TRIGGER HAPPY
A few weeks ago, we re-counted the close call of Client Bob who was in the market to buy a very nice indeed Penthouse adjacent to the sands and port of Cabopino. We steered (sorry for the Texas, cow-based pun) Client Bob back onto the straight and narrow, saving him from making a mistake. A hasty decision he could have made from his self-imposed desire to make good of his week-long trip travelling from Texas to Malaga.
There’s a host of issues surrounding any purchase made in haste or when pushed. For one, history states you do not get what you want. Please read that line again. Making a hasty decision when it comes to buying property equals you not getting what you want. Two, there’s a good chance of having to live with the mistake and it haunts you emotionally. Plus, there’s the financial side of the equation.
Where Client Bob comes from, they call this, Trigger Happy. In short, making a quick and rash decision you will live to regret. So, what happens if you do pull the trigger and buy in haste.
In the event you cannot live with your rushed decision and wish to resell your recent purchase and to buy what you wanted in the first place, you will fall foul of several, self-imposed financial penalties. Ok, not so much of an issue if you fall out of love with a new pair of shorts. But a bad property decision often or not is compounded by the potential for escalating out of pocket on-costs. It will hurt. Guaranteed. Let me explain in more detail.
For most, pre-loved property sales, it is recommended that you put aside around ten percent of the property purchase price for the varying on-costs, taxes and legal fees and fourteen percent when you buy off plan or a never lived in, new property. The costs are outlined in more detail within our buyers guide and can be requested by sending an email to [email protected]. Please do request and please take the time to read.
Simple math, you buy a previously loved property, and you pay the ten percent in associated fees. Then you resell (you cannot stand living with your mistake anymore) and pay agency plus solicitor fees of five to seven percent. Then re-buy another property at the required ten percent taxes and fees. That’s a mistake that for a property of say, €2-300,000 (bought, sold, bought) could amount between €50,000-80,000 for jumping the gun and being a little bit giddy first time around. Ok, this is a worst-case scenario, but even so.
Not only could you lose out financially, but you also lose out on time, and you lose a bit of face with your friends and family. The time piece is somewhat easy to understand. It is easy to start a search that takes a few months to familiarise yourself with this coastline, specific locations, and urbanizations. This is all before you or we on your behalf start to narrow down your property short list.
Then it’s viewing time, drive time, more visits, and more viewings. Then, once we find what your heart desires, we get to negotiating, then legal, then waiting, then you can move in. Four to six months is not out of the question from first visit to walking through the door. So, the last thing we want for you is to waste your time and your money. This is the Costa del Sol and there’s a thousand plus activities to enjoy and experience vs buying badly and living with a poor decision.
For those who know what they want and where it is, good for you. For the majority, buying at the best of times is a minefield. The Costa del Sol offers everything you could wish for when you buy well and with a steady hand.
The G-Team stands by our mantra, to help and assist at every stage. We are Your Devil’s Advocate. Call on us for your property needs, be that buying, selling, or investing. We are here to help you in any way we can and if we cannot help, we will tell you.
