From settling on a budget to reaching out to an estate agent, here is our useful insight into preparing for your viewing trip to Spain.
It all starts with browsing our properties on our extensive portal. Then, you see a property you like. It matches your description of what your ideal property would be like, the location sounds fabulous, and it’s within budget! And then you see another home. It is slightly different to the first but equally appealing. You even find a couple more. Suddenly, your vision of a dream home in Spain feels like it could come true. But what next? Where do you go from here?
Find your ideal Spanish property!
On a viewing trip! Falling in love with properties over the screen is all well and good but actually seeing one in-person and falling in love is something quite different. It may be that while property one looked amazing online, you actually find that you prefer property two in the flesh.
When you are searching for a property overseas, seeing lots and lots of homes, returning to them over and over, is not cost-effective or easy to do. So, it is vital that you effectively plan for your viewing trip.
To help you, here are our handy tips for making the most of your viewing trip!
Before you go
What you don’t want to do is turn a viewing trip into a long excursion around the whole of Spain, where you look at homes from close to the French border down to the very bottom of the country, and then the islands for good measure. So, before you go, you need to zone in on some specifics.
Settle on an area
You might have been inspired to buy a property in Spain because of your amazing trip to Ibiza. Now, comes the research. This can come in the form of browsing our property portal, reading our blogs on areas that interest you, and talking to an estate agent.
It is important to keep an open mind during this stage. It might be that Ibiza is actually out of your price range, but the other Balearic Islands have properties you could buy.
Choosing your budget
Coming to a budget can be a bit dejecting. Those dream a million-euro homes just whoosh out of the picture. But that’s okay. For a productive viewing trip, you don’t want to waste time looking at properties that you definitely can’t afford.
Remember that you will also have to pay taxes, agency fees, and maintenance costs, so the final price might not be what is originally listed.
What kind of property are you after?
As well as the location and budget, you can nail down what kind of property you are after. There is a huge range of property to choose from in Spain – you’ve got purpose-built beachfront apartments built in the last year to large countryside fincas to run down townhouses in need of renovation, and everything in between.
This is also an opportunity to nail down what features you would like your home to have. How many bedrooms? Access to a swimming pool? How far from the airport?
A good estate agent, an independent lawyer, and a currency specialist
An estate agent can provide you with in-depth, hands-on information on the area, often with details that you can’t find online. They will listen to your criteria and find places that meet them. Or even be able to suggest an alternative that could better suit your needs.
When you’re buying a home in Spain, if you are from the UK or elsewhere outside of the eurozone, you’re going to be dealing with exchange rates. Currencies fluctuate all the time and have the potential to move against you and affect the cost of your Spain property budget. To safeguard against this, we recommend talking to a currency specialist, such as Smart Currency Exchange.
Finally, there’s a lot of admin involved in buying a home! And if you don’t speak Spanish, then the admin might feel even more insurmountable. An independent, bilingual lawyer could make it all a lot less complicated for you, and advocate for your interests.
When should I go on my viewing trip?
Feel prepared?
If you can, avoid the summer holidays! (And school holidays altogether). Not only will the flights likely be less expensive, but you’ll also secure more attention from your estate agent.
Furthermore, if you go a time of year that you haven’t been before, you’ll see a different side to Spain. Many of the tourist hotspots in Spain wind down completely in the off-season – you might love the more low-key vibe or miss the hubbub, there’s only one way to find out.
Okay, now you’re prepared – you can book the flights!
Would you like more advice on purchasing a property in Spain? Download our guide here.
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