Guide to Buying with The Singular Space
Four golden rules for buying your property with The Singular Space
Buying a new home can be the stepping stone to starting a family, preparing for retirement or relocating to a completely new area — or just a savvy investment decision. Whatever your motivations, it’s a big commitment, so it’s important to get it right.
This should be an exciting time, but in some cases it can turn into an unnecessarily lengthy process.
When you work with The Singular Space, you get the benefit of our specialist advice, based on years of experience and real estate market expertise. Our goal is to avoid common pitfalls, save you time and keep you updated with what’s going on — so you can relax and look forward to the next chapter.
1. Start planning
Get your mortgage arranged: : If you are going to need financing, securing a mortgage on the right terms must be your first move. Sellers will take an offer much more seriously if the financing side is all in hand, putting you in a stronger position right out of the gate. Once you’ve found your ideal home, you will also need to arrange for an official valuation so that the bank can appraise your application.
Line up a reputable, qualified valuation professional: you will need a trusted agent or real estate lawyer to help you with this stage. The right person can make the entire process so much easier, while the wrong one can cause some serious headaches. If you’re not sure where to start, we can offer expert recommendations for your property type.
2. Make sure you get the most out of every viewing:
You can view a property with one of our own agents, one of our partners or the property owner. We will have already sent you a verification email, welcoming you as a potential client and providing you with all the available information on the property. Once you have confirmed your interest, we’ll then send you the details of your viewing, followed by a reminder 24 hours in advance. If you need to cancel a viewing, or if you are going to be late, please let us know as soon as possible by phone or email.
Remember to ask as many questions as you need and to request all the legal documentation for the property. Bear in mind that if you want to discuss the price or make an offer, both the owner(s) and our partners will refer you back to The Singular Space.
3. After the viewing.
After a viewing, we will be in touch to hear your impressions, and we would ask that you are completely honest. Knowing your true thoughts really helps us feed back to the owner about how ‘the market’ is responding and allows us to suggest alternative properties that might be a better fit.
Making an offer: If you want to make an offer, give us a call or send us an email. We will need to let you know where you stand in the list of offers (in the event that there are multiple interested buyers) and establish how you plan to finance the purchase, for example. Next, we will send you an offer document to complete. This formalises your offer and is the best way of presenting it to the owners (who will receive a copy).
4. If your offer is accepted:
If your offer is accepted, the next step is to sign a contrato de arras, otherwise known as an ‘earnest money agreement’. This must be done within the time period specified in the offer document. We will produce a draft that all parties and their solicitors will have a chance to review. Once all parties have reached a consensus, the earnest money agreement has been signed and the deposit paid (In Spain, you need to pay the seller at least 10% of the agreed selling price up front), we will remove the listing from our website
What happens next: we will put together all the necessary documentation for each party, ensuring everything is set out in a clear and orderly manner, ready for the notary. We’ll also be happy to assist either party’s contracted valuers with anything they may require. Subsequently, the notary will send you a draft copy of the public deed of sale for your review. Once this has been approved by both sides, a signing date will be established within the period stipulated in the earnest money agreement. When the deed of sale has been duly signed and you have transferred the remainder of the agreed price, the sale is considered complete. All that’s left is to pick up your keys and switch over the utility accounts. Congratulations: the property is legally yours.
Welcome to your extraordinary new home!
