Renting and Purchase Options

Suddenly there seem to be a lot more visits from people wanting to buy a house for sale in Spain. Not only that but there are more people looking for rental and also rentals with an option to buy at a later date if and when the banks start getting their act together and lending again after they extract themselves from the mess they have created.

This week therefore at Valencia Property, apart from being with clients looking for properties, I have been phoning sellers to ask if they would consider the renting with an option to buy further down the line and the response has been surprising. Over 50% of those that I have phoned have said yes after asking what is involved in the process. So just in case you have a property that you could rent with an option to buy here are some of the ways it can be done.

The basic premise is that somebody is interested in your property but cannot purchase currently for one of many reasons, ie Waiting for sale on their property, waiting for banks to start lending, needs greater time before proving income to the banks or going through the process of getting residency in Spain to get a better mortgage deal. If any of these apply, or maybe even a couple of them, then they might be interested in renting with an option.

The contract that is drawn up can have many variables but the base of it is that they pay an agreed rental for an agreed time and within that period of time they have an option to buy the property and the right to equal any offer that comes in on the property. Sometimes there is a guarantee on behalf of the owner to stop marketing the property for a set time so the person renting can settle, in one of our contracts they were guaranteed eight months in the property without any change of ownership. This gives the tenant a feeling of ownership in the property.

The good point for a potential purchaser is that an agreed price is set now and they can buy at that price at any moment. If prices drop then they can renegotiate the price in the future if they wish. The other good part is that if prices rise then they are guaranteed being able to purchase at the agreed price within the duration of the contract. The owner gets a price guaranteed during the contract and has the obligation to sell at that price if the tenant wishes to purchase. They also have a guaranteed rental and a person living in the property who is more likely to look after it as they have a stake in the future of that property.

The contract is a bit more complicated than normal as it requires lots of negotiation on behalf of tenant and landlord but here at Valencia Property we take care of that negotiation for you.

If you are an owner of a property and ant more information then send me a mail on house@valencia-property.com or phone me on +34 961662892. If you are somebody looking for a rental, a rental with option to buy or a purchase then also get in touch in the same way and we can advise you.