ADVICE please... we're thinking about buying a 2 or 3 bed

Hi

We're a family of 5 and coming out for 11 days end of August as we're seriously considering buying a 2 or 3 bed (probably 3 bed as we're a family of 5 but we're keeping our options open).

My husband's responsible for arranging the viewings but we want to gather as much info before we go out and make the best use of our time whilst we're there.

I have a few questions, but also if anyone has any bits of info, even if it's just snippets, please do let me know.... I'd like as much info as possible as I've never visited the area before.  Please, even if you only answer one question or offer something I haven't asked.... please just post!!!!!!

My questions are:

Any areas of Condado de Alhama best to avoid?  Any particularly desirable and why?

What are the service charges I'd be expected to pay (I know this will vary depending on size, location, floor but a guide would be helpful).

What taxes are payable.... anything to Murcia??

What are general thoughts on Ground floor as opposed to 1st floor / 2nd floor.  Is everything a max of 3 floors? 

What are your views of the facilities?  Pubs, restaurants, pools, playgrounds, football pitches, tennis courts, car parking?  Is there anything I've missed out?

What are your thoughts on the golf course - good feedback?

Is there an onsite bank?  If so, what is it?

We don't currently have a Spanish bank a/c.  We don't even have a Euro a/c to be honest.  Any advice on this?  We have a couple of a/c's abroad and have had varying experiences of opening them in the first place.  Any useful suggestions would be very welcome.

Any recommendations of local solicitors / conveyancers would be helpful.

Do you use cleaning companies - what do they tend to charge to clean after a week's occupancy?  Is there much choice, do you have recommendations?  Same applies for a handy man.

What nationalities will the neighbours be?  I guess many Brits, what else?

Our children are 7, 6 and 5 - what's available to them?

Sorry to ask so many questions but even if you only answer 1.... I'd really appreciate it.  Or any other comments for that matter.

Thanks

Hi Grimsby girl,
We bought our apartment off plan and we think it's the best thing we ever did, it was always a long term investment so the current climate doesn't affect our decision. You will get a few differing opinions of the resort but the stage you would be buying at doesn't compare to most of us. You should rent an apartment, a 3 bed would probably be best for you, on the jardines or naranjos jardines as the pool and gardens are great for kids, and when you are here ask your neighbours of there opinions they will all be helpful whereas you will get some seriously negative views from this forum.

Best of luck

Hi Grimsby Girl,

I will try to answer some of your questions.

Places to avoid on Condado- not really, possibly be more desirable to be close to the facilities you hope to use such as bar, football pitches, swimming pool or tennis courts? la Isla is quite desirable as they have additional and exclusive facilities that the rest of the resort can't use.

Services charges vary from garden to garden, the jardines/naranjos are apron 240 euros per quarter for a 2 bed and a little more for a 3 bed. I believe the penthouses are slightly less. La Isla is obviously the most expensive area (or possibly the villa jana)

2nd floor has a full roof terrace for all day sun and better views. 3 bed has additional bedroom and may be deemed darter for kids as there are no stairs or heights for them to fall from.

My views on the facilities are pretty poor. We currently have 1 bar, 1 overpriced restaurants which opens when it wants ( closed down for 8 months and only opened a few weeks ago under new management) and we have a supermarket. There is a golf course, but no club house. Don't believe any estate agent who tells you the clubhouse is coming shortly!!! There are whispers that the management of the golf course has recently changed hands again....?..

There are also whispers that a "sports" bar may open soon, in an old disused bar which shut down 2 years ago..

I have never played the golf course, but without a clubhouse, it will never really be taken seriously. Also the course never looks very pretty when I walk past, lots of scrubland that should be tidied up, doesn't look as pretty as la torre or mar menor, in my opinion, I am sure some on here will disagree.

There are no banks on site as facilities are pretty limited, I would say most banks are pretty similar to each other, I am with CAM and they have been fine? Camposol is a resort nearby, so may be wise to open an account with one of the banks on there, that way you won't have too far to travel.

Can't recommend a solicitor, and don't use any cleaning firms, other will advise on this

Don't have children, many do on this resort so they will advise.

You are doing the right thing by visiting the resort and seeing for yourself. As a word of warning, don't believe or trust most estate agents and remember on a forum like this you will get a very biased view, as post people come on here because they love the resort. I personally regret my purchase, due to the lack of facilities and isolation of the resort. I wish I had spent a little more and bought at la torre or Mar menor. Both these resorts offer far more facilities, a golf club house and are not so isolated.

I will most probably now be chastised for my last paragraph, but just wanted to be honest.

Hi Grimsby Girl

Of course there are going to be differing opinions. Some will regret their purchase & others like us have no regrets at all

Darren is right when he advises you to rent either a two or a three bed roomed apartment though with there being five of you then the best is a ground floor three . There are quite a few owners on this site that rent out their apartments & I am sure many will be in touch.

We are in Jardin five of the Jardins & I belive that the sports Zone Cafe /  resturant will be opening soon. This is in Jardin 6. which also has a indoor squash court & tennis courts.

I personally think that you will need to hire a car if you want to take advantage of other local shop etc in the area.

We have  German & Norweigan neibours to the right of us  but  they only use their apartments as holiday homes

Below us are a  great young spainish couple  who live on site.

The Spanish people are very nice & as long as you are willing to learn a little spanish I think you will get on with every one. Just "Hola Buenos dias" (Hello ,good day) seems to be the normal greating when passing each other. May I suggest that just a smile & Hola will be fine if you are a little nervous & dont be afraid to  to be the first to say hello or hola & people  will soon respond & thats a great way of breaking the ice..

Idealy I would suggest that you deal with one of the spanish banks rather than an estate agent, There are some great deals to be had by purchasing from a local bank & again I am sure someone will inform you of which banks to speak to on this site.

With regard to location I would suggest either 5 or 7 to be near the sports zone or 11/12/13 to be near the supermarket.

Prices of propertys will vary.One looking at the side wall of an apartments opposite you will be the cheapest followed by mid terrace propertys.

End propertys are a little more usually but do benifit from having a window in the bathroom

Air Con is a must  I think for any weather & again there will be someone who wil advise re the best companies to deal with i`m sure.

If you do choose to rent a property on Condado you will most certainly get to know the owners Key holder.He /she will hopefully be very well informed about future plans for condado & I would certainly advise you to think about having one too as they will check your apartment regulaly when you are not in spain which should give you  great piece of mind.

So like the saying goes

Try before you buy

We bought off plan too but have no regrets. If you post the dates you intend to be over you will find a large group of great people will probably suggest meeting up & its a great way of making new friends very quickly .

Re your children. Each of the jardins  as far as I am aware have childrens play areas. The pools are child friendly & Jardin 5 & 7 being the largest of the Jardin`s ( garden`s) have the largest pools but the apartments in the smaller jardins  appear to have a more centrally placed pool which you may find better for you wilh young children.

My children are adults but our god daughter as holidayed with us & found it very easy to make friends with children of all nationalities. There is a great riding stables near by too called META The owners name is Izzy. English lady & very friendly . ideal for riders & non riders  They have a web site to have a look at. I usualy type in META  riding stables Murcia  it comes up immediatly.

Sorry I could not answer all of your questions but I wish you the very best

Jan

Grimbsy Girl,

We have a family of five although our kids are a bit younger than yours.  You will definitely get different viewpoints in the forum as people bought for different reasons.  Investors and those who bought for the shopping facilities are certainly the unhappiest of the bunch.

Anyway I would recommend a 3 bed for a family.  The advantages are that your outside area flows directly from the apartment rather than having to walk upstairs to the solarium.  Also no running up and down the stairs, especially with wet feet from the pools.  We have seating at the back and front of the apartment so have the option of shade/sun basically all day round. But it depends on your tastes of course.

I don't think there are more desirable areas but as mentioned you need to think about the facilities.  Aside from the tennis courts there are football pitches between Jardines13 and Al Kasar (shops and pub). They might be relevant for your kids. Also the playing and pool facilities do vary in the different gardens so worth checking that out.

Darren was pretty much right with the service charges although i believe La Isla are significantly higher than the others.

Taxes are rates tax and a type of income tax.  I believe we pay about €250 all up.

Facilities are limited but improving.  Not really an issue for us and we spend most of the time with the kids at the playground or pool in our garden.  So for us the facilities are perfect.

Saw Darrens comments on the course and he is correct to some extent.  If you want to walk around a golf course maybe go to La Torre but if you want to play a golf course Condado is far superior.  The fringes/rough/land between holes need another couple of years to develop and it does look a bit messy.  But the greens and the fairways etc are top class.  i think if the golfer in the family plays the course they'll notice this quick enough.  We are still waiting on a clubhouse though...some are happy that its taking a little time as they expect the course to get very busy as soon as a clubhouse is built!!

There are plenty of cleaners, electricians, etc etc either on site or local...many on this forum.

We have spanish neighbours on both sides, a few brits around, and irish above and opposite, plus norwegians in the garden..

Its a great place to relax and unwind...not so great if you want a place where you can walk to a variety of pubs, shops, and restaurants.

Hope that helps

Shane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johar, Darren, Jan and Shane

A huge thank you to all of you for your replies - and I appreciate all the different viewpoints.... more useful for decision-making; I'm tapping into a wealth of information for sure... I think I'm going to find this forum INCREDIBLY useful, again thanks.

So, am I right to believe the 3 beds are always on the ground floor, then a 2 bed on the 1st floor and a 2-bed penthouse on the 2nd?  A ground floor in which case is definitely what we need to rent and buy.  I think I'll start a separate thread to enquire about renting one.

We're looking at buying with the intention of using it as much as poss as a holiday home during school hols and then renting during term times.  That's why I'll be interested in cleaners, handyman etc.  

Thanks also for explaining about the facilities and the golf.  Very, very useful.  I read somewhere about bike hire.... is that right?  Is it good?

Also, thank you Jan for the suggestion about posting when we're going to arrange to meet up - that's a great idea, I certainly will be.

Please do let me know if there's anything else that you think I'll find helpful.

Again thanks.

Helen O'Donnell

 

Hi Helen!

We (me + wife + 4 year old son) purchased a 3-bed ground floor apartment in March this year. So far we have only visited Condado 2 times, exept for me spending 2 hours there before buying the apartment :-). Trying before buying is of course even better, but we have no regrets. We love the place, and are really looking forward to the 24th this month, we will spend 4 weeks at Condado this time!

The only 3-bed option is on the ground floor of the Jardin apartments (Jardines + Naranjos). I find this to be the best type of apartment for families with children. As others have said, you have direct access to the outside areas, and easy access to the pools. We have no more than 10 yards from our garden to the pool. I looked at all the options, the one I ended up buying was definately my favourite. The penthouse apartments are facing the golf course and have 2 bedrooms. Some of them are of course situated on the ground floor.

So far we haven't met many of our neighbours, but they are mainly British or Spanish. We are Norwegians.

You can look forward to your stay at Condado, hope you like it as much as we do.

Best regards,

Stein V.

 

This message was last edited by svh on 20/07/2011.

In the Jardines (Naranjos I assume is same) the re is a 3 bed on ground floor with a 2 bed above.  Nothing above that.

The Penthouses are 4 or 5 stories high I think but thats a guess.

Hi Grimsbygirl,

All the Jardines are 3 bed on the ground floor and 2 bed above (first floor), all the Penthouses (ground plus 3 floors above) on Los Naranjos are 2 bed but there are some 3 bed Penthouses on La Isla but none are on the groung floor.

 Thanks Shane - I've just been looking at some photos and that makes sense about the two-storey blocks.

Thanks Stein - it's reassuring to hear comments like yours as hopefully we'll be doing the same soon.  It seems that the 3-bed in the jardines / naranjos is the perfect option for us... I do like the idea of the kids not going up and down stairs with wet feet / flip flops!

I'm getting more and more excited!!!  

Thanks, Helen

Hi Grimbsy Girl,

I have a 2 bed apartment on La Isla. I also have 3 daughters (but grown up) and we all enjoy the fact that La Isla is very quiet. Also, we tend to be out and about during the day (well, those of us who are up!). However, there does not seem to be many kids there on La Isla (except possibly in August when a lot more Spanish appear). I think the suggestion of one of the Jardines, close to the Supermarket end seems sensible. There seems to be more of a community spirit and families as well. You need to have a good walk around and decide which Jardine and bear in mind, as someone pointed out ,what you overlook..

I disagree with Darren slightly in that the golf course itself is excellent to play and is a real challenge. He is right to say that, as a place to walk around, it needs attention but it only has been open 20 months (and did get a fair amount of damage from a terrible rain storm - although better design of the edges may have avoided that). The other PW courses are weaker but currently better manicured generally. I believe the clubhouse will come otherwise the golf coutse (which is the Attraction at Condaso) will not develop any further and will not attract enough visitors. The Friday golf society on a friday is a good way to make friends.

I share many people's disappointment that facilities such as the bars and restaurants in Al Kazar just have not developed as promised/envisaged but it has made us more adventurous in heading off to other places to sample more Spanish options. Within 20 mins there is everything you could ask for. Overall, I am very pleased that I have bought here - time might bring even improvements which can only add to the experience. However, I do understand Darren's point of view.

I would also start looking at the Bank stock first - there seems to be some real bargains around. Just take your time and form your own opinion. A key holder is a must because they will regularly monitor your property and keep you informed. I used a solicitor in San Javier(NCS lawyers) - they were excellent and I dealt with an English lady.

 

Good luck.

Go for it

you can land a bargain just now with potential to make a few quid when only if when the economy starts to pick up again.

but only buy if you can honestly say its what you want.

some un biased opinions below should help a bit. but nothing like seeing for yourself

 

Tony

Grimsby Girl,

Just one or two points for you to add to what the others have mostly covered below:-

1)It definately sounds like a 3 bedroom would be suited to you (we ourselves have a 3 bed on J8).

2)If you were to choose Jardines, no doubt about it, J12 is far and away the best garden but I am not aware of any bank repossesions on this garden. This was the show garden and is head & shoulders above most of the others. It has a real tropical feel about it. The jardines are appriximately 1 year older than naranjos and hence shrubbery is a bit more mature.

3)Naranjos also has gardens that are better appointed than others. There still seems to be loads of bank repossesions available. Bear in mind position of proposed club-house. Prices advertised now for 3 beds are less than 2 bed off-plans were going for at the time we bought.

4)It will cost you roughly another £8-10,000 to fit air con' and furnish.

5)You need to be prepared to drive quite a bit if you want to experience the usual holiday meals out/drinkies but you can find some really decent places, particulary since the Puerto had a re-vamp through the last two winter months.

 

Regards,

Grimsby girl,

We have a three bed on Jardine 12 and wouldnt swap it. we bought off plan and originally picked Jardine 5 as that was close to the jardines proposed town centre. At the last minute we opted for Jardine 12 to be nearer the Main Oasis town centre. Neither has materialised but we touched lucky as J12 is near the Al Kasar. The only problem I can see with apartments down the bottom Jardines i.e. 1&2 etc is that you would need a car to get to the facilities or be a fitness fanatic, although a sports bar opening in J5 will at least give some facilities a bit closer for them.

Dakey