Surveyors report when Purchasing a House

[AndreDavies747]

Wondered your opinion?

I've spoken to a few Fuerteventura estate agents and lawyers about getting survey reports on houses I might look at purchasing. All have said that they don't do this in Spain. Maybe I have asked the wrong question, do they normally do anything checks the structure of the building and and faults? 

Regards

Andre

[Cotillo_Tom]

Estate Agents will not help you with a structural survey, it is not in their interests!

Structural engineers are few and far between here as a house survey is not seen as a standard process when buying, as it is in the UK. 

We eventually found a guy in Lanzarote who was willing to travel over.  Unfortunately he is no longer in business, so no point giving his details.  

If you are buying in a community, the community are usually responsible for the external structure, but if it is a stand alone house, villa etc, it all falls on the owner.  

Hope that helps.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

We tried to get one. Went to a legal firm in Puerto del Rosario who supposedly were member of Surveyors Institute, they didn't want to know. Said if we didn't want to pay the price the house was being offered at, don't buy it! They couldn't seem to understand we wanted to check if there were any structural problems that we couldn't see for ourselves.
Good luck!

[Johnrgby]

Can anyone point me to any information as to how and why some properties are in communities and others
 not, eg, why a property has to be in a community at all?

[Cotillo_Tom]

A very simple explanation: (It is all set put in the Spanish law on horizontal living - a perfect read if you can't sleep!!).

If there are any "common parts" to the property, eg a staircase leading to the apartments on the first floor, for example, the law on horizontal living applies.  That requires the owners to form a community, that manages the common parts, charges a fee for the works involved (eg cleaning, electricity, repairs).

The same applies in the UK to apartments.   In our case, the owners all get one share in the residents management company and can vote on which owners will sit on the residents management company/committee.  

Therefore, if you are buying a "stand alone" property, eg a villa with no common parts with any other property (including shared access road etc), then no community, you own and are responsible for the lot.  

I probably could have written a 5,000 word dissertation, but that briefly sets out the situation.  

Tom.

[gattaca66]

Wondered your opinion?

I've spoken to a few Fuerteventura estate agents and lawyers about getting survey reports on houses I might look at purchasing. All have said that they don't do this in Spain. Maybe I have asked the wrong question, do they normally do anything checks the structure of the building and and faults? 

Regards

Andre

It’s seven years since we bought our home here, but we went through the same question at the time, as it was quite a large purchase. We had a very good, well respected solicitor, and he explained that a survey COULD be arranged if we wanted it, with some cost and delay, but it really is not standard practice over here. We talked to other recent buyers, and all shared the same experience. In the end we decided to take a chance. No issues since then, but it does feel like a big risk, considering how important the surveys are considered in the UK! Your solicitor should at least ensure legality, no debts on property, services, charges etc. Good luck with your purchase, hope it goes well with it!

[Johnrgby]

A very simple explanation: (It is all set put in the Spanish law on horizontal living - a perfect read if you can't sleep!!).

If there are any "common parts" to the property, eg a staircase leading to the apartments on the first floor, for example, the law on horizontal living applies.  That requires the owners to form a community, that manages the common parts, charges a fee for the works involved (eg cleaning, electricity, repairs).

The same applies in the UK to apartments.   In our case, the owners all get one share in the residents management company and can vote on which owners will sit on the residents management company/committee.  

Therefore, if you are buying a "stand alone" property, eg a villa with no common parts with any other property (including shared access road etc), then no community, you own and are responsible for the lot.  

I probably could have written a 5,000 word dissertation, but that briefly sets out the situation.  

Tom.

Thanks Tom, my issue in reality is this, we have community rules, but the administrators  say non off them are enforceable.my question is why then do we have them? people have been told during meetings that this cannot be done that can not be done, if they are all unenforceable why not/

[Cotillo_Tom]

All I can say is, "that's the Spanish".

The big problem is, we Brits stick to the rules, everyone else just ignores them!!

Tom.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

One of the problems is that 'Communidades' vote in all sorts of 'rules' only to discover that a lot of them can't be enforced as they go against Spanish laws. An example is a Communidad voting in a rule that forbids pets. They can't do that as Spanish law allows everyone to have a pet 'in their own property'. What the Communidad can do is have a rule that prevents owners allowing pets in properties that are rented out.
Most Chairs and Vice Chairs aren't legal bods and it's not until they attempt to enforce the rules that they discover they aren't worth the paper they were written on.

I think I have this right, it was explained to me by the legal representative at a big Complex Communidad meeting I went to as a rep of some owners.

[Jason W]

We tried to get one. Went to a legal firm in Puerto del Rosario who supposedly were member of Surveyors Institute, they didn't want to know. Said if we didn't want to pay the price the house was being offered at, don't buy it! They couldn't seem to understand we wanted to check if there were any structural problems that we couldn't see for ourselves.
Good luck!

I was hoping a thread like this might exist and eventually found it, just wondering if any new or indeed old members have anything to add since the last post, i guess an option is to find a trusted builder that could help.
But it really does seem a case of let the buyer beware. I purchased a new apartment and luckily i have had not had any problems although a number of owners in my complex are not too happy with some of the work.
I would like to upgrade to a villa in time but the thought of spending that sort of Money on an older property would be a concern without some form of assurance as to what problems could be expected in the future.
I am not sure a new build would provide any real comfort as it is not easy to enforce any warranties provided.