When buying a property in Spain one of the options is off-plan, the term loosely means something that isn’t ready yet, it could be a property that is in the process of renovation and isn’t finished or it can be a completely new build project that hasn’t even started, when choosing one of these options it is important that you fully understand the process, every property will be different not only in looks but in licences and timescales and it is vital that you have a lawyer to check everything for you.
We have many clients that buy Off Plan and not always for the same reasons, we have listed some of the many ways to buy Off Plan below to show you the reasoning behind why it Is a very popular way to purchase property in today’s market.
Renovation Project
In the historical centre of the major Spanish "Costas" at the moment there are plenty renovation projects happening, many properties are from the 17th , 18th and early 19th century and in need of full renovation, many developers will start to sell the properties at the point of licence approval by the municipality, this means that although they haven’t started the renovation they have all the licences needed and have set out timescales to start and finish, because of the high demand the majority of properties for sale in the historical centre are purchased at this point, the big advantage for a buyer is that they get a property usually at a discounted price against the market value as they are buying something that isn’t ready, the main disadvantage is you need more imagination as the property isn’t finished.
Project Approved
This refers to properties that are newly built and have a project already approved, this means if it is a building then the number of apartments and sizes/layouts will have already been approved by the municipality and it’s a case of waiting for it to be finished, it can also be the same for individual or standalone properties, the advantage in particular with standalone properties is you can usually change the finishings to suit your taste, however, the fundamentals of the project will have to remain.
Plot of Land or Ruin
This is the original way to buy off-plan, it is basically buying a piece of land and creating something between you and your architect, submitting it to the municipality and waiting for approvals, this way is obviously a lot more daunting as there are a lot more factors involved, however, it is always the most rewarding both financially and mentally for the majority of clients that do it, although it does take a lot of vision and patience.
Rest assured we have the resources to help you every step of the way should you want to create your masterpiece.