Before taking a decision about the purchase of property in Andorra it is advisable
to review the offered real estate on the basis of this checklist for the following weak points:
| Infrastructure: |
| Accessibility |
 |
Access over an asphalted road |
 |
Access over a tarred path |
 |
Access over private property of another |
| Snow
clearance in winter |
|
Regular clearance
by the municipality |
|
Organized occasionally by private initiative |
|
No clearance during the winter months |
| Drinking-water
supply |
|
Supply by the municipality, water quality is supervised |
|
Supply by a private distributor, then the water quality may be doubtful |
| Air
quality |
|
Real estate is situated by a quiet side street halfway up in the mountains |
|
Real estate is situated at the bottom of the valley |
|
Real estate is situated by a main road |
Distances
Traffic jams
or bad weather may turn the generally short distances to the city
(shopping centres, post offices, doctor's surgery, etc.) into annoying
obstacles |
|
Up to 10 minutes expenditure of time until reaching adequate Infrastructure |
|
Up to 20 minutes expenditure of time until reaching adequate Infrastructure |
|
More than 20
minutes expenditure of time until reaching adequate Infrastructure |
| Schoolbus/Bus
stop |
|
Can be reached on foot within a short time |
|
Is only reachable by a long hike |
| Neighbours
|
|
Predominantly owners |
|
Predominantly tenants |
Purchase: |
Purchase
authorization for foreigners
Does the real estate fulfil the conditions for obtaining the purchase
authorization needed by foreigners? |
|
The size of the property (plot of land) is altogether at maximum 1,000m² |
|
The total size of the property (plot of land) exceeds the limit of 1,000m² |
| Transfer
of ownership |
|
The real estate will be transferred by "Escriptura
Pública" |
|
The real estate will be transferred only by a private contract |
Land
shares
Especially,
in case of owner-occupied flats or terraced houses there are asked
excessive prices pointing out the good location and the high land
prices. Because of that always purchasers have to pay attention
to the fact, that the land or rather the share of the total property
(plot of land) which corresponds to the individual property, will
be transferred as well. If this is not mentioned explicitly in writing,
then only a contructed part of the building has been purchased,
the ownership of the plot of land remains with the seller |
|
The share of the plot of land is specified in the sale contract |
|
The size and share of the total property (plot of land) are not specified |
Piece of property: |
Statements
about sizes
The details of
surfaces are always the constructed area that includes all parts
of a building that are enclosed, stairwell, cellar balcony, etc.
Nevertheless, the details correspond quite often not to the reals
facts |
|
Details of square metres of floor space match the piece of property |
|
The size of the collective property is included in the details of square metres
of the individual property of an owner-occupied flat |
| Windows |
|
Inner rooms do not have any daylight |
|
Bedrooms do not have any daylight |
| View |
|
The panorama can not be blocked by future buildings |
|
Too much vacant surrounding area, the panorama may be blocked in future |
| Calculation
of running costs |
|
Transparent itemized bill of the community costs |
|
Sweeping running costs |
Parking
space of motor vehicles
In case of owner-occupied flats, since some years
ago, the proof of ownership of a parking space for a car is stipulated |
|
Parking space for a motor vehicle is available |
|
Parking space is not available (then an "Escriptura
Pública" is not possible) |
Construction
quality
Things which are not visible are not existing |
|
Acoustic insulation is quite often not existing and the thermal insulation is frequently
insufficient. At least in case of owner-occupied flats, for the
most part both may not be changed later |
Natural disasters:
Floods, avalanches and radioactive rocks are
danger zones |
|
In the area some pieces of property have been inundated already |
|
The property is situated in a zone which is endangered by snow avalanches |
|
Danger of rockfalls by scree avalanches at unstable mountain slopes |
|
The real estate is situated in an area with rocks which are containing radon |
Experience shows that the listed criteria are central problem areas.
A claim to completeness may not be concluded from that list |
|
________________________
Legend:
|
|
green: o.k. |
|
yellow: be careful, only acceptable in well-founded exceptional cases |
|
red: not recommendable |
]
