Overwhelmed

[victoriaplumb]

Hi people living in sunny Spain,
I came across this site by default when out of poor confusion Google d ' house swops in Spain'. It looks great and can't wait to read all about it.

Me and Pete, (the better half) Are planning to take early retirement to Spain in January 2012. We can't wait but my goodness it is so confusing. We just want to come over to Spain and rent a small place until we know where we want to live.
We like the look and sound of the Murcia area but have not yet been there.

Does anyone have any hints or tips they are willing to share with me?

I have looked a numerous web pages but the rents are mainly for holiday lets.
We like the sound of small town called Blanca. sounds idyllic.
We also went to the 'Place in the Sun' exhibition and are now inundated with calls trying to get us out there on a 'viewing trip'. Has anyone had an experience of one?
Love to hear from you.

[Alcalaina]

Hi Victoria, welcome!

Sunny Spain is cold and wet at the moment so don't forget your thermals.

Personally I would advise against organised viewing trips. I have heard a lot of bad reports, people being left stranded when they said they didn't want to buy a property etc. Come over for a holiday and look somewhere to rent; 11 months is the normal term for a non-holiday let (after that you have tenants' rights and they can't get you out!).

There are some lovely places in Murcia and the climate is good there. Good place to start!

[mickw]

having been there and done the exibition thing many years ago,,, my advice would be book a hotel in the region you fancy a two week break and a car,, drive around as much as you can and get a feel for the area. I was first introduced to villa martin ,costa blanca south,,,ended up 100km away in moraira and always rent first until you find your feet,nothing is never as it seems until youve been there a month or so,, best of luck and good wishes

[thrax]

Yes, avoid organised trips as some of them will treat you very badly once they find out you don't want to buy from them. And the properties they will be selling are usuall full of problems

[Cazzy]

Good luck with your search!! There are a lot of very cheap properties at the moment, with people desperate to return to the UK. You could also take a winter let for a few months to search for property.

With a property swap it is the same as buying and selling - You buy theirs they buy yours, all the same costs apply as in a normal sale.

Caz

[Pesky Wesky]

Originally Posted by victoriaplumb

Hi people living in sunny Spain,
I came across this site by default when out of poor confusion Google d ' house swops in Spain'. It looks great and can't wait to read all about it.

Me and Pete, (the better half) Are planning to take early retirement to Spain in January 2012. We can't wait but my goodness it is so confusing. We just want to come over to Spain and rent a small place until we know where we want to live.
We like the look and sound of the Murcia area but have not yet been there.

Does anyone have any hints or tips they are willing to share with me?

I have looked a numerous web pages but the rents are mainly for holiday lets.
We like the sound of small town called Blanca. sounds idyllic.
We also went to the 'Place in the Sun' exhibition and are now inundated with calls trying to get us out there on a 'viewing trip'. Has anyone had an experience of one?
Love to hear from you.

I have no experience of "viewing trips", but unless you are good at warding off hard sales techniques I would advise against it as you're going to be in a hard sell environment night and day - and they are even more desperate to sell than usual at the moment.
Renting is the most sensible option if you're not even sure where you want to be. Even if you do know the region or town, you might want a while to find the right part of the town for you, so I'd say take your time, be flexible and accept that you're not going to have a "home" for a while.

[victoriaplumb]

Aw thank you guys this is a great help. Very much appreciated. So from this I need to try and find a winter let. Is there a site that offer private rentals? sorry for being so needy

[victoriaplumb]

Originally Posted by Pesky Wesky

I have no experience of "viewing trips", but unless you are good at warding off hard sales techniques I would advise against it as you're going to be in a hard sell environment night and day - and they are even more desperate to sell than usual at the moment.
Renting is the most sensible option if you're not even sure where you want to be. Even if you do know the region or town, you might want a while to find the right part of the town for you, so I'd say take your time, be flexible and accept that you're not going to have a "home" for a while.

Good advice. this is the part I think we need to think about and not rush in.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by victoriaplumb

Aw thank you guys this is a great help. Very much appreciated. So from this I need to try and find a winter let. Is there a site that offer private rentals? sorry for being so needy

have a look at the 'Useful links' sticky thread at the top - there are some rental websites linked to from there

[Cazzy]

Sorry can't help with a short term let as we are in the wrong area. I expect you will find one at this time of year.

We went on an inspection trip to Murcia, it was terrible. They refused to take us back to the airport as we didn't buy. Since that time we have started work for an estate agent, and although estate agents have a terrible reputation we are honest with our clients and help them whether they buy or not. Our 'boss'does not like our approach, but it is not our main income source and we enjoy doing it, so why rip people off! Be careful business is bad for estate agents at the moment and some will try anything to get a sale.

Happy house hunting

Caz