Guide Series for Buying Property in Mallorca

So That Excitement Doesn't Turn Into Frustration!

Guide series for safe property buying in Mallorca

The ultimate guide to a successful property purchase in Mallorca: You want to buy a second or maybe even first home in Mallorca? An apartment in the middle of bustling and beautiful Palma? Or a finca in the countryside? I'd like to give you a few tips to make your purchase successful and safe — so that excitement doesn't turn into frustration! This part covers what you need to pay attention to when viewing and inspecting the property. In the next part, we'll look at a few formal hurdles that can lead to a bad outcome.

Of course, buyers occasionally get ripped off when buying property in Mallorca. Many actually buy spontaneously while on holiday. They've never looked into locations, construction methods or the market beforehand. And they were simply too euphoric to take the purchase as seriously as is necessary anywhere in the world. Back home this wouldn't have happened to them, they say. That's probably true, but it wasn't because of the location, but the approach. If you don't want your buying excitement to turn into buying frustration, you need to take a few things to heart and also take a few days to organise things successfully and safely.

“That Certain Something”

Is a relatively hard-to-grasp factor when buying property in Mallorca. You mainly have to feel it. During most viewings, I think about what price I could actually rent the place out for. And I see the pros and cons of the property. Usually find it too expensive. And I brood. These viewings take time. Because I'm basically always looking for points that are a showstopper or that allow me to make a higher offer.

But then there are those properties. That I walk into and know: This is it. And I can't even tell you why! Often the floor plans need to be rearranged later. Or it's in terrible condition. But for whatever reason: it fits. And I've never been wrong about that so far. For lack of a better classification, I call this factor "that certain something" and have simply included it in the evaluation sheets.

“Location, Location, Location”

I don't really need to explain further. This applies beyond property buying in Mallorca too. Just two remarks: There are often micro-locations that are particularly good. Or particularly bad. I always take a close look at the few streets in the surrounding area.

I look at how well-maintained the windows of the surrounding houses are. What do the courtyards look like, do the intercom systems look cared for? This can devalue an otherwise good location.

No Pain, No Gain!

Visit in the evening sometime. Or at the weekend. And maybe early in the morning. There are absurd things that can be brutally annoying. Like the club that's only open on weekends, which you thought was an old romantically shabby warehouse. Or the upscale residential area Son Vida, where the most important access road is practically blocked when Palma's major schools have their start or end of lessons. Completely irrelevant for anyone who doesn't have to drive kids to school! For parents living here, a major frustration factor. And yes, a successful and safe purchase of your Mallorca property simply requires a bit more effort.

Views. Dream views. Insights: Buying property in Mallorca

Look out of every window. Lean out. Look all around. Then you'll also see whether there are drip edges. Or cracks. Or strange marks in the plaster that indicate problems. But above all, you'll see whether you like what you see. And the house doesn't just consist of one window with a sea view. A successful purchase happens when you can be sure beforehand that your Mallorca property truly appeals to you.

Question the floor plans when buying property in Mallorca! What would you see from which spot if this or that wall weren't there? And how would you like that? Or where could you create a beautiful and special view through simple gardening measures? A little lemon tree in front of the bathroom window makes every visit there somehow nicer! Because that's what you and we imagine when we think of Mallorca.

I love views! I've never bought a Mallorca property that didn't have some kind of enchanting views. And that's why I can rent them out successfully and safely too. So that excitement doesn't turn into frustration!

The location will come, that's for sure!

Then there are the so-called expected locations. I've heard about many of the rather notorious neighbourhoods here that they're really up-and-coming. It's a safe buy, "others" are super successful with it.

I've been hearing that for ten years. And not much has happened. Be really careful with that.

“immovable”

We're talking about real estate here because they stand immovably in the landscape. At least they should. And you can't change that. This brings us back to the location. But also to the topic of "communal property", in Spanish that's the Comunidad. This is now a mandatory part of multi-unit buildings. And as always, there are all kinds of co-owners. So:

always have the minutes checked. Ask for the "Presidente", that's the poor soul who usually handles all the formal stuff for free and tries to collect the missing payments from the others. And that brings us to the next point: Are all payments up to date? Are there any special things planned? Major renovations? Conversions? And will the seller still cover that? This then leads to the second point, namely

“unchangeable”

This includes, for example, facade elements — a Comunidad can be very very fussy about those. If your neighbours think the wonderful white plastic windows in arched style are beautiful, then that's just how it is.

Ceiling heights

So: If the ceiling height seems low to you before a renovation, think carefully about whether it won't be even worse after your renovation.

Some decades simply had bad ceiling heights. And if you then want to install underfloor heating, you lose a good 10cm. And if the ceiling isn't already lowered, they'll want to take at least 30cm for that. Because you need space for the air conditioning that might still be missing. And both underfloor heating and air conditioning make sense! We have a very humid climate here, and the excitement about warm weather can quickly turn into frustration. Because the heat can become unbearable, especially in August.

Depending on the construction period, there are a few critical materials and building methods:

Marés

A really beautiful stone, but unfortunately it has more the properties of a relatively stable sponge. During the Franco era, local materials had to be used, so you'll still find it a lot up until the mid-70s. And: I've experienced luxury developers who simply instructed their Eastern European construction crew to close up the Marés with plasterboard. That lasts at least beyond the warranty period until the moisture has penetrated and the buyer sees that they've acquired a renovation-needing luxury property at a vastly inflated price.

Horizontal Barrier

Something like a foundation doesn't exist in every property. And the fact that insulation against rising damp was prescribed by building regulations only came in the early 2000s. But I've seen an extremely large number of houses where the insulation (which is really dirt cheap when building) was simply forgotten. But ask a good surveyor about this. Or at least buy yourself one of those surface testers like the one shown below and check the walls. From the inside. A good hand's width above the floor. And also higher up. If there are irregularities, that's when you bring in the professional at the latest. But not the one the estate agent recommends — ask Google!

Aluminosis or Fiebre del hormigón

Mainly in the 60s to 80s, aluminium particles were mixed into the concrete. I have no idea why — if anyone knows, please write to me! And unfortunately it has the property of developing this building pathology that can massively reduce the strength of the material. In English it's called aluminosis. If you're interested, have a look at this website, they explain it quite well. And this is super critical. Everything is somehow repairable. But extremely expensive. Terrible for the already poor ceiling heights typical of this construction period.

If you suspect this pathology: Get it checked!!! If the result is positive: Stay away! That's a clear path from excitement to frustration! Only if your heart is completely set on this one house. And you can and want to afford uneconomical behaviour: Have an architect calculate the renovation costs and add a 30% buffer on top just to be safe.

"legal" is not irrelevant when buying property in Mallorca

In my opinion the most difficult topic! As soon as you really want to change a lot, we're probably looking at an "Obra Mayor". That's what the Spanish call a "real construction site" where structure or volume is also being changed. And when applying for this, current building law applies. And that is more restrictive today than at the time your house was built. So you'd be renovating illegally. Often because many involved parties still advise doing so.

As long as no volume is increased or it's not visible from the outside, that might work. But when you want to sell your dream castle, buyers find that increasingly unattractive. Because they too want to acquire their Mallorca property frustration-free and enjoy it with excitement. In the past, this was "normal". Today, they demolish. More than 50 houses per year on Mallorca now. Get advice from an architect who wasn't recommended by the developer and not by your estate agent either.

"a pool always works"

"A pool can be built there". Or even better: "The water cistern can be converted, there won't be any problems". Or: you can put a garage back there in the woods. Generally assume that more than what already exists often isn't possible. Because your seller has probably already exhausted everything possible. Or even more than that.

The exact same applies to basements. Basements when buying property in Mallorca are generally not illegal. Or only partially. But especially their use as bedrooms, home cinemas, fitness rooms, spa areas etc. is often illegal in rural areas. And sometimes also the odd window. Or the volume.

Now you might say when buying: I don't care, if someone notices, I can do without it if necessary. That might frustrate me. But it's not dramatic. Fine! This point can be comparatively harmless and occurs often. But if essential rooms belong to these illegal uses, then the frustration potential increases. Because a safe and successful resale can at least be compromised.

What matters to you and what you can't change should fit! The changes you want to make absolutely must be checked. And the existing structure too! Both technically. And legally.

Right, in the next part of this little series about buying property in Mallorca, we'll cover how you can actually find your dream property. And later we'll deal a bit more with the purchase process and very superficially with possible tax consequences. I'll find some guest authors for that, because in Spain too, not everyone is allowed to freely advise in every professional field. And I'm neither a structural engineer, nor a lawyer, nor a tax adviser. These are just a few practical experiences I'd like to share with you.

I hope that was sufficiently informative and I look forward to your feedback! Questions and criticism welcome in the comments below!

Arnd