01 Dec 2012 12:52 PM:

My advice is not to buy in Spain at all, the property market there is an utter shambles, with over a million unsold units all over the country and on the Costas. Recovery of prices to the levels seen 10 years ago will not happen in a decade or two. Realistic book values for many units I might say tongue in cheek, is realistically zero due to sheer lack of buyers. Check on the properties people are now trying to resell currently and make enquiries how long they have been hanging in the market.

Some pessimistic analysts believe another 35% may come off current asking prices, and in an article in April this year the FT suggested 45% had already been wiped of values over the last few years.

A friend of mine off loaded all his investment properties in Spain in 2003, a very wise move, but he could see a massive property bubble of new speculative golf developments were exceeding any sensible future demand.

Friends of mine bought in Murcia, as an investment, not a one rental in over 2 years, they lost £15,000 on a sale plus maintenance over the period of ownership, only used it themselves twice for short breaks and used the golf course just twice. Many of the developments which were started will never be completed, and most of the time they are ghost towns. Other elderly friends who took up permanent abode in Spain now want to go back to the UK cannot sell, and they can no longer afford to buy back in the UK.

If you are going to live at Corvera for many weeks in a year or for good, like playing golf a lot and willing to take a risk that selling in the next decade will mean a loss on the deal, even at the current so-called bargain purchase prices, then go ahead. I should retain your main abode elsewhere to retreat to in case of need.

When I retired 21 years ago we looked at buying in rural southern France and in rural Spain, not the ghastly over developed Costas, we decided in the end we did not want to visit the places we considered owning time and again, far too boring, and we just rented very high class villas and apartments, year on year. A far cheaper option and much less hassle than owning a place abroad.

I worked in the property field at one time for a company, with an extensive property portfolia in the UK and abroad so I have experience in the sector. But each to his own decision as ever, just my informed views expressed, others will have theirs that run counter to mine. Do your own research and take independent advice from someone with no interest in the development.

Just type "Spain Property Crash" in Google and read the press reports on the glut of unsold properties, if you go for Corvera try a cheeky low offer if it gets accepted or they make a slightly lower discount price offer on what they are asking now, turn away.

MP

 

This message was last edited by MP on 01/12/2012.

This message was last edited by MP on 01/12/2012.

This message was last edited by MP on 01/12/2012.

This message was last edited by MP on 01/12/2012.
Community thread: PURCHASING AT CORVERA?

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12 May 2011 5:17 PM:

That  news will be a great relief to any anxious owners.

Community thread: Earthquake in Lorca

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12 May 2011 2:43 PM:

Development units at Corvera are probably built on alluvial soil in the valley, not solid rock which provides generally better resistance to quake damage.  Much will depend on the adequacy of the foundation concrete (quality?) rafts or foundation footings. One might might some wall/ceiling cracks of no great structural significance, but  general effects on structures quite near each other can differ widely within short distances from epicentres.

Buildings in Lorca seen in photographs on the Internet display varying degrees of damage, the older structures seemingly suffering more than the modern ones on the ,as one would expect.

Not sure whether Murcia building regulations demand quake resistant new buildings. They shoud do, as the area is an active earthquake zone with known active faults..

I think Corvera is within about 25 miles or so from the epicentre near Lorca.

The onsite man who posted earlier will I am sure report back.

 

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Community thread: Earthquake in Lorca

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13 Sep 2010 1:27 PM:

On Spanish speculative building projects on the Costas, units are generally built to very poor standards and are hopeless in terms of preventing water penetration into structures during tropical style torrential downpours. A friend of mine owned a villa up near Denia years ago sited on a hillside, water cascading down the hill would flow under the doors and damp patches would appear round window frames. As it was a holiday home, he would often have to pay for removal of the black mould deposits on the internal walls and ceilings every year, before he or those renting the property could live in it. He was constantly having to renew sections of the exterior rendering on the walls.

The roof required constant maintenance, there was no inground soakaway for surface water drainage from the house, so that was all discharged onto the ground, as a result he had his garden flower beds completely washed away on several occasions.

The waterproof in ground bitumen tanking, supposedly protecting the lower floor rear wall which was partially built into the hillside, had to be renewed after just ten years. A large bulldozer had to be deployed to dig the spoil well back from the rear wall to enable the work to be done at some cost. The original in ground water proof tanking work was just a complete cowboy builder disaster.

If Murcia's climate ceases to be arid and becomes an area with a higher and heavier rainfall pattern, building specifications will have to be raised.

Community thread: Autumn Rains?

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08 Mar 2009 3:06 PM:

Stuart 99

I am indeed very sorry to read of the financial problems you and others at Corvera now face re completion. I fear there has always been some element of risk in being involved in off-plan purchases for Overseas Property, whatever benign economic and exchange rate conditions may have prevailed at the time deposits are first paid.

As you know Spain has for many years been notorious for property scandals, planning problems and disputes and building delays, plus of recent years totally mindless major speculative building projects running well ahead of any possible logical buyer demand.  So now we see 'Ghost Towns' of completed developments with unsold units, or partially built and now abandoned projects. In the view of most property commentators the Spanish Golf Course planning consent and development scenario had got completely out of hand. With upwards of a million or so unsold units of every type in Spain, what the actual market values of properties are at the moment is anyone's guess.

As the developers at Corvera are still building units and have largely completed the infrastructure, albeit very wisely delaying the last phase in the light of market conditions, I should not despair of off-loading your Euro deposit for a song or hopefully better to some Eurozone resident. But  please do take highly reliable legal advice on that issue and ensure any transaction is 100% legally water-tight  on every possible count. There will be property investment 'speculators' appearing towards the bottom of the property market slump and recession willing to buy from 'distressed' sellers to make money on their own account, they will be taking a very long term view. In your case time is rather short I imagine before you are due to complete, nevertheless I sincerely hope things work out for you and others.

Regards

MP

Community thread: Corvera advise legal proceedings will be taken against purchasers failing to complete

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