I am considering buying an apartment in Spain. I reside in Australia and am 65 years old and wife slightly younger. I will be retiring shortly and am considering purchasing a new furnished apartment so that we can spend say 5 months at the most in Spain during the Australian winter. I wonder if you can recommend :
1   a couple of reliable real estate agents I can contact and commence enquiries.
2   Which area would you recommend I purchase the apartment which I would likely lock up when not in use.  My criteria is that the apartment is new or very modern, airconditioned, tiled, furnished if possible and close to the Med sea and to achieve capitol growth in future. I may rent when not in use and if I did, would I have to pay tax on rent?
3   Can someone itemize taxes I would need to pay on purchase of property plus other living taxes?
4   Understand euros 1000 per month would be sufficient for a good life style excluding mortgage payments. Is this an accurate estimate.

Reg

Hello Reg:

First of all, it all depends on your budget, as in, how much you intend to spend on an apartment.  Also, the size of the apartment, one, two bed, etc. etc.

1.-  I would be very reluctant to recommend any estate agent to you.  Indeed, if it were at all possible I would advise you to come over to Spain, spend a couple of weeks here in an area of your choice, and look around yourselves.  As Marbella is my home town I am naturally enthusiastic about it and the surrounding and outlying areas (Benahavis, etc.).  Even then, do not buy at once.  The perceived wisdom at the moment is to rent first, to see if the place really suits you.

2.- Yes, you would be taxed on rental income. 
Once you do decide to buy then you need a good lawyer, and following on on that, a good tax advisor to deal with your tax returns and other items.
The lawyer you choose will, and must, provide you with a written advice on what your costs would be entailed in the purchase transaction and subsequent outgoings (rates (known as IBI in Spain), refuse collection charges, and so on).  Do not deal with any lawyer who does not provide all information to you in writing, by email or otherwise.

4.-  I don’t think ?1000 is enough to live on monthly, and Spain is not as inexpensive as many would have you believe.  You will be paying condominium service charges (comunidad), electricity, which is relatively expensive in Spain, your rates (as mentioned above), refuse collection charges, water rates, insurance on your property, (a car?), after which you still have to eat, enjoy yourselves, possibly play golf or other sports, travel a little…...well, it all adds up.

Anyhow these are just a few thoughts.

Best wishes
Patricia

Hi Patricia

many thanks for your reply

Since inserting my post, I have done some more homework and realised that E1000 was underestimated and I have now revised to E2000/500 per month excluding mortgage including all taxes, community costs which we refer to as strata costs, insurance, gas etc.  In your opinion - would this be sufficient??

2   Regarding purchasing an apartment - your advice to visit and rent to get to know the place is wise and well taken. I have been checking prices in Cap de Sol (Marbella) region and think E15000 MAY be sufficient for a three bed apartment. The only problem is that they all seem to have underground parking spaces not enclosed garages and I would require one as I intend only staying 4 months in a year during Aussie winter in Spain. Do the apartments there have garages or car spaces only??

3   I have been checking on car prices and only see second hand cars mainly 2008 vintage or with high kms/miles. I have not seen anyone who sells new cars to gauge prices.

4   I am not fussed about renting and in fact my preference is to lock up the place. If I did lock up, are they safe or do people break into and steal or stay inside and get squatters rights??

Once again thanks and keep in touch

Reg

Hello again Reg:

You are welcome!

2.-  I don’t think (although there may be bargains out there) that you would get a three bed in the Marbella area (to buy) for ?150.000.  I think I am reading you right? 
It is usual for buildings in Spain to have underground car parking bays (some only have outdoor parking!).  By the way when and if you buy MAKE SURE that the apartment comes with an underground parking bay.  I say this because the parking bay (underground) is deemed to be a separate property and people do and can sell apartments with no parking!  However the car would be safe in an underground car park as good developments/buildings have security.

3.- Yes, there are lots of dealers for new cars (all brands) and here just one (Renault)

http://www.rombosol.com/prueba-de-vehiculo-malaga?item=vn-87 

A new Megane, just as an example, would come in somewhere between 13.000 and 22.000 euro depending on model.

If you come to Marbella all the dealers (concesionarios), Volvo, Renault, etc.  are together on the left side of the road before coming into the town (when coming from the M?laga direction).  Other dealers can be found around the San Pedro area (about 10 minutes west of Marbella.

4   Your apartment would be safe once locked up.  Squatting would be unusual in the area (it does happen in certain areas of the big cities).  Again, the better developments/apartment buildings do have security and/or are gated with security. It has to be said that this can up the price, and means that the condominium service charges are likewise higher, obviously.

Patricia

Hi Patricia

many thanks for your kind response and advice which is of great assistance in making such an important decision.

1   The issue of an enclosed garage is important to me due to my intended stay being only 4/5 months in Spain and not the entire year. I do not know how I can overcome this hurdle as I would not want a good quality car left in an underground car parking area albeit in a gated community left unattended for so long. I suspect, inevitably, it will be scratched or indented. Are there secure facilities in the region where one can leave a car parked for several months and what would be the cost??  If they are open yards, it defeats the purpose. As a matter of interest - are there other expats who leave their cars unattended in their complexes for so many months?

2   I have taken note of your caution re garage spaces being included in the sale price. The ads I have seen mention that the space is included but it is better to be forewarned.

3   what would you estimate a new or modern 3 bed apart of approx 130 sq mtrs with garage space cost in your region??. I have seen ads for 3 bed 2 bath of size 110sq mtrs but think these would be rather small.

Kind regards

Reg

Hello Reg:

1   There may well be secure places where you could leave a car , but offhand I would not know of any.  Some underground garages have got the parking bays partitioned off, so to speak, with wire, and are thus enclosed, so that the person parking beside you cannot touch the car.  Also it is probably a good idea to cover the car with a tarpaulin.  Again, not all underground parking bays would be like this, so it would deped where you are looking.  It is also most important to ensure you have a “trastero” included in the price, i.e. a lock-up storage unit, generally based in the underground area, beside the car parking facility. 
Yes, I know of people who have left their cars unattended for many months, and aside from the dust etc. I did not see any damage to the cards. 

3 I just don’t know, Reg.  Prices vary widely depending on location, this being the key word.  In Spain 13o square metres is considered quite large…..
Do google the Marbella and outlying areas (Benahavis, Los Monteros, La Quinta etc. or further down the coast to Sotogrande,  and see what comes up.  It will give you some idea of price.  I do know someone who saw an apartment two beds at La Quinta for about 230.000 euro (that is a big drop for a development on a golf course).

All the best
Patricia

many thanks Patricia

I have been looking at a site at vivaestates as below

http://www.vivaestates.com/buying/property/search/?area_groups=245,240&price_from=0&price_to=250000&property;_types[0]=289&property;_types[1]=314&bedrooms=3&bathrooms=2&listed_in_last=999999&ref_no=Type+here

prices for 2bed 2 bath approx 100sq mtrs appear to be approx 190K and 3bed 2 bath - 130 sq mtrs just under 250K. As I recall only one has a gargage.

The properties are all in Marbella west. I have also checked retail sales and these range considerably but I am getting impression that 1500K is about the rate per sq mtr. Would this be an accurate assessment?? in my search I included areas close to Marbella including Nueva Andalucia, San Pedro Alcantara, Puerto Banus and Fuengirola.

Your message is indicating that prices have dropped - what was the going rate per sq mtr before the crash?  I read somewhere it was around 2000K. The search so far has given me an idea of current prices but have no idea on when properties were built or how modern etc.

I woudl like to keep in touch with you directly by email at

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

I can then email attachments etc

regards

Reg

No problem, Reg.  I note your email.  Prices dropped by 40% to 50% in Marbella area, so it is a question of shopping around to see what you like, and then getting a good quality/price ratio.  Really nice places are not that cheap though, as in the prices you quoted.  My estimation is that a 3 bed somewhere good would be in the area of 240.000 euro.  But again, if you get someone keen to sell, well you could do better. 
I did not know Viva were still operating….....
In any case I would advise you, if you can, to try to buy without an agent.  All the more reason to come here, rent for six months, and really tour the place till you get that special place.

All the best for now.
Patricia

Thanks again Patricia

I have approached the Spanish Consulate and they convey it will take at least 3 months to issue a 3 month residency visa which I then convert when in Spain to a 12 month resident visa renewable every 12 months. Talk about bureaucracy.

I will keep plugging away and see if I can find a place with a garage. Information to hand would suggest that Europe and the rest of the world is likley to go into recession and if this occurs, prices are likley to fall further.

Lets see how things develop. Thans for your assistance so far.

Reg