We have always been affirming in previous articles the importance of correctly reporting the real estate areas, in a job that must be very well scrutinized by colleagues in real estate mediation.
Reporting property areas correctly is not only important for the real estate appraiser, but also for all stakeholders in the real estate business. In this way, cases like the one we are going to make known are avoided, in which a property with an area smaller than that mentioned in the deed of purchase and sale was transacted. (Judgment of the Porto Court of Appeal, case 1116 / 18.2 T8PRT.P1).
Buyers of the property later found that the areas purchased are different from the areas mentioned in the real estate documents, claiming, without success, a discount on the price.
The summary of the judgment, which we have reproduced here, clearly reflects the problem:
“I – The mere divergence of the area of the property sold in relation to that contained in the building matrix and the Conservatory does not simply lead back to the regime of buying and selling defective things.
II – The regime established in articles 913 and sec. of the Civil Code presupposes the existence of an error on the part of the buyer.
III – The omission to indicate the area of the property in the deed of purchase and sale prevents the price reduction”.
It is time to remember the article “What is a “HomeBuyer Report”?” in which we wrote about an instrument used by buying customers, namely in the United Kingdom, to assist them in the purchase of a property.
In fact, it is very common in the United Kingdom to hire an expert appraiser accredited by RICS (RICS Chartered Surveyor) to prepare a report that can identify characteristics of a property with an impact on the sale price negotiation.
The RICS “HomeBuyer Report” does not detail all aspects of the building but highlights urgent issues that have a substantial impact on the value of the property and need to be verified or investigated.