A new product that gives property buyers in Spain 20 years of protection including title insurance has been launched on the market.
The Spanish property market has been dogged in recent years by illegal building, corrupt planning officials and unscrupulous lawyers.
This though could be a thing of the past according to Safe Purchase Spain whose guarantee gives buyers 20 years of protection, up to €360,000 in compensation for monetary losses and title insurance. It is backed by Caser Seguros, one of Spain’s largest and most well-known residential insurance companies established in 1942.
‘Home buyers can now confidently pick up the keys to their new Spanish property knowing they have 20 years protection by investing in a Safe Purchase Guarantee, claimed Director Ian Hawkins who came up with the concept after working for 10 years as an estate agent in Spain dealing with clients with very real concerns.
‘Working within a largely unregulated industry I always acknowledged the excellent work of other property professional agents and lawyers committed to advising and helping their clients. Spain has had a lot of bad press in recent years but the country still has a great deal of appeal to foreign buyers, not least the weather, friendly locals, infrastructure and easy and cheap accessibility from the UK and Northern Europe. I genuinely feel that people want to buy here but have held back for fear of losing a major investment. This way they can buy without worry,’ he said.
The Safe Purchase Guarantee is available to buyers and existing owners of property in Spain, the Balearic and Canary Islands and provides insurance cover against fraud, identity theft, illegal building licenses, demolition orders, community disputes, unfair quotas, hidden defects, vendors and builders debts, administrative procedures, access problems, hidden leases, defective property sizes, border disputes, land registry inscription problems, and illegal vendors.
‘We see this as a growing network of accredited and certified property professionals comprising mainly estate agents and property professionals. Buyers can take a great deal of confidence by working with companies where they see the distinctive Safe Purchase logo. All our agents offer the Guarantee as an inclusive part of their services, so it’s essentially free to property buyers,’ explained Hawkins.
Agents will have to sign the Safe Purchase Code of Professional Practice and make a statement to confirm that they have not been previously convicted of any type of fraud, money laundering or financial irregularities. ‘This is a first for the industry,’ said Hawkins.
Paul Cox of Sell Property in Spain welcomed the move. ‘We are now including a Vendor Guarantee with all our properties and are listed on the Safe Purchase Spain web site as an officially Certified Safe Purchase agent,’ he said.