#38 Buying Property in Spain? 5 Must-Know Tips for Successful Viewings

Planning to buy property in Spain but feeling overwhelmed by the viewing process?

You’re not alone. A recent survey found that 70% of international buyers feel unprepared when it comes to viewing properties in Spain. 

From finding the right location to spotting potential issues during viewings, it’s easy to make costly mistakes - especially if you’ve never done this before. 

Property viewings are a critical step in your buying journey, but they can be tricky to navigate.

In this episode, Warner shares his expert insights to help you approach property viewings in Spain with confidence. 

Whether you're visiting homes in Costa del Sol for the first time or looking for investment opportunities, this episode will ensure you make the most of every viewing.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to choose the perfect location for your lifestyle and goals (and why it’s the most important step).
• The critical details to check during viewings, like dampness and plumbing, so you’re not caught off guard.
• How to navigate legal checks to make sure your dream home is problem-free.
• Why you should factor in resale value - even if it’s just for peace of mind.
• The importance of knowing your neighbors and the community before you buy.

Take the guesswork out of property viewings in Spain:

Book a complimentary consultation call with Warner

Contact Warner & Sandra on whatsapp 

Explore the latest Costa del Sol properties on our website.

Purchase our Roadmap to Buying Property on the Costa del Sol Digital Course

Rate, review or follow on Apple Podcasts:

If you have been enjoying the show, please do leave a quick rating or review! It’s a chance to tell us what you love about the show and support more people - just like you - to move to Spain and fulfil their dream!

Click here,scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about this episode!

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Transcript

Warner, are you ready? I'm really going to pick your brain today on the top five tips for a successful property viewing in Spain from your point of view. So I think that this will be really interesting for any listeners out there who are at the stage in their search where they're starting to get ready to view some properties.

So, are you ready to have your brain picked? I am ready. So, the first section in my mind is, I guess, all around the location. So, location, location, location. So, would we be right to say that, before somebody even considers a stepping foot into a property, they really need to get a good grip on the location?

In terms of where they want to be based. Yeah, that would be the The top. Top. Before they even spec for location as important, you know, if you're going to be working, do you need to be near public transport? If it is going to be a holiday form, do you want to be near each? All these factors really matter when you're looking at a property.

It's sitting down and making that list of questions. Is it close to public transport? This is going to be important because if you've already made a decision that you're going to retire to Spain and you've spent your whole life driving in and out to a city, maybe you don't want to drive when you get to Spain.

So then you're going to rely on public transport. You're going to want to be near to the train stations or the main local bus routes in order to get you from A to B. Also, do you want to be near to some local amenities like shops, restaurants? If you're coming with families, you're definitely going to want to be close to schools, sports halls, but also as well,  If you are planning to buy your property also for investment and rent it out when you're not in use, well you also need to think about the needs and wants of your client base because potentially they are not going to want to be in a very remote location if they are renting your property for their annual holiday.

It's likely they're going to want to have access to amenities like shops and restaurants and be able to experience some of the local culture and nightlife as well, right? Yeah, no, it's so important. So when I have my discovery call with my clients, my office is in Ben O'Madena and I love Ben  O'Madena.

But not all clients may love Ben O'Madena. I always recommend them 

to pack three areas. Work on the internet, work on forums, pack city areas in the cluster they're 

involved with. Will be interest to you and when you come to the 

Costa del Sol, hire a car.  And 

actually go around these areas and see, 

oh, Benamadonas for me are, I don't like 

Benamadonas too, but I want to go try Lactava for some reason.

Or the, the, third option. So like if you have a husband and wife, but they have different ideas. So when I'm working with my clients, I always 

emphasise that they need to spend time in the neighbourhoods, also at different times of the day, to get a true feel for how it all looks. Between the daytime and the night 

time, surely important.

You choose the areas that you've itemed across the Bellshall, hire a car, and really do your investigation properly. Yeah, that's a really good point around experience this day to night, because the neighbourhood, the location, could have a very different feel and vibe about it in the daytime as well, in the nighttime.

So that's a good tip. But just to bring this back to a very practical, tangible experience.  Often when we do a discovery call with a client,  We will send them our checklist, which will really help them to get clear on their requirements. And then we will have a catch up after that to really look at the requirements.

And often from that, they'll kind of have a niggle or an idea of the locations where they think they want to be based. And they'll start to look and identify properties. in those locations. Often when they get to the coast and they start to actually drive around and hire their car and go and explore the different areas, what they thought they wanted from a location is very different to the reality.

So we've had a client recently that we've been working with now for a period of time and based on their shortlist, they were pretty sure that Benamadna would be an area that would tick all their boxes. However, when they got here, it wasn't for them. It was a little bit too busy. It was a little bit too built up.

They got back in their rent car. They went to location number two and number three, and voila, location number two was where they wanted to be based, which was actually La Cala de Mijas. So it is so important as you fade  Shortlist three areas based on your requirements, hire your car, get into your car, drive to those areas.

And once you've really spent time to immerse yourself into the ambience of those locations, then we start to look at the right properties for you. And I feel like we're like broken records with this, but once the location is right, that's the section you can't rush. It's like dominoes, all the pieces of the dominoes, they just fall into place once after the other.

Once you get really, really clear on that location that you want to be based in, and what's important for you from that location, right? Yeah, no, it's absolutely imperative that you do your investigation properly, because that way you're 100 percent on that location. Do your investigation, make sure the location fits all your box views,  And go on.

What should people look out for Warner when they are viewing and the condition of the property is becoming a factor in their search? What you should do is check for any signs of dampness or molds. Look at the windows and doors. Are they in good condition, inspected plumbing, and the electric ecosystem if possible. 

I often recommend bringing a checklist with you. It's easy to get swept up with the excitement and overlooked with critical details. It's likely when you view your property and you find the one that's good for you, that you're going to view that property more than once before you make an offer on the property rights.

I was imagining, As a best practice, when you go back to that second viewing, it's very good to bring a checklist with you where you're starting to assess these things because you're going to want to be very, very clear in terms of,  is there dampness? What is the condition of the doors and windows? You're going to want to have a good picture on those before you move in because you will decide if you want to put some money towards investing in improvements.

So yeah, that's, that's pretty sound.  And then step three is then once you've done the location, you've checked the condition of the property, is to look at the legal space of the property. So you need to ensure that everything is in order. And we need to make sure that the property is registered.  We need to look at to see if there's any outstanding debts on the property.

And we also need to verify the seller has the rights to sell. And getting a good lawyer, he will check everything for you. And this is where a good real estate agent like myself will make all the difference and will help you navigate through the paperwork so you can focus on finding your dream home in the sun.

So tip number three, as you said, is all about the legal status of the property. Once you've identified the location, you move on then to The actual interior of the property, the condition of the property. You decide then that that property is right for you. You proceed to reserve that property, and then you move into understanding the legal status of the property, which is ensuring that everything is in order.

Give us a little bit more of an insight then into how this works. Is the buyer expected to do this due diligence themselves? Or who does this? How does this work in reality? Okay, so you've chosen your location, you've chosen your property, and you're ready to go on. So what will happen then is normally the agency of the seller will contact your lawyer, and they will send you all the documentation of the property, so your lawyer can do all the checks.

Once the lawyer is happy with all the checks, then you're ready to move all up to the next stage and period deposit. Step four, Sandra, is always when people are buying, consider their future resale value. Okay, so talk to us a little bit about  this. So tip number four is to think about the future, the valuation.

So when you're buying a property, one of the questions that I get all the time is they've not even bought it, but they're thinking about selling it at the time. And when you're making this purchase, it's a massive amount of money, all the savings.  It's really important you have 100 percent you're making a good investment.

It's really important not only that you look at the location but you look at the infrastructure coming into the location to show that you're an investment. is protected. And in the future, if you decide to sell, then you will get what you paid for, or even more coming back to you when you decide to sell the property.

But not only that, what I always tell my clients is don't buy the property for appreciation. Buy it for the lifestyle that it gives you and your family.  And if it appreciates after the 10 years that you get there, then, fantastic. But I wish you had great times, you have great holidays with your friends and family and your property.

Yeah, because I think sometimes people forget that. You know, they might buy the property, they've had five good years of use out of it, making memories and enjoying it with their family. Their family has probably used it as well. Their friends have used it. Maybe they've earned a few quid out of renting it out to family and friends, and then when they go to sell it, okay,  the market might not necessarily be the most optimal and they've not made as much as they initially planned, but they're forgetting about. 

that element in terms of the use, the cost of the use that they've got out of it while they've owned the property, right? Yeah, especially like family holidays can be expensive if you go to a hotel for a family. So if you're trading your family holiday and to invest with property, And, you know, you're saving all that money, and you get rid of the spout, and going on holidays, so.

And not only that, but you've been making memories, when you, you buy in the area, you get to know the neighbours, you have more friends, you know, so it, it just becomes a, a no brainer, then it just works a lot better than actually investing and staying in a hotel for two weeks. every year. Amazing. But I also think there's a flip side to that as well.

So if you're buying in an area where there is a lot of investment in infrastructure, there is a lot of investment in transportation links, there is a lot of investment to make the area appealing to tourists. Great. Your property is going to likely increase in value. However, if you decide that you want to be more remote, you want to be in a more inland location, you want to be located more towards the mountains. 

Okay, your property might not increase in value at the same level as if it's in one of the tourist hotspots. But, provided that you're okay with that, and you've made that kind of commitment to yourself that this is more for you, for your own use, this is to fulfill your own dream rather than a very specific investment that you want to achieve, I think that's fine too.

But it's just about asking yourself.  Those questions in advance.  Absolutely, and having a home in the summer is an amazing investment. You know, I've seen lots of my clients really enjoy it. Not only them, but family and friends. I mean, just, if you can afford it, and you're ready to go all in, then absolutely 100%.

Okay, Warner, so just to recap, we've covered location, location, location, which is all about location. Spending that time to really get clear on your location and your location requirements. Again, do not rush this part. This is probably the most important step  in your search. So taking the time to really get clear on your location requirements, to really feel connected with your location is not something that should be rushed.

So take all the time that you need with the first step. Then you covered around checking the condition of the property, which is all about ensuring that you are going to your appointments with the checklist of what you want to check, that you have your notebook and your pen with you, that you're taking note of anything that doesn't look great.

From a structural point of view, maybe the property has some elements of dampness. Maybe you need to look at ventilation in the bathroom, whatever it may be, but make sure that you're not getting so overwhelmed with the experience and the romantic idea of owning that property. It's made that you forget to overlook the important stuff.

So take some time on that as well. Then you moved into understanding the legal status of the property. So once you've got clear in your location, Once you've found that property, once you're comfortable with the structure of the property that you really spend time to understand the legal status and again, reemphasizing that important part of not doing that alone, surround yourself with the right real estate agent and the right legal team to run your due diligence and your checks for you so that you are clear before you find any contracts and you hand over any monies that so much for joining us.

There's nothing sinister happening beneath the surface of your property when it comes to contracts or bureaucracy or, or any types of legislation. Then we've talked about the resale value of the future. Now this part is, is specifically important if you're buying for investment. If you want to make a return of investment in a few years, look at what's happening in the location.

Is there investment? Is it a property hotspot? Will it increase in value? Those things are going to be important for you. if you are fine from an embarrassment point of view. Now we did promise our listeners five tips. We've covered four of them now in depth, which is amazing. Now I want you to think about number five. 

Should people be aware of potentially what may people not have thought about when it comes to a tip number five from you? So one of the things was obviously what's the neighbors like. A couple of years ago, I was in La Talla and I was shown a townhouse  and I had the keys to the townhouse. It was the first time that I was going there with clients.

So I was, I was made sure of 15 minutes before I go there, open all the blinds and everything. I'll make it presentable. So this one day I was in a rush, so I never got the chance to do that. So I met the clients, the clients were there and I met them. So when I'm opening all the doors and everything up, and I'm safe.

There's a lovely townhouse, you know, so very close to Wakava that's hiring you to walk into the town.  And then we went up to where the money shop was, the main terrace. And I was like, look at those amazing views, sea views over La Talla. And then I looked down and there was the neighbours, they were in the terrace, found spells and they were butt naked.

Unfortunately, they never bought the property. But what would they, what would they do? And like, would they, so I don't really understand. They're entitled to be butt naked in their own house if they want to be. So give us a little bit more context. There was some gave in. Ah, so they were on the terrace sunbathing naked. 

They were on the terrace sunbathing naked, so that was. And they weren't Pamela Anderson, they caught a butt ass joke. But I guess in the context of this conversation, for that particular property, tip 5 is all about neighbours. So if you're a little bit uncomfortable with nudity, or you want a neighbour that looks like Pamela Anderson, Potentially that property may not be for, for you because I guess if they were individuals that liked to be more at one with nature and less of the clothing and there was potentially kids going to be in that property, well getting to know the neighbors up front is obviously a good, good thing to note there.

So how does one get to know the neighbor's foreigner? When you're selling a property, is it common to ask that question up front? Do people ask about the neighbors? How do you approach that? Yeah, they do. When you're then deported, they're like, well, who's next door, or what nationality they are. Because they want to familiarise themselves if they're British or Irish.

If I said, oh yeah, he's Irish next door, it brings like a, a kind of comfort. That's one of the questions I do get asked, you know, about the ideas about community. Solidity in time, that's to modernise the self and see the self living.  Yeah, that's a good point. And I think just to draw on an experience from ourselves, in our, in our last home, we actually had some noisy neighbours.

And even though we'd viewed the property multiple times, I think on reflection, we had viewed it always more or less at the same time of the day. So it's good, I would say, to also probably view the property at different times, as well as the location, because the noise levels significantly increased in the evenings, naturally, because it's family and they're whole, there's nothing wrong with that.

But if you're a person prone to a more quieter environment. Life and your peace and your quiet is, is important to you. It could be interesting to view your property at different times of the day. So you're able to assess the noise levels because  that,  the noise levels typically, let's be frank, became a bit of a challenge for us.

So that's, I think, something to bear in mind as well. Get to know maybe the habits of your neighbours, especially if you're going to be living there all year round, right? To ensure, can you live next to them quite comfortably? Absolutely. Yeah, 100%.  Great. So amazing tips and insights Warner. Five great tips there to support your viewing process to help make a successful property viewing.

So I really appreciate the pearls of wisdom that you've brought to today. So just to recap, Warner, your top five tips for viewing a property are checking the location, inspecting the property's condition, Understanding the property's legal status, considering future resale value, if that's important to you, and getting to know your neighbors, their habits, if they're nudists and they like to be at one with nature, is that something that you're okay with?

Are you going to be comfortable looking at your balcony to see a naked ass every day? They're key important questions that you,  that you need to take into account.  Also, your, your neighbor's habits, the noise levels. Can you? live comfortably with your neighbors. I think it's very, very important. So remember, if you're ready to get professional advice, personalized advice, you can book a complimentary consultation call with Warner today.

These slots do fill up fast. So if you are interested, get a call booked in. You can find more information on our website. You can also send us a message on WhatsApp using the link that will be included in the show notes of this episode. And thank you for listening to the cost of property podcast as always.

We really appreciate you being here and until next time, adios and bye for now. Adios.