This articles talks about how the house reputation affects conveyncing process in Spain.
House reputation
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary “reputation” means the opinion that people have about someone or something.
So the house reputation is the opinion that people have about a house.
And there might be as many opinions as people in the world.
Conveyancing and house reputation
So has something to do the house reputation when buying a house?
The answer is the usual one to a legal query. It depends. I will try to give some tips on how the house reputation could affect the decision to buy a house or the consequences that could have on a purchase already made.
Purchase subject to a condition
If somebody wants to buy a house with a specific reputation (i.e. no crimes committed in the house) this is a condition of the purchase so if the purchase could be cancelled if the buyer finds out that a the reputation is different than the one desired.
In this case which is quite specific the contract should state specifically this condition. Conditions in contracts are very well regulated in Spanish law.
Essential for the buyer
Another way to play for the house reputation is to include in the essential object of the house to buy. This is to say that the buyer wants to buy a house with a good reputation or specific reputation. So the good reputation is an essential feature of the house to buy.
It is like a condition afore mentioned but in the case of cancellation it could work in a different way. One thing is to buy a house with this reputation and other thing is to boy a house subject to the condition that it has a specific reputation. It sounds the same but legally it could work differently and the consequences could be different as well.
Inherent vice
If the reputation affects in such a way the property that it could make the house not useful for its purpose (for living), or affect its use in a way that makes the buyer would have paid less price for the property, then the buyer can ask for the cancellation or compensation respectively. The said vice has to be important and had to exist before the purchase of the property. There is only six months to apply for the cancellation or the compensation. After six months there is no way to take this legal actions at all.
Is there is a real estate agent involved, have they to disclose information of this kind?
Again, it depends on several things. It will depend mainly on the ethical and professional degree of the agent. If they work in good faith they will be honest with any information that could think relevant for the potential buyers and trying to mediate between the parties to help the to approach and reach a good agreement for everybody.
This is a grey area.
Good faith is required to all the parties involved in a contract. Good faith is a principle and a guide. But sometimes it is difficult to make it accountable in specific situations if there are not specifically translated into rules and regulations.
Conclusion
Buying a house is a very important decision and investment therefore any kind of question or requirement you might have with regards to a potential house you are interested buying do not be afraid to ask. Anything at all. As strange as it might appear to the agent, solicitor or whoever it might be involved. Ask. Always. And any question or requirement you wish put it in writing in the contract. Whichever it is. Write it down. If something turns out wrong at least we will have something in writing to look at when discussing the remedies in order to find out which was the real will of the parties involved.
There might be remedies for other specific situations. So whichever is your question, please do not hesitaet to contact us.
Thank you
Thank you for your time and attention and I hope this information is of use. You are very welcome to share if you liked it. You might be interested in this other posts: breach of contract (i), breach of contract (ii), conveyancing, penalty clause, or taking a property off the market.
Warning
Please, note that this is general information. This is not specific legal advice. It is advisable to seek legal advice for any specific legal issue.