been resold once,5 years ago, obviously not declaring it´s actual size, presumably for tax purposes.
I specifically asked the Agent about the correctness of the Escritura, (bearing in mind that there will often be some discrepancy of a few meters) and he was very definite that he checked all escrituras when he took a new house on his books, so I was very disappointed when I checked further down the line that less than half the house was in fact registered.
I have however learned a lesson here, and in future will be checking the facts myself at an early stage.
Regards Willem. -
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