buying an apartment in spain
Discussion
Shnozz said:
Challo said:
If your open to area's the girlfriends parents moved out to Ciudad Quesada a few years ago. I wouldn't recommend there bit as its a bit inland and quite alot of people are ex-pats, but along the coast is very nice.
Bang in the middle of Murcia and Alicante so flights all year round. Not sure on the prices for Malaga but I think further up the coast is a little cheaper. Alicante is a very nice place to visit and you can head further up (2hrs) to Valencia which is stunning.
This is where I am looking - Ciudad Quesada has popped up, as has Pilar De La Horadada and San Javier itself.Bang in the middle of Murcia and Alicante so flights all year round. Not sure on the prices for Malaga but I think further up the coast is a little cheaper. Alicante is a very nice place to visit and you can head further up (2hrs) to Valencia which is stunning.
Murcia airport is nicely accessible and easy to commute back and forward to a plethora of UK regional airports as I shall be doing (although Murcia airport is due to 'relocate' to Corvera in the next few years in case that is a factor).
I do enjoy malaga and was in marbella 3 times in the last 3 or so months but property is 2/3 times the price and I simply cannot see any more value, other than perhaps being less difficult to dispose of when the time comes and perhaps more market-resistant than outside of that region.
As well as some value and decent sun (I was in Barcelona 2 weeks before xmas and Marbella the week after - there was 10 degrees difference or more between the two), I want to make the journey back and forward as seamless as possible. I have started to get used to what days and times work better than other but wanted ease of transport at both ends, hopefully no requirement for airport parking and a few local bars and culture.
Saying that the coast is a few minutes drive and Guardamar del Segura is a good beach.
Lots of good advice on here already. Here’s my experience.
My wife suggested we buy a property abroad 4 years ago. I wasn’t particularly keen on Spain given the state of the economy at the time and the stories of thousands of properties standing empty, but I went with her to a property show at the NEC to keep her happy. We looked at various places round Europe, but she kept coming back to the Costa Del Sol area as it was somewhere we knew well and was only a short flight – no point in owing something you can’t get to easily.
Initially, she thought we’d buy something for sub €100k, after watching a Spanish property program on TV, but it was clear at the NEC that a lot of these properties are either in a poor state of repair, or in poor areas.
So we booked a viewing trip with an agent in the Marbella area and went over for 2 days.
1st day the agent took us to 4 resorts that were owned by ‘the bad bank’… these were all developments that had gone bust in the economic crash in 2008, and had been repossessed by the banks. Without exception, they were terrible – in the worst one we saw, the show apartment stank of drains as the water hadn’t been on for years and the drains had backed up. The landscaping hadn’t been touched for years, paint was peeling off the walls outside, and the site only had 2% occupancy. If these properties had been super cheap, fair enough, but they weren’t!
End of the 1st day, the agent took us to a resort above San Pedro, built by Taylor Wimpy in the late 90’s/early 00’s. It was like night and day… complete, high occupancy, perfectly manicured, well designed, lots of space… it also helped us clarify exactly what we wanted… 3 beds so the family could come out, and as much outside space as possible – the weather is so good that you spend most of your time outside… I wanted enough space for a decent dining table and some couches to chill on… a 25sqm terrace wasn’t going to work.
So we waited, and a couple of months later the agent called about a new listing, my wife flew out to view, videoed it for me and we put an offer in.
The agent then put us in contact with Sabadell (bank) and a solicitor - who turned out to be brilliant, and had some hilarious stories about Russians turning up with suitcases full of cash in the days before Spain implemented money laundering laws.
Sabadell were mostly OK… their big screw up was neglecting to tell us they wanted the life insurance policy paid in full upfront, which came as a massive surprise 2 days before completion, and we had to go find a big chunk of cash at short notice. We paid a 40% deposit (using a money transfer agency to minimise currency fees), and around 13% in fees on top of the purchase price.
As I said, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about buying, but 3 years on, it’s one of the best decisions we (she!) made. Took us a few months to get it how we wanted (completely redecorated and refurnished it), but now it’s pretty much perfect.
Our place has 3 beds, 2 baths, 130sqm living, 130sqm terrace (with 8 seater table, 6 loungers, BBQ – couches coming this year), underground parking, big store room big communal pool about 30s walk away,… it’s perfect for us.
And it’s completely changed how we holiday – Although we had a lot more holidays available, used to be we had one big holiday a year, as it always took so much planning, and the lead up always became a big stress. Now we go away at least 5 or 6 times a year – we’ll have 3 single weeks across the year, and then go for long weekends whenever we feel like it. I’ll go with a couple of mates when the Masters is on to play and watch golf. She’ll take her 2 nephews for a week. Our in laws use it a lot. There’s just zero stress to going away – I typically only travel with my laptop bag as we have clothes down there. Land at Malaga, pick up some shopping on the 30 min drive from the airport, walk in, open the shutters, wine already chilled in the fridge, and just immediately relax.
Although we’re only 10 mins from Banus and 15 from Marbella, we only go there if someone comes to visit and they want to see the cars/yachts. We do go to little restaurants in the local towns, but food in the local supermarkets is so cheap (particularly fresh fish), as is wine (€3 for a drinkable bottle of Rioja), that most of the time we just fire up the BBQ and sit round the table eating and drinking in to the early hours.
Regarding heating/AC… The AC in our apartment isn’t very effective (probably not been serviced in years), but we never have it on. We don’t go to the place in the height of summer (I’ll let friends have it then), but even when it’s high 30’s, a combination of thick concrete walls, marble floors, windows open front to rear (to keep air flowing through) and terrace awnings creating shade means the interior doesn’t ever become unbearable. When we go Jan/Feb, we do run the heating for a few hours early evening, but needs no more than this.
My wife suggested we buy a property abroad 4 years ago. I wasn’t particularly keen on Spain given the state of the economy at the time and the stories of thousands of properties standing empty, but I went with her to a property show at the NEC to keep her happy. We looked at various places round Europe, but she kept coming back to the Costa Del Sol area as it was somewhere we knew well and was only a short flight – no point in owing something you can’t get to easily.
Initially, she thought we’d buy something for sub €100k, after watching a Spanish property program on TV, but it was clear at the NEC that a lot of these properties are either in a poor state of repair, or in poor areas.
So we booked a viewing trip with an agent in the Marbella area and went over for 2 days.
1st day the agent took us to 4 resorts that were owned by ‘the bad bank’… these were all developments that had gone bust in the economic crash in 2008, and had been repossessed by the banks. Without exception, they were terrible – in the worst one we saw, the show apartment stank of drains as the water hadn’t been on for years and the drains had backed up. The landscaping hadn’t been touched for years, paint was peeling off the walls outside, and the site only had 2% occupancy. If these properties had been super cheap, fair enough, but they weren’t!
End of the 1st day, the agent took us to a resort above San Pedro, built by Taylor Wimpy in the late 90’s/early 00’s. It was like night and day… complete, high occupancy, perfectly manicured, well designed, lots of space… it also helped us clarify exactly what we wanted… 3 beds so the family could come out, and as much outside space as possible – the weather is so good that you spend most of your time outside… I wanted enough space for a decent dining table and some couches to chill on… a 25sqm terrace wasn’t going to work.
So we waited, and a couple of months later the agent called about a new listing, my wife flew out to view, videoed it for me and we put an offer in.
The agent then put us in contact with Sabadell (bank) and a solicitor - who turned out to be brilliant, and had some hilarious stories about Russians turning up with suitcases full of cash in the days before Spain implemented money laundering laws.
Sabadell were mostly OK… their big screw up was neglecting to tell us they wanted the life insurance policy paid in full upfront, which came as a massive surprise 2 days before completion, and we had to go find a big chunk of cash at short notice. We paid a 40% deposit (using a money transfer agency to minimise currency fees), and around 13% in fees on top of the purchase price.
As I said, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about buying, but 3 years on, it’s one of the best decisions we (she!) made. Took us a few months to get it how we wanted (completely redecorated and refurnished it), but now it’s pretty much perfect.
Our place has 3 beds, 2 baths, 130sqm living, 130sqm terrace (with 8 seater table, 6 loungers, BBQ – couches coming this year), underground parking, big store room big communal pool about 30s walk away,… it’s perfect for us.
And it’s completely changed how we holiday – Although we had a lot more holidays available, used to be we had one big holiday a year, as it always took so much planning, and the lead up always became a big stress. Now we go away at least 5 or 6 times a year – we’ll have 3 single weeks across the year, and then go for long weekends whenever we feel like it. I’ll go with a couple of mates when the Masters is on to play and watch golf. She’ll take her 2 nephews for a week. Our in laws use it a lot. There’s just zero stress to going away – I typically only travel with my laptop bag as we have clothes down there. Land at Malaga, pick up some shopping on the 30 min drive from the airport, walk in, open the shutters, wine already chilled in the fridge, and just immediately relax.
Although we’re only 10 mins from Banus and 15 from Marbella, we only go there if someone comes to visit and they want to see the cars/yachts. We do go to little restaurants in the local towns, but food in the local supermarkets is so cheap (particularly fresh fish), as is wine (€3 for a drinkable bottle of Rioja), that most of the time we just fire up the BBQ and sit round the table eating and drinking in to the early hours.
Regarding heating/AC… The AC in our apartment isn’t very effective (probably not been serviced in years), but we never have it on. We don’t go to the place in the height of summer (I’ll let friends have it then), but even when it’s high 30’s, a combination of thick concrete walls, marble floors, windows open front to rear (to keep air flowing through) and terrace awnings creating shade means the interior doesn’t ever become unbearable. When we go Jan/Feb, we do run the heating for a few hours early evening, but needs no more than this.
Chris Stott said:
Lots of good advice on here already. Here’s my experience.
My wife suggested we buy a property abroad 4 years ago. I wasn’t particularly keen on Spain given the state of the economy at the time and the stories of thousands of properties standing empty, but I went with her to a property show at the NEC to keep her happy. We looked at various places round Europe, but she kept coming back to the Costa Del Sol area as it was somewhere we knew well and was only a short flight – no point in owing something you can’t get to easily.
Initially, she thought we’d buy something for sub €100k, after watching a Spanish property program on TV, but it was clear at the NEC that a lot of these properties are either in a poor state of repair, or in poor areas.
So we booked a viewing trip with an agent in the Marbella area and went over for 2 days.
1st day the agent took us to 4 resorts that were owned by ‘the bad bank’… these were all developments that had gone bust in the economic crash in 2008, and had been repossessed by the banks. Without exception, they were terrible – in the worst one we saw, the show apartment stank of drains as the water hadn’t been on for years and the drains had backed up. The landscaping hadn’t been touched for years, paint was peeling off the walls outside, and the site only had 2% occupancy. If these properties had been super cheap, fair enough, but they weren’t!
End of the 1st day, the agent took us to a resort above San Pedro, built by Taylor Wimpy in the late 90’s/early 00’s. It was like night and day… complete, high occupancy, perfectly manicured, well designed, lots of space… it also helped us clarify exactly what we wanted… 3 beds so the family could come out, and as much outside space as possible – the weather is so good that you spend most of your time outside… I wanted enough space for a decent dining table and some couches to chill on… a 25sqm terrace wasn’t going to work.
So we waited, and a couple of months later the agent called about a new listing, my wife flew out to view, videoed it for me and we put an offer in.
The agent then put us in contact with Sabadell (bank) and a solicitor - who turned out to be brilliant, and had some hilarious stories about Russians turning up with suitcases full of cash in the days before Spain implemented money laundering laws.
Sabadell were mostly OK… their big screw up was neglecting to tell us they wanted the life insurance policy paid in full upfront, which came as a massive surprise 2 days before completion, and we had to go find a big chunk of cash at short notice. We paid a 40% deposit (using a money transfer agency to minimise currency fees), and around 13% in fees on top of the purchase price.
As I said, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about buying, but 3 years on, it’s one of the best decisions we (she!) made. Took us a few months to get it how we wanted (completely redecorated and refurnished it), but now it’s pretty much perfect.
Our place has 3 beds, 2 baths, 130sqm living, 130sqm terrace (with 8 seater table, 6 loungers, BBQ – couches coming this year), underground parking, big store room big communal pool about 30s walk away,… it’s perfect for us.
And it’s completely changed how we holiday – Although we had a lot more holidays available, used to be we had one big holiday a year, as it always took so much planning, and the lead up always became a big stress. Now we go away at least 5 or 6 times a year – we’ll have 3 single weeks across the year, and then go for long weekends whenever we feel like it. I’ll go with a couple of mates when the Masters is on to play and watch golf. She’ll take her 2 nephews for a week. Our in laws use it a lot. There’s just zero stress to going away – I typically only travel with my laptop bag as we have clothes down there. Land at Malaga, pick up some shopping on the 30 min drive from the airport, walk in, open the shutters, wine already chilled in the fridge, and just immediately relax.
Although we’re only 10 mins from Banus and 15 from Marbella, we only go there if someone comes to visit and they want to see the cars/yachts. We do go to little restaurants in the local towns, but food in the local supermarkets is so cheap (particularly fresh fish), as is wine (€3 for a drinkable bottle of Rioja), that most of the time we just fire up the BBQ and sit round the table eating and drinking in to the early hours.
Regarding heating/AC… The AC in our apartment isn’t very effective (probably not been serviced in years), but we never have it on. We don’t go to the place in the height of summer (I’ll let friends have it then), but even when it’s high 30’s, a combination of thick concrete walls, marble floors, windows open front to rear (to keep air flowing through) and terrace awnings creating shade means the interior doesn’t ever become unbearable. When we go Jan/Feb, we do run the heating for a few hours early evening, but needs no more than this.
Bingo!My wife suggested we buy a property abroad 4 years ago. I wasn’t particularly keen on Spain given the state of the economy at the time and the stories of thousands of properties standing empty, but I went with her to a property show at the NEC to keep her happy. We looked at various places round Europe, but she kept coming back to the Costa Del Sol area as it was somewhere we knew well and was only a short flight – no point in owing something you can’t get to easily.
Initially, she thought we’d buy something for sub €100k, after watching a Spanish property program on TV, but it was clear at the NEC that a lot of these properties are either in a poor state of repair, or in poor areas.
So we booked a viewing trip with an agent in the Marbella area and went over for 2 days.
1st day the agent took us to 4 resorts that were owned by ‘the bad bank’… these were all developments that had gone bust in the economic crash in 2008, and had been repossessed by the banks. Without exception, they were terrible – in the worst one we saw, the show apartment stank of drains as the water hadn’t been on for years and the drains had backed up. The landscaping hadn’t been touched for years, paint was peeling off the walls outside, and the site only had 2% occupancy. If these properties had been super cheap, fair enough, but they weren’t!
End of the 1st day, the agent took us to a resort above San Pedro, built by Taylor Wimpy in the late 90’s/early 00’s. It was like night and day… complete, high occupancy, perfectly manicured, well designed, lots of space… it also helped us clarify exactly what we wanted… 3 beds so the family could come out, and as much outside space as possible – the weather is so good that you spend most of your time outside… I wanted enough space for a decent dining table and some couches to chill on… a 25sqm terrace wasn’t going to work.
So we waited, and a couple of months later the agent called about a new listing, my wife flew out to view, videoed it for me and we put an offer in.
The agent then put us in contact with Sabadell (bank) and a solicitor - who turned out to be brilliant, and had some hilarious stories about Russians turning up with suitcases full of cash in the days before Spain implemented money laundering laws.
Sabadell were mostly OK… their big screw up was neglecting to tell us they wanted the life insurance policy paid in full upfront, which came as a massive surprise 2 days before completion, and we had to go find a big chunk of cash at short notice. We paid a 40% deposit (using a money transfer agency to minimise currency fees), and around 13% in fees on top of the purchase price.
As I said, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about buying, but 3 years on, it’s one of the best decisions we (she!) made. Took us a few months to get it how we wanted (completely redecorated and refurnished it), but now it’s pretty much perfect.
Our place has 3 beds, 2 baths, 130sqm living, 130sqm terrace (with 8 seater table, 6 loungers, BBQ – couches coming this year), underground parking, big store room big communal pool about 30s walk away,… it’s perfect for us.
And it’s completely changed how we holiday – Although we had a lot more holidays available, used to be we had one big holiday a year, as it always took so much planning, and the lead up always became a big stress. Now we go away at least 5 or 6 times a year – we’ll have 3 single weeks across the year, and then go for long weekends whenever we feel like it. I’ll go with a couple of mates when the Masters is on to play and watch golf. She’ll take her 2 nephews for a week. Our in laws use it a lot. There’s just zero stress to going away – I typically only travel with my laptop bag as we have clothes down there. Land at Malaga, pick up some shopping on the 30 min drive from the airport, walk in, open the shutters, wine already chilled in the fridge, and just immediately relax.
Although we’re only 10 mins from Banus and 15 from Marbella, we only go there if someone comes to visit and they want to see the cars/yachts. We do go to little restaurants in the local towns, but food in the local supermarkets is so cheap (particularly fresh fish), as is wine (€3 for a drinkable bottle of Rioja), that most of the time we just fire up the BBQ and sit round the table eating and drinking in to the early hours.
Regarding heating/AC… The AC in our apartment isn’t very effective (probably not been serviced in years), but we never have it on. We don’t go to the place in the height of summer (I’ll let friends have it then), but even when it’s high 30’s, a combination of thick concrete walls, marble floors, windows open front to rear (to keep air flowing through) and terrace awnings creating shade means the interior doesn’t ever become unbearable. When we go Jan/Feb, we do run the heating for a few hours early evening, but needs no more than this.
Save for some details, I just nodded constantly in reading that. What a similar journey.
We saw some right horrors to start with. Then the Taylor Wimpey ‘show and tell’ reset all expectations and crystallised things beautifully about what we really wanted. The big terrace to have a full suite of dining and resting options, the outdoor living, picking up something from the supermarket on the way from the airport, the travelling light....the complete revolutionising of how you see/take holidays....it’s all tick tick tick!
To cap it off I hazard a guess you’re probably setup only 5 minutes in the car further west than we are!
Great to read and also echo the ‘one of the best things we’ve done’ sentiment.
tigerkoi said:
Bingo!
Save for some details, I just nodded constantly in reading that. What a similar journey.
We saw some right horrors to start with. Then the Taylor Wimpey ‘show and tell’ reset all expectations and crystallised things beautifully about what we really wanted. The big terrace to have a full suite of dining and resting options, the outdoor living, picking up something from the supermarket on the way from the airport, the travelling light....the complete revolutionising of how you see/take holidays....it’s all tick tick tick!
To cap it off I hazard a guess you’re probably setup only 5 minutes in the car further west than we are!
Great to read and also echo the ‘one of the best things we’ve done’ sentiment.
Initially, I only skim read the thread and didn't take note of who was posting... after posting, I went back and read in more detail... and it was exactly the same for me when reading your posts... nod, nod, nod Save for some details, I just nodded constantly in reading that. What a similar journey.
We saw some right horrors to start with. Then the Taylor Wimpey ‘show and tell’ reset all expectations and crystallised things beautifully about what we really wanted. The big terrace to have a full suite of dining and resting options, the outdoor living, picking up something from the supermarket on the way from the airport, the travelling light....the complete revolutionising of how you see/take holidays....it’s all tick tick tick!
To cap it off I hazard a guess you’re probably setup only 5 minutes in the car further west than we are!
Great to read and also echo the ‘one of the best things we’ve done’ sentiment.
The comment about it not being a holiday but a home is 100% correct. And I think that's the key difference for me... it completely changed the whole experience.
We're on Los Arqueros (just above San Pedro, on the Rhonda road)... I get off the AP7 1st exit after the tunnels past Marbella.
Just booked a couple of cheap flights in Feb to go celebrate our wedding anniversary... leave Thursday night, come back Sunday night. We could probably do the whole weekend for under £350 (flights/rental car/valet at Gatwick/food/booze), but we're going to go to El Oceana nr Mijas for dinner, which will add a bit
Last year we took my in-laws over for Christmas - my FIL and I played golf in shorts and t-shirt Boxing Day - it was 22*. It was -2* and thick fog when we landed in UK the following day.
Chris Stott said:
tigerkoi said:
Bingo!
Save for some details, I just nodded constantly in reading that. What a similar journey.
We saw some right horrors to start with. Then the Taylor Wimpey ‘show and tell’ reset all expectations and crystallised things beautifully about what we really wanted. The big terrace to have a full suite of dining and resting options, the outdoor living, picking up something from the supermarket on the way from the airport, the travelling light....the complete revolutionising of how you see/take holidays....it’s all tick tick tick!
To cap it off I hazard a guess you’re probably setup only 5 minutes in the car further west than we are!
Great to read and also echo the ‘one of the best things we’ve done’ sentiment.
Initially, I only skim read the thread and didn't take note of who was posting... after posting, I went back and read in more detail... and it was exactly the same for me when reading your posts... nod, nod, nod Save for some details, I just nodded constantly in reading that. What a similar journey.
We saw some right horrors to start with. Then the Taylor Wimpey ‘show and tell’ reset all expectations and crystallised things beautifully about what we really wanted. The big terrace to have a full suite of dining and resting options, the outdoor living, picking up something from the supermarket on the way from the airport, the travelling light....the complete revolutionising of how you see/take holidays....it’s all tick tick tick!
To cap it off I hazard a guess you’re probably setup only 5 minutes in the car further west than we are!
Great to read and also echo the ‘one of the best things we’ve done’ sentiment.
The comment about it not being a holiday but a home is 100% correct. And I think that's the key difference for me... it completely changed the whole experience.
We're on Los Arqueros (just above San Pedro, on the Rhonda road)... I get off the AP7 1st exit after the tunnels past Marbella.
Just booked a couple of cheap flights in Feb to go celebrate our wedding anniversary... leave Thursday night, come back Sunday night. We could probably do the whole weekend for under £350 (flights/rental car/valet at Gatwick/food/booze), but we're going to go to El Oceana nr Mijas for dinner, which will add a bit
Last year we took my in-laws over for Christmas - my FIL and I played golf in shorts and t-shirt Boxing Day - it was 22*. It was -2* and thick fog when we landed in UK the following day.
Los Arqueros is very nice indeed, congratulations! As I remember there are some lovely properties with space and views. Nice. You do zoom past us, as I figured: we are Calahonda, Miraflores way. I guess you’re more likely to get your jamon and Rioja after leaving AGP from La Canada whilst we instead raid Miramar! It’s also nice being able to indulge family too like you say with sunshine, sport etc. It really adds to a wonderful home from home experience that when you reflect on you’re glad to have done.
BTW unless I’m wrong, you’re a short drone’ flight from Putin’s place. La Zagaleta up the hill? All the estates there are lovely in my view, but his mansion just takes the biscuit....it’s a stunner. Story is he knocked down the old house which belonged to an 80s computer gaming pioneer who’d just died, and the remodel was ordered to have the perfunctory space for 20+ odd cars
There’s meant to be a wine producing setup & cellar in it that’s incredible. Apparently. My wife is a fellow St Petersburgian, a huge fan, and thinks that if we had a tough guy like him running things, western society wouldn’t be so dysfunctional. A sarcastic ”...democracy eh...” followed by a burst of giggles is something I get used to hearing if her, her mum, her aunt manage to find Sky News or CNN channel on satellite whenever they’ve been invited to stay. Sitting outside listening to the sprinklers on the lawn with a Desperados 3-pack and a snatch of pancetta and pork snacks is my retreat! 
As for El Oceano, some mornings we mooch down to the boardwalk and then stroll a couple of km and back along the coast. You can’t miss El Oceano from beachside and realise what stunning views diners have. Its the premier place on that stretch, surely? Believe it or not, even though it’s very local for us, we haven’t been yet! We will though. Enjoy the anniversary meal!
Were practically neighbours and you never know, might bump into each other!
tigerkoi said:
Los Arqueros is very nice indeed, congratulations! As I remember there are some lovely properties with space and views. Nice. You do zoom past us, as I figured: we are Calahonda, Miraflores way. I guess you’re more likely to get your jamon and Rioja after leaving AGP from La Canada whilst we instead raid Miramar! It’s also nice being able to indulge family too like you say with sunshine, sport etc. It really adds to a wonderful home from home experience that when you reflect on you’re glad to have done.
BTW unless I’m wrong, you’re a short drone’ flight from Putin’s place. La Zagaleta up the hill? All the estates there are lovely in my view, but his mansion just takes the biscuit....it’s a stunner. Story is he knocked down the old house which belonged to an 80s computer gaming pioneer who’d just died, and the remodel was ordered to have the perfunctory space for 20+ odd cars
There’s meant to be a wine producing setup & cellar in it that’s incredible. Apparently. My wife is a fellow St Petersburgian, a huge fan, and thinks that if we had a tough guy like him running things, western society wouldn’t be so dysfunctional. A sarcastic ”...democracy eh...” followed by a burst of giggles is something I get used to hearing if her, her mum, her aunt manage to find Sky News or CNN channel on satellite whenever they’ve been invited to stay. Sitting outside listening to the sprinklers on the lawn with a Desperados 3-pack and a snatch of pancetta and pork snacks is my retreat! As for El Oceano, some mornings we mooch down to the boardwalk and then stroll a couple of km and back along the coast. You can’t miss El Oceano from beachside and realise what stunning views diners have. Its the premier place on that stretch, surely? Believe it or not, even though it’s very local for us, we haven’t been yet! We will though. Enjoy the anniversary meal!
Were practically neighbours and you never know, might bump into each other!
FIL and I played the golf course there many years ago on one of our earliest trips to the area.
We love Los Arqueros. It’s a big resort, but it never gets really busy – we can get loungers by the pool even on the odd occasion we’re there in the school holidays. The golf course is decent and GFM, and the club house serves very decent food. There are some mega properties on the estate (some over €7 million), and yes, Zagaleta is a bit up the hill if you have a lottery win sized budget for your property (not in our price range!!).
We use La Canada for proper shops (wine/fish/meat), but we also have a decent place in San Pedro, and a really good 24h place just 2 mins down the road from us for urgent stuff. Amazing how cheap things are in Spain – I get massive tuna steaks for €3-4 and massive prawns for €8/kg – both fabulous just seared on the BBQ. I eat like a king out there!
You should try El Oceana – we went Christmas eve last year. Amazing location, great cocktails, very good food, very good wine list (the La Fleur Gazin Pommerol is amazing) and awesome service.
Christmas eve - windows open, >20* (best bloody mary I've ever had!)...
Our terrace
Not sure I’m so enthusiastic about Putin running Europe
Edited by Chris Stott on Thursday 11th January 21:03
Chris Stott said:
...You should try El Oceana – we went Christmas eve last year. Amazing location, great cocktails, very good food, very good wine list (the La Fleur Gazin Pommerol is amazing) and awesome service.
Christmas eve - windows open, >20* (best bloody mary I've ever had!)...
Oh believe me, I’m terrifed of any further Russian control in my life. Relentless when they have your back in a fight and relentless when you’re in the doghouse too Christmas eve - windows open, >20* (best bloody mary I've ever had!)...
Your terrace is absolutely enormous - you could probably slide all the furniture to one side and have a game of badminton when you feel like it on that - huge! I totally get you on Calahonda. In that particular valley, it’s one of the quicker risers from beachside to edge of urbanizicion. Whilst we settled on something that for us was the best of both our worlds - high enough to have completely uninterrupted views and away from the noise and cars but with suitable proximity to jaunt to the coast - i only get upset at the AGP if my wife surprises me with a poky engine hire car, because in a huff I’ll throw the keys back and say she can bully that 1.2l through the steep bits. There are compounds higher up than ours with the most incredible scenery but that’s the lovely thing with the whole region, there’s so much choice for everyone’s different taste buds.
Oh believe me, I’m sold on El Oceano! I will pull my finger out very soon. It will have to be an occasion when either a) me and wife are alone and her mum and gang are elsewhere (or the restaurant needs menus in Cyrillic + patient staff as one of her cousins will happily spend 20mins quizzing every option rather than get her glasses out!) or b) haven’t spent the day at the tennis club, walked home - up the hill - and be too knackered to follow through on the booking when I flop down and then get engrossed in some Colombian soap opera. Excuses, excuses I know.....sometimes it’s too easy to fire up the bbq, zone out and degauss as the sun goes down
I’ve never fully concentrated on playing, but I’m leaning towards getting stuck in to some serious golf. When you’re in region that has so many wonderful courses, then it’s only a matter of time before I play more and more. To then enjoy the clubhouse after with your friend or family is a nice touch. The regions golf courses obviously are a huge pull for so many buyers, but it’s also good that its not dominated by them. The balance is spot on, I think. So many estates are well thought out in layout.
Seriously, I know El O is super classy and we’re definitely going in the next few weeks. I will treat the boss. I’ve just been looking at the menu. If they have a 2007 vintage Viña Imperial Gran Reserva, then the Roast Cannon and Rack of Lamb looks truly delectable as my main.
Thought I would add an update here seeing as I commented on the other thread linking it re mortgages...
My UK "funding" property has been sold <toucheswood> and contracts to be exchanged end of August and then the hunt in Spain begins in earnest...will keep tigerkoi advised!
Already looking at Corvettes/Camaros and various other LHD cars I could never consider driving on this side of the road...(this is PH after all!)
My UK "funding" property has been sold <toucheswood> and contracts to be exchanged end of August and then the hunt in Spain begins in earnest...will keep tigerkoi advised!
Already looking at Corvettes/Camaros and various other LHD cars I could never consider driving on this side of the road...(this is PH after all!)
Brilliant thread. ¡Me gusto mucho!
I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
Ken Figenus said:
Brilliant thread. ¡Me gusto mucho!
I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
We're on the South Coast primarily for the weather and the golf courses. Flights are c.£100 outside school holidays, and a rental car is c.£20/day.I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
I was in Baiona (nr Vigo - NW coast of Spain) a couple of weeks ago (sailed my mates yacht down there from Plymouth), and it's quite a different vibe... less commercial & less touristy stuff. Very good food, and friendly people.
Ken Figenus said:
Brilliant thread. ¡Me gusto mucho!
I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
the only relevant infor I can share is that the ferry to Santander is fine but the ferry back can be very rough ! We have done the ferry 3 times - each time going was fine but each time back its been a) very rough b) sick making rough, falling over c) so feking rough I was trying to wedge myself into my bed but still flying 3 foot up and down and resorted to crawling anywhere to be sick. It was rough. So we fly now and don't take the caravan.I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
Ken Figenus said:
Brilliant thread. ¡Me gusto mucho!
I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
I guess it depends on the likely period of stay too. I plan on being back and forth between the Spanish house and Southampton/London/Leeds/Copenhagen so it makes sense for me to have the airport(s) nearby to facilitate that. There is also the benefit to me of having the choice of several airports with several airlines covering the routes so healthy competition to hopefully keep prices reasonable to do the trip easily and cheaply. I note its all really about the East coast though and flying to get there. What's the key driver here as I may take the plunge one day but was far more thinking North coast and taking the car via the ferry when visiting. Do people generally always hire small cars there for their trips? Probably a few hundred quid plus a few hundred quid for the family in flights? £500 for the ferry...
I see quite a few advantages to the north coast, especially as language is not a barrier and I would ideally want something away from a busy urban area for a nice bit of peace, quiet and chill
I must also say I have a preference for the weather further South as against the North of Spain.
My parents lived in Spain and would occasionally drive down. Even with their starting point being Southampton, so no real UK travel leg, it was still a lengthy and expensive trip every time. Personal preference is a far quicker, easier and cheaper plane for the most part other than perhaps a bi-annual road trip to deliver/return things and/or take or bring back a car from the Spanish home.
I can certainly see the attractions of the North, just my tuppence in terms of thought process.
superlightr said:
the only relevant infor I can share is that the ferry to Santander is fine but the ferry back can be very rough ! We have done the ferry 3 times - each time going was fine but each time back its been a) very rough b) sick making rough, falling over c) so feking rough I was trying to wedge myself into my bed but still flying 3 foot up and down and resorted to crawling anywhere to be sick. It was rough. So we fly now and don't take the caravan.
We sailed down week before last on a 45ft yacht, and the weather/sea conditions were decent - we did have one night where the winds got up to 30knts plus, with a lumpy sea, but would have been nothing for a ferry. rest of the time it was pretty calm.However, as you say, weather across the Bay of Biscay can be very rough at times (particularly from October through to March), and being sea sick on a ferry for 24 hours isn't a nice experience!!
Ken Figenus said:
This is true! I found back against the wall in the cabin was best - at least i could only roll one way then!
Thanks for the other info. I had thought N Spain weather would be a bit South of France-ish but maybe the mountains change things!
That's the only way to sleep on a yacht as you almost always have some lean angle!Thanks for the other info. I had thought N Spain weather would be a bit South of France-ish but maybe the mountains change things!
Might have similar air temperatures to the South of France, but you're on the North Atlantic coast, and with prevailing westerly winds, you will get some pretty big weather systems coming across the Atlantic and hitting the coast unencumbered. You only need to take a look at the coastline to see this - it's pretty craggy!
The weather systems will dissipate somewhat once they hit land.
Shnozz said:
Update - to tie in with aimed completion on the UK pad I am off on a house-hunting trip mid-September. Might start feeling more real then.
Excellent news and keen to know how you get on, where you’re looking at etc. On the Finance thread I said a friend of mine has just recently become super serious about this. Spent a lot of time the last few weeks talking through the regions, proximity to easy transport hubs, pros and cons, legal, finance, the nuances....
All he’s really said in return is....”there’s all the detail, and you can talk yourself in/out of decisions but a home from home, in the sun, easy to get to, allowing you to switch gears midweek or whenever you fancy it.....let’s crack on!”
So a further update..and I type this from Spain...albeit sadly not yet in my own house!
The scouting trip went well. Bizarrely shortly before the trip I was contacted by a TV programme to feature in one of its episodes to be shown next year on our quest for a house. An amusing few days of filming ensued.
I have found a house I really like. Ticks all of the boxes with only 2 small negatives. The first is the community fee is slightly higher at the minute due to the usual debtor issues historically and the pool area falling into some disrepair as a result. There is some subsidence of the area (the pool is very raised as built into a mountain) and the drainage is poorly designed so that water cascades down a set of steps and across the sides of the pool area causing it to subside slightly.
There is a slight worry that this work could of course be greater once the ground is "opened up" but the works have gone to tender and the account has €11k in it as a slush fund and the community fee has been increased for now to cover the remainder of these works. Of the debtors, one is in late stages of having Court proceedings against them and the other is a "walk away" owner whose property is now in advanced stages of repossession so these two tranches of money should assist in filling the community's pot of cash to pay for the works.
The other issue is the property has been used as a summer home only so there is nothing for heating the house. Interestingly there is little to cool it either! (the owner is from Madrid so probably find the coastal home cool enough!). As such, as my winter home it will need some money spent and I think I would stick in a wood burner in the lounge to heat the entire home. In addition, I would probably stick a hot and cold air con unit in the master bedroom on the 2nd floor.
I said 2 negatives but there is a sort of third insofar as the owner being from Madrid....he isn't dead, dying or divorcing and clearly wealthy. In the typical Spanish way, he is standing by his asking price and not very willing to negotiate it seems. So its looking like I pay top dollar or walk away from this one, which I am not keen to do but trying to allow heart not to rule the head. With stamp duty equivalent being so high in Spain I am conscious of the fact buying the "wrong" home could cost me £30k +, without factoring in any potential costs for community fees or depreciation if the market takes a knock. In other words, I want to get this right first time.
The other fear is a deep routed one that the whole partial living plan just doesn't work out for me and my partner. My partner works a more traditional job in that she has to be UK based for 2/3 of the year so it will involve me being there a lot on my own and my partner might get hacked off with the journey back and forward regularly, particularly after a little while of doing it.
I have tried to make the commute as straight forward and cheap as possible in picking a town near to the airport (and an very accessible and cheap to fly to airport). I get lounge access with my credit card so could get her the same card via my account. Pay for fast track security at the airport, collect her at Spain end etc and all the factors to try and make that journey easy, quick and comfortable so its not a PITA. Also starting to get a better idea of what days of the week and times it works best to travel.
In short, I dont want to have a very expensive white elephant sat there unused for the majority of the year whilst still costing me IBI, community fees, standing charge for water and electric etc etc. Even buying it for cash it still is use of capital as well as those annual costs.
All that said, I am sat in my T-shirt typing this now between doing some work and about to go for tapas...that seems priceless.
Oh, and it justifies buying a Corvette as LHD has always put me off in the UK
The scouting trip went well. Bizarrely shortly before the trip I was contacted by a TV programme to feature in one of its episodes to be shown next year on our quest for a house. An amusing few days of filming ensued.
I have found a house I really like. Ticks all of the boxes with only 2 small negatives. The first is the community fee is slightly higher at the minute due to the usual debtor issues historically and the pool area falling into some disrepair as a result. There is some subsidence of the area (the pool is very raised as built into a mountain) and the drainage is poorly designed so that water cascades down a set of steps and across the sides of the pool area causing it to subside slightly.
There is a slight worry that this work could of course be greater once the ground is "opened up" but the works have gone to tender and the account has €11k in it as a slush fund and the community fee has been increased for now to cover the remainder of these works. Of the debtors, one is in late stages of having Court proceedings against them and the other is a "walk away" owner whose property is now in advanced stages of repossession so these two tranches of money should assist in filling the community's pot of cash to pay for the works.
The other issue is the property has been used as a summer home only so there is nothing for heating the house. Interestingly there is little to cool it either! (the owner is from Madrid so probably find the coastal home cool enough!). As such, as my winter home it will need some money spent and I think I would stick in a wood burner in the lounge to heat the entire home. In addition, I would probably stick a hot and cold air con unit in the master bedroom on the 2nd floor.
I said 2 negatives but there is a sort of third insofar as the owner being from Madrid....he isn't dead, dying or divorcing and clearly wealthy. In the typical Spanish way, he is standing by his asking price and not very willing to negotiate it seems. So its looking like I pay top dollar or walk away from this one, which I am not keen to do but trying to allow heart not to rule the head. With stamp duty equivalent being so high in Spain I am conscious of the fact buying the "wrong" home could cost me £30k +, without factoring in any potential costs for community fees or depreciation if the market takes a knock. In other words, I want to get this right first time.
The other fear is a deep routed one that the whole partial living plan just doesn't work out for me and my partner. My partner works a more traditional job in that she has to be UK based for 2/3 of the year so it will involve me being there a lot on my own and my partner might get hacked off with the journey back and forward regularly, particularly after a little while of doing it.
I have tried to make the commute as straight forward and cheap as possible in picking a town near to the airport (and an very accessible and cheap to fly to airport). I get lounge access with my credit card so could get her the same card via my account. Pay for fast track security at the airport, collect her at Spain end etc and all the factors to try and make that journey easy, quick and comfortable so its not a PITA. Also starting to get a better idea of what days of the week and times it works best to travel.
In short, I dont want to have a very expensive white elephant sat there unused for the majority of the year whilst still costing me IBI, community fees, standing charge for water and electric etc etc. Even buying it for cash it still is use of capital as well as those annual costs.
All that said, I am sat in my T-shirt typing this now between doing some work and about to go for tapas...that seems priceless.
Oh, and it justifies buying a Corvette as LHD has always put me off in the UK
Good to hear Shnozz!
We have air heating and AC at our place, but it's 20 years old and only works properly in the main bedroom (though it kind of works in the living room as well). However, we only need the heat on for a couple of hours in an evening in the middle of winter, and we've never had the AC on - just leave the windows open on one side, and the terrace doors on the other side and we get plenty of air movement which keeps it cool enough with marble floors.
Having said that, we have had a quote to replace the lot (our place is 132sqm, and the quote was €4k), which we will do before we move there permanently.
Only advice I'd give on making a purchase decision is be clear how you will use it, and be 100% sure it's somewhere you'll be happy in for years to come.... our priority was outside space, as this is where we spend the majority of our time there... so we hung on until something came up with a decent terrace (ours has 130sqm - most we looked at only had 25-30sqm).
We have air heating and AC at our place, but it's 20 years old and only works properly in the main bedroom (though it kind of works in the living room as well). However, we only need the heat on for a couple of hours in an evening in the middle of winter, and we've never had the AC on - just leave the windows open on one side, and the terrace doors on the other side and we get plenty of air movement which keeps it cool enough with marble floors.
Having said that, we have had a quote to replace the lot (our place is 132sqm, and the quote was €4k), which we will do before we move there permanently.
Only advice I'd give on making a purchase decision is be clear how you will use it, and be 100% sure it's somewhere you'll be happy in for years to come.... our priority was outside space, as this is where we spend the majority of our time there... so we hung on until something came up with a decent terrace (ours has 130sqm - most we looked at only had 25-30sqm).
Thanks Chris,
I think it would probably be wise for me to do a full calendar year to assess both cooling and heating requirements. Not only that, but I will probably need a year to recover from the spend anyway before I had thousands to throw at wood burners, air con units etc!
Any recommendations for second home overseas insurers for both buildings and contents cover?
I think it would probably be wise for me to do a full calendar year to assess both cooling and heating requirements. Not only that, but I will probably need a year to recover from the spend anyway before I had thousands to throw at wood burners, air con units etc!
Any recommendations for second home overseas insurers for both buildings and contents cover?
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