NEW BUYER

Hi all

Hope some of you can help.  The resale / bank sales of properties look good value and we are considering a visit.   We are attracted to a 3 bed ground floor apartment,  preferably close to shopping amenities.   What are the merits of ground or first floor living?  Do you hear a lot of noise from upstairs / downstairs occupants?   We are retired but still fit , but also have to consider very young grandchild.

What is the annual management charge for a 2 and 3 bed property?

Is Paramaount likely to happen?

Thanks fro any advice and comment.

Jim

Hi Jim,

I live on the top so have never experienced any noise, however Condado is normally pretty quiet and the chances of your neighbour above bening there while you are there is pretty slim. I have only seen my downstairs neighbour twice in 3 years. Also there are concrete floors, so sound insulation should be pretty good.

I bought a 2 bed for the roof terrace as I love sun bathing, you get the sun at anytime upstairs with no shade. Also get a better view, however if you need 3 beds you dont really have a choice.

When you say you would like a property near the amenites, there are not many, we currently have 1 bar and a supermarket. Thats pretty much it! The nearest restaurant is probably about 10KM away by car/taxi.

As for Paramount, estate agents will always like to bring this up as it helps them sell property and a lot of people on this forum have faith, however they currently are trying to secure finding and they only have till March 2012 to get this. I personally believe that they wont get the fuinding in the current climate. Also similar parks, with access to many more tourists, like Terra Mitica near Benidorm have been bankrupt and losing money for years, so getting investment for a park in Murcia will be difficiult. Rememver Paramount are not investing a penny! 

Regards,

Darren

We too have never experienced much noise, but we're in a 2nd floor penthouse, so I don't know about the three bedroomed places.

Darren is correct, there is at the moment only a supermarket and the pub, but I've heard on this forum that the restaurant which is currently closed will shortly be under new management, and that now that IRM have control that there will be outlets opening hopefully in the near future.

Also, there are quite a few restaurants in Camposol which is less than 10 minutes away, as well as restaurants going the other way which we hope to try out when we come in September.

There are a lot of positives to this site, and I do hope you enjoy your visit when you come out.

Lynn & John

 Jim Hi,

             I would like to give you my opinion of purchasing in CDA from a different perspective.

I completed in July 2010 on a 3 Bed Ground Floor for the sole purpose of visiting as often as possible on breaks and not renting.

To date I can tell you that CDA has exceeded all expectations as I have found it to be quiet and relaxing.It is also close to main roads so  various locations ie,Cartagena,Murcia,Alicante,La Manga,Puerto Mazzerone all great for daytrips are easily accesable.

The resort is also very well maintained clean and although serviced at present by the bare essentials I belive can only get better weather Paramount happens are not.

If Paramount happens it happens, as far as I personally am concerned I would prefer it did,nt as I believe it would spoil the tranquality and peace of CDA which i bought into for a well earned break away from the hustle and bustle of a normal 100mph life style.

I am aware of the owners who bought into CDA some years back when property was at it,s peak and I sympathize with them,they were sold property that has as yet not fullfilled in fact has deterioted from the sales pitch used by Polaris and are down a substantial amount of money on their investment,some of these these investors are  being stretched on their finances and are greatly dissapointed and rightly so,but what can be done,nothing really just sit back do your best to keep up payments and them move on when the property market improves which probably won,t be within the next 10 years Paramount or not.

As you can see from the different sites 3Beds and 2Beds are now a bargain and if you can afford to buy,use when you want and not depend on rental income i have yet to find a better place.

If you want to buy cheap do up and sell on in a couple of years for profit stay clear as I don,t believe you will get a return.

I have been out 5 times since July with my kids in tow twice and have thoroughly enjoyed everyday and will continue to do so.We are here for a good time not a long time has now become my motto.

We have a 3 bed and experienced no noise problems in the last three years - even when people are in residence, it has not disturbed us at all.

We chose a 3 bed for the proximity to the pool and also so we did'nt have carry all those sangrias from the kitchen up the stairs to the top terrace! I know, Lazy! Also probably ground floor is probably safer for children as the stairways are quite narrow/steep. Also we store bicycles in our apartment and I would think it could be quite awkward dragging these up and down the stairs.

 On the other hand, the views are much better on the top terrace and you can leave furniture etc out without any concerns.

The ground floor 3 bed community fee is about 80 euros per month (it does vary on each block), 3 beds are charged more than 2 beds as far as I am aware.

You will find plenty to do in the local area as long as you are happy to drive. This forum is great for sharing information.

You need to come over and see for yourself to get a real feel for the place.

Hi Jim

I like many others bought off plan some time back and paid top dollar for it, we bought into a vision of something far bigger than we currently have and on paper are standing at a significant loss on what we paid. However I don’t care.

Although the resort is currently significantly smaller than it should have been it is well finished off and secure with a high level of finish, yes we are lacking some facility but this will change as the properties sell and they are selling despite the recession. Granted selling slowly but they are so well priced now they are a bargain.

The region of Murcia has received a lot of investment into its infrastructure with new roads, motorways and a new airport on the way.

I have no worries my investment in the future will have been a wise one so buying at the present day prices will show a great return but it will be some years ahead I think.

In the mean time it’s a great place to spend time for all the reasons previously stated and of course a world class golf course even if we haven’t got the club house yet.

But the only way is come and have a look for yourself, and as Jack said maybe tomorrow better today. Like those on this forum the people there are welcoming and friendly

Phil

Hi Jim

We have a three bed ground floor apartment and have owned it since Dec 2008. We have neighbours above us on both sides and have never ever had an issue with noice coming through in to the apartment. Obviously with the amount of outdoor living and those super warm evenings there's minimal noice when people have bar-b-q's or entertain on their terraces etc but it's always tolerable and never annoying in any way.

We felt the need to have the three bedrooms with having a boy and girl who need there own space. We have a lovely front garden and terrace which is south facing and gets the sun for most of the day and the rear terrace is either a sun trap in the morning or a welcome respite in the afternoon.

As for facillities watch this space. We currently have a well stocked and reasonably priced supermarket and a pub that sells bar snacks. There's talk of the restaturant re-opening very soon and all the other units in the centre are now available for the first time since opening for interested parties to open more bars/restaurants/coffee shops etc.

For kids their's play areas and more pools than you can shake a stick at. If you are still active there's footbal pitches, tennis courts, squash courts and paddle courts and of course there's always the wonderful golf course and facillities. Ideally they'll build a club house and the place the will fly. If Paramount is built it will definitely be the place to be but whether it is or not we love it anyway.

Cheers and good luck

Jay & Lisa 

Hi Jim.

Like Phil, we bought off plan and have got no regrets whatsoever. We get out about eight times a year and our three kids and eight grandkids are all going to use it this year  ( Not at the same time as us I hasten to add ! )

We have a three bed ground floor in the Jardin's. We don't experience much noise at all from upstairs ( maybe a faint scraping of a chair leg occasionally ) but as somebody else said, it's not that often that they are there at the same time as us.

We don't worry about what we paid for it , It is what it is. Somewhere a long way down the line, we may sell it and we may get  our money back or we may not. I am with Phil on that. I don't really care. In the meantime, We absolutely love the place and can't get enough of it.

Good luck if you do decide to take the plunge. I don't think you would regret it one bit.

Tom.

Hi again

Many thanks for the various comments, it all sounds very positive indeed. 

We know the area very well as we used to own on Camposol.  The long-running saga of the Camposol developer MASA leaving the site unfinished and the huge unanswered questions about its completion costs, self-management or council adoption / future charges etc caused us to sell.  In spite of the poor sellers market we sold at a small profit, so that was ok.  In truth, we didn't really need such a large villa and large pool.  Now back in England for 18 months, we long to get a warm-weather bolt-hole from the UK weather for us and family. As I said, we know and love the area so CDH seems a like a good alternative. 

Just a few other financial questions if I may.  I guess the community fee covers gardens / grounds upkeep, swimming pools, street lighting (?) etc.  Presumably there is also a local authority council tax.  Would that be Totana or Mazarron and how much approx?  Does each unit have its own watr meter for charging?  It's not so much the inital purchase outlay that concerns us but the ongoing cost of running a main home in UK and a holiday home now we are retired.

Thanks again.

Jim

Me again

Meant to ask in last post if owners are represented on the management committees, if such committees exist?  Do owners have any input on community fees and how they are spent?

Only ask because we had timeshare a long, long time ago and the increases every year by the resort and holiday exchange company were quite excessive.

Thanks

Jim  

Each garden or block has a president and a vice president that makes up the community representation and should be included in negotiations on the running of the community, I say, should.........!!! but like with everything some like the sound of their voice more than others....!!

From when I first purchased the community fees have gone down and that is because the more properties that are sold then there are more of us to share the costs.

Apart from your lecky, water and community fees you also have your council tax payable to Alhama council which is charged to individuals most of us have just paid this and it is around 60 Euros per person so if your property is just in your name then only you pays....   You will have your non residents tax to pay around December time (well that was when ours was due) and it was around 90 euros each I think!!  If I have not got it correct someone will give the correct answer

Sorry forgot the bit about water and lecky, yes you do have your own meter for the billing and your community fees cover the gardens, lights, pool and your garden if you have one.

I don't rent out my apartment but do try to use it every month, obviously your bills depend on your usage but mine work out between 18 to 20 euros bi-monthly for water, 50 to 70 Euros bi=monthly for Lecky (depends how much you hammer the air con etc) and 70 to 80 euros monthly for community fees

Don't forget the Penthouses. Not too many left on the higher floors but still quite a few on the ground floors which are better for youngsters as they have gardens as well as patios. But the main thing with Penthouses is the unbelievable view in the mornings and evenings.

They are all 2 beds - so if you need 3 then no good. They are cheaper to maintain so the monthly charges are a little less. They are extremely private, but I do understand the attraction of those who like the community atmosphere you get from the Jardines.

CDA services have a fully furnished ground floor showhome - suggest you go and take a look.

Best thing I ever bought - did'ny buy it as an investment and paid top dollar, but at a much better exchabge rate so it worked out at today's prices in actual fact. Can't see a time when I will ever sell.

Fill your boots.  Jon Faulkner