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I am buying a re-sale villa in Java region without any mortgage requirement. There seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for building surveys from almost every quarter I speak to including ex-pats who have bought here. Are they of any other real value apart from peace of mind, since the survey waivers that accompany surveys seem to offer no comeback should any material deficiency subsequently develop?
Thank You!
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Hi Alexander,
The bank did a pretty good job of getting a professional in to value the property when I purchased in Javea.
I paid 275 euros to these company… http://www.valtecnic.com/index.html
Although it was not a structural survey it compared similar property in the area recently sold, calculated all measurements were correct, did floorplans, took photos, did land registry checks, provided a copy of the last nota simple, all in a 36 page pdf.
It was basically a document to say the property was worth the money – not that it was falling down!
It was much better than any UK home buyer survey I have ever had.
Cheers
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Hi. We have just completed a survey in Almeria. The property is a “one-off” build and is not part of a development or anything so we felt it was something that we wanted to do. We got a comprehensive report from the surveyor for Euro 600+VAT. It highlighted only one area which needed attention and we had already seen this (it is the window bars need painting). As the property is rural (no other house close by) it contained information about the land etc and historical information. For us it was worth it for peace of mind, that there was no indication of subsidence etc. Like you we do not require a mortgage but we don’t want to put our hard earned money in a property that is going to become a money pit in a few years.
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Would you buy a house in UK without a survey? – It’s more necessary here as the standards of buildings are quite poor in comparison with UK.
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I am in a similar situation with Alexander 901- buying in Javea , townhouse . The lawyer tells me they recommend an architect “check ” , but this will hardly include checks of what I really need to know- situation with plumbing, electrical system and water / damp .
They seem only to go over sizes, legalities , measurements etc, this property is in a community and certainly has no issues with illegal built or improvement .
What is the best way to check for basic safety issues / poor electrical installation etc ?
thanks
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This is a link to the Surveyor that my wife and I used for our 2012 purchase of a house in Javea.
http://www.surveysspain.com/surveyors-spain.htm
When we decided to buy, our approach in using a surveyor was not to get confirmation that we were getting a good deal, since, in 2012, nobody knew if market prices would continue to decline, stabilise or start to pick up.
Our approach was to make sure that we did not get a bad deal, by ensuring that we would know what, if anything, was wrong with the property we had selected.
In this respect, I would suggest that the surveyor fits the bill for the sort of questions that drpetyag is asking.
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We had a very in depth report done, worth the money and the piece of mind, he highlighted some work that would need to be done within 12 months and some things to keep an eye on for the future. I agree with previous post, if you would have one at home why not get one done in Spain. Plus the more agents etc told us they don’t generally do them here the more I was sure I wanted one done. Better safe than sorry….
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I would always recommend ‘other people’ should get a structural survey done but would probably not get one myself. This might sound silly but to be honest a surveyor will not be able to see anything you cannot see yourself as almost all surveys are only visual because understandably vendors are not particularly happy having floorboards taken up or holes hacked out of walls to see what is below.
What a surveyor can add is an understanding of the cause of any damp, sagging roof or wayward wall and advise you of the possible costs to rectify them but none will offer any sort of guarantee. My advice to myself at least is use your eyes (and nose!), ask to be given a couple of hours in the property on your own, or at least without someone chatting in your ear and distracting you, to properly inspect the property. Even better get you wife/partner/friend to do it with you but check rooms independently of each other and compare notes afterwards.
Buildings are not rocket science, if the roof is square and the tiles all in place, there are no cracks in the walls or ceilings, there is no damp anywhere, the floors are level, all the taps and drains work ok then the property is probably fine. If you do find anything you could always get a local builder in, they should be able to advise whether it is a major problem or easily rectified.
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If you are buying an older villa, and don’t have previous knowledge about properties, then its essential in my opinion, so you can identify any potential risks before your purchase and make an informed decision. We just had one done and it was very informative and much better than the surveys you get on the UK.
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The agent and owner will not encourage you to get a survey as that will point out the problems they don’t want to be found, or might not even know about. There are RICS UK trained, Spanish experienced Chartered Surveyors available for all areas of Spain and the islands, through the Survey Spain Network. http://www.surveyspain.com We are Regulated by RICS and all valuers are RICS Registered valuers. You may be going to spend 100’s of thousands of € euro and you don’t think it worthwhile to get a trained and experienced professional, who has seen the results of defects in hundreds of other houses, to make sure the property is sound. Is that prudent? NOTE: We are NOT the same company as mentioned above. They created their website 6 months after we started trading!
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