Keys to keep in mind before buying a house or apartment

Buying a home is one of life’s most important investments., and, as such, must be evaluated in detail. For this reason, experts recommend, before making the purchase, to visit the chosen property, validate if it fits your needs and find out the reason for the real estate offer in order to make a final decision that resolves any doubts about the property.

Here we offer you four keys that you should know when visiting a home of interest, prepared by Properati, a real estate portal:

1. Sales motivations:

One of the first questions that someone should ask when visiting a home is: what is the reason for the sale? The answer will help negotiate the final price with the seller depending on the immediacy of the owner of the property. However, no matter how attractive the value may be, it is better not to rush, because, depending on how long the house has been on the market, we can get an idea of ​​the offers presented by other interested parties and what the owner is looking for as soon as at a price to be able to hit the nail on the head with the negotiation.

2. General condition of the home:

Check the current state of the property and monitor characteristics in reference to how the floors and ceilings are, level of humidity in the environment, common areas of the house and distribution of spaces. On the other hand, remember that there may be repairs that are not visible and you have the right to request information about it. For example: what is the condition of the plumbing and electrical connections? Have any walls been rebuilt? Knowing these details can avoid future expenses or refractions that are not contemplated in the initial budget.

3. The area and the neighbors:

Although many times a home is chosen by location (district and specific area), it is worth finding out what the area is like? This will give us a first-hand idea of ​​how suitable it is for one in terms of neighborhood safety., proximity to shops or markets, nearby shopping areas (to consider if you are looking for a home in a residential area), if there are nearby parks or recreational areas, etc. At this point, it is also important to know what the neighbors are like, and if they carry out activities that may interfere with peace and tranquility.

4. If you have legal or tax issues:

When a home has a pending debt or tax, or some legal process, these can be passed on to the buyer without their knowledge. It is at the National Superintendency of Public Registries (Sunarp) where the user can request, with the number of the home’s registry entry, the Literal Certificate of Registry Entry (a document that verifies, in addition to the name of the owner, the location and footage of the home, and whether the property has any mortgage or debt). Depending on the number of sheets needed, the cost is S/ 14.00 for the first two pages and S/ 7.00 for each additional page.

If you do not have the registration number of the home you wish to acquire, you must perform a Land Registry Index Search, a Sunarp service option, where you must only provide the name or denomination of the natural person or legal registered in the registry of real property. This service has a cost of s/ 7.00.