Complete in two weeks - any last minute advice?

Finally, got the mortgage sorted and things are all set to complete on 22nd April. There are a few us of us buying the property, and some are over in the area from next week, with the rest of us joining them next weekend.

Done lots of research and think we have most things organised, but just wondered what things you can think of that we may have not planned or sorted?

Take a bottle of water with you to the notary. Trust me, you'll be glad of it.

Good luck!

The repeated.... thing...... First Occupation License.

First Occupation License - sorted

Bottle of water - good call!

test all the white goods first thing after you possess your property so if there is any problem you can get developer to fit it once you are still there.

If  you are on an established urbanisation  check to see what the Community  charge is and if there is any outstanding by the builder.

SNAG LIST!!!!!

For anyone who might read this that dosn't know what a snag list is - it's a list of everything that is wrong with the property inside and out, including windows, doors, locks, any fittings. electrical points, electrical equipment, floors, ceilings, walls, electrical and water supplys, electric and water meters, TV/Satellite pre-installation wiring. This list can also include community areas of which as part of the community are legally a percentage of your investment (eg a communal access point such as gates, paths, stairs, etc)

Get this sorted out BEFORE you complete and get the owner/promoter to SIGN it and have at least two copies signed by all parties concerned.

A snag list without the signature of the owner/promoter isn't worth the ink on the paper, leave alone the paper.

Go around the property with a magnifying glass and a fine tooth comb .... look at the corners of the walls and ceilings for any stress marks due to settling of the property. Do this inside and out. Any cracks in the wall render (inside and out), blemishs to the paint work/finish (inside and out), make sure all windows and doors both internal and external are fitted properly and locks work ok.

Check all the electircal points and light switches work. Run the water in the sink, the bath(s)/Showers(s) and flush the toilet(s) and make sure the water drains ok.

Check the drainage is adequate on any and all terraces and that there aren't ANY cracks between the tiles - because when it rains in Spain, it rains and if their isn't adequte drainage and there are cracks between the tiles, then you will get water inside your property - this happend to us and 18 months on I've given up tyring to get the owner/promoter to fix this under the 10 year building guarantee and am going to fork out €3,500 and get it done, then I'm going to pass the bill to my lawyers and get them to chase the promoter though the courts (I don't care if it takes years)

Oh, and don't forget the water heater(s) and any pre-installed Air Conditioning/Heating system.

Don't let them fob you off and say 'we'll do this after completion' - that's what happend to us and as I said 18 months on and still 'Nada'. Your lawyer has the right to delay completion until the snag list survey has been undertaken and signed/agreed by all parties.

If you don't want to delay completion then ask your lawyer to get a written agreement from the builder/promoter before completion, agreeing to a specified time limit after completion, during which any and all problems that you identifiy during this time scale will be fixed within a subsequent time scale

Eg. They give you two weeks to look at everything and then agree to get it fixed within six weeks (which will be more like six months if your lucky).

At least if your lawyer does this for you, it may take awhile, but at least it will be done without any expense to yourselves. 

Superdon - dont worry too much, get through notary and then get ratted!

Enjoy!

Sound advice Rixxy! 

Justin

Just what Rixxy & Justin ordered for you, superdon, as modelled by Rixxy herself, only kidding.

That was me in my earlier guises!!!

I think I have that many mobiles though!!!

Cheers all. I like the getting ratted idea. Will do that!

Rixxy/morerosado - I thought that was some kind of suicide bomb device in that pic  I know now isnt a great time to complete on a Spanish property.....but surely things arent that bad?

Rixxy wouldn't it help to get ratted before the notary?

Susan

Just a thought. Should we get the keys and access to the property immediately after the notary? Are there any circumstances where this might not happen (other than not completing the completion!)?

The builder handed us our keys at the notary (in front of the notary) after signing & money handed over.

You will be given the keys at the notary, once you've suffered the pain of hanging around there for a few hours!

Justin

...........but at least you won't dehydrate, 'cos you'll have that bottle of water with you!! The developer will probably have left a bottle of champagne in the fridge and a welcome basket of fresh fruit etc.,, so you won't need to do anything else that day but relax and enjoy

We completed in December and you need plenty of Euors - believe me Spain really relieves you of them - the water , electricity, lawyers fees, notary fees ( the biggest rip -off)   the bank charges even if you bank with the same bank as the developer.  50 Eurso in a Spanish bank will just disappear.

Don't  be in too  big a hurray to furnish - take your time and get what you want .    I know  what it is like you are dying to get that apartment up and  running and companies know that .  Watch the companies that provide a full service . Look and see what say curtains would cost you at home - that is what we are doing . If you are moving to the CDS  it is well worth the time to shop in Gibraltar .    We could have saved a small fortune if we had bought pillows , cutlery etc there.  Remember they have a Morrison's which sells quite nice kitchen utensils/ bed linen ( a sheet is a sheet anywhere)  .    Anything that is predominately British and can be brought from home - do so .  I have brought all my towels , bed linen etc but beware of the size of a Spanish king size bed - it has been very difficult to find the right size over here and the Spanish duvet sets have that horrible pillow which is no good to us who like a British pillow.  

It may sound silly but paint before the furniture comes.   I think white walls will be boring after a time.  We haven't  completed our painting yet and our furniture is being delivered bit by bit , but our lounge is big enough for us to work around.

Remember to change the lock on the door and  don't forget your household and building Insurance .  You will need some even although you are buying an apartment.   Buy a wallet to keep all your bills etc and buy a safe if you have not already got one.

Last but not least  leave a key with a trusted person so that furntiure can be delivered , but the shops are so helpful they will deliver at your convenience .    You will need a good bottle of red wine to sit out on that balcony . All you really need is a bed to sleep on initially and a table and chairs for the balcony - heavenly.    I wish you all the best - it is so exciting.

 

Alternatively have a drink before notary and just go with the flow - relax and yes you get the keys at notary as you sign, not before and not a minute after!

Then tell us all where the housewarming party is, I got 3 bottles of cava need using up!!

Pay your black money (maybe & maybe not !!!)

Sign the escritura

Get your keys

This message was last edited by morerosado on 4/16/2008.

Thanks again all. Loving the pictorial guide to the day morerosado!

Riixxy - your welcome to the housewarming - but you might want to bring some candles :)

After the last 3 or 4 months of hell sorting the mortage, things are clicking into place now (with just 7 days to go!). Mortage finally all sorted, notary booked, blah blah.

I am actually starting to get excited again about it all, for the first time in months!

Most of us have lived to tell the tale & so will you, too, Superdon.

Tasmin, white paint has it's advantages - especially if you ever plan to rent your place, as tennants will mess it up. Coloured paint can fade in the sun and is then harder to patch. It also costs more usually than plain white washable. If you find it boring, just buy some nice pictures from the nearest 100 peseta shop. And by the way, I still maintain there is nothing you cannot buy here, that you would have to get in the UK or Gibraltar. Just look around. If you need British size pilow cases, for example, just go to Dunnes (Fuengirola, Mijas, Malaga etc) And don't forget there's Rixxy's favourite meatball store now.

I know that you can buy anything in Spain but they are so much more costly.  I suggested Gibraltar for buying in Serling with the Euro being so low against the £ .  With people losing so much when completing now , money is a bit scarce. 

We are looking at curtains at home here now and all I really want is toget out there again , some of my furniture is being delivered tomorrow and I cannot wait to see it. 

Gook luck again . Take a book to the Notary .

Hi all

Am following this thread with great interest as we too are going out to complete in La Cala, CDS on the 28th. Am feeling a bit sick, think its excitement after all these years.

Have already bought my own curtains/cushions but don't know how I am going to get them out there as they are quite bulky. I know there is Dunnes Stores for all my needs but can't resist buying stuff here in Ireland and deciding on colour schemes. Haven't ordered any furniture yet but am not going for a package. So much to do, so little time.

Superdon - good luck . I will be interested to hear your experience.

Helen

when we took all our curtains and bedspreads to Spain we used them vacuum bags. You can reduce items to less than half the size. They sell them in Argos and places like that. Really useful to keep in spain with your winter items in for storage as space is such a premium.

Samson

Had thought of that too but have never used them. Will give that a try.

Thanks

Helen

Well, all done and dusted! Had a great week. Was hard work and a few problems popped up, but all sorted in the end.

Managed to get completed, cleaned up and furnished in 5 days. Also, got a few of the snagging problems fixed, with just a few minor things left.

Another big thanks to Sharon for sorting our mortgage.

Thanks all!!!!

Hi Superdon

Congratulations!

Isn't it a wonderful feeling when it all goes through ok?

Enjoy your little piece of Spain.

Regards

Noreen