Man and Van Wanted UK - Murcia

We have puchased a 2 bed penthouse apartment at Corvera - due for completion late 2008 ?.

On hearing more reports about sales dropping in Spain and considering all the new development coming on stream over the next two years in Murcia we are debatuing what to do.

Should we see it through to completion on the basis that there will be a lot of demand for holiday/golfing rentals and the hotel group (Devere?) will do a good job of keeping the units ioccupied     or

Should we pick  a point nearer completion - sell, take the profit and invest in another property outside of Spain.

Whoose got a Crystall Ball ?

 

We have not bought at Corvera but have been very interested for some time. However I have been disturbed by the lack of action there and I am not sure we will bother now. Anything we buy would be unlikely to be completed before 2010 at this rate!

Roogy, I am sure it will be worth the wait, and at the end of the day we are still making a very good return on our money.

Rustad, I expect a few people will get inpatient and sell up so you still could potentially buy on an early phase.

I thought you could not sell on Corvera until after your particular completion. Or is that Roda?

You can only sell before completion if it is written into your Contract.  I have a feeling this is only on Phase I.

Thanks for your thoughts. I keep reading how prices are dropping and supply of unsold  properties is increasing in Southern Spain. Is this going to level out and improve before the end of 08, or is it going to snowball and continue?.

One side of me says take the profit now, especially on the basis that we will be relying on the unit being properly managed and let out by the hotel on site. If a management company came forward now and said they can guarantee to rent the units on completion i would feel much more at ease.

Hi Roogy

It depends why you purchased the property; most people want a holiday home with good rental to help keep the cost down.    Corvera and Roda should provide this as they are in an excellent locations close to beautiful cities and some of the best beaches in Spain and also have top quality golf courses.  I viewed sixteen developments before buying in Roda and without question Roda was the highest quality, so you should be ahead of the competition when looking for rentals.   There is no doubt the property market in Spain is slowing down.  One of the reasons for this is people are investing in Eastern Europe but this will not last (I believe) Spain is very convenient to get to, has a very good infrastructure, is politically stable and has good weather most of the year compared to some Eastern European countries with only a few months of sunshine if they are lucky.    So unless you need the money ride the storm and you will have a great holiday home with generous rental.

 

Regards Gary    

 

 

Thanks for that Gary, it is so good to hear someone with such a positive outlook.  Too many people at the moment seem to have negative attitudes, I agree totally with you.  Keep up your sunny side!

Anita.

Ditto Anita (nice to bump into you again!)

I have been doing a lot of reading on this very subject and quite honestly, as Gary says, ride the storm.  There are estimates that approximately 3 million brits (oh no!) are heading our way over the next 10 years or so - Spain is always in the middle of the tables for non-Uk property hotspots, millions of Euros are being poured into Murcia to strengthen the infrastructure including the new airport at Corvera (that makes 3 servicing one quite small areas) and never mind the plans to make it the golfing HQ of Europe plus the PGA news. 

I say steady as we go (no spectacular gains as per Morocco at the moment or potentially dodgy speculation in EAstern Europe) - Spain is an almost known quantity - good weather and increasingly super properties.  I am confident (I think!).

I have just completed on a property at Roda and we think it is delightful and will be great when finished.

 

Sandra

 

Hi everybody. I just like to add something to the long term positive feelings of buying in Corvera. Maybe I can just add a bit of the other site that may be less known to most foreigners and which is the Spanish or Murcia perspective. Ofcourse I should tell you first in all honesty that we sold and are still selling (even have the first resales available) a number of apartments there to the Spanish. But here I just like to give you another perspective to add to those already available. The city of Murcia lacks a well defined upmarket area and is limited in its possibilities for expansion, moving towards the Ikea area, with better quality housing but nothing that is like a true upmarket villa area. Also until now the Spanish resisted living outside the cities but that is changing. If you look at Madrid this has happened over the last 10 years and where 10 years ago 30 km was terribly far, people now go all the way to Segovia. Murcia and other provincial capitals are way behind but start to move in the same direction. In UK, France, Germany, Holland etc. this has happened long time ago. We have all seen it and thought, wow if only I would have bough that plot 15 years ago. As Corvera is just on the other side of the mountain, offering a better climate than the capital (ever tried to walk around in the summer in Murcia?), closer to the sea and with all the green that it will receive from the golfcourse it is just highly attractive. And with prices in Corvera comparable to downtown flats in some rundown areas it just has to work on that side. And yes, quite a few people from Murcia are buying and without doubt many more will follow over the next years. Comine this with what you already know about the airport, the golf and holidays etc. and you´ll come to the conclusion that although sales are slowing down everywhere, on the long term Corvera is a winner. I would even think it is a better investment than Roda but we´ll see over time. Last thing as far as selling is concerned. Yes you do need to have a clause in your contract to be able to resell before completion.

From the Corvera contract.

19. ASSIGNMENT

The contractual position of the Purchaser shall not be assigned without the prior written consent of the Vendor.

 

From the lawyers legal report on the contract:

 Right of assignment

 The promoter has included the possibility to assign your legal position in this contract to any individual(s) or legal entity(ies). It must be notified in advance and approved in writing by the promoter who must be provided with all the relevant details of the new buyer.

As in any assignment, the assignee must expressly assume all the buyer’s obligations.

Ken

 

Hi Everyone

I purchased a couple of apartments at Corvera in Oct 05 in phase two ( through MRI). I asked MRI if I could sell before completion ( I would at least like the option to sell one), they said that they had the solicitors check, the reply was  that I could, they said that the contract changed in Dec 05, if you signed before this you can sell before completion otherwise you can't  ( or at least it's more difficult).

        Kev

 

Hi, I initially reserved an apartment in Corvera (again thro MRI) in Jan '06.  I had made it very clear that I wanted the option of selling on before completion, so when the contract arrived and I saw that there was no chance of this, I transferred my deposit to Lorca.  MRI and the lawyers told me that it would be absolutely impossible to sell before completion at Corvera.  I wish these people would make up thir minds!

Cheers,

Dixie

I signed my Contract in May 05 and there is a paragraph in it which states that I can sell before completion but, if I remember rightly, not before construction has been ongoing for three months.  This was confirmed by my Solicitor.

Anita.

Hi,

We are buying on phase 2 but for various reasons (now resolved) it was imperative to be able to sell the contract if necessary.  Our solicitor therefore ensured that our contract included the following clause 19 wording:

"The Purchaser may assign his/her legal position in this Agreement by serving prior notice thereof on the Vendor.  However, in order to render the assignment valid and effective, the assignee must expressly take on all of the Purchaser's obligations under this Agreement, and the Purchaser, the Assignee, and the Vendor must execute the specimen agreement for the assignment of contractual position which is attached hereto..."