Buying a house is said to be one of life’s most stressful experiences, buying a property in Spain that can be a 2 -3 hour flight away can only add to the stress, but when Roy Howitt bought a Spanish property it created a business providing professional home inspections (snagging services), for new build properties, to avoid the dream of owning a Spanish home turning into a nightmare.

Around one year ago he set up InspectaHomeSpain, after buying a new apartment in the Costs Blanca, on a new urbanisation of 193 properties, that had some major defects, when he could not find a company that could provide a snagging inspection, or advice and discovered that some Estate Agents really do not provide any after care and loose interest once the sale has completed.

Buying an off plan property in Spain involves a series of staged payments, while the property is being built, and the final payment, typically 30%, once the property is complete. The agent or builder will then notify you when the property is complete and ready and ask to come to Spain to inspect the property and then complete the sale at the Notary paying the balance on the same day which is where your problems can begin.

Buying a property is exciting and you arrive expecting to be able to move into your new dream home. The agent will normally request that you inspect on a one day and complete at the Notary the same or the next day which allows no time to get the builder to repair any defects. Emotionally you want to get moved, you may need to get rental income, you possibly have organised furniture delivery and installation of an alarm so often complete regardless of how many defects the property has or even if the pool isn’t finished, or the property isn’t quite finished.

Roy’s own experiences demonstrates what can go wrong ‘We arrived on site to snag the property, a common term to check for building defects, and were horrified to find the pool not completed, no paths or access, and no water & electricity connected to the property, a 3 bed roomed apartment and we had been assured that everything was finished, and that we would be able to move straight in. With no lighting and a bathroom and kitchen without windows it was difficult to check, and I arrive without any tools, torches etc but I found 36 defects, mostly tiling and decoration, and stupidly completed at the Notary the following day. The following day when I was given unlimited access and the electricity and water was on I could see lots more problems and luckily, via a local builder, found a contact with home inspection experience, who snagged the property properly and found 117 defects including, water outlets not connected, loose window and door frames, 8 sockets and switches not working, no vent in the bathroom and that a large solarium area needed relaying as the tiles were loose and lifting. 2020 hindsight is a great thing but I definitely would not have completed on the property with these problems, and now knowing how long it can take to get defects fixed, I would not have completed on the property if I had been able to get the information from a professional home inspection.

Roy felt that the developers took advantage of buyers’ ignorance of the process and their legal rights on standards, and took little responsibility for spotting any defects themselves plus the language barrier didn't help when I was asked to sign off a snagging list in Spanish’ So InspectaHomeSpain was launched to provide homeowners with the expertise of an industry professional and to take the stress out of what is already a highly traumatic process and news of the service spread and they checked 56 properties on the same urbanisation and identified more than 7000 individual defects. Some of The Top 10 Tips before during & after a home inspection

1. Do not agree to inspect and complete over a two day period. Request at least 5 working days between inspection and completion to allow time for snagging defects to be repaired. By not completing you will be in stronger position to get defects repaired. A house inspection company can check the property without you needing to be present.

2. Before you arrange the trip get the developer/agent to confirm in writing that the property & communal area are complete. If communal areas are not complete get the builder/developer to confirm in writing completion date for these areas. If you are buying a property for rental income the lack of a pool will effect the rental value

3. Get the developer to confirm that water and electricity are connected and available on the day of inspection

4. If you have bought via an agent insist that a representative from the agent, that speaks Spanish, is an the inspection

5. Negotiate that you retain a percentage of the final payment, typically 5% which is paid when the snagging defects are repaired

6. Go well equipped, a plan of the property and list of what’s included, prepare a snagging list room by room. Take a digital camera, good battery powered lights, spirit level, indelible marker and tape to mark the defects, binoculars to inspect the roof area.

7. Don’t be afraid to shake things, door & window frames, toilets, taps The property will have builders clean so it will be dirty and dust can hide all sorts of problems so take cleaning materials.

8. Never sign a snagging list on the day with the developer, get them to send them to you and your solicitor

9. Find a key holder early in the sales cycle, somebody that can get access to the builder for repair work access and security supervision. Spanish builders are not known to arrive on time or to complete work quickly

10. Don’t be afraid to refuse to complete on the property if you’re not happy, don’t be bullied by the agent & builder to complete, remember the agent normally gets paid when you complete so be wary if they offer a snagging service

InspectaHomeSpain provides new home inspections in The Costa Blanca, Costa Caliida, Costa Almeria and Andalucia areas and have a team of freelance snagging inspectors from backgrounds including site management, surveying, architecture and civil engineering and provide a help and advice to buyers via e-mail telephone and their website www.inspectahomespain.com which includes a guide to DIY snagging, help and tips plus examples of the most common defects in Spain. Reports are provided in English & Spanish within 72 hours of the inspection and start from €150.

Roy Howitt has been living and working in Spain for 3 years and is the Managing Director of InsopectaHomeSpain a leading supplier of Home Inspections (snagging reports) for new hoime buyers.