Last stages before purchase

Hi All, 

My husband and I are currently in the final stages to deliberation before purchasing in phase 1. We are very grateful for the pages of information in this forum and have found the information extreemly helpful. 

While we are not expecting any rental income as a means to offset our expenses, we are concerned that will not have significant time to enjoy our holiday home annually. We are expecting to spend 3 weeks maximum annually and wonder if this is too little time to justify the purchase of the holiday home? We are fairly young and are hoping that by purchasing now we will have a wonderful asset in years from now to enjoy more.

Thanks so much!

Shawn

Hi Shawn Welcome to Terrazas

We also had concerns before we bought orginally off plan about 6 years ago ( probably double the price and more for what there selling now) worries about if we could afford it, what if we lose all our money if the apartment wasn't built  of course this doesn't apply in your case) horror stories buying property abroad but just make sure you employ a good solicitor and as with our purchase everything went smoothly.And 6 years on were really pleased with our place in the sun we don't use it as much as we would like too but the same as yourselves thinking a bit more into the future .The advantage of having your own place abroad is you seem to slip into holiday mode a lot quicker as in knowing were the best place to eat best place to shop, beaches,Bars,shop Malls and the nearby cities of Murcia and Cartagena I am not saying things get too familiar as there is always something new to discover.And at the end of our holiday we just don't want to leave but you know when you get the chance its always there ready for your next adventure or just chilling out by the pool.I am sure at the present prices there selling these apartment's it won't last so if your really sure about buying I would't hang around to long. If you do need any more info just ask the folk on the  forum & resort are a friendly bunch and will help you out were possible.Below is a couple of links to local attraction's and the resort's community web site .

Regards Graham

http://www.eurotourguide.com/en/costa-calida/travel-guide/los-alcazares-los-narejos    

http://www.tltgr.org/12.html

http://zeniaboulevard.es/gbr/home

Cartagena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IftRG-s4Xig

 Murcia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U37o2vGsMWg

Los Alcazares https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpVSpWzcZ54

This message was last edited by accentp97 on 25/10/2015.

This message was last edited by accentp97 on 25/10/2015.

This message was last edited by accentp97 on 25/10/2015.

This message was last edited by accentp97 on 25/10/2015.

Hi Shawn,

I would echo what Graham says above. Having your own place allows you to easily go for a quick break whenever you want. As it is your home, you can leave everything you need there and don't need to pack much. Travelling light reduces the fares as there will be no baggage fees.

We are similar to you. We don't plan to use the apartment much initially. Perhaps 3-4 weeks a year. The difference is we can turn 5 days annual leave into a 10 day/9 night break by flying out on a Friday evening and returning the Sunday night of the following weekend. This means you can get 30 days/27 nights holiday and only use 15 days annual leave. We also have the option of letting family or friends use the apartment and hopefully get a contribution of a few quid towards the annual running costs.

Personally, I see it more as a long term investment for use when we retire. Prices are very low now and I really don't see them going much lower - if at all. By the time I retire in over 10 years, I expect prices will have doubled or more from here.

We plan to use it for up to six months a year when we retire. Buying now we get a good price, a good investment and we also get the added bomus of using it for multiple cheap short breaks in the sun every year until then. As per what Graham said, your 10 day/9 night break actually feels like a two week holiday because you get into the holiday swing so much quicker.

I think the above more than justifies the purchase and believe that the running costs will be more than covered by the rising property costs in the years to come. The bonus is I also get a cheap bolt hole in the sun until I retire.

Time will tell if I am correct, but to be honest, the running costs are minimal when compared to the cost of a two week holiday in a 5* hotel or even a holiday rental. Food and drink is much cheaper because you tend to self-cater more. Even if property prices don't go up by as much as I think they will, I doubt I will lose much either.

All the best with your purchase should you decide to complete. I am sure you won't regret it.

Hi Shawn
Totally agree with everyone else.  We purchased over 5 years ago and love the site and the area, Murcia region and the things we do there change with the weather, it's never dull.  People are really friendly and the food is great quality and very cheap though there are also some fantastic top notch restaurants as well.  We feel really refreshed after a week or two at Terrazas.  
Regarding costs, just be sensible and do your research and shop around, this website and http://www.polarisworldforum.net have been a great source of information for us.
Regards
Mark & Kathy

Thank you everyone for the helpful and welcoming comments. We are exciting for the coming months and are very much looking forward to enjoying the sun. 

It has been a long road of recovery for many developments in the area, with much more still to come but we are hopeful. It certainly seems that our development of choice has friendly owners, and that is certainly a plus. 

Can anyone give advice of a solicitor the have worked with and were satisfied? 

Thanks so much again.

Shawn 

Hi and welcome to Terrazas. We used Amaya as a solicitor for our purchase, setting up bank accounts and Nie numbers etc. She even gave us money back when completed as she had been able to do it cheaper than quoted !

She is based in La Torre town centre so very handy.

LS SOLICITORS 

* Town Center La Torre

OF. LS-CIE-La Torre Golf Resort

Roldan Torre Pacheco

30709 Murcia

 Thanks so much for the welcome and for the referral of a LS Solicitors.  We will definitely contact Amaya. 

~Shawn

Also try Abad Abogados in Los Alcazares. They did everything for me from getting non residents certificates and opening bank accounts to getting our NIEs, dealing with the conveyancing and taxes, arranging for connection of utilities, Spanish wills, IBI registration, all direct debit setups etc.

They are English speaking and very efficient. They are also on the Foreign and Commonwealth list of English speaking lawyers in Murcia. 

Los Alcázares (Murcia)
alcazares@abadabogados.com
Tel:+34 968 583 053
Avenida de la Libertad Ed. Europa nº 301
Planta 2ª Local 1

This company has told us the following things:

 they have English speaking staff
 they are affiliated as follows: Isaac Abad Garrido, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 4.181, International Bar Association nº 1097739, International Division Law Society of England and Wales; Javier Cabañas de Pablo, Colegio de Abogados de Cartagena, nº 1.498; Olga Jordana Vara, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 5.562; Juan Antonio Hernández-Mora Martínez, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 6.151; Antonio Vidal García, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 5.719; Alberto Gómez Mirete, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 5.784; Aida Garzón Pérez, Colegio de Abogados de Murcia, nº 6.000; Isaac Abad Garrido, Colegio de Economistas de la Región de Murcia, nº 30/0751, Registro Oficial de Auditores de Cuentas, nº 20.651; Diane Mc Carthy, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Registration number 7923934
 specialisations are in conveyancing, wills, probate, litigation, non resident tax, resident tax, inheritance tax, company formation, accountancy, corporate tax
 they have experience of representing British nationals
 they can provide legal aid
 they can‟t offer a Pro Bono service
 staff speak German, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Catalonian, and Russian.
 they cover the whole of Spain
 they don‟t have international offices

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/457829/Lawyer_List_Comunidad_Valenciana__Murcia_and_Albacete.pdf

I have no complaints with their service. It is worth getting quotes from multiple solicitors as well as recommendations.

Hi all, we used Abad for our recent purchase in phase one. No real complaints but bank purchases can take months. We started in January and completed last week. We understand this is pretty normal for Spain!

Mandy & Dean

Nice user name meananddandy :)

Even by Spanish standards, your purchase took a long time!

We viewed in early December 2014 and completed in March 2015 and I thought that was a long time. They said at the time the delays were with the head office for the bank in Madrid processing everything as they process all bank sales. What a bottleneck!

I guess with sales ramping up over the last year that the backlog of work has increased and so has the time it takes to process the sale?

I think the delays were Solvia's inefficiency. It took them seven weeks just to review our documents relating to the funds we used to buy the property. It was not a complicated audit trail!! We have heard similar stories from friends that have bought 'bank' properties in the last three to four years.

We are just relieved it's done and dusted. Next challenge is the utilities connection ...

Hoping to get back to Spain early October as we have forgotten what the apartment looks like!

Mandy & Dean

Hi Mandy and dean welcome to terazzas de la torre .cant believe how long it has taken for you to complete we put offer in to the bank on ours and completed 6 weeks later couldn't believe how smoothly it went . Only hassle we had was proving to the bank that it was our savings and wasn't laundered money .we are over on 24th sept till 3rd of October can't wait love the place paul and Laura