Galiciaproperty property checks and purchase assist service

Looking for a property to buy as a foreigner is a joy in Galicia – everyone is eager to help, nothing is too much trouble and everyone involved in the process is not only highly knowledgeable but also completely trustworthy. And there are absolutely never any legal (unregistered, contested ownership, debts, rights held by other parties), major structural, or any other problems whatsoever with any property you express an interest in…

Occasionally this is actually how it is, but more often than not foreign property buyers tend to find that once they’ve signed a contract and handed over some money (both of which they’ve normally been rushed into by an agent) things become, to varying degrees, more complex and more costly. And it’s by no means the norm, but quite often a property purchase becomes so much more problematic and expensive that the whole dream behind moving to Galicia in the first place gets inescapably soured.

galiciaproperty.com property checks and purchase assist

Also it’s sensible to be honest about the fact that many foreign Galician property buyers have little understanding of Spanish laws and taxes and often even less of what property restoration actually costs in Galicia …and most buyer’s primary point of contact and source of knowledge, the agent, is paid (on commission) by and represents the seller, whose interests can never be assumed to be aligned with those of the buyer.

For all of these reasons galiciaproperty.com offers its property check and purchase assist service. If you find a good property at a sensible price it’s a little extra expense for some peace of mind. If, however, you fall in love with the wrong property it’s a little expense that can save you from a nightmare that can last for years and cost you a small fortune.

Our service consists of your choice of the following:

  • Property survey (by a UK qualified architectural technologist, complete with report and with video and photos sent via eg. Dropbox if you’re not there at the same time).
    You can download an example of one of our surveys here:
    property-survey-example-ribadeo-townhouse
  • Restoration cost estimate. This can be done to whatever level of detail you are prepared to pay for. We can even produce an outline design for the restoration and get guideline quotes from local contractors for doing it.
    You can download an example restoration estimate (for the property surveyed above) here:
    example-restoration-costs-estimate
  • Documentation check. This is not a substitute for using a lawyer to confirm legality, but we have enough expertise to easily check whether everything appears complete and in order or whether there is missing, inconsistent or wrong information in the documentation related to the property – if there is we recommend that you bring in a lawyer before signing anything or handing over any money.
    You can see some basic documentation checks in the example survey above.
  • Price check. We can scan other properties in the area to assess whether the property is competitively priced
What this service costs

If you wish to use galiciaproperty’s property check & purchase assist service the costs are worked out in a simple and trasnparent way, as follows:

  • There are no different charges for different services, you just pay us by the hour for time spent working on your behalf and by the kilometre for any driving involved.
  • Payment is in advance on a top-up basis.
    Taking payment this way means that we don’t have to spend time and money chasing debts and nor do we have to pass on the cost of non-payers to other clients.
  • Travelling time is factored in separately.
    Travelling time and car running costs are significant factors in many property purchases. Rather than hide these costs inside a higher hourly rate, we prefer to itemise them separately. Likely travelling costs for your property purchase will be agreed with you before you sign up to this service.

And at the following prices:

  • £12 per hour for all time spent assisting your purchase including all time spent on correspondence and calls and on travel.
  • £0.25 per kilometre for all driving related to the purchase.
  • Any other costs incurred at cost to us.

Obviously this does not include anything outsourced to other local professionals or lawyers, whom you will contract services from and pay direct.

Further Reading

The typical costs of a Galician property purchase are detailed in our property purchase finances section.

The normal purchase checks are detailed in our property purchase process section, and services checks are also advisable.

finally, our search service case study may provide some useful background information on buying in Galicia.

Contact us about this service

If at the end of this process you own a Galician building site, restoration project or just a property that you want to make alterations to the galiciaproperty plan & manage service exists to provide a local, experienced representative that you can communicate effectively with in native English to help ensure that your building project turns out exactly as you want.

To contact us about our property checks & purchase assist service please use the form below: