Realistic time frame to sell property in Murcia to upgrade?

Hi all,

My husband and I are looking and hoping to buy a 2 bed apartment on La Torre Gold Resort. We are thinking that "down the road" when we have more disposible income and can spend more time there we might  upgrade to a townhouse or villa. How easy woud it be for us to sell the 2 bed apartment and how long would a realistic time-frame be to allow for the apartment to be on the market?

Also, how have some of you gone about getting Spanish lessons to learn conversational Spanish in rder to become more a part of the local community?

Looking forward to all your positive and encuraging responses,

Sungoddess (Ireland)

Just be aware of the costs involved when buying and selling. On top of notary fees and other legal fees there will be estate agent fees and transfer taxes.

We looked into selling at €150,000 and buying one at €225,000. Fees for getting out and moving up would have been around €35,000. 

Rent first and then buy in the area you want and then buy your "upgraded" house straight away. The €35,000 is money you'll never get back.

How long to sell a property is like asking how long is a piece of string.  There are so many variables, the type of property,  the price, the demand in that area, the exchange rate, Brexit, new rules imposed by the Spanish and Regional Governments,  etc.  So impossible to say anything which is any more than a guess.

As for learning Spanish.   From my experience of 30 years living here I can say that almost all Brits living on the Costa Del Sol, and probably all similar areas,  even after many years can do little more that order a coffee and a brandy, badly !     However, having a reasonable degree of fluency does improve one’s enjoyment of living here.

PS Mariedav's post was while I was writing mine.  It's good advice

Thank you both for your advice, it's much appreciated. I know something about all the fees that are involved in buying and selling property but not in spain. I have done some research and have identified some of the main taxes and fees involved in buying but have not researched selling yet. We do not have the necessary finances to purchase the "upgrade" now unfortunately. This would be our first step on the property ladder in spain and our finances will only allow us to purchase a 2 bed apartment on La Torre Golf Resort. I am a former bank official so I have worked out our finances carefully and that is the position. As we live in Ireland (south) we are not exposed to any currency fluctuations so that's one less concern. 

We have identified the resort we want (La Torre) and have also identified the specific blck of apartments we want. There are a couple of apartments in the block we want for sale. 1 is a bank repossession and it's priced substantially lower than another apartment in the same block that is not a bank repossession. Are the bank repo sales safe to go with? It really is an attractive price and we don't want it to be "too good to be true" if you now what I mean.

On the topic of learning Spanish, I have a little already. Better than ordering a drink anyway. I am lucky in that my "thing" is being able to learn languages easily. I speak 4 languages well plus 1 which is a bit patchy and then there's my "pigeon" Spanish (which I would love to improve). I agree wholeheartedly with John about learning the language making a difference to the enjoyment of ones experience.. My husband and I are looking to experience not just the sunshine but the overall Spanish culture and personality of the country which of course would include the language itself.

Anyway, thanks for reading my post and any tips and experiences you have are most welcome. By the way, I should have said that the area we are looking to buy is in the Murcia Region, South East Spain.

We have been talking about learning Spanish on another thread.   Notes in Spanish, LIghtspeed Spanish, studyspanish.com all have lots of free materials.   

Thanks Roly2, I have bought the Michel Thomas Total Spanish course on ebay this afternoon. Got it at a great price too. I'm looking forward to it arriving now..