Lospacoshombre

Hi
As many of you may know I am negotiating on a property in Fuengirola.

The property has an illegal garage/pool area, and the square meterage of the house is incorrect.

The apparent cost is 4k to legalise with a 99% chance of legalisation.

The seller knocked 4k off the asking price to legalise, I want to legalise and purchase on the same day at the notary, the seller wants me to buy the house warts and all and legalise at my leisure. Taking the 1% risk with my 200k in cash.

The questions are:-
1) Would you take the risk?
2) Is the house mortgageable in this state? (worried about rival bidders)

Any advice or opinion would be welcome

Regards

Al

anonimouse

It's Spain....Don't expect anything to be so simple

jackytoo

I would think that the valuation will come in low as bits not on the escritura won't be counted.

I just wouldn't take the risk, tell them to get it legal before purchase. One we bought hadn't registered a large extension to the escritura. It was registered and changed before we bought.

pwwm

people that I know and us included in same situation waited until the seller sorted it. very common probem but up to them to pay to get done. An agent around here wont take stuff like this on their books until it is sorted.

Wendybee

Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. In my experience of Spain the risk could end up being a lot more than 1%! 200K is an awful lot of money to have tied up in something that a) may not be 100% legal and b) may consequently be difficult to sell again if you want or need to.

teuchterpete

This involves gamble and you do not know how much you might lose.
You know what they say " Only gamble what you can afford to lose"
As ever only you can make the decision.
Pete

missile

We all know sad stories of people who have homes for which they cannot get legal title for a variety of reasons. One of our friends has been trying for 6 years and is no closer to resolving the issues with his property.

Would you buy a house without planning approval in the UK? Why would you contemplate taking the risk in a foreign country, where you may not even understand the requirements?

simonsg

I'm not too sure if the laws are the same where you are but this might be worth looking into. Here in Tenerife, if a property has an illegal pool or other structure...of which there are many, especially countryside properties...if the structure has been in place for more than 4 years and there have been no reports to the authorities about it, then the illegal structure cannot be knocked down or filled in. It can then be made legal at a cost but this is optional, not a requirement. Of course, if you don't make it legal, it may put off potential buyers in the future, when you choose to sell it yourself. As I said, this is in Tenerife, I am unsure about the laws where you are.

I am not too sure about the mortgagabilty of the property, but this is something that you should also consider not, as you have written, just regarding other potential bidders, but again, in the future, if you don't manage to get it legalised, and the next buyer needs a mortgage, you will have potentially filtered out a number of buyers due to lack of mortgagability, if that is the case.

Just a few of my thoughts anyway, good luck in your purchase.

Dick Dasterdly

Precisely who rates the chances of legalisation at 99% ?
Is this source 100% trustworthy ?
Is there possibly an alternative reason why it hasn't yet been legalised ?
Let the buyer beware.

megmet

Absolutely!

With so many inexpensive legal houses for sale In Spain why would anyone want to take the risk on this one?
It may well seem like a good deal, but it's not so good if you end up losing everything....a distinct possibility if it's dodgy.

fionamw

Unfortunately I suspect everyone, including the poster referring to Tenerife and the way people tend to sort things out, is right. There are shades of grey in this, it's just up to you whether you're prepared to live in a grey world for some considerable time if things don't go the way they could, instead go the way they could (if you see what I mean). Which, given you've posted before about this same or similar issues, leaves me wondering what you were hoping for? I'm saying this not as a red rag to a bull, nor being sarky nor anti- anyone or anything, just to make you think. If you post this kind of question is it in the hope that someone will give you the answer you want? The best advice I know is to ask yourself the question what would you advise your mother/sister/best friend if they were asking you...... your answer should be all you need.
Me? At very least I would NOT continue negotiating to buy the property if the owner won't agree to legalise at the Notarios with the clear understanding the deal falls if the legalisation stumbles.

johnnyone

Exactly, unless it is so cheap you are prepared to take the risk.

The best guide is to compare the m2 cost with similar legal houses in the same area.

Personally I would only buy legal (and did) now although I probably would not have worried if I had purchased many years ago when enforcement was not a problem.

snikpoh

Would you still buy it without the pool and garage?

If so, then be prepared to have to spend the 4k to knock it down and fill in the pool.

If not, walk away - it's a buyers market!

gill556

According to our administrator the 4 year rule is that neighbours/community cannot object after 4 years if they have previously accepted it, however this does not apply to the town hall who doesn't have a time limit. Maybe it is different in different areas.

sujee

When we bought ours in March, the pool and one terrace were illegal but was made legal on the day. The seller paid it was all notarised and added to the escritura. We did not need a mortgage but our lawyer insisted it was done. There was no hold up so I can't see why your seller wants it done after sale. I would be very suspicious that for some reason it cannot be made legal. For instance does that make the m2 more than the plot is allowed?
This house was our dream home but we would still have walked away had it not been made legal!
Good luck