El Soto Phase 2 Prices

El Soto is a lovely place to live or holiday but having checked the VIVA ESTATES website last week, one question I ask myself is why anyone would want to pay between 455-590, 000 euros for a Phase 2 Penthouse of 113-117m2. Forget the terrace sizes, they have no impact on resale values, especially in a palce like Soto where the terraces cannot be fully enjoyed all year round due to the winds.

The market here at present is in a bad state, and will take 2-3 years to recover. It is a buyers market and you only have to check with VIVA to see Phase 1 penthouses at 150-170m2 from 450,000 euros. Internal built price per metere is what determines resale value, not terrace size. I would also warn future buyers about rental income, both holiday lets and long term. The coast is awash with rentals and prices have dropped steadily. Unfortunately, Soto has not proved a success with rentals due to its location and the fact that young couples coming from the UK to earn their fortunes in the property sales market have gone home or elsewhere.

Dont let all this put you off, Soto has a good long term future, but as agencies like Engel & Volkers and Andalucian Dream Homes wont even market resales here at this time (VIVA and Residencia Estates will) then think with your heads, buy on price per square metre, get your lawyers to pull out of Phase 2 contracts (they are very delayed so you can do this as others have) and call VIVA or Residencia to see the money you can save in buying phase 1 resales. I hope you find this useful.

Vince

Do you have a Phase One apartment for sale by any chance Vince? Just wondering.


This message was last edited by daveporter on 5/29/2007.

Hi all!

 

Certainly an interesting thread of conversation!!  I think we have got quite a good value property at El Soto - bearing in mind the location - proximity of Banus etc.  Also regardless of square footage you have to consider the overall quality of the fittings, site etc - from what we saw in the showhouse these appeared to be second to none.

 

I do have to agree with Vince on one point however - we have concerns as to the "rentability" of the property diven its location.  We do wonder whether we would have been better buying at the bottom of the hill - but we fell in love with El Soto.  My understanding however Vince - is that at this late stage if purchasers were to pull out they would lose significant money.  The contract only allows purchasers to pull out after 6 month delay.  Given that completion was 31st March in our contract - this is some way off!!

Hi

Caroline - I would suggest you check the contract delay clause with your lawyers, if it is 6 months then your assertion would be correct - normally, 3 month delay clauses are the norm. Banus is a 25 minute taxi ride which will cost approx. 25 euro each way.

Dave, yes, I am one of many Phase 1 owners looking to take a substantial "hit" on the original Phase 1 investment, but that is not why I made the posting. Check out the General Forum over the last few days and you will see other posts that confirm the view here that if you can, pull out of any off plan investment and buy a resale from people like me who got the timing wrong - I accept my mistake, but this doesnt mean I would like to see others blindly buying at prices way over market odds. If I sell a Phase 1 penthouse bought in 2003 at 500,000 including taxes and fees, and I net out at 425,000 after taxes and agents fees, you can see that the 75,000 loss is very real to me, but a serious opportunity for those buying for investment reasons.

Cheers

Vince

Vince,
I fear it is too late for people to try and pull out of phase 2. As I understand, those who purchased in 2a have had their opportunity (discount or return of deposit) and 2b is not late enough for that.
I don't wish to comment on actual figures - your pain and that of any 'investors' in phase 2 (who may have got their timing even more wrong than yourself) is bad enough, but I will comment on value.
The square footage you quoted in your original post relates to the penthouses in phase 2b, one of which I have purchased. Internally, they are smaller than those in phase 1 and 2a. But the terraces are absolutely superb and a selling feature on their own. Notwithstanding the internal square footage method of valuation,  those of us who purchased these penthouses did so in the knowledge that much larger ones were available in phase 1, some at lower prices - although probably higher community fees.
I have rented a phase 1 penthouse. They are very nice and spacious. No argument. But I really didn't like the stairs (which take up some of the square footage) and - certainly in the penthouse I rented, which I believe was the second largest type - I found the terraces restrictive. For instance, we could not sit out  to dine at night in the evening sun. The main terrace just didn't face that way and was quite chilly after late afternoon.
This is why we chose the 2b penthouse - for the easy, single level accomodation and the huge solarium (sun and shade all day)  terraces. It suited our proposed use. If we ignore pure investment (and you may argue that we shouldn't) most properties, particularly holiday homes,  sell on a combination of size, build quality, location, features and whether they suit proposed usage. We are proof of that.
The sellers market is dire right now and i wish you and others the very best of luck with your sales. But - to quote a famous adage, i just wanted to make the point that whilst it may have its advantages, sometimes size isn't everything.
Cheers

This message was last edited by plexx on 6/4/2007.

I thought so Vince! Your figures are wildly inaccurate. I bought a 2A, 2 bed, first floor 'Penthouse' in March last year. I paid well under 300,000 Euros. I was told it would be ready in March with the licence probably issued towards the end of May. It is therefore about a week late! I can't pull out at this stage, and I don't want too. I'm happy with my purchase thank you very much.

We just received this from our lawyer:
--------------------

"It is my pleasure to inform you that I wrote to the Developer to ask about when completion would take place and I have just had a call from them.  They tell me that they called the Town Hall to ask when the Certificate of Fitness for Habitation would be issued, thus enabling them to draw up the deeds in your favor and they were informed that once elections take place, there is a waiting period of 20 days wherein no official documents are issued and signed while the changes in the governing body are implemented. Nonetheless, the Town Hall also told the Developer that once everything was operative again, they were on the top of the list to get their Certificate sorted.
Comments:

End of June make the delivery only 2 months late.  No case for return of deposit.

Secondly, people in other developments who tried to get their deposits back, if they got anything they paid out most of it in legal fees.

Terraces are lovely -- we have over 100 sq meters of terraces with sweeping views in our home in Turkey -- but the truth is, we rarely use them.  In the first year we lived here we did, but thereafter it became very occasional, for a party or special occasion.  Meanwhile, the terraces collect dust, dirt and are just more work to clean. If I were looking to buy another property elsewhere, I would not want a terrace larger than 30 sq meters.  Our El Soto apt has 26 sq mtrs, it's plenty.