[BrunoBabe]

Hi there; in the process of buying a brand new apartment in Benalmadena.


Following a visit to A Place in the Sun exhibition in London, we were directed to an English agent who has been very helpful and patient with our numerous requests and helped us find a lovely holiday home. However, he has told us that it is standard Spanish practise to place the first properties on a development at a reasonable price and then to release the next tranche on at an increased amount, even if the first ones are still available - sounds like a strange way of doing business to me.

I have to say, I didn't believe him as I thought it was the old sales tactic to get the customer hooked but already the second phase, about to be released, has exactly the same apartment as ours, with exactly the same spec at €30,000 more than we have paid.

I know this sounds like a random question but, can anyone confirm this is how developers work out here?

We're also discovering how everyone wants a slice of the pie when you're buying, the taxman, the lawyer, the agent....etc etc

 

[amespana]

The best advice I've found with Spanish property transactions is if you are not happy move on .There are thousands of properties out there.Estate agents are cropping up again on every street corner.There is no control over estate agents in Spain,Shark filled waters,it is still a buyers market.If you shake hands with an estate agent count your fingers afterwards.

 

[xgarb]

They'll sell them for whatever they can get. Advertised price might not be the final price just the same as the UK.

I imagine you've been out to see the development and seen the build quality and location is good?

 

[BrunoBabe]

Thanks for your reply - yes, we've visited the development and checked on progress ourselves. Heard too many stories of non existent buildings before we parted with any cash!

 

[Williams2]

For your info here's the link to the Channel 4 series - A Place in the Sun


A Place in the Sun on Channel 4

 

[Leper]

. . . another lamb to the slaughter. There are Irish jokes in the UK about us being stereotypical stupid . . . but there are similar jokes in Spain about UK nationals buying property in Spain but managing to leave their brains at the airport. An exhibit hall in a UK hotel is as suitable to purchasing property in Spain as playing the FA Cup Final in a village in Penzance.

It is not easy to find the right place in Spain where you want to buy. As the Yanks say:- Think of the Bigger Picture. Spend 5/6 weeks of the off season (Jan/Feb if possible) renting in wherever you want to buy in Spain. You will then know if you want a villa/house/duplex/apartment in that area and will be aware of any possibilities that will arise.

Tracking the likes of Holiday Homes in the Sun is like following the Karadishians thinking you are getting an insight into normal life in the USA. Good Estate Agents make their living in the advice they give. But, the advice from most of them is pretty limited and consequently of little use. You've got to do some work yourself. As Roy Keane keeps on saying "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."