Reply to: Was looking at Spanish property in Costa Del Sol on Rightmove...

[DimPrawn]

Horse will have bolted by then. I thought you made your first million from taking a risk and creaming it before the wannabe's come in too late???

No, I made the bulk of my first million by working like a dog for 15 years and saving every penny whilst living off the wifes income.

[northernladuk]

If the pound booms and the euro tanks, I'll be over there in a flash.

Till then, forget it.

Horse will have bolted by then. I thought you made your first million from taking a risk and creaming it before the wannabe's come in too late???

[DimPrawn]

If the pound booms and the euro tanks, I'll be over there in a flash.

Till then, forget it.

[northernladuk]

Don't believe everything you see on the TV. It isn't quite as bad as that out there. We bought a property out there just before the boom, it went through the roof, happy days, then crashed last year so just about managing. Some people out there are happy to stick it though but many are trying to bail out or just walk away from them. Banks are much more flexible on mortgage payments and allowing product swapping than they are over here. They don't want the properties so are bending over backwards to accomodate.

Many people bought in the boom and their mortgages for their empty properties have doubled so are looking to get rid or walk away. Alot of the properties on the sites look expensive but if you like the look of it stick and offer in for up 40% less (or more in some cases I know) it won't be long before you find someone who will snap your hand off. People are desperate, try contacting the banks out there. They have 1000's of properties they have had to take on and don't want. They just want to sell them for what they have outstanding

IMO if you are a bit of a risk taker and can suffer your property being empty of longish periods of time and are in for the next 5 years or so now is the time to fill your boots with bloody cheap property off the back of people who lost a lot of money buying off plan etc.

[PAH]

I was just looking to see all these cheap properties, but all I could see were lots of very expensive property.

I'm sure there are better bargains if you approached it from a local's perspective (i.e. spanish based sites). Doubt the locals use rightmove, where I expect the prices to be jacked up to fleece the rich gullible brits. The UK isn't called 'treasure island' for nothing.

I did notice some apparent bargains in northern France on rightmove though, if you're not adverse to organising some major renovations to barns or delapidated farm houses. The weather not being all that much of an improvement over the UK put me off.

[PAH]

But is it feasible to buy property in the Canaries?

A fellow contractor I was working with a few years ago had his fingers burnt trying to buy an apartment in Tenerife, with the aim of renting it out to holidaymakers.

He paid a deposit (something like 10 grand IIRC) that was held by his solicitor over there only for the solicitor to do a runner with his (and many others) deposit. Lost touch with him soon after so not sure if he had any joy getting his money back, but it shows that buying abroad can be a minefield if you can't even trust the solicitors!

[DimPrawn]

I was just looking to see all these cheap properties, but all I could see were lots of very expensive property.

Not interested in buying.

1. Pound is worth tulip against the euro
2. Prices have hardly fallen
3. Property laws in Spain are a joke

[TimberWolf]

Someone (MF actually) mentioned the Canaries. You can fly to the Canaries for not much more than the costs of a flight to Spain, and the weather nice all year. But is it feasible to buy property in the Canaries? And are any of the volcanoes hollowed out and able to be fitted out with lasers and stuff?<raises little finger to corner of mouth>

[PAH]

Unless you're already retiring, look elsewhere.

Not looking to retire just yet, but the laid back lifestyle suits me and somewhere between permanent holiday and semi-retirement is where I'd want to pitch my tent.

I think those that are looking to buy in Spain (I'm only interested in renting at the moment) are interested in the investment opportunities, while UK properties are still way over priced in most areas. Problem with Spain is it's gone through a big period of change recently, particularly on the Costas so easy to get caught out with a bad investment.

I remember seeing a YouTube video last year where someone had taken 10-15 minutes of footage driving through one of the many newly built ghost towns. Eery to see all those empty blocks of flats, literally dozens if not hundreds of them, and a good visual reminder of the mess the spanish have made of the property situation near the south coast.

So there's two areas I'd definately be looking to avoid. Those where they've gone building crazy in recent years, and those where it's 99% brits. I don't mind the odd excursion to 'chavs-on-sea' for the english papers and food, but more than that would do my head in.

[xchaotic]

To those of you genuinely interested, I am currently spending a lot of time in Costa Blanca.
It's really easy to find offers for 60-80k for a seaside flat.
I'm not getting one, because of the reasons mentioned before with the property law, plus there's still loads of repossessed ones and well, way too many Brits around already...
also economy looking much worse than UK, therefore very poor on the job front IT or otherwise. Unless you're already retiring, look elsewhere. And if you want to come here for some time off every couple of years, why do you want to buy a whole house?

[Sysman]

Well I pay £650 (€750)/month for a rather nice 3-bed, 2-bath place with nice neighbours in the town-centre of beautiful Durham. No pool but then that's not something we do here For €1000 (£850) I could get something pretty nice a mile or two out in the lovely countryside, a very quick search showed this. Now it's not a villa but it doesn't make what you're quoting seem that outlandish... if you're comparing the prices in London or south-east then you need to remember those are hugely inflated.

Shincliffe is a nice spot.

I recall a thread here circa 2004 where someone was quoting £1000 - 1200 for a 2/3 bed flat in the SE. At the time (and before the pound slumped of course) I was paying that for a super flash place with roof garden etc. on the mainland, and that was an all inclusive price (no separate rates, water, leccy, heating to fork out on top).

[PAH]

Now it's not a villa but it doesn't make what you're quoting seem that outlandish...

It would be interesting to see a cost comparison of reasonably similar properties in the UK and Spain. I get the impression that things like council tax are way higher in the UK but that electricity, gas and other essential services can be more expensive in Spain, depending on how well connected the local infrastructure is.

The one thing that the UK can't compete with is weather. Maybe it's the longing for the endless summer days of lounging around and in the pool, followed by the warm evening barbeques that is drawing me to Spain. If the reality is just 80% like the villa holidays I've been on in recent years then I think I would enjoy it immensely, provided I could entice my friends and family to visit for a cheap holiday to break up the isolation.

[OwlHoot]

Yeah I think I saw that on Homes From Hell once. Maybe the situation has improved recently. I think the E.U. were getting involved to try to sort out the mess, though lots of the problems were local officials granting building permission without any proper authority, so the regional/national authorities came along and ordered demolitions or large lump sum additional payments.

Not only that, but the Spanish seem to have only a tenuous grasp of the concept of freehold.

In Spain, apparently a private building company can come along and compulsorily purchase your property and demolish it to make way for some larger development. Who would be crazy enough to buy a property with that threat always hanging over them?

[d000hg]

I'm just wary that they seem too good be be true. Loads are between 500-1000 euros/month for 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, private pool in own grounds! Compare that to at least £500/month for a crappy 2 bed flat with dodgy neighbours in the UK.

Well I pay £650 (€750)/month for a rather nice 3-bed, 2-bath place with nice neighbours in the town-centre of beautiful Durham. No pool but then that's not something we do here For €1000 (£850) I could get something pretty nice a mile or two out in the lovely countryside, a very quick search showed this. Now it's not a villa but it doesn't make what you're quoting seem that outlandish... if you're comparing the prices in London or south-east then you need to remember those are hugely inflated.

[PAH]

I've seen a couple of documentaries recently, scary stuff.

People's houses getting demolished etc.

Yeah I think I saw that on Homes From Hell once. Maybe the situation has improved recently. I think the E.U. were getting involved to try to sort out the mess, though lots of the problems were local officials granting building permission without any proper authority, so the regional/national authorities came along and ordered demolitions or large lump sum additional payments.