In recent times, inheriting property in Spain has become somewhat of a luxury for many, due to the high taxes that have to be paid. In 2019 the state pocketed approximately 50 million euros in unclaimed inheritances. That same year, 45,000 inheritances were given up in Spain because they were simply unaffordable.
The most valuable asset in inheritances, without a doubt, is the property or properties of the deceased; however, at the same time, these are the ones that bring the most headaches to all involved.
Currently, it is estimated that there are around 3 million abandoned homes in Spain and it is more than likely that a good percentage of that number is due to the death of the owner.
Problems of an abandoned property
In many cases, a person dies without leaving a will and without close family members. So, when this is the case, what happens to their apartment? Nothing, and that's the main problem. With no one claiming their rights to the flat, what can often result are problematic situations for the neighbours and for the property managers.
In the first place, the most common problem in an abandoned flat is the accumulation of debts that, with the passage of months and even years, can become an issue of great concern for a residential development block and its "comunidad de vecinos" (residents association). This can be an even more serious issue if said residential block is small, with consequences which can potentially lead it into ruin.
An abandoned flat is a flat that is not looked after, which can generate bad smells, deterioration and damage due to disuse or damp. The worst role is taken up by the neighbours, who consequently make their complaints and discontent evident to the president of the residents association or its administrator.
In addition, lots of talking and complaints are time consuming, and the more time passes, the more risk there is of the property getting into the wrong hands, of squatters, for example. Something like this would paralyse any judicial procedure that could be made with respect to the property, in addition to the added problem of security issues for neighbours, who, again, are the worst affected by all of this.
The solution: finding the heirs
Nowadays, there are companies that are dedicated to family trees and succession genealogy, which consists of the study and monitoring of the descendants of a deceased person, in order to look for legitimate heirs.
Alicia Delicado, director of Research Department of the law firm Grupo Hereda explains that "heirs do exist; maybe they are distant relatives who have lost contact and we are in charge of finding them, researching, documenting and elaborating a family tree that finally leads us to the successor".
The acceptance of the inheritance and the change of ownership by the heir opens up a new world of possibilities for the property, which can range from being sold to new owners, to the settlement of all the arrears with the same inheritance, and one of these debts can be those owed to the Homeowners’ Association.
Therefore, companies like this one not only help the heir by giving him or her an inheritance which he did not know about, but at the same time they also help the Homeowners’ Association by finding the new owner and in turn, recovering the existing debt.
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