Viewing a flat in Barcelona: a buyer's three-level checklist

A flat viewing checklist for Barcelona is the order in which a buyer checks the building, the flat and the street to decide whether to spend money on a technical survey and an offer. Start with the age of the building: in Catalonia a residential building must pass the ITE (Inspección Técnica de Edificios, the mandatory building inspection) before it turns 45 (Generalitat, Trámites Gencat). The inspection result shows what costs await the owners.

What to prepare before the viewing

Preparation takes half an hour and saves pointless visits. Before the viewing, collect the facts that you will check on the spot.

• Floor plan. If it is not in the listing, ask the agent for it. Without a plan it is hard to notice that one of the "bedrooms" has no window.
• Year of construction. For the ITE the building's age is taken from the Catastro (the land registry), as the procedure page states directly.
• Owner's costs. The comunidad (community of owners) fee and the IBI (municipal property tax), at least roughly. The IBI for the whole year is paid by whoever owned the flat on 1 January, even if they sell later (Ajuntament de Barcelona); the tribut metropolità (metropolitan charge) arrives with it.
• Time of the visit. It is best to come when the flat looks its worst: in the evening, at rush hour, in the rain.

How to check the building and the entrance

The building is checked first, because the buyer will share its costs with the neighbours. The main signs are visible without any tools.

• Facade and balconies: cracks, flaking plaster, safety nets or scaffolding.
• Staircase and entrance hall: a damp smell, stains on the ceiling under the risers, the state of the steps.
• Lift: whether there is one, and whether it reaches the flat's floor or stops between floors.
• Roof and azotea (roof terrace), if access is allowed: the state of the surface and the drainage.
• Notice board: notices of owners' meetings, facade repairs or pipe replacement.

The agent or the seller is asked for the ITE report. The inspection is visual: its job is to describe the condition of the building, not to find hidden defects; the deficiencies in the report are split into very serious, serious, important and minor. If the report contains serious items, a repair levy is likely. More on the procedure in the article on the ITE before buying.

What to check in the flat itself

In the flat, first walk through everything in silence, then go back to the details. The first impression of light and fresh paint is stronger than the facts, so the facts are checked by hand.

• Match with the plan: the number of rooms, the windows, what they face: the street, the courtyard or a patio de luces (light well).
• Walls and ceilings: stains, blistering, cracks by the windows, in the bathroom, under the ceiling of the top floor.
• Electrics: the look of the fuse board, circuit breakers and residual-current protection, extension leads running between rooms.
• Water: pressure with two taps open, time until hot water arrives, the age of the water heater.
• Windows and persianas (roller shutters): whether they open, whether there is double glazing.
• Bathroom and kitchen: ventilation where there is no window, mould in the joints, where the extractor hood vents to.
• Noise and air: listen with the windows closed and open, check the cross-ventilation. The method is described in the article on noise, light and ventilation.

Which documents to ask the seller for after the viewing

After the viewing, if the flat has passed the first screening, the documents are requested. They confirm or refute what the eye saw.

The debt certificate matters by law. The flat answers to the community for common costs of the current year and the four previous ones, including the debts of earlier owners. The seller must attach the secretary's certificate to the escritura (notarial deed), unless the parties expressly waive it (art. 553-5 CCCat, the Civil Code of Catalonia). How this works after the purchase is covered in the article on debts to the community.

In what order to act after the viewing

The decision is taken in steps, not on impression.

1. On the same day, write down the price, area, floor, lift, light, noise, condition and questions in one table for all the flats.
2. Compare the flat with closed deals nearby, not with neighbouring listings.
3. Request the documents from the table above and check them against what you saw.
4. Come a second time at a different time of day.
5. If questions remain about the structure, damp or building services, order a technical survey before the arras (the reservation deposit contract).

When your own viewing is not enough

A buyer's checklist does not work when you need to assess what is hidden. A building older than 45 without an ITE report, traces of leaks on several floors, a fresh renovation that has covered walls and ceilings, a layout change without documents: in these cases an architect or an aparejador (technical architect) is needed. What a professional report includes is described in the article on hidden defects.

Nor does it work for deciding the price. A viewing answers the question "are there problems?", but not "what is a flat with these problems worth?". For that DNPI produces a property valuation based on closed deals and the cost of bringing the flat up to standard.