First time on EOS

Hi there, although I have been a member for a while I've never introduced myself.......so  a big 'HELLO'.   OH and myself have been looking to move to Spain in his retirement so studying this forum with interest!!

welcome,  any idea which part of Spain ?

Hi jenruth,

Welcome to EOS. 

There are lots of things to consider when taking the huge step of moving to Spain permanently, and so what better place  to start than on here?

If you have any questions ask away, someone will be only too pleased to help.

Hi, in response to the question, where?  We have thought about Costa Calida as it seems pretty inexpensive but then you wonder why..... it has San Javier airport so is handy for the UK trips back to see family.  I just find it very difficult to get correct info without a lot of digging around.  I know the area is suffering from 'overbuild' but then that's true of many places in Spain, I just want to ensure that any potential purchase has all the legalities in place........... seems very hard to do!!!

Why do the Spanish authorities  make everything so difficult?  Is there any way of finding if all licences are in place, from reading other Spain focused forums this seems nigh on impossible!

However, I'm not giving up on the idea..... 

Jennifer

I understand your concerns and it does sometimes seems a problem to find out that a development has all the permits

You can always ask for copies and get them translated-if not available walk away

The first essential is the planning, then individual building licences [ a bit like our building regulations] and then the Licence of First Occupation

Also if you hand money over you must get a bank or insurance guarantee....used to be delays with these but today you must insist on receiving this simultaneously with your payment

Most professional agents will ensure that everything is in order and in general nowadays any decent development being marketed will have the appropriate permits and the banks are unlikely to give a guarantee to one which is not legal

Buyers  however are still a touch wary, so to make doubly sure that what they are buying is OK they  now often get a mortgage, even if they do not really need one

On the basis that an independent bank will not lend on illegal properties

Now in the past, the bank financing the development have given mortgages to buyers to help them complete  [ the builders mortgage] even though all permits are not granted….I’m not too sure that they will still do this in current circumstances but it is best to be sure and use an independent bank

There are lots of good developments in Spain where it is safe to buy just like in UK and perhaps the above is a touch a basic but:

If you:

Use a professional agent

Get a guarantee for your deposit

The contract has specific dates and time scales for completion

Your solicitor is independent and checks all permits

You get a mortgage

You do not complete without a Licence of First Occupation

Then you should be OK……now there are examples of buyers of so called ‘ illegal properties’ who have the deeds, a mortgage and LFO and yet their legality is subject to investigation

Mainly past corrupt or mismanaged developments, as now everything is more controlled 

One other point

You may be concerned that the facilities will not be completed and if you have any concerns about this you can always buy a ready now unit on a completed development or phase or a re sale…..so that what you see is what you get

But there is nothing wrong with buying off plan if it is done properly

Hi Jennifer,

I am new to this forum but have just purchased a property from a company called Quantum Villas near the town of Huercal Overa. It is a lovely part of Spain and we fell in love the moment we saw it.

We used an independent solicitor and all the paperwork was in order, we have seen the licences to build and also other developers are building close by. I agree with Brian that there is nothing wrong with purchasing off plan properties provided you make sure everything is legal, which we did. If you would like the details of the company we bought from send me a PM.

Many thanks, Kevin

Kevin is quite right and not just in relation to Quantum, infact if a developer does not provide all the info like them , then walk away

Their villas are very competitive and also they are flexible on design......pick your plot then your design and they will alter it to your requirements

Can send you a PDF of their villas if you are interested  

Just to say thank you to those who took the trouble to reply and I am now 'googling' Huercal Overa....... looks a nice area so I'll carry on with the research.  Thanks for the offers of reputable contacts, will bear that in mind.

Jennifer

Just to say thank you to those who took the trouble to reply and I am now 'googling' Huercal Overa....... looks a nice area so I'll carry on with the research.  Thanks for the offers of reputable contacts, will bear that in mind.

Jennifer

Sorry double post, don't know what happened there!!!!!

Hi and welcome to the forum.

We made the move here 6 months ago and gained a tremendous amount of info from this site. You really do need to do your homework and we started by making a short list of what was important to us. Did we want coastal or inland, did we want predominantly Spanish or a big english community, did we want a holiday area which may be quiet for a large part of the year and a lot of the properties around you may be empty or did we want somewhere that was active all year round. For us, golf was a big box that needed to be ticked. What sort of weather, scenery etc do you want.

Visit various areas and have a good look around. There are a lot of resale properties available in all sorts of places and at all sorts of prices so don't focus solely on new build. Something key ready may fit timescales better, may be easier to check on legality of build and at least you can be sure what facilities have been completed.

We have been renting for 6 months and I would recommend anyone to do this before buying if you can - you learn so much about a place by living there for a few months first, you may find what is important to you isn't that important once you are here. Sometimes we judge where we want to live based on our life in the UK, if moving here permanently, the way of life can be so different that what seemed so necessary when in the UK suddenly doesn't matter.

We love it here and I hope you find your ideal place.

Jacqui

Jacqui is in San Juan de los Tererros which is very nice and has a super beach . Shortly there will be 2 golf courses close together

Plans also to extend the prom westwards towards the boundary with Almanzora so this location is certainly an up and coming location and I am not surprised that she enjoys living there 

Huercal Overa will in about 9 months be only 20 mins or so away as they are  building a new by pass to Pulpi and a tunnel through the mountains

This will also mean that San Juan will be 10 mins or so from the toll road [ 1 hr or so to Mercia Airport]  and 20 mins or so from A7-E15

Jacqui, as you live there,  perhaps you can update me on the time scale of these road improvements