Our House Is In Order

David Laver

Alhaurín el Grande is surrounded by charming countryside, yet is only half an hour drive to Málaga or the coast. This enviable location is making the town more and more popular with clients from northern Europe, alongside a growing Spanish market.

The best news is that over the last year, property prices have dropped significantly bringing in some exceptional bargains. In particular, with the weakness of the Pound to the Euro, we have seen many UK owners who are returning home able to reduce the price of their property without actually affecting their Sterling bottom line.

The majority of our clients looking to buy, want the rural dream of a peaceful location with a plot of land populated with olive, orange, fig and avocado trees. They want the pretty home with terraces from which they can enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding mountains after taking a refreshing dip in the swimming pool. As it is now impossible to build a house or a swimming pool in the countryside, these existing country homes are in short supply and in high demand. That said, we do still have a good selection that we can offer you.

Ideal Country Property has been based in Alhaurín El Grande since the company formed in 2007. With the property market slowing down considerably since then, the number of Estate Agents in the town has decreased from 30 to just 5, leaving Ideal Country Property as the predominant inland specialist.

Part of the reason for many of the agencies closing down is the Junta de Andalucía inspecting Real Estate Agents for compliance to the ‘218 Decree’ (“Decreto 218″), which regulates the information given to customers purchasing or renting homes in Andalucía. Many agents did not comply, failing to supply all the information required on each property and ended up with large fines. We have been inspected twice and have passed with flying colours, getting commended both times on how much information we actually give to our clients.

In this day and age it is essential to be able to assure the clients of the legality of their new property and we are pleased to be able to do that. Buying in Spain has become more complicated and it seems like every week a new property-related law is passed or changed that affects what can and can’t be done in the Andalucían countryside. To keep abreast of these changes we have regular meetings with local solicitors and architects so that the information we pass on to our clients is relevant, correct and up-to-date. Coupled with years of local real estate experience, this equates to being able to offer in-depth local knowledge and advice to our clients looking to buy or rent, and owners hoping to sell.

We are  expecting this to help us have a busy and successful 2010.

You can find us at our new addess on the main street (Calle Gerald Brenan, 83) next to Casa Paco.

“Decreto (Decree) 218″ DIA or FICHA- Which Should I Use?

As I have been browsing through the various Decree 218 forums and webpages, I notice that the majority refer to the DIA form. In Spanish the full name for it is “Documento Informativo Abreviado” (‘Abbreviated Informative Document’) and then some, depending on what type of homes you are selling. The document should stick EXACTLY to the number of pages specified in the Decree 218, under the relevant annex or appendix. For example, under Annex 2 the DIA form on page 5  must detail the building specifications (“Memoria de Calidades”). If you need to use more than one page for this then use a different sheet of paper, attach it to the DIA form and make reference to it under the relevant section on page 5. Why is this so important? One Inspector from the “Junta de Andalucía” explained it to me this  way: If I go to an Estate Agent (Real Estate Firm or Realtor) and ask to see the DIA form for a particular NEWLY BUILT property, if all the information is on the same number of pages and in the same place on each of those pages, then it makes it much easier for me as the client to be able to make comparisons if I go to another Agent and ask to see their DIA form for a similar property. That way I don’t have to hunt through reams of paper to find the exact details I need, especially if I have a DIA form with me to compare it with another.

So which form should be used when selling a home? It all depends on the type of home being sold and it is quite simple really.

• Off-Plan Homes or Homes Under Construction. The document you should use is detailed in Annex 2 of the Decree 218 and the full title is “Documento Informativo Abreviado En La Venta De Viviendas En Proyecto O En Construcción”. It should be 8 pages long.
• New Homes being sold for the first time (direct from the developer). The document you should use is detailed in Annex 3 of the Decree 218 and the full title is “Documento Informativo Abreviado En La Venta De Viviendas Construidas En Su Primera Transmisión”. It should be 9 pages long.
• Rental Homes. The document you should use is detailed in Annex 6 of the Decree 218 and the full title is “Documento Informativo Abreviado Para El Arrendamiento De Viviendas”. It should be 5 pages long.

The last document, that we mainly use as a company, is NOT a DIA form. It is in fact a FI form or “Ficha Informativa” (‘Fact Sheet’ in English). When should this form be used?

• Resales or Second-Hand Homes. The document you should use is detailed in Annex 5 of the Decree 218 and the full title is “Ficha Informativa En Segundas O Ulteriores Transmisiones De Viviendas”. It should be 3 pages long.

This last document is the ONLY one that should be used for in selling second-hand homes (homes that have had a previous owner) and therefore the DIA forms should NOT be used for this type of property. Seeing as we only sell this type of property and are inland specialists in country property, we will soon provide a more detailled explanation as to how to fill out a “Ficha Informativa” along with an translation of the aforementioned document.

I hope that the differences between the neccessary documents has been made clear. If not, please feel free to post your questions here on the Blog and we’ll try to answer them for you. As always, remember that all of these forms must be filled out in Spanish by law. Other languages are OPTIONAL. Here’s wishing you a successful business week.

The Inspector Cometh!

“Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water…” or in our case, open up shop, along comes another Inspector (from the Junta de Andalucía). That’s the bad news. The good news is that we passed with flying colours… again! Our last visit was in September 2008 so we were a little surprised that another one showed up this morning, only 6 months later. His explanation was that we could expect a visit every year, especially as on his list he only had 3 Estate Agents listed here in the village. Does this mean then that we are the only 3 agencies legally registered? Hmmm, a point to ponder! Apparently the Junta has a campaign every year which lasts about three months so we can breathe easy until next year. The truth is that we really didn’t have anything to worry about as we always work hard to make sure that our paperwork etc is up-to-date for the benefit of our clients and also our own.
The main area the Inspector wanted to know about was the sale of NEW PROPERTIES and those under construction, as they present a real nightmare with all the required paperwork. However, because we only do re-sales (second hand homes), we had nothing to comply with and had no “DIA” forms to show. He also commended us on our good use of the “Public Advisory Notices”, both in the display window and next to the “Claims & Complaints” notices inside the office. By the way, both of these signs are available for free download on our Blog (As always, please leave a comment if you do so!).
He reiterated the point that the price shown on the advertising display for each property should be the price that the CLIENT (prospective BUYER) pays and not the current owner of the home. As such, our commissions don’t have to be broken down and listed separately on the Window Card as these are paid by the current home owner. As the fees for each property vary as regard to the Notary and Registry, at the side of the price we put (in Spanish of course) “plus expenses and taxes” (“+ Gastos y Tributos”) and then list these on a separate document, clearly visible in the Window Display.
It is worth mentioning that the Window Cards need to be in SPANISH by law. This is what the Decree 218 states as being information clearly understandable and accessible. Given that the official language of the country is Spanish then that information MUST be supplied in Spanish. You can have it detailed in other languages as well but the Spanish descriptions must be clearly visible and prominent.
If the number of bedrooms is shown on the Window Card then the “Metros Útiles” (“Useful Metres”) of the property MUST be shown as well. That is not to be confused with the “Metros Construidos” (“Constructed Metres”) of the property.
Finally, there also needs to be a validity date (“Periodo de Validez”) on the Window Card, stating the date the prices of the property are valid to.
That’s our interesting news for the day and here’s hoping that your inspections go equally as well.

Decreto (Decree) 218 in English

After much searching, editing and formatting, we have finally managed to put together an English translation of the “Decree 218″ in English as promised. Please bear in mind that this is to be used as a guide only. As with any translation of a legal document it is prone to errors but this should orient non-Spanish speakers as to the general idea of what the “Decree 218″ entails.
As with our other downloads, we would appreciate your leaving us a comment after downloading. It is just a courtesy and it lets us know if this particular Blog is useful or not. Thank you for your interest in visiting our Blog today.

DOWNLOAD DECREE 218 IN ENGLISH

(File Size=100Kb)

To view the downloaded file you will need Adobe Reader, which you can download for free from here:

Decreto (Decree) 218 – Public Advisory Notices

One of the most common fines that the Inspectors from “Junta de Andalucía” give out is for the lack of Public Advisory Notices (“Los Carteles Informativos”). Yet they are one of the easiest things to comply with in the Decree 218. Article 12, point 1 of the Decree states that if you are in the business of selling or renting property then you need to have a clearly visible sign IN SPANISH, stating the following: “El consumidor tiene derecho a que se le entregue una copia del correspondiente Documento Informativo Abreviado de la vivienda”. As point 2 implies, you can have it in other languages as well but it MUST be in Spanish first and foremost. This basically means that ‘the client has the right to be given a copy of the corresponding Résumé Information Document for the home’.

An interesting point to note is that although this sign or notice refers to the Spanish DIA form (this is the form used for off-plan homes, homes under construction, homes sold direct from the constructor/promoter and rental homes) and not to the Spanish FI form (see appendix 5 of the Decree) used in the sale in second-hand homes (resales), an Estate Agent must still have this sign on public display. Even though we didn’t have any rental properties at the time the Inspector visited us, he was surprised that we had that sign on display as it didn’t really apply to us. However, he mentioned that by doing so we had saved ourselves a hefty fine as the Decree still requires the sign to be on display.

What size should this sign be and where should it be displayed? Point 2 of Article 12 says it should be the same size as the “Claims & Complaints” notice and displayed at the side of said notice. We have the signs displayed inside our office but we also have a copy of the “Cartel Informativo” in the window as well. That saves us from having to print the same wording on every single property information card. Normally the “Claims & Complaints” sign is printed on an A4 piece of paper with Landscape orientation. If you want to make your own sign and wonder what the law requires you to display in Spanish (without having to download our PDF files) then just copy and paste the following text within the quotation marks: “Este establecimiento tiene libro de hojas de quejas y reclamaciones a disposición del consumidor que la solicite.”

I have made both of these forms available in PDF format and in both Landscape and Portrait orientation so that you can place the Public Advisory Notice in your office window. They are written in both Spanish and English.

Files Available are:
Public Advisory DIA Sign – Horizontal (File Size=10Kb)

Claims & Complaints Sign – Vertical (File Size=10Kb)

To view the above files you will need Adobe Reader, which you can download for free from here:

Who does the Decree (Decreto) 218 apply to?

I came across an estate agent’s site whilst searching the Internet for general views on the Decree 218. There are a couple of points that need clarifying but on the whole it’s a good article and very clear and concise.  A good point they mention about failing to comply with the Decree 218 is this: “The consequences for owners of property listed for long term rental or sale through a professional property organisation such as ours are that your property can no longer legally be marketed to the public. This means that, technically, details of your property should be removed from company websites and window displays, and no further viewings should take place, until such time as you have supplied the documentation required by your property sales or rental company.” This applies to any professional that advertises homes for rent or sale. Yes, even if you don’t have an office, if you advertise on the Internet and the properties you are advertising are in Andalucía Province, you need to comply with the Decreto 218.

What about individuals who want to use an Estate Agent to sell or rent their home? As an individual all you need to do is make sure that you present us with the necessary paperwork to market your property or sign one of our authorisation forms to allow us to collect it on your behalf. We believe in full complying with the law in all our business affairs. This is why we are constantly in touch with our clients to make sure that their properties that we advertise stay Decree 218 compliant, and we offer this service free of charge.

Furthermore, as the aforementioned website states, “we also believe that, although Decree 218 will cause minor inconvenience for property owners and companies in the short term, it can only bring great benefits in the longer term to Andalucía as a region, and the Costa del Sol property market in particular. Indications are that it will do much to counter the negative image the local property market has earned over the last few years at the hands of unscrupulous operators, and in turn foster greater consumer confidence and generate more long-term rentals and property sales.”

Linking to Blogs

Over the past year or so we have posted to various websites and blogs our views, answers and experiences with the Decree 218 issues. Now we have our own blog we will be referring to these various posts and using the information we posted on them. Hopefully I have tracked back to them correctly so as not to take all the credit!

Decreto (Decree) 218 forms in English?

Can the property description forms (the Spanish DIA forms, Fichas Informativas) be written in English?

The simple answer is NO, at least not the official documents required to have for each property you have for sale or rent. The reason is that according to the Decree (and actually taken from a law passed in December 2003) the information must be presented ‘truthfully, adequately and in an understandable format’. (Direct Quote from page 1 of the Decree 218: “El derecho del consumidor a una información veraz, suficiente y comprensible se corresponde con el artículo 17 de la Ley 13/2003, de 17 de diciembre”). Given that the National language of Spain is Spanish, this means that the DIA forms MUST be written in Spanish. Try to think of the situation being reversed. If you were in the UK and an inspector came along to your Spanish Estate Agency and asked for the equivalent DIA form and you presented it to him in Spanish… what kind of reaction would you get?!

However, this does not mean that you can’t have these forms written in English AS WELL (or any other language for that matter), but these would only be optional as they are not required by law (as yet) in any other language but Spanish.

If you’re looking for the DECREE 218 itself in English, please read this post where a free copy to download is also available: DECREE 218 IN ENGLISH

Need Insurance In Spain?

Caser & ICP Insurance

We are now working closely with CASER, Spain’s number one insurance company for the savings banks. This means that we can provide you with real savings on many types of insurance, whether it be for your car, home or life insurance. One of the great benefits of our being Caser’s contact point is that we can provide you with a copy of your policy IN ENGLISH so you know exactly what you have contracted.

We are already well known for our friendliness and reliability so we are very excited at being able to extend this into the insurance field. As always, please feel free to pop by the office and ask us for a quotation, without any pressure or obligation.

The infamous “Decreto (Decree) 218″

At the mention of the “Decree 218″, any self-respecting Estate Agent will start to shudder. The reality of this decree, passed in 2005, is becoming ever more clearer as the Andalucian governing body are sending out their inspectors in droves. Many estate agents, albeit the smaller ones, are being forced to close down due to their inability to pay the huge fines for non-compliance with the decree.

Having said that, there doesn’t seem to be much official help available for people and agencies who wish to comply with the decree. Granted, there are numerous sites and forums with many conflicting opinions but they don’t help the panic stricken individuals trying to comply with the lengthy decree before the untimely visit of an inspector from the “Junta”! My purpose in writing this is to (hopefully) help make things a bit clearer and share our experience with other agencies in a similar situation.

We had an inspector visit us at the end of 2008 and to be honest, it came as a welcome relief. We had been waiting for what seemed a lifetime, hoping that all the effort, time and money we had put into bringing our paperwork  in line with the guidelines would finally pay off. I think our hearty welcome actually unnerved him a little! To cut a long story short, he was very pleasant and we passed with flying colours… and we have the paperwork and stamp to prove it!

So just what is the “Decreto 218″? It is basically the Junta de Andalucía’s way of trying to protect the buyer’s or tennant’s interests when dealing with Real Estate. Anything you advertise with regard to a home has to be backed up by official documents. What are they? We’ll discuss that later. Suffice to say that for this blog I have attached an official copy of the “Decreto 218″. Yes, it IS in Spanish but then all the legal documents you create for your properties will need to be copied verbatim from the various appendices. I will try and find an English version to use as an aid to understanding its content.

In summary, there are 6 main sections and each one relates to a different section of the Real Estate market:

• ANEXO 1 (page 2): This applies to all homes.
• ANEXO 2 (page 6): For homes in the planning stage or that are under construction. Your resulting document should be 8 pages long.
• ANEXO 3 (page 7): Refers to the sale of new homes. Your resulting document should be 9 pages long.
• ANEXO 5 (page 9): Refers to resales of homes (second hand). Your resulting document should be 3 pages long.
• ANEXO 6 (page 9): This applies to rental homes. Your resulting document should be 5 pages long.

It’s worth mentioning that this decree applies to homes “viviendas” only. It does not apply to plots of land, commercial properties etc. You will also notice that after each appendix I have mentioned the number of pages that your “Information Document” should be. It is important to stick to this when creating your info documents for each property you have for sale or rental but I will go into this in another blog.

DOWNLOAD DECREE 218 IN SPANISH

DECREE 218 IN SPANISH (File Size=188Kb)

To view the above files you will need Adobe Reader, which you can download for free from here:

If you are looking to download the Decree 218 in ENGLISH, please CLICK HERE.