"I am Spanish man who lives in Copenhagen for professional reasons. A year ago I purchased a newly-built house with a parking space and storage room. I signed the title deed before the works had finished and when the developer notified me that the works were completed, I decided to visit the house during my summer holidays.

I found it in a terrible state. There were many items that had not been finished correctly and, even worse, I wasn't able to locate my storage room - number 17.

I had paid for it and on closer inspection found that it had been designated as the central connection point for all of the telephone lines throughout the block. It may sound unbelievable but that was what I found.

I contacted the legal department of the title insurance company and they liaised with the developer finally reaching an agreement. I would have 2 storage rooms by way of compensation.

They kept me well-informed at all times, they sent me plans of the new storage rooms so I could approve them and personally visited them in order to send me photographs. They even fixed the signing of a deed amendment with the notary and developer at my convenience.

The service and effectiveness were exceptional and it was a pleasure to send them a letter from Copenhagen expressing my gratitude.

Honestly speaking, having heard about the countless problems that many of my neighbours were having, I am sure my case would have dragged on indefinitely. "

E.M. – Benalmádena (Málaga)

Many choose to purchase property off-plan in Spain. It is not uncommon for the original building plans to be modified slightly during the course of construction.

Parking spaces, storage and box rooms are often valued in the region of 10,000 to 20,000 Euros and are added to the cost of an apartment.

Sometimes, planning law changes or the process of construction can lead to unforeseen technical challenges that can result in minor changes to the anticipated layout and distribution of the project.

This case demonstrates this possibility very well and is a good example of what can happen when you sign for a property prior to its absolute completion. To improve cashflow, many builders will apply pressure to sign when your apartment is finished but other infrastructure is still pending.

It is also something that even the best lawyers are likely to miss particularly if you have signed a power of attorney so that they sign in your absence.

If this scenario happened to you, you could easily have paid for the cost of a storage room when later you find it is not fit for purpose or worse, does not exist at all.

How easy do you think it would have been to successfully negotiate with the builder and get the title deeds amended in your favour on your own?