A Guide to Christmas in Spain, Top Tips to Help You Sell This Winter, Plus More

Welcome to Marena Murray's December newsletter.

In this month's edition, we share an ex-pat's guide to navigating Christmas in Spain and we share some advice on how to sell your home this winter.

Also this month, we reveal the questions you should ask during a viewing and we examine how long it takes to sell a home.

An Ex-Pat's Guide to Christmas in Spain

 

 

The Christmas season is now well and truly upon us – but for those of you settling into a new home in a new country, you may be facing the prospect of an unfamiliar Christmas season. Find out more about how Spaniards celebrate Christmas.

Firstly (and perhaps most importantly if you have children) Spaniards do not have a Santa Claus. Whilst some homes have adopted the tradition, and many ex-pats and the communities they live in will continue to celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus, Spain does not. Instead, they have the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos).

Another important fact to bear in mind is that the majority of Spain continues as normal on Christmas Day, with many stores and attractions (such as zoos) in the main cities continuing as normal.

Instead, Spain celebrates Christmas on January 6th (known as el Dia de Reyes). The Three Kings are said to bring presents for children (and the adults who are still children at heart). All the major cities hold a Three Kings Parade which consists of floats and the handing out of candy to the children.

If that doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, then maybe you would like to try your hand at the Loteria de Navidad. The world’s biggest lottery is an annual tradition in Spain, with the majority of the country taking part. Who knows, you could have an extra magical Christmas if you’re lucky!

Another tradition to keep an eye for is Día de los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Innocent Saints), which is celebrated on the 28th of December. Much like in the UK, people will trick each other into believing far-fetched stories and pull innocent pranks. Whilst this may seem a light-hearted tradition, it actually commemorates the biblical story of the killing of the innocent children by King Herod.

Spain essentially celebrates an extended version of Christmas, with the festivities starting on the 24th and continuing on into January.

Top Tips To Help Sell Your Home This Winter

 

When selling a home, many homeowners tend to avoid certain seasons, as they are under the impression that the spring and summer months are the best time to put your home on the market. While the warmer months have historically seen more activity for property transactions, how you present your home makes a larger impression than when you put it on the market. Selling in the winter can be a real asset in Spain, with many winter-sick Brits looking to permanently escape the miserable weather.

For those of you with your home already on the market or considering selling during the winter months, we discuss a few steps you can take to get more buyers in the door and prevent your home from looking as miserable as the weather does.

Kerb Appeal
This is something that’s important regardless of what season you put your home on the market, but especially vital in the winter months. First impressions count and the winter weather will do its best to make your home look a little messier than usual, so you need to stay on top of maintaining the exterior.

Keeping driveways and paths as clean as possible is the best start. There is bound to be all sorts of debris and leaves blowing around in the wind so just take a moment to tidy up every now and then.

If your home is on the market, a cleanup of the garden can go a long way. This doesn’t mean you have to get out there and begin renovating with new plants and features, but it does mean that the garden has to appear as if it hasn’t been forgotten about since the BBQ in August. Give anything that’s overgrown a trim and any battered outdoor furniture should be hidden or thrown away.

Make The Most Of The Situation
While it may feel like you’re fighting against dark days to make your home more appealing to buyers, there are some ways that you can use this time of year to your advantage.

Lighting, similar to a property's kerb appeal, is another factor that’s vital regardless of the time of year, but when it starts to get darker around 4 pm, opening the curtains to try and flood the room with natural light isn’t really an option. However, you’re not completely out of luck as the right type of soft ambient lighting around the house can create the right sort of welcoming and cosy atmosphere that you’re looking for.

If you’re selling in December, there’s a good chance that you may have your Christmas decorations up already. This can also be a bonus in making your house look more appealing, but it’s best not to go too far. We all love the lights, trees and getting into the festive spirit, but it’s important not to clutter your home. One of the most important things to remember when selling a home is that the more spacious your home looks, the more appealing it is to buyers.

Keeping your property clean is also imperative. It may become tiring cleaning your home after every viewing, but it’s definitely worth it. Both you and buyers are certain to bring an amount of mess on the bottom of your shoes, so get a good doormat to prevent it travelling throughout the house and ensure you vacuum daily.

Finishing Touches
Finally, you should inspect your home for all of those odd jobs like creaky doors and small marks on the wall. A bit of paint and WD40 can do wonders in making your home seem like it’s all in working order. The bigger the list of small fixes for you, is a bigger list of small fixes for the buyer and only adds to the ‘reasons not to buy’ list.

Questions to Ask When Viewing a Property

 

 

The process of buying a home is the most important decision you will ever make, so when you do finally decide to put an offer on a house, you need to be certain that it’s on the right house. How can you be sure you’ve found the right property? By taking your time when viewing a home and asking the right questions. You’d be surprised at some of the questions people forget to ask and end up regretting it months down the line when they discover something about the home that they don’t like.

To make sure that you find the property most suitable for you, we’ve compiled a list of questions that are definitely worth asking when viewing a property.

How long has the property been on the market?
A great place to start as it can give you a good insight into the property immediately. If a property has been up for sale for nearly a year, you might want to think about why no one has picked it up so far. A house that has been on the market for a long time isn’t always a sign of something sinister, but knowing how long it has been on the market does give you a little more perspective and is a good starting point to any viewing.

How much interest has there been?
This is a good follow-up question to the previous. Especially if you think you’ve found your dream home. If there have been a lot of viewings or even a couple of offers then you know straight away that you need to act quickly.

Have there been any recent repairs or renovations?
What you have to keep in mind when viewing a property is that you’re most likely viewing it in its cleanest and brightest state. The current owners are trying to sell this home and to do that they’ll do their best to wow you at every opportunity. Try not to simply glance at the rooms and move on, ask questions about the state of the home, have there been any repairs recently? Will the home need any repairs in the future? If you’re making an investment, you want to know

What’s included in the sale?
While you wouldn’t expect the seller to leave behind their 60 inch HD TV, some of the items in the home may be left behind. This mainly applies to the kitchen area and items such as cookers, washers, dryers. It’s best to ask what’s included in the home so you know what extra purchases you’ll need to make if you end up buying the home.

Can we test the plumbing and electrics?
Sellers may not make you aware of any electrical or plumbing issues so it would be best to check everything is in working order. Check the water pressure and try turning all of the lights on and off. This doesn’t mean that you should consider any faults with electrics and plumbing as deal breakers, but you need to know exactly what needs fixing.

What’s the neighbourhood like?
You can take a walk around the area yourself and get a feel for things, but you can also ask about the local schools, shops and if there have been any major changes in the area recently. After all, you’re not just investing in the home, you’re also investing in the neighbourhood itself.

What transportation links do we have easy access to?
If you or members of your family need to use public transport, find out about the transport links. How far away are the train stations and bus stops? How frequently do they run in this area? If you’re going to be using public transport daily, you need to know if the commute from your new home is suitable.

How is traffic during rush hour?
For those of you that get around the city in a car, finding out how easy it would be to get from point A to point B during peak times could be quite important. It’s best to find out how much of a challenge that will be on a daily basis.

Can we book another viewing?
If you make it through the viewing and still feel positive, ask if you can come back again at a different time of day to see if you feel the same. Try visiting when it’s less bright when the property looks less like a show home or when the area is less quiet during rush hour and find out whether noise could be an issue.

How Long Does It Take To Sell A Home?

 

 

As any homeowner who has sold a home will know, the waiting is the hardest part, especially when the seller has unrealistic expectations of how quickly their property will go from for sale to sold.

Post Office Money and the Centre for Economic and Business Research carried out research looking into the average time it takes to sell a home in 22 of the major cities throughout the UK. On average, it was found that it takes 82 days to sell a property. However, if you think these numbers cross over to Spain, you would be wrong.

According to data collected by TINSA, on average a property in Spain spends 10 months on the property market before it is purchased.

Whilst this may seem like a long time, the average has come down a great deal when compared to six months ago when the average was 10.6 months, or the figures in 2014 (11.5 months) and 2013 (13.2 months).

Property spends the shortest time on the market in the regions of Murcia, Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga, where a property spends an average of 6-12 months on the market.

The good news is buyers (both Spanish and foreign) are becoming increasingly confident in Spanish property, which is bringing the times down. It also means that property prices remain at a fair level, both for the buyer and seller.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that in Northern areas of Spain, a property can spend up to two years on the property market, so it’s worth doing some research and ensuring you buy your holiday home in an area with a healthy property market.