Guide to Buying a Home in the Heat of a Coronavirus Crisis

Only extremely urgent operations will be closed before a notary

Source: Idealista News

The health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus in Spain has paralyzed thousands of home sales. Only those operations with mortgage deeds that are of extreme urgency will be signed before a notary. And for those who are looking for a new home, now is a good time to contact the sellers and resolve doubts about the desired property. 

Below is a guide to buying a home and another to buying with a mortgage with the advice of idealist/mortgage:

Buying a home in the middle of a coronavirus crisis

• The real estate portals are still 100% available in all their formats (web, mobile, apps) so it is an ideal moment to take advantage of all their benefits (photos, descriptions, details, etc.) and make a list of properties that you like or are interested in. You can use tools to save searches and favorites. And visit the houses virtually.
• You can contact the sellers, in fact, it is highly recommended to do so. Although you cannot visit the flat, you can solve doubts that allow you to know the property better: the real estate agency or the owner can send you more photos, clarify the state of the property or its availability, give you more information that is not detailed in the ad… even if the price is negotiable.
• If you also contact a real estate agency, they can indicate other properties that resemble what you are looking for. The professionals continue to work 100% from home and are the ones who know the area and the product that is being sold best.
• If you are really interested, go further in getting to know the property: you can take a simple note of the property, ask about the community fees or if it has any current or planned income, etc.
• If you do not know the area well, you can ask about it: what public services it has, gyms, transport, supermarkets… a fundamental part of the decision to buy a flat is its surroundings.
• Find out what the purchase entails, not only the outlay but also the mortgage payment (we will talk about this later), the cost of moving, buying furniture, refurbishing if necessary…
• It is important to know that, if the purchase of the house is made without a mortgage, it is possible to avoid signing it before a notary: the purchase of a house can be made in a private document and then be made public (before a notary). However, it is not recommended because of the lower guarantees and security offered by an agreement between parties without the intervention of a notary, but it can be somewhat temporary until it is elevated to a public document. 

Buying a property with a mortgage in the middle of a crisis of coronavirus

• Use a simulator to see which quota is most suitable for your needs.
• You can even compare different offers from banks, and even make an online application to see if the bank will grant your mortgage. But remember, banks do not give 100% valid approvals until they check all your details with documentation and the property is appraised. Many even don’t have a starting price, but make custom-made suits according to each client.
• Whether you already have the property agreed, or you have not yet decided on a specific apartment, you can start a mortgage application. Services such as idealist/mortgage allow you to send the application to several banks without moving from your home, without any cost or commitment, and this can help you save time. You can even talk to the bank managers remotely, so they can help you understand their offers better and compare them.
• The appraisers still work, even if they have some limitations when visiting the properties, so if you have already decided on a bank, you can move forward with this part of the process, which usually takes a few days.
• Finally, the formalization: this is the part where the process is currently more stuck, on the one hand, because most banks require the opening of accounts and signature of other documents that do not have a digital process in remote, and on the other hand because the notaries can only act in cases of proven urgency, and always by appointment.

“Despite the confined situation we are living in, we can do many things from home to move forward in the search for our new home; we just have to take advantage of the tools and professionals available,” says Juan Villén, head of idealist/mortgage.

Filed under: Headlines by Alec Reimon
No Comments »