A for the first home: access to the real estate market
They are between 26 and 29 years old, they are tireless housing seekers and with a recently released payroll ... This is the profile of the majority of young people who want to embark on the "real estate arena" for the first time. The conclusion is clear: more than half of young people do not marry before they are 30 and about 65 percent say they do not have money to buy a home. Therefore, it is not that they do not want it, it is that they find it practically impossible to found their own home.
A house and a life project of their own constitute today the great personal challenge of practically all young people. According to reports from the Youth Institute more than half of young Spaniards become independent late, beyond the age of thirty. Evidently, one of the key factors of this situation is the difficulty they encounter when it comes to accessing their first home.
Protected homes
But it takes a lot of temper to open the pages of real estate offers. The desperation of not finding affordable prices is usually joined by the lack of information and support that most of the boys and girls at these ages have.
A good solution is usually to forget about free housing in order to opt for a protected one whose value is usually much lower. With qualities very similar to free buildings, this type of flats demand from future buyers a less important economic effort. And all this thanks to the fact that the law fixes the price of the land on which these developments are built, as well as the surface and the final cost of these buildings. Today, there are several aid schemes when buying these homes.
Special conditions for children under 30
The important thing, in any case, is that children under 30 benefit from a series of points in their favor compared to the rest of the applicants. In general, most homes of these characteristics are managed by cooperatives. Before joining one of them we will have to check three fundamental aspects:
- That the cooperative is registered in the Register of Cooperatives.
- What capital should be contributed to the social capital of the same and if they commit or not to return it in case we decide to unsubscribe.
- That the periodic quotas that we contribute for the construction will be re-entered in case of not carrying out the construction as established by the Law of Building Regulation.
Second hand housing
Another option for young people is the acquisition of second-hand housing. One of the main attractions of this type of buildings is, precisely, the economic factor.
The difference between a new house and another used is accentuated, especially in those that are older and require certain reforms.
In addition to this appetizing advantage, there is also the fact that we do not have to buy on a plane. We will not have to choose a house on paper but we will be able to verify, from the first day, important aspects such as the distribution of the rooms, the qualities, the orientation ...
The steps that are usually taken at the time of acquiring a used home are, first, the signal (a guarantee we will actually buy) and, second, the purchase contract.
Written
In the latter, aspects such as: complete identification of both parties, the description of the dwelling, the total price of the same, the payment conditions, the penalties in case of non-compliance, the distribution of the tax payment, the Specification of who runs with each of the expenses and the compensation that must be paid if the delivery of the home is delayed.
Do not hesitate to analyze carefully all these aspects. An oversight could cause us to lose the money given or the option to buy the house.
And one last suggestion. Before handing over money do not hesitate to go to our Autonomous Community (Ministry of Finance). There, they will provide us with some guideline valuation tables to find the price that will be considered real for the Treasury. It should be borne in mind that these will always be below the real value of homes (between 20% and 25% less).
Calculate expenses
With the decision made and the contract signed, it is time for the delivery of the apartment. Although it seems incredible, the simple fact of collecting our precious set of keys will involve facing additional costs: those of writing and registering the house.
On the one hand, we will have to assume what the notary costs us, editor of the documents. On the other, the corresponding fee to the Land Registry.
The third professional who will intervene in this act will be the manager who will also claim their fees for the fact of having carried out the paperwork and the correct registration of the purchase.
After paying this amount, and dream for a moment that we do not have to pay any other amount, we will have to take on a new expense: Taxes.
The VAT (7% of the value of the apartment, 4% for the protected homes) will mean an additional effort, but so will the Tax on Documented Legal Acts (0.5% of the value of the house), obligatory when subscribe a notarial document.
Precisely for this reason, let's do accounts. We probably come to the conclusion that the initial value of our home has increased by around 10%. Still ... it's still worth it. Today, buying a house continues to be one of the best investments we can make.
Tips for buying our first home
1. Add about 10% of expenses to the initial floor price. This will be the real figure that we will have to finally disburse.
2. Search flats with photos on the Internet. For some years Internet has become a great asset for those seeking second-hand housing. In the network we will find several search engines that will provide us with a wide variety of real estate offers.
3. Do not make hasty decisions. Always request the documentation of our future home in advance and study it carefully and calmly point by point.
4. Ask your parents for advice. Ask for guidance when making the final decision. Your experience is usually very helpful in these cases.
5. Find out in your Autonomous Community or City Council corresponding to the help we can receive. In some cases, for example, official bodies offer up to a cash check (the Community of Madrid, without going any further) to those young people who wish to access their first home.
Even if you do not have in mind to launch fully to buy a home for now, try to save for a while. The housing savings accounts not only offer us very attractive interests (between 6 and 7%) but it will allow you to obtain some very interesting amounts.
Marisol Nuevo Espín
