Understanding Real Estate Surveys

If you're about to buy a property in Spain, then you'll likely be arranging a mortgage/home loan for the new place. Any operation from a bank or caja is likely to insist on a survey being carried out on the property, in order to corroborate the value of the loan being offered by the bank - i.e. so they know the place you're buying is at least worth what they're willing to lend you.


This survey - known as "una tasación" in Spanish - is almost always paid for by the buyer of the property, and is taken as part of the costs involved in arranging a new mortgage. The financial entity that is financing the loan will either have their own branch of surveyors, or use a third party company who has ties with them. The actual surveyors themselves are usually architects with official and the price of these surveys range from around 200 - 400 Euros.

So What does the Actual Process Involve?

Well, from your part pretty much nothing. You'll have to let the surveyor into your home so they can measure (usually with a laser contraption) and they may take some photos. They then prepare a report, which gives the real market value of your property. The way this is calculated is a little more complicated and can include some or all of the following criteria.

Firstly, the surveyor looks at other property sales within an 800m radius of the property and then takes an average floor price. The minimum requirement of properties to consider is four - usually no problem in a city like Barcelona. If this is not possible, they take the last known floor price and compare that to the floor price of a new building, subtracting the normal devaluation of a second hand building.

Other factors are taken into consideration, such as the proximity of public transport, motorways, local commerce and schooling, etc. The building itself plays a big part, too, with communal spaces such as patios, garages and storage spaces (trasteros) being included in the price reflection.

Unfortunately, you cannot influence the surveyor the survey and its outcome. It has been known in the past for surveyors to receive a fat envelope to over-price the survey, and this way buyers who are struggling to make the budget of the price plus the usual 10% banks fees, have no problem. This is a little more difficult to find nowadays, however, and you usually have to rely on the results from the survey.

One way to find out if a property is valued correctly at the point of enquiry, is to let the professionals find one for you. A Barcelona Real Estate Agency such as Modus Vivendi are the perfect people to ask about a property, and if it's on the market at the right price. This can save you a great deal of time (and money) for over-valued properties where they have much more of an inkling that the surveyor is going to value the property lower. They also have a clear and concise list of guidelines for buying a property in Spain.