buying an apartment in spain

[arfur]

Phooey said:

GT03ROB said:

Thats 20mins to the port, 20 mins to old town

Thanks, I thought it looked more than that on the map! That’s a nice easy stroll. I really like that place.. but is it normal practice for other agents to have it listed at €150k more?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148045847#/...

Take a look at Duquesa as well - the port is miles better than Estepona. If funds allow then look at Sotogrande (although I often find it a bit boring)

Arf

[GT03ROB]

arfur said:

Phooey said:

GT03ROB said:

Thats 20mins to the port, 20 mins to old town

Thanks, I thought it looked more than that on the map! That’s a nice easy stroll. I really like that place.. but is it normal practice for other agents to have it listed at €150k more?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148045847#/...

Take a look at Duquesa as well - the port is miles better than Estepona. If funds allow then look at Sotogrande (although I often find it a bit boring)

Arf

I wouldn’t buy in Duquesa, Monte Duquesa probably.

[arfur]

GT03ROB said:

arfur said:

Phooey said:

GT03ROB said:

Thats 20mins to the port, 20 mins to old town

Thanks, I thought it looked more than that on the map! That’s a nice easy stroll. I really like that place.. but is it normal practice for other agents to have it listed at €150k more?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148045847#/...

Take a look at Duquesa as well - the port is miles better than Estepona. If funds allow then look at Sotogrande (although I often find it a bit boring)

Arf

I wouldn’t buy in Duquesa, Monte Duquesa probably.

I was meaning the area in general, not necessarily directly in the marina.

I was out on a boat recently that I'd rented from Marbella and ended up at Cabopino - What a lovely small marina and area. Recommend for lunch and a walk around if you are passing

[GT03ROB]

arfur said:

GT03ROB said:

arfur said:

Phooey said:

GT03ROB said:

Thats 20mins to the port, 20 mins to old town

Thanks, I thought it looked more than that on the map! That’s a nice easy stroll. I really like that place.. but is it normal practice for other agents to have it listed at €150k more?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148045847#/...

Take a look at Duquesa as well - the port is miles better than Estepona. If funds allow then look at Sotogrande (although I often find it a bit boring)

Arf

I wouldn’t buy in Duquesa, Monte Duquesa probably.

I was meaning the area in general, not necessarily directly in the marina.

I was out on a boat recently that I'd rented from Marbella and ended up at Cabopino - What a lovely small marina and area. Recommend for lunch and a walk around if you are passing

That looks quite nice, may take a trip down there next time I get dragged to La Canada!

[Phooey]

Regarding renting out property in Spain (Estepona) - am I right in reading that the property has to have a holiday licence? If so then i assume whatever you buy you need to make sure it already has a licence? If we get to the stage where we could afford somewhere abroad (probably Spain), it would help if we could rent it out when we would not be using it, and then later on if we decide we want to retire to Spain we would just apply for Spanish residency and occupy our property 24/7

[Chris Stott]

Phooey said:

Regarding renting out property in Spain (Estepona) - am I right in reading that the property has to have a holiday licence? If so then i assume whatever you buy you need to make sure it already has a licence? If we get to the stage where we could afford somewhere abroad (probably Spain), it would help if we could rent it out when we would not be using it, and then later on if we decide we want to retire to Spain we would just apply for Spanish residency and occupy our property 24/7

Doesn’t need to come with a license… they are fairly easily available from what others have told me. I’ve never rented my place. If you’re going to rent commercially you need to think long and hard about how you furnish the place.

[Phooey]

Chris Stott said:

Doesn’t need to come with a license… they are fairly easily available from what others have told me. I’ve never rented my place. If you’re going to rent commercially you need to think long and hard about how you furnish the place.

Ok that's interesting to know - thanks Chris. I understand that if it's an apartment or in a community etc that you have to make sure there are no restrictions so it is limiting to some degree.. but it's just another option and food for thought atm

Thanks

[Chris Stott]

Phooey said:

Chris Stott said:

Doesn’t need to come with a license… they are fairly easily available from what others have told me. I’ve never rented my place. If you’re going to rent commercially you need to think long and hard about how you furnish the place.

Ok that's interesting to know - thanks Chris. I understand that if it's an apartment or in a community etc that you have to make sure there are no restrictions so it is limiting to some degree.. but it's just another option and food for thought atm

Thanks

An agent should be able to tell you about any restrictions… But given what most places are built for here it’s unlikely there will be a rental restriction.

Most of the urbanisation restrictions are practically unenforceable… the cost and time scale make it unlikely an urbanisation would take an owner to court for anything other than major breaches (like non payment of community fees over an extended period).

We have an owner who extended his apartment on to his terrace… then extended his terrace on to community garden. Out management company told us we could take him to court, but it would likely take years and cost a fortune, with no guarantee of winning.

[eyebeebe]

If it doesn't have a licence, make sure that any alterations to the property have been legalised or were long enough ago so that they can't be objected to. If you apply for a licence there will be an inspection, which would flag the alterations.

The place we bought has an infill of part of the solarium which can't be legalised. Our gestor warned us not to apply for a licence until it had been in place for 15 years.

[Phooey]

Thanks for replies - very useful to know

[rdjohn]

Another thing to check is the Managing Agent’s fee for rental property.

The AirBnB brigade are invariably such tossers that our community has voted on a maximum 20% uplift on rental apartments. The feeling is that it is still not proportional to the disturbance that they cause to the other owners.

So when the rental owners do come out, they are as unwelcome as a fly in soup. Other stronger metaphors may be more appropriate.

[Phooey]

https://menara-beach.com/property/R4381402/apartme...

I like the architecture and style of this place. Do the Community Fees (€ 602 p/m) sound excessive? I'm only tyre kicking atm.. just seeing what's out there etc, but I live in hope that retirement might be spent somewhere like Spain (Estepona)

[Chris Stott]

Phooey said:

https://menara-beach.com/property/R4381402/apartme...

I like the architecture and style of this place. Do the Community Fees (€ 602 p/m) sound excessive? I'm only tyre kicking atm.. just seeing what's out there etc, but I live in hope that retirement might be spent somewhere like Spain (Estepona)

Thats only about 10 mins from my place.

€602 is a lot, but depends what you get. My community fees are €440, which is pretty high, and the highest on out urbanization (I have the biggest footprint). We do have some very nice gardens (3 gardeners), 3 pools, a concierge and a permanent maintenance guy.

Location wise, while that’s technically Estepona, it’s actually mid way between there and San Pedro… Cancelada is a decent area. Not much you’ll walk to, but front line beach is a massive plus… and the beach there won’t be mega busy, even in high season.

Big negative for me is it has no view… the development is front line beach, but you can’t see it from there.

I’ve got a client with a penthouse in playa del angle (just up the road, on the outskirts of Estepona proper)… front line beach… has unobstructed views of the sea and Gib. It’s a massive plus.

Edited by Chris Stott on Monday 3rd June 16:19

[eyebeebe]

Phooey said:

https://menara-beach.com/property/R4381402/apartme...

I like the architecture and style of this place. Do the Community Fees (€ 602 p/m) sound excessive? I'm only tyre kicking atm.. just seeing what's out there etc, but I live in hope that retirement might be spent somewhere like Spain (Estepona)

My first thought is they sound ridiculous, but I guess it depends what you get for the money. It mentions 24 hour security. That won’t be cheap, but why do you need it? Ours is around 80 a month, but there’s not much to maintain beyond the building and a basic pool and certainly no security.

You’d get a lot more for your money on the Costa Blanca (and probably even more on other Costas). Just sayin’

I never saw any answers to this question. Got to say I’m wondering the same thing.

Phil. said:

Genuine question. Why is the stretch between Gibraltar and Malaga so popular compared to other Spanish coastal areas?

I did a 10 day driving tour of Andalusia last October. The coastal areas appear to be over developed in many areas with development continuing all focussed on achieving mass tourism. Property prices are relatively high. Lots of people being crammed into a limited space. This isn’t attractive to me.

As an example, I’m based in the Cartagena - La Manga area, on the coast. Spanish visit from the cities for the summer. There is a lot of nature/space to explore. It never feels over populated. There are plenty of reasonably priced restaurants and services. Property prices are much lower and the weather is similar. What more does the like of Estepona offer for so much more cost?

[Phooey]

Chris Stott said:

Thats only about 10 mins from my place.

€602 is a lot, but depends what you get. My community fees are €440, which is pretty high, and the highest on out urbanization (I have the biggest footprint). We do have some very nice gardens (3 gardeners), 3 pools, a concierge and a permanent maintenance guy.

Location wise, while that’s technically Estepona, it’s actually mid way between there and San Pedro… Cancelada is a decent area. Not much you’ll walk to, but front line beach is a massive plus… and the beach there won’t be mega busy, even in high season.

Big negative for me is it has no view… the development is front line beach, but you can’t see it from there.

I’ve got a client with a penthouse in playa del angle (just up the road, on the outskirts of Estepona proper)… front line beach… has unobstructed views of the sea and Gib. It’s a massive plus.

Edited by Chris Stott on Monday 3rd June 16:19

Thanks, Chris. I like this type of property, and yes a Google-map scan agrees with you regarding not much to walk to... It looks a bit 'holiday' more than permanent living but i just thought it was an interesting place - especially if you wanted to rent it out (subject to being allowed of course - not looked into it) when we don't use it.

I get your point re view. This apartment https://menara-beach.com/property/4674MLA/apartmen...
in the same complex has front-line view, but double the price. Lower community fees though


Link to Menara beach properties - https://menara-beach.com/

eyebeebe said:

You’d get a lot more for your money on the Costa Blanca (and probably even more on other Costas). Just sayin’

Yeah I appreciate all that. I've not looked at other places.. we just like the look and sound of Estepona. Prices have shot up hugely recently that maybe when the time comes we might have to broaden the search..

Edited by Phooey on Monday 3rd June 16:37

[Chris Stott]

eyebeebe said:

Phooey said:

https://menara-beach.com/property/R4381402/apartme...

I like the architecture and style of this place. Do the Community Fees (€ 602 p/m) sound excessive? I'm only tyre kicking atm.. just seeing what's out there etc, but I live in hope that retirement might be spent somewhere like Spain (Estepona)

My first thought is they sound ridiculous, but I guess it depends what you get for the money. It mentions 24 hour security. That won’t be cheap, but why do you need it? Ours is around 80 a month, but there’s not much to maintain beyond the building and a basic pool and certainly no security.

You’d get a lot more for your money on the Costa Blanca (and probably even more on other Costas). Just sayin’

I never saw any answers to this question. Got to say I’m wondering the same thing.

Phil. said:

Genuine question. Why is the stretch between Gibraltar and Malaga so popular compared to other Spanish coastal areas?

I did a 10 day driving tour of Andalusia last October. The coastal areas appear to be over developed in many areas with development continuing all focussed on achieving mass tourism. Property prices are relatively high. Lots of people being crammed into a limited space. This isn’t attractive to me.

As an example, I’m based in the Cartagena - La Manga area, on the coast. Spanish visit from the cities for the summer. There is a lot of nature/space to explore. It never feels over populated. There are plenty of reasonably priced restaurants and services. Property prices are much lower and the weather is similar. What more does the like of Estepona offer for so much more cost?

As well as what I mentioned in my previous post, our fees include 24hr security (CCTV in and out), lifts contract, plus all the external maintenance of the properties… painting, garaging and store room maintenance, cleaning of all common areas. Our annual budget is over €500,000, and we’re currently running projects such as installation of massive water tanks (to protect us from future restrictions) and heating for one of our pools. The every 10 years repainting is a €350k cost.

Between Malaga and Gib you’ve got Malaga, Torremolinos, Fungirola, Benalmadena, Marbella, San Pedro, Estepona… and they are just the major towns.

Property isn’t the same price in all of those locations… it’s much cheaper to live in Benalmadena than Banus, for example…. And a lot cheaper 15-20km inland.

Cartegena is lovely (one of my mates has his yacht moored there). But it doesn’t have the variety of the Malagese coast.

[Chris Stott]

Phooey said:

Chris Stott said:

Thats only about 10 mins from my place.

€602 is a lot, but depends what you get. My community fees are €440, which is pretty high, and the highest on out urbanization (I have the biggest footprint). We do have some very nice gardens (3 gardeners), 3 pools, a concierge and a permanent maintenance guy.

Location wise, while that’s technically Estepona, it’s actually mid way between there and San Pedro… Cancelada is a decent area. Not much you’ll walk to, but front line beach is a massive plus… and the beach there won’t be mega busy, even in high season.

Big negative for me is it has no view… the development is front line beach, but you can’t see it from there.

I’ve got a client with a penthouse in playa del angle (just up the road, on the outskirts of Estepona proper)… front line beach… has unobstructed views of the sea and Gib. It’s a massive plus.

Edited by Chris Stott on Monday 3rd June 16:19

Thanks, Chris. I like this type of property, and yes a Google-map scan agrees with you regarding not much to walk to... It looks a bit 'holiday' more than permanent living but i just thought it was an interesting place - especially if you wanted to rent it out (subject to being allowed of course - not looked into it) when we don't use it.

I get your point re view. This apartment https://menara-beach.com/property/4674MLA/apartmen...
in the same complex has front-line view, but double the price. Lower community fees though


Link to Menara beach properties - https://menara-beach.com/

eyebeebe said:

You’d get a lot more for your money on the Costa Blanca (and probably even more on other Costas). Just sayin’

Yeah I appreciate all that. I've not looked at other places.. we just like the look and sound of Estepona. Prices have shot up hugely recently that maybe when the time comes we might have to broaden the search..

Edited by Phooey on Monday 3rd June 16:37

You can see from those picture where you’re fees go… beautiful common areas, big pool… plus it looks like an older development (15-20 years), and they need a lot of maintenance to stay in tip top condition.

[Riff Raff]

We're in the centre of Marbella, 200 sq. m according to the escrituras, and we pay about €1,200 every six months, or €200 per month for gastos de la comunidad. It's a big complex, 2 pools plus a small kid's one, 24 hour concierge/security, communal gardens etc etc. There are a bunch of permanent staff apart from the concierges who work shifts, a maintenance man, a gardener and a load of cleaning ladies. The €200 also includes water, as our place is 50 years old, and individual water meters hadn't been thought of when it was built, and are impossible to retrofit. Allegedly.

I think I'd hate to be somewhere like the flat that Phooey linked. Where we are a lot of Spaniards live and work locally. It has a real 'barrio' feel about it. The people who work in the local bars and restaurants and shops say hello to you. You don't need a car, you can walk anywhere. (Which is just as well, because on street parking is a nightmare). Except perhaps to La Cañada, when we get the bus. Easy and painless with a prepay bus pass. We can go out for dinner in the evening with friends, hit a bar de copas afterwards and walk home.

Marbella is what I suppose us Brits would call a 15 minute city. I can't imagine being a car ride away from a coffee, but each to his own.

[Thankyou4calling]

I've just bought a place in Mombasa (Kenya)

New build, 15 minutes walk to Nyali Beach on a complex with a pool, gym, sports court etc.

We will use it regularly and friends and family too. We often go to the coast but this is somewhere a bit livelier.

2 bed apartment built to a decent standard with fitted kitchen, shower etc and a sea view.

Paid 4.5 million KSH (£25,000)

[soxboy]

Thankyou4calling said:

I've just bought a place in Mombasa (Kenya)

New build, 15 minutes walk to Nyali Beach on a complex with a pool, gym, sports court etc.

We will use it regularly and friends and family too. We often go to the coast but this is somewhere a bit livelier.

2 bed apartment built to a decent standard with fitted kitchen, shower etc and a sea view.

Paid 4.5 million KSH (£25,000)

What are the Ryanair flights like to get there?