Any of you guy bought property - or rented property in Spain?

[Mawrick 0]

Every f'in winter is given me the creeps up here in the North - and I'v started to think about migrating to southern Spain, and was wondering if any of you guys have bought and/or rented apt/houses in that area - and if you have any tips on how to approache this?.

 

I would eventually be commuting - or whatever it's called, as I work on a bases og 2 weeks "on call", 3 weeks off, 2 weeks "on call" and 4 weeks off......- but kinda have to be in Norway during those 2 weeks "on call"......

[seanl82 23]

My Uncle owns a place in Villa Martin, 10 minutes from Murcia Airport. Its a gated housing complex and very private, but with two open complex's with Bars, restaurants, shops, a supermarket, and even an estate agent, less than 5 minutes walk away. Me, the wife and our daughter have been a couple of times now, its awsome! If you can find one for rent (just google 'rental property in south Spain' or something similar), and go have a look. With budget airlines, its a really good and cheap way to get in the sun and relax! I'd suggest going for a holiday first and scoping out where you'd be thinking about a more permanent place, if you are serious of course. You can then enquire a little more whilst you're there. The last thing you want is to take the plunge so far away, then get there and it be an unfinished building site where work has ground to a halt, and the bloke that has all your money on a plane to Brazil! lol. Have a look where the closest airport flies to as well, as this will make a massive difference to your "commute" and make the whole process seem very easy to deal with if its close. As said its my Uncles place, and he splits his time there. He lives and works in Bristol, and easyjet fly from Bristol Airport direct to Murcia. That was a big reason for him choosing there I think.

Edited December 9, 2012 by seanl82

[Mawrick 0]

Yea, been traveling in Spain before - but only once on the mainland (Marbella/malaga area) - which I guess would be the area I would consider most - that or in the area around Alicante.

 

Actually have been thinking of some kind of long term rental for a while to see if it's something to go for............guess the prices will stay "low" still for a while anyway down there, so I guess it's no rush really

[Corradochris16v 10]

My uncle moved out there 10 years ago but now trying to get back as the economy is not doing well plus other issues cant remember where it is his villa is but its not too touristy as he wanted to be away from larger lout brits but on the whole he said its a fantastic place to live the weather people etc if your not reliant on having a job out there I'd go for it!

[Anton Sobriquet 0]

Don't buy in Spain whatever you do. Rent short-term in case you need to up sticks in a hurry.

[Wild-Animal 0]

yeah I dont mean to be negative, but the economy of Spain would put me right off.

 

I would rent.

[Wendy 0]

I know people who have lost everything in Spain due to buying, so again would advise rent only.

 

You should get some good deals as some people have their empty houses there which they are paying high mortgages on and living back here in the UK, and any rental income they would be grateful to receive.

 

I would check out the general cost of living in Spain before making that your final choice though.

 

Personally I would only go for something where the property is let (rented) by professional agents and everything legal.

Too much has gone wrong in more recent years in Spain

 

Good Luck

[captainredeye 0]

My uncle lost around £50000 on a development in spain, they stopped half way through the build then asked for more money he just cut his losses and walked, he should of used a bit more common sense though and he was a little sheepish about the whole thing.

I would never hand over money for something that's not ready, also I have read somewhere that Spain's legal system means that there government at any time can knock your home down if they so wish to build say a road with zero compensation sounds a bit extreme but honestly it's worth checking out first as I'm not 100% on this.

With regards to the countries financial state I would run a mile.

[corrado9a 0]

i am going to try to give you a different view and hopefully not bised.

I am from Spain and there is a couple of english guys in this forum living in Spain, in the Alicante Region. FlareRacing and Diesel Junior. They should be able to give you good direct input.

 

This is a very good moment to buy property in Spain. The prices have plummeted for the last 4 yrs and you can find very good properety for cheap. At time of crisis is the best time to invest if you have the money. The advice of buying something already built is very very true.

Renting is also a very good option. Again prices are cheap and you can find houses / apartments all over the place.

The bigguest issue with buying is that if you can not pay the house at once and you stop paying the mortage, with the spanish law in hand, the bank would reposses the house and you would still owe the money to the bank.

but the best advicve is to NOT buy or rent enything from the internet because you are probably bound to be surprised or a very hefty commision to someone for very little work.

 

In terms of where to buy, my suggestion is to look in Malaga region or in the Alicante Region. The scenary is beautifull, communcations are very good and prices faily cheap.

 

People that has lost a lot of money is the people that invested heavily in property and lost money due to the depreciation of the land, and if you loose the job you are in big problems, but that can occur anywhere, not only in Spain. The local problem is unemployment but since that issue does not apply then no need to comment anyfurther.

[Tigerfish 10]

My inlaws live in the Alicante region having sold up and bought there 7 or 8 years ago. They find it quite tough as the exchange rate for GBP to Euros suffered. Converting their UK pensions to Euros means they are on about half of what they used to have per month. Other than that though, everything has been dandy.