The school holidays are over and tourist are returning to their own lands, so that it is easier for us to get around the towns and countryside that we have the privilege to survey and value.
So, what has happened this week?
We’ve heard of a rich owner, whose wife was so offended by the knickers on the adjoining property’s washing line, that he bought that property and incorporated it into his own. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse.- When studying the legal draft of a property that is to be subdivided and we have to value, we discovered that the lawyer had omitted to include the servitude right of access across the adjoining property. Without that, the main part of the land which contains the house would have been and locked. It’s not the first time we’ve had to save a client from what could be a very expensive error.
- The scale of problems with properties where we carry out building surveys for potential buyers can vary hugely. Within the week we’ve had one substantial new property where we had to point out a minor chip in a bathroom floor tile; whilst with another, before we had even looked at the property, from the description given by a client, we suggested that they should walk away and find a property in better condition.
- One of the standard comments included in our reports is, ‘Are you are buying for what the property can do for you or for what you can do for the property?’ But sometimes clients insist on proceeding, despite having been told that their property is, “One winter away from being a ruinâ€.
- We’ve seen exceptional rains in Costa Blanca and parts of Andalucia. We are told they are
Photo credit: Costa News
exceptional, but find that they appear to be happening more and more often. In our reports, previously, we have checked with the Regional maps showing areas where flooding could be expected at least once in 100 years, and commented on that within our reports. With our recent experience, we have had to remove those comments as the historical information it’s just not reliable. Due to the advancing effects of climate change, properties built within a river’s flood plain will be subject to increased risk, which will be reflected in increased insurance premiums and greater mortgage hesitation. We suspect that will also begin to affect frontline coastal properties, depending upon how ‘interesting’ the winter is and the speed of rising sea levels.
When you’re buying a property it pays to get the right information, first time. Contact us for assistance or visit www.surveyspain.com
