SPANISH BARGAINS
BUYING THROUGH AN AGENT SPECIALISING IN REPOSSESSED STOCK
T
o spare buyers the stress of trying to deal with banks themselves, there are plenty of agents offering to do it for
you. Beware all the opportunists who know nothing and will try to fl og you anything. You can tell pretty quickly from their websites whether they’ve spent more than fi ve minutes building their business. And pick your properties carefully.
Much of Spain’s southern and eastern coastline is awash with discounted properties, and prices can look almost giveaway (mainly because developers really can’t give them away). Murcia has a huge amount of unsold stock you wouldn’t want to touch with a barge pole – notably its
golf resorts left half-built on remote scrubland – but it will also be home to the Paramount theme park in Alhama de Murcia, which has just been given the go-ahead, so investors are optimistic about rental returns for properties in the region and in neighbouring Almería. “I’ve shown fi ve people the Key Mare
development in Vera, Almería, as a new high-speed rail link is being built there which will take you to the Paramount park in 15 minutes when it’s all built in a few years,” says Peter Birkett of Property Repossessions Spain. He has struck a deal with the Key Mare developer in which two-bed fl ats now cost £96,000 (the last phase of similar properties cost £245,000),
REPOSSESSIONS ON THE MARKET
DO: • Visit properties you are interested in and get a thorough
DO’S AND DON’TS OF BUYING BANK-OWNED STOCK
idea of the resort/development/area. Who is buying there? Who rents properties there? Are there hundreds of unsold properties sitting empty? Do you really want to own there if so, no matter how cheap?
• Speak to several agents dealing with repossessions. You will soon get an idea of how much they know their fi eld and whether their advice is reliable.
• Get a lawyer to investigate thoroughly if the property has any debts. You shouldn’t inherit any utility debts through a bank-owned property, but, if the bank has too many properties to keep tabs on, some debts may get overlooked and the buyer becomes burdened with them.
• Check all community fees and property taxes have been paid before you buy.
DON’T • Approach banks yourself. They have thousands of
properties on offer, but no effective means of dealing directly with foreign buyers – especially if you don’t speak Spanish.
• Be led by what others tell you is a good bargain. See for yourself. Agents may have another agenda, pushing properties that the bank is telling them to. They may be wholly unsuitable as holiday homes, though, in dreary city suburbs and nowhere near the coast.
• Assume bank-owned properties offer the best value. There are so many discounted properties in Spain, you are likely to fi nd better value through estate agents or auctions.
• Rush. The economic situation in Spain isn’t changing any time soon.
£420,000 £540,000
Seven-bedroom frontline beach villa on the Mar Menor on a 1,400 sq metre plot, with large pool, boathouse and direct access to the beach from the garden. Was £1.74m. (
propertyrepossessionsspain.com)
Why buy: frontline beach villas are rare and highly sought after Why not buy: Running costs are high
48
aplaceinthesun.com
There are 12 villas available on this new development in Turre, near Mojácar in Almería. Some have private pools, all have a minimum plot of 400 sq metres, at least two bathrooms, large terraces and good-quality interior fi ttings. (
propertyrepossessionsspain.com)
Why buy: It’s rare to fi nd villas on the repossessed market and these are generating a lot of interest. Near Mojácar beach, fi ve golf courses and two airports within a 40-minute drive.
Why not buy: No communal pool. Some villas have unfi nished gardens.
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