Find a good and trustworthy developer!

Hello there. How are things going with you? Still planning on buying abroad?

Chatting to people about buying property abroad, I find that one of the main concerns is how to chose a good and trustworthy developer if you are buying off-plan.

This problem has been made worse by the current economic climate – many developers are going under, and sometimes taking unwary buyers and their dreams with them. It is therefore absolutely crucial that you have a really god look at the credentials of your developer before signing on the dotted line..

An email that I received recently bears this out. It tells of the endless problems encountered by one of the OGC readers who had failed to do his homework – and he really paid a heavy price, both in financial terms and in the stress that such things bring with them.

The property he bought was about one third completed at the time he paid his deposit to the developer. All went well until the house was ready for the final finish and, at this point, the developer sacked the builders and employed his own low paid and unskilled labour. The result was that the finish was very poor and, although the complex was completed, only 7 or 8 properties have been sold to date.

Financial penalties for late completion were not paid although there was a six month delay. The unhappy owner only discovered when it came time to address this problem that his solicitor also represents the developer!

All this could so easily have been avoided. I am going to outline a few essential and non-negotiable points for you to think about:

- If possible, move into rented accommodation nearby BEFORE you plan to buy and chat to locals about the developer/s you are thinking of buying through

- Search the Internet for expat forums on your town or city of choice. Some highlight poor practices and name and shame shoddy developers

- Google in the name of the developer you are thinking of using and see what comes up

- Get a developer that is a member of a regulatory body if at all possible

- Consider using a reputable estate agent instead of going to the developer direct – to protect themselves they will have done the checks

- Insist on visiting a couple of the developers’ previous projects and on talking to previous buyers

- Retain a solicitor independent of the developer so that there can be no conflict of interest

- Make sure your solicitor draws up a contract that protects YOU

- Make absolutely sure that the developer’s financial staged payments (stipulated in the contract of sale) require you to pay according to completion of build stages and not simply by date

- Buy a bond or take out insurance to protect yourself if the developer goes bust or there are any major issues with the build

- Take your time and refused to be rushed

If you follow the above to the letter the chances of anything going wrong will be dramatically reduced.

Chatting to someone in the property business abroad, she told me that she was stunned by how many people simply abandoned all the normal checks and balances that they would apply if they were buying property in the UK – don’t be one of them!

Speak to you soon – and I’d love to hear from you.

Take care until next Friday – warm wishes,

Carol and Kim
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com