Realistic price for 2 bed apartment?

I've seen loads of apartments on lots of different property portals and the prices vary widely, due to facilities partly I know. As you all know, there are many many "bargain" bank repossessions being advertised. Are they too good to be true and if one were to actually investigate and show interest would we discover that these prices were just a marketing ploy? We have a tight budget of maximum 52,000 euro. Are we realistically going to find something for that. We do like the look of Las Terrazas de la torre by the way.

Hi there we have recently purchased a one bedroom ground floor apartment which we paid 50000 euros for .we originally went to look at 2 bedroom apartments we could have had for around the same price but not ground floor my advice is to go and have a look around its a lovely place we have no regrets been out 5 times since we purchased in dec paul and Laura 

Hi Paul & Laura,

Congratulations on your purchase!! We have been to La Torre gof resort on holiday and we really like the area around these 2 golf resorts. We felt safe and relaxed and loved that we were surrounded by both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking people. We also liked the fact that the smaller towns away from the normal beach front resorts were much more reasonably priced for both property and restaurants etc. We coud not afford a property on La Torre which we absolutely loved but we would also be equally happy to have our own place on Las Terrazas and not just for the prices either! It looks like a beautiful resort. Can I ask your advice on which Phase would be preferable in terms having the biggest proportion of owners occupiers? We do need a 2 bedroom apartment as we have children but the question is would it be possible to purchase a 2 bedroom 1 bath or even a 2 bedroom 2 bath (that would be ideal to avoid a queue lol) within our budget of 52,000? I have lots more questions but I won't bombard you all at once Paul & Laura

You will find decent 1 bed apartments for low €40k up to 3 beds at over €85k

We actually went looking to buy a cheap 1st or 2nd floor 1 bed on phase 1 at the lower end but ended up going for a €60k 2 bed south west facing penthouse on phase 1.

I would think that a €52k 2 bed apartment would be available but you may have to go for 1st or 2nd floor and North East facing at that price. May be shaded quite a lot but that might not be an issue for your if you are OK to sunbathe in the gardens or around the pool. 2 beds at under €50k are probably just trying to hook you in although there may be a private seller around looking for a quick sale at that price if you are lucky.

Apart from that, all 2 bedroom apartments are pretty much the same inside in terms of size and fittings.

I think Duncan is about spot on with prices we are on phase 1 .i think personally phase 1 is set out better than some other phases .we opted for ground floor as we have grandchildren that come to stay .we have 2 sofa beds with it only being one bedroom but find this works for us .2 bedroom ground floor were about 60000 plus euros and we could not do this without borrowing paul and Laura 

Hi There

If you contact La Vida they will give you an update price list of whats available on Phase 1 we used them for viewing November 2015 however ended up buying resale been out four times now back out September and October just love it message me anytime if you have any more questions

http://www.lavidaspain.com/property/terrazas-de-la-torre

Lesley and Ian Aitchison

Hi Lesley & Iam,

thank you for your advice. I have just emailed Lavida for that up-to-date list that you recommended so thanks for that suggestion. I wouldn't have known about them otherwise. Do they have resales as well as new builds? Realistically, I think we won't be ready to exchange for about 6 months as we have a few things to tie up first financially. If we do an inspection trip at the end of October would that be a silly idea or should we wait to do our inspection trip nearer to when we will actually have the money to hand over?

Hi Paulpins and Duncan,

Thank you both very much. The advise and information you both gave me was brilliant. Delighted to have a few figures to work with, most importantly, realistic ones. It has shown me that I think we will need to add another 10k to our budget. I hope the bank manager sees things our way lol.

Can I have a blonde moment please - where is La Torre golf? And what makes it s great? Amazing pices!

Thanks

Annie

By all means Annie, I have many blonde moments and I'm a dark brunette ha ha. La Torre is quite close to Las terrazas. It is about 3 km from Roldan.

Hi Annie,

There are two golf resorts about 3,5km apart. La Torre Golf Resort and Las Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort

La Torre has a wider portfolio of properties from apartment blocks to villas. On Las Terrazas de la Torre there are only apartments. La Torre is also more developed with more restaurants and facilities. Having said that, we find Las Terrazas de la Torre has all that we need Communal pools and gardens, 24x7 security, a 5km perimeter road for walking, cycling and running, a great golf course, a clubhouse, bar, restaurant and supermarket. You can also use the facilities at La Torre Golf Resort.

There are many bars, restaurants and supermarkets nearby in Roldan and Balsicas both about 4km away and a gym in Roldan. The airport and beaches on the Mar Menor are a 15 minute drive. Murcia and Cartagena are about 30 minutes away by car.

The prices for properties on Las Terrazas de La Torre are very competitive due to many of them being bank reposessions which are priced to sell.

Duncan, you were bang on with your prices!! A 2 bed 1 bath, North East facing and either 1st or 2nd floor is coming in at 52,500 and a ground floor, sunny aspect, 2 bed 1 bath is coming in at 64,000. What to do.............. Can't afford the 64k but that would be our ideal property. Not sure if the North East facing balcony appeals to me though. It would be absolutely fine in the heat of the summer to have a shaded balcony but in Spring or Autumn time when the temperatures are lower, we don't want to be feeling cold or frustrated at the lack of brightness as we sit on our balcony. Sure we can do that at home lol.

Not all East facing properties are equal. You really need to get out there and view them. There are bargains to be had in your price range. Some east facing first and second floor corner apartments get the sun all day and catch some rays in the evening.

That is sound advice Duncan. We are hoping to make an inspection trip at thye end of October and if not then we will do it at Easter. There is one apartment we have been looking at. 2 bed 1 bath on 1st floor. The owner doesn't know what direction it faces but it gets the sun from early morning till mid afternoon (3pm). I'm thinking it's North East-ish. It's fully furnished with air con in all rooms. It ticks all our boxes except for the evening sun part. To be honest it would be ideal for Summer as I need to get out of the intense heat of July and August when needed but I think for Spring and Autumn I would like to have a little sun on the balcony lasting longer than 3pm. You are absolutely right though, the only way to know specifics relating to a property is to actually visit and view.

You can always create shade but not the sun. Orientation is very important depending upon your needs.

Would anyone be able to answer this?

If you buy a re-sale and it is furnished, do you pay taxes and fees on the full price which includes the furniture or do you do a seperate deal with the seller for the furniture and fittings so you actually only pay taxes and fees on the property itself? It seems daft to me to buy a furnished re-sale if you have to pay taxes and fees on the furniture as well cos it would form part of the overall price. Just thinking................

Have a look at google maps and you can see the orientation of the apartment blocks.

Pretty much all of the apartment blocks on Phase 1 are South, South East or South West facing. There are a few that are East facing. The ones on Phase 2 are North or North East facing.

Judging by the shadows this is the sun you would get late morning to noon.

As for the question on taxes, you only pay tax on the property price. Make sure you agree a price for furniture, fixtures and fittings seperately. Having said that, the tax will be payable on the equivalent taxable (cadastral) value so if you declare a sale lower than this, the taxman will come after you for the difference.

Thanks, Duncan. How would I go about negotiating a seperate deal for the furniture, would I do it through the agent or direct with the seller? Also, how would I find out the taxable value (cadastral) of a property to mae sure that I wouldn't end up with a big tax bill? I should add that there is a property I've been looking at that is being advertised as "fully furnished".

The cadastral value is on your nota simple and should be available from the local town hall. Your lawyer will sort out the details of the sale (property, furniture, fixtures and fittings), the taxes etc. 

Some further links that may be useful

http://www.essentialmagazine.com/marbella-legal-cadastral-values/

http://www.ptireturns.com/en/faq_es.php

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/cheap-property-spain-becomes-easy-target-tax-authorities

Hi Duncan,

You are a mine of help and information. You should set up a small business to help people who are moving to or buying a holiday home in Spain. 

I am just off the phone with a friend of mine who has a holiday home in Costa del Sol. She has frightened the life out of me lol. All the things that can happen from dodgy plumbing and sewerage syatems, fraud and corruption in local government and planning, airlines cancelling routes to our resort location to 24hr security not being sufficient to prevent break-ins and aquaters.

She told me to think long and hard about it and to take in to account how easy ir difficult it would be to sell our apartment if either 1 of us was to fall in to ill-health and not be able to use the apartment.

We had sort of moved towards buying a 1 bedroom property so that we could have all the features we want and still be within our budget. We want ground floor, South/West/Soth West facing terrace. We thought of putting a sofa bed in the lounge  as a compromise on the lack of a 2nd bedroom.

I'm wondering if it's a good idea now though after the phone call with my friend.

She also said to be absolutely certain that there was a good percentage of people living full time in the block of apartments to discourage break-ins.