Any help or advice please - Page 4

Jimh wrote on Wed Mar 16, 2022 11:25pm:

I’m in Ireland- but I have bought in Huercal Overa between El Saltador and San Francisco - we spent three months staying 6km beyond Santa Marie de Nieva but it is too high up and gets cold in Winter (we saw a 6 degree centigrade increase just driving down to Huercal Overa) - Agents insisted on ...

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...showing us around Arboleas but it’s a collection of enclaves around a small town with small plots and lots of houses. We went to Albox and never really liked the town so discounted properties there. We had a budget of €300k and looked at 10 or 12 properties - we were tempted by one in Cantoria but we couldn’t agree a price- we saw a lovely house in Almonzora but the land around it was too steep which is probably why it has been on the market so long. Get a base and explore the towns and villages and local markets - Huercal Overa has a nice square- a new mercadona supermarket opens soon and although I don’t want to use it the hospital has a great reputation- I wouldn’t consider buying without renting first 

https://mojacarestates.com/property/2429/villa-in-huercal-overa 

Susipod wrote on Wed Mar 16, 2022 11:08pm:

Where are you Jimh? as we have never been to the area it is a difficult decision, the dream is, a spanish village with a mix of locals and ex pats where we can make friends and get involved with the community x

DarioMartin wrote on Thu Mar 17, 2022 7:52am:

If you’re wanting a mix of locals and expats, further towards the coast there is Palomares, Villaricos, Mojácar, Garrucha, Turre, Vera and Vera Playa (although Vera Playa isn’t a town as such, but an area well served by local shops and a good mix of ex-pats and locals)

Palomaress has a mix and is a nice little town; property is very very cheap there as the town is unfairly tainted by the nuclear incident that happened in 1969.  I say unfairly because there is absolutely no danger to living there - many of the vegetables in British supermarkets are grown in...

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... the land around Palomares.

Villaricos is a very pretty and quaint village right on the coast … again property prices are not too high, but it gets “invaded” for 5 days once a year when Dream Beach comes to town.  5 days of non-stop 24 hours “dance” music and thousands of drunken stoned teens and twenty-something’s.  Covid killed Dream Beach for the past two years, but it’s apparently back this year in July.

Vera Playa is well served by the town of Garrucha, again a coastal town with reasonable property prices, but it’s very much apartment living … but if you like a cosmopolitan seaside town, it’s a very very nice place.

Mojácar is further along the coast and is split into the Playa and the Pueblo.  Mojácar attracts a lot of expats for the lovely beaches and in the pueblo the beautiful Spanish village perched high on a hill.

In summer Mojácar Playa is tourist central and very very very busy.

Vera pueblo is 7 km inland and is a lovely little town.  Much much more Spanish flavour there and whilst there are some expats, nowhere near as many as Mojácar, nor indeed Albox / Arboleas both of which are at the other end of the scale and heavily weighted towards expats - as JimH says, you don’t really need Spanish if you live there.

A little further inland, but still only a 10 minute drive to the coast is Turre.  Property prices are very reasonable there, it’s a town well served with plenty of shops, bars etc.  strong expat influence but still some local flavour as well.

If you do look towards the coastal areas, I can recommend Valerie at AM3 in Vera.  Brilliant agent, will bend over backwards to get you what you want and will stay in touch with you.  Valerie is American born, but fluent Spanish / French / English

Matthew wrote on Thu Mar 17, 2022 8:10am:

Just a thought:- I bet when Susipod first posted here she was not expecting so many helpful replies. When you set out on a dream it is easy to get confused with the goal in mind and of course the experiences in between. I'm loving this thread and once again my faith in helpful humanity is endorse...

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...d. 

Buying a holiday home in Spain is an adventure and terrific if everything goes right. The rewards are there for the intelligent adventurers but the pitfalls are plentiful for the screwballs who hopped off a plane and marched aimlessly towards the first real estate agents waiting in ambush and rubbing their hands. 

Well Done everybody who posted here. And keep posting.

Matthew wrote on Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:18am:

Many who are selling their Spanish property bought when property was very cheap and for whatever reason want to "cash out."  Bear that in mind especially if the property is over 15 years old. They've got the value from their property (and likely bought off plan) and are happy to sell (who'd ...

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...blame them?). Very often the kitchen presses, cooker, fridge/freezer need replacing. They can be an eyesore to somebody leaving a new kitchen in the UK. 

For your SWOT Analysis:-

But, if your heart pounds with love when you see a property and you'd buy immediately but for the kitchen. Bear in mind that you can get a complete new kitchen for about €4K (including presses, cooker, hob, fridge/freezer/washing machine. When you buy a used property it might be safe to have the airconditioning updated asap too. Don't have those points put you off. 

Later, don't let your heart rule your head and get involved in a bidding battle for the place you love. Play the vendor and estate agents at their own game. Have another property as 2nd choice, but inform them you love it and if the sale of the 1st property dies you're prepared to go forward immediately on your second property choice (although you wouldn't touch it in reality). This works in your favour.

Dee238 wrote on Sun Mar 20, 2022 7:36pm:

Ooh wow, we're in South wales but our daughter lives in Warrington. We also went to a place in the sun in Manchester!

We have visited Almeria a few times and love the area so much & this is were we want to retire to as well.

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I was also really surprised that beautiful Almeria was not represented by anyone at the exhibition, I had thought, kind of expected someone like VOS or Spanish property choice would have been there?

We are about four years away now from being able to get a property out there now, had hoped it would have been this year but hubby & his British steel pension is a no go at the mow, so will just have to bide our time.

I personally hadn't even thought of the property tax, we have a lit of equity in our property now so in four years we will be selling up & using that to fund a big chunk of our Spanish dream home. Would be really helpful to see how you get on with your dream home.

All the best for your amazing new life/journey

Xx