Homes for Sale

Seven steps you have to take before buying a house

1. Be clear about what you want. It seems obvious, but it is not. Before embarking on such a project you should spend time thinking about what your needs are, present and medium term, and also your real ability to meet them. Your chances will depend on the options you find and the budget you have.

2. It has the support of professionals to find the house you want. It is difficult to cover all the possibilities offered by the market. The more you limit your search, the less likely you are to find the best home. It has real estate professionals to have greater security regarding the characteristics of the properties and access a wider offer.

3. Once chosen, investigate the housing situation. We must know very well what we are buying: if you have financial burdens, property problems or defects. Therefore we recommend going to the Land Registry , the Cadastre or even the town hall to find out their situation. It is essential that you get all the information about the conditions, the management involved and the obligations and expenses you will incur.

4. Find out about all the procedures you will have to do and the expenses that you will have to face. The complexity of administrative procedures and the expenses to be paid will depend on the type of housing we buy. Buying a second-hand home is not the same as a new one. In any of them you must inform yourself well to be clear about the steps to follow and the payments that you will have to pay.

5. Know its true value. Before setting the price, check that what we are going to agree is not above the market. Keep in mind that when applying for a mortgage you will be granted based on its real value, not the agreement. Imagine that you agree to pay for an apartment 120,000 euros and subsequently a professional appraisal determines that its value is 100,000 euros. If, for example, the bank grants you a mortgage on 80% of its value, you can count on 80,000 euros. The other 40,000 you must contribute. It is vital to make a pre-appraisal or use 'online' tools such as BBVA Valora that in real time offers you a very approximate value of the home. By the way, Valora will tell you, thanks to Big Data from many users with your profile, if it suits you rent or buy.

6. Study what type of mortgage you are interested in. Today you can choose between fixed, variable or mixed mortgages . In the first case, we will always pay the same fee. In the second, it will depend on the evolution of the indicator. In mixed mortgages, the first years are at a fixed rate and the rest at a variable rate.

7. Choose the home insurance that best suits your needs. It is important to know the difference between multi-risk insurance and minimum home insurance. The first is usually recommended for those homes where there are jewelry, antiques, valuable furniture or works of art. The second is much more basic but covers fires, pipe jams, theft and theft. Once analyzed both the important thing is to choose the one we really need.