Buying a house is, without a doubt, one of the most important moments in people’s lives. We could define it as a selection process, which can take a long time, to choose what is going to be our home for the next few years.
It also involves a significant financial outlay, so the choice becomes much more selective.
That is why at Gilmar Off Plan we believe it is important to know a series of factors that influence the purchase decision and that you should be aware of before buying your home in 2021.
The first fundamental step, and one that you must establish before anything else, is to define your long-term objective with your new home.
Buying a property on the Costa del Sol to enjoy and relax on holiday is not the same as buying a house to raise a family.
It is therefore vital to consider your future plans when buying a house.
The first factor that you must take into account when buying a house is the selling price of the house. There are many elements that influence the price of a house: location, condition, market, orientation…
On the other hand, you will have to add up all the costs involved in buying a home, such as moving, renovations, expenses and so on.
Therefore, by defining a maximum price, you can limit your search and be quicker and more precise in your search.
Another important factor to take into account is how our home will be financed, i.e. the type of mortgage.
The bank will finance a large part of the price of the property in exchange for monthly instalments over the next few years, so we recommend you use a mortgage simulator on the website of your bank of choice.
Depending on the interest rate, we can distinguish several types of mortgages:
Fixed-rate mortgage
Variable rate mortgage
Mixed-rate mortgage
Finally, it is recommended that spending on mortgage payments should not exceed 40% of net monthly income.
As we have already mentioned, location is one of the factors that will increase or decrease the price of housing.
If the property is located close to the city centre, the more value it will get, as it will be connected to several hospitals, schools, public transport, etc. Therefore, buying a property in the Canary Islands is not the same as buying a house in a rural area, and there is a big difference in the final price.
Getting to know your future neighbours can be important, especially if you want to live in harmony and peace.
In addition, you can see if they are reciprocal in helping you with any problems or in making new friends.
It is also very important to review the statutes of the community, as there may be some clauses that may affect you, such as the prohibition of pets.
Since 1 June 2013, Royal Decree 235/2013 came into force and all dwellings must have an Energy Performance Certificate.
This certificate informs about the energy characteristics of the house, classifying it between the letters A and G according to consumption and CO2 emissions, with A being the best classification and G the worst.
It is advisable to check this certificate when purchasing a home, as it will allow us to know the energy consumption savings of the home and to be able to set the monthly fixed costs.
When it comes to buying a home, many people do not want to seek help because they think they have everything under control.
However, this is not always the case, and professional guidance is preferable to buying a house on your own.
At Gilmar Off Plan, a leading company in the real estate sector with more than 37 years of experience, we have a series of professional real estate agents that you can contact at any time to help you with the different procedures and to help you discover the property that best suits your needs.
In order to purchase the property, it is necessary to present a series of obligatory documents to close the sale.
The documents required to purchase a new home are:
Building Book
Certificate of completion
Certificate of habitability
Licence of first occupation
Energy performance certificate
Deposit agreement
Contract of sale
Once all the documentation has been handed in, the seller will notify the buyer to proceed with the handing over of the keys, the last act of the sale of the property.
The process takes place after signing the public deed, where both parties, before a notary, declare the agreed agreement on the transfer of ownership between the two parties.
You now know all the steps, documentation and important factors you need to know before buying your home in 2021.
Let us know if you would like to know more about any specific section or if you would like us to go into more detail on any factor that is important to you. We hope this guide has been of great help to you when buying a home.