What you need to know before buying or renting housing

What you need to know before buying or renting housing

What you need to know before buying or renting housing

What you need to know before buying or renting housing

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When you decide to buy or rent a property, many doubts will arise, but there are a series of questions you should ask yourself before starting this process to ensure that your rental or purchase ends up being what you need and want.

In this post we leave you with a series of questions that you should ask yourself and we will resolve any doubts you may have about renting and buying a property.

You have finally decided to take the plunge and have made one of the most important financial decisions of your life: you want to buy a house. It involves a fairly large financial outlay, it is not a decision you are going to take lightly and thousands of doubts, questions and queries arise.

Here is a list of questions you should ask yourself before buying a home and that it really is your ideal home, as well as some things you should bear in mind that you didn't know.

• What are the usable metres and how many do you want your home to have?

The useful metres represent the surface area of the property that is habitable, and must be differentiated from the built metres. In this way, the useful metres of our home do not take into account balconies, terraces, partition walls, galleries, etc.

• What is the state of the plumbing and electricity installation?

• If so, how much is the community fee?

• Does the property have an EEC (Energy Efficiency Certificate)?

The EEC certificate calculates the energy consumption, whether it is electricity, water or gas, of the property under normal conditions, and in many cases, the former owner, that is to say, the one who sold us the property, is obliged to provide us with this certificate.

• Are there any encumbrances on the property?
  

It is important to request a Nota Simple where the property is checked to see if there are any encumbrances registered on the property. These encumbrances include limitations to the use or ownership of the property, such as mortgages.

• How is the area where the property is located, is it noisy, are there leisure areas such as bars, pubs or discos nearby, what are the nearest basic services?

• If it is a flat, are there any building works planned? In this way we can anticipate possible future charges.

• Has the building passed the Technical Building Inspection (ITE)?
  

The ITE is a control that buildings of a certain age must pass in order to check the state of conservation of the building, such as the structure, roofs, accessibility, foundations, etc.

When you are interested in renting a property, many doubts may arise, from the duration of the contract, cases in which you share a flat, to whether the rent can be increased. We answer the most frequent ones:

• Can I terminate my lease at any time?

As a tenant you have the right to terminate your tenancy agreement

at any time after the first 6 or 12 months (as stipulated in the contract), as long as the tenant is given at least one month's notice. In the contract you should also have agreed whether there is compensation and how much it will be in the event of premature termination of the lease, although it cannot be more than one month's rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled.

• How much can the deposit required by the landlord be?

The deposit must be paid in cash and must be equal to one month's rent that has been agreed. However, the landlord may also require other additional guarantees for the fulfilment of the rental contract, but these may not exceed two monthly payments of the monthly amount of the rent.

• Do I have to show the furnishings and their condition when I enter a rented property?

Yes, the rental contract must include a list of the furniture that is left inside the rented house and the state in which each one is in. Ideally, photos should be included of all the rooms where the furniture can be seen.

• Who is responsible for paying for minor repairs?

Repairs that need to be made to the flat, household appliances, or furniture in the flat due to deterioration from daily use should be paid for by the tenant. It is true that the legislation is not clear on this point, so it is possible to talk to the landlord and reach an agreement, as other factors such as the age of the furniture or the type of damage can be taken into account.

• Can I terminate my lease at any time?

As a tenant you have the right to terminate your tenancy agreement

at any time after the first 6 or 12 months (as stipulated in the contract), as long as the tenant is given at least one month's notice. In the contract you should also have agreed whether there is compensation and how much it will be in the event of premature termination of the lease, although it cannot be more than one month's rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled.

• How much can the deposit required by the landlord be?

The deposit must be paid in cash and must be equal to one month's rent that has been agreed. However, the landlord may also require other additional guarantees for the fulfilment of the rental contract, but these may not exceed two monthly payments of the monthly amount of the rent.

• Do I have to show the furnishings and their condition when I enter a rented property?

Yes, the rental contract must include a list of the furniture that is left inside the rented house and the state in which each one is in. Ideally, photos should be included of all the rooms where the furniture can be seen.

• Who is responsible for paying for minor repairs?

Repairs that need to be made to the flat, household appliances, or furniture in the flat due to deterioration from daily use should be paid for by the tenant. It is true that the legislation is not clear on this point, so it is possible to talk to the landlord and reach an agreement, as other factors such as the age of the furniture or the type of damage can be taken into account.

• Can I terminate my lease at any time?

As a tenant you have the right to terminate your tenancy agreement

at any time after the first 6 or 12 months (as stipulated in the contract), as long as the tenant is given at least one month's notice. In the contract you should also have agreed whether there is compensation and how much it will be in the event of premature termination of the lease, although it cannot be more than one month's rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled.

• How much can the deposit required by the landlord be?

The deposit must be paid in cash and must be equal to one month's rent that has been agreed. However, the landlord may also require other additional guarantees for the fulfilment of the rental contract, but these may not exceed two monthly payments of the monthly amount of the rent.

• Do I have to show the furnishings and their condition when I enter a rented property?

Yes, the rental contract must include a list of the furniture that is left inside the rented house and the state in which each one is in. Ideally, photos should be included of all the rooms where the furniture can be seen.

• Who is responsible for paying for minor repairs?

Repairs that need to be made to the flat, household appliances, or furniture in the flat due to deterioration from daily use should be paid for by the tenant. It is true that the legislation is not clear on this point, so it is possible to talk to the landlord and reach an agreement, as other factors such as the age of the furniture or the type of damage can be taken into account.

• Can I terminate my lease at any time?

As a tenant you have the right to terminate your tenancy agreement

at any time after the first 6 or 12 months (as stipulated in the contract), as long as the tenant is given at least one month's notice. In the contract you should also have agreed whether there is compensation and how much it will be in the event of premature termination of the lease, although it cannot be more than one month's rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled.

• How much can the deposit required by the landlord be?

The deposit must be paid in cash and must be equal to one month's rent that has been agreed. However, the landlord may also require other additional guarantees for the fulfilment of the rental contract, but these may not exceed two monthly payments of the monthly amount of the rent.

• Do I have to list the furniture and its condition when I enter a rented house?

Yes, the rental contract must include a list of the furniture that is left in the rented house and the condition of each piece of furniture. Ideally, photos should be included of all the rooms where the furniture can be seen.

• Who is responsible for paying for minor repairs?

Repairs that need to be made to the flat, household appliances, or furniture in the flat due to deterioration from daily use should be paid for by the tenant. It is true that the legislation is not clear on this point, so it is possible to talk to the landlord and reach an agreement, as other factors such as the age of the furniture or the type of damage can be taken into account.