What's the reason for Spanish RICS Valuers sometimes charging more than their UK equivalent?

12/12/11

There are major differences between carrying out residential valuations in UK and Spain and that's the reason UK RICS surveyors can charge less. In UK, I understand that it's possible to get the recent title registered sale prices for specific properties off the Internet. In addition, there are 10’s of 1,000’s of surveyors so their particular 'patch' is usually quite small, they can visit a property quickly, they have multiple surveys which means they can look at a number of properties in one journey, and they can have a more intimate knowledge of the sales in their small area. So the costs and time allocated to each survey can be shared and thus reduced.

Spain is substantially larger and less densely populated than the UK. Accordingly, valuers are likely to have to travel substantial distances and times to inspect a property that may have a reduced value because of its remoteness. We anticipate that each survey is going to take up to two or more hours at the average detached property to do it properly, and when travel, comparison and neighbourhood investigation, consideration and report writing time is taken into account, the fees and expenses charged are low on an hourly basis.

In Spain, the registry information is not easily accessed and even if it is, it cannot be relied upon as being accurate. There has been such a history of incorrect submission of information regarding property descriptions and prices, often due to efforts to evade tax, that any registered price has to be treated with extreme caution. With the introduction of money laundering laws, the situation is gradually becoming more regulated and accurate and without the previous connivance of the professionals involved. However, there is enough hearsay evidence to show that the registry information and statistics are still unreliable.

Also, many properties are adapted, some legally and others without permission, and these alterations are not registered on the title description, thus making analysis of registered size related to price even more likely to be inaccurate. Things got so bad that the Spanish banks' mortgage valuers, Tasadores, are required by the Bank of Spain to ignore the actual size of a property in their valuation and only value on the registered area in an effort to get owners to describe their properties correctly.

RICS valuers in Spain compare properties to value largely with regard to the gross overwall floor area to comply with the standard method of description in the country. We have to largely depend upon Catastral descriptions, and asking prices and sales information provided by estate agents and individual sellers. The Catastral information is gathered by the tax authorities from titles and licence and other formal submissions and is often more accurate than the registered title. Agent and owner sales information can vary considerably in its accuracy, due to accident, laziness, naivety or sometimes deliberate exaggeration.

As RICS valuers in Spain, we have had to gain a detailed knowledge of how things work and to develop the 'art' of judging information as to its accuracy and reliability. We have to gather many more comparisons than our UK colleagues and research those in more detail in order to gauge what the average prudent person would pay for a particular property. In judging the 'prudent' person, we have also to take into account that the sellers and potential buyers may be going or coming from a radically differently performing economy and currency than Spain's and the euro. That alone can make some sellers more prepared to drop their prices below the 'market' level or buyers be willing to offer more in order to make sure of a purchase.

So, in a very long winded way, I hope that I've been able to justify why our fee base is higher than that of the equivalent in the UK. We can reduce it by restricting the information given in the report, thus reducing the time involved. However, we never reduce the time spent at the property nor is it possible to reduce the travel time and expenses.

We'll be pleased to assist you and/or your solicitor at any time.

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