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What's the
Snag?
For most people buying a
property in Spain is truly a dream come true. You've put up
with the delays, followed the progress of the build and found
yourself the best mortgage. You then wait for your lawyer to
call you with the magic words..."your property is ready".
But, this is just the beginning of another potential
headache....
You've waited 2, 3 maybe even 4 or 5 years for your property in
Spain to be completed. You think you're finally there when
you're at the notary, signing the "escritura" when the jingle
of the keys in your hand brings a rush of relief and happiness
to you.
Full of joy you rush out of the notary, wave a (hopefully)
final goodbye to your lawyer on your way to check out your
wonderful new pad in Spain...only to find that all is not as it
should be.
The place is dirty, some
light switches aren't in place properly, the walls are marked,
the bedroom door doesn't close well, the skirting boards are
damaged.....at this stage you begin to wonder what you have
actually bought!
The clock starts ticking as
within just 15 days you have to let the developer know exactly
what problems you've found with your property. The snagging
process begins....but where do YOU begin? Do you know what to
look for? Do you know how to report it to the developer....in
Spanish? This can be a worrying time for Spanish home buyers.
It's no secret that the construction industry in Spain has been
booming over the past few years. Developers have been rushing
to build properties at a faster rate than ever before,
maximising profits but sometimes compromising on quality.
Construction workers are normally paid for quantity not
quality. This means that the end product is not always as good
as it should be.
At the end of the day the developer is usually more concerned
with getting his money than worrying about the quality of your
property.
The post-completion stage of a new property can often be the
most disappointing and frustrating time for Spanish property
buyers, more so even than putting up with the delay in the
build.
It's therefore vitally important at this stage to take control
and ensure that the developer finishes your property to your
satisfaction. Having paid thousands of Euros for your property
it's only right that they make sure all the faults are put
right. You wouldn't buy a new car and drive it out of the
showroom covered in scratches....and a car is worth
considerably less than a property.
It's therefore time to put on your snagging hat and start
putting together the snag list.
Snagging is crucial, getting it right can save you thousands of
Euros. On the other hand, getting it wrong can can leave you
with a problem property. Unfortunately many people don't take
this seriously enough and end up with a catalogue of problems
rendering it impossible for new owners to fully enjoy their
dream property.
Knowing what to do and how to go about it is the problem for
many....
"The Beginners Guide To Snagging"
When it comes to snagging your property you basically have two
options. Hire a professional or do it yourself. Professional
snagging inspections are not cheap and you can save yourself a
lot of money by doing it yourself.
Snagging should not be used
as a ‘stick to beat your house builder’ with, or as a means to
compensation. It should be viewed as your chance to thoroughly
check your new home to ensure that you are generally happy.
Anything you are not happy with can then be put right before
you live there, keeping the inconvenience of remedial work post
occupation, to a minimum.
There are two areas of snagging 1) Functionality - does
everything in your new home work as it should and 2) Aesthetic
– is the quality of finish to an acceptable standard.
Functionality is easy to assess; it either works or it does not
- a door closing for example. Aesthetics are a matter of
personal opinion and where most disagreements with the house
builder arise. Basically if it looks right - it is right. There
should not be any need to check everything with a spirit level
or tape measure. Nothing can be that perfect. It should be a
question of your own expectations and whether you could live
with a particular ‘defect’. Once you have moved in you may find
that many of the smaller imperfections will be much less
noticeable.
Things to consider
If you decide that you would like to personally snag your own
home there are several things you should bear in mind:
1) Do not try to snag your home with any member of the house
builder’s staff. They will try to rush you through the process
and question everything you write down. It is best to check
your home at the weekend, when there is little or no building
work going on.
2) Do not take children or pets with you for obvious reasons.
3) When checking a room stand in the middle – do not put your
nose on the wall looking for small imperfections – these can be
remedied during re decoration.
4) Take a view on minor defects that may be very difficult to
address and may look worse if attempted. For example a chipped
brick can be changed, but the brick and the mortar colour will
probably not match the rest of the wall and could look worse.
5) Try to do the snagging on a sunny day. Many defects will be
more noticeable on a fine bright day.
6) Do not add anything to your list after you have completed
your snag. If you did not notice it first time round it is
probably not worth noting now and you will be ‘snagging’ your
new home forever.
7) Take a break halfway through. Have a cup of tea with the
sales staff. This will stop you subconsciously rushing the
remaining rooms just to finish the list.
8) When you have completed the list get it typed up and give or
send it to the site manager or sales advisor on site.
9) Request that the site manager personally checks that all the
items have been attended to and confirms this in writing.
How to snag your new home.
There is a specific and very necessary way you should note
all the defects down on your list. This will help make it clear
and easier for particular trades to locate and rectify any
defects. You need to describe what the defect is and it’s
precise location by room and position. You also need to state
what is required to rectify it. Always number each defect for
easy future reference.
You will need an A4 ruled pad and a clipboard, two pens (one
spare) and two HB pencils one taped to a garden cane (3ft long)
(for marking ceilings) and the other for walls. You will also
need a pencil sharpener. It is also worth taking a pair of
binoculars for checking the roof and a step ladder for checking
the roof.
Where you start snagging is a matter of personal preference.
The first thing to do is open all the windows, as you check
each room you can automatically check that the windows close
easily.
Your snag list should look something like this:
Snag list by (your name) on (the date and time started) at (the
plot number of your new home.)
Bedroom One
M/G to top of s/socket at L/L adj to LHS window fill r/d and re
dec
RHS rad valve leaking and rad chipped at top LHS
Fill hole to wall opp window at H/L RHS r/d and re dec
Door sticks at top RHS ease and re dec
Sockets LHS window not level.
Bump in ceiling at tapped joint (as marked) - re caulk, r/d and
r/dec
It is a good idea to leave a few lines before listing the next
room should you need to add something later.
General
It is a good idea to note down here any items you find re
occurring after you have checked two rooms. This will save
repeating them several times throughout your list.
Example: Underside of window boards not glossed. R/d and gloss.
Leave at least six lines space for this before checking your
first room.
There are many examples of
snagging lists on the internet:
DIY
EXTERNAL SNAGGING CHECKLIST
INTERNAL SNAGGING CHECKLIST
The site office may well
have a form that you can then get the snags transferred to.
Many publis facing staff will speak a little english but take a
dictionary with you to reduce misunderstandings. If you are
daunted by trying to do this process in Spanish, there is an
ebook available on
http://www.eyeonspain.com/ebooks/snagging/ which will cost
you around 30e but could save you that many times over in the
future.
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