Reasons for NOT buying in Spain at the moment

 Oh wow - that is food for thought - building our own place.  My brother built his villa in Portugal 20 years ago and has never regretted it.   What are the obstacles to buying a plot of land?  Would it still make economic sense given the type of reductions we are talking about?   I take your points re golf resorts.   

I would imagine the bargain properties you are seeing are cheaper than the cost of building - even if you can find a builder still in business. Personally I would never dream of trying to take on a project of that nature anyway, especially not in the "real" Spain, whatever the heck that means (is a golf course in England a true representation of the country and its culture?? God that phrase irritates me!) But that's just me. Good luck to Carl, genuinely hope it all works out well for you.

By the way, they speak Spanish in Florida

 Yes indeed - and also in Argentina - which is also tempting.   On reflection I think you are right about the building project - I don't think I would want to take it on at the moment.  It really did work for my brother in Portugal, but that was a long time ago.  I don't think I have ever used the expression 'real Spain' - because Spain is pretty diverse and who are we to say what is real.  

I hear Chile is up and coming. Long trip for a weekend, although it does have the advantage of being summer when you want to escape the winter - and some pretty good wine!

Hi, I've got to be honest and say the process isn't half as bad as one might fear.....SO LONG AS, you have a good builder, you take the time to see their work, talk to people who have used them recently, inspect thier work and ensure you have a legal contract with them and pay in installments. We did all of these things and are extremely happy to date.

Sure, as I think I mentioned there could well be some more distressed sellers out their with a finished prodct that are desperate to sell, and we looked at many many of these but to be honest, what we saw we just didn't lke and would have ended up knocking much of it down and starting again.

I think the trick is don't rush, don't fully trust anyone, use a lawyer of repute and ask lots alnd lots and lots of questions.

Ask me again in a few months if I'm still pleased once it's done - hopefully the answer will be yes...

Good luck to you all.

Regards, Carl

 Good advice Carl, and certainly we don't intend to rush into anything.  I have said on here many times prices aren't going anywhere soon - except maybe down a bit!!!

 Just a quick note,

Just because they were priced and selling at 290k doesnt mean they were worth it!

There should be lots to choose from in that area around that benchmark of 80k.

I'll have an ask around for you if you like.

Sal

 Couldn't agree more Sal - a lot of the properties on developments were way 'overpriced' - though really I don't believe in under or over pricing - properties are only ever worth what someone will pay for them.  Hence my earlier assertion that a lot of property at the moment is really worth zero.  I believe that anyone selling at the moment would simply be lucky to find someone prepared to pay a 'good' price because they cannot compete with the distress sales.  Please do ask around, we are still very open minded, our only requirement really being size as we want something to live in.  I am thinking that 100 square meters would be a space we could live with.