Buying a property in Altea

jimtaylor wrote on Wed May 20, 2020 5:07am:

Welcome to the forum. I can't help you about Altea itself, but be aware that there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in a move to Spain.

When you've time, click the Jim's Guides link on the bar at the top of the page.

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For a summary overview, look at:

https://www.costablancaforum.com/area/mudamiento-spain-77813/moving-to-mudamiento-tips-advice-226/jims-guide-what-new-residents-need-to-be-aware-of-80379/

Jeff22 wrote on Wed May 20, 2020 9:10am:

Hi

We bought our home a couple of years ago. We had fallen in love with Altea many years ago and had frequently visited the town before we committed to buying and living here.

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First of all, Altea is a very vibrant lively town with a very cosmopolitan feel, during the summer months many tourists descend on the town to enjoy the many varied and colourful fiestas. During the winter the town is still very much alive with plenty of facilities for residents. Most of the very best restaurants remain open during the winter and it is a delight to toma un café whilst enjoying the warm winter sunshine looking over the sea.

Where to buy

This will of course depend on what use the property will serve you (i.e. holiday home or permanent residence). We retired here from the UK and have no intentions of ever going back to the UK other than for visits. Although we are fairly fit and active, we wanted to ensure that the property we purchased met all the criteria on our property wish list. Property in the town close to amenities, swimming pool, secure parking, well kept grounds and gardens, storage space and plenty of living space. We achieved this and are very happy living in a large apartment in the Garganes area of Altea.

Altea Hills and Mascarat are nice selective areas, however these are residential, mainly holiday homes and the areas feel isolated and cut off from the still very vibrant town of Altea during the winter months.

If you intend retiring to Altea a good tip would be to rent for a while whilst you establish what suits you best before committing to a purchase.

I do hope this helps

Best regards

Jeff  

dinnerout wrote on Thu May 21, 2020 12:06pm:

Hi Debra, really excellent advice from Jeff above. I owned a property up on the golf course at Don Cayo for 12 years and also know Altea pretty well.

All I would add is the following, excuse the ramble......

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I think Altea is one of the nicest towns around, it's incredibly beautiful. As Jeff says it's an all year town and after you've lived there a couple of years you might enjoy the off peak months more than the bustling summer when it gets packed with renters and second homers!

It is probably the most expensive town on the coast for property (along with Moraira) but the beauty justifies the prices. Living at Altea Hills, Mascarat, or out of town locations might get tiresome on a permanent basis when you have to take the car absolutely everywhere, and as Jeff points out you would lose some of the community aspects of living in the town. However, it's not easy to find the beauty of the hill locations closer to the town, but they can be found. Get yourself a good estate agent recommendation from someone who has bought there recently, give them your criteria, budget, and let them search, search and search.

Identify properties that you admire on Rightmove, Kyero, etc, save as favourites and monitor for price changes. Take a week or two there to mainly concentrate on viewings, look at as many properties and locations as you can, allowing you to rule out and rule in. Use this time to also identify a local recommended solicitor. I can recommend mine, let me know if you want his details. Jeff may also recommend his. Open a Spanish bank account if you don't already have one, and get your NIE numbers sorted out.

When looking at property, depending what your sunshine priorities are, use a compass to identify how much sun your terraces/garden will get and at what times of day. If you find your dream property visit am and pm, noting where the sun is falling.

One small thing to bear in mind - if it's important - is that Altea has only a tiny patch of sand on the beach there, if you like to swim off sand or relax on a sandy beach you will need to use the car.

Be aware that parts of the winter will be colder than you thought they would be. From early December the nights can get cold, and January through March the days can be fairly cool in the shade. Heating of property through the winter is a much visited topic here...!

From 1.1.21 when we exit the transition period for leaving the EU the criteria for Residencia will almost certainly change, with the main change being a rise in tequired monthly income. It remains to be seen exactly what the changes will be, but there are other threads on the forum where you can see discussion about that.

All in all, Altea is a wonderful place to live. Multi national, multi cultural, great bars, restaurants, and very cosmopolitan. It reminds me of what Marbella was probably like in the sixties before it became over built and spoiled.

Good luck, keep us posted?

Kind regards, Steve 

Debra100 wrote on Thu May 21, 2020 1:11pm:

Hi Steve,

Thankyou so much for your reply and really good advise. I was due to visit next week and again in June but obviously been cancelled and will have to reschedule, which may even be next year. So hopefully will know more about the Brexit outcome.

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Thankyou for the recommendation of the solicitor you used and yes I would like their details please.

I know there's a lot involved and this is just the start for me, but I am keen to find out as much as possible and ate very grateful for the advise. Thankyou.

Kind regards

Debra

dinnerout wrote on Thu May 21, 2020 1:35pm:

Hi Debra,

Here are the details of my solicitor. 

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https://www.albirabogados.com/

A small practice with low overheads and decent charging structure.

The solicitor is called Orlando Torregrossa, but for enquiries ask for Maria. They both speak perfect English, you'll find Maria very helpful as a first point of contact. They can arrange utility connections for you and plenty more. They're called Albir Abogados because they recently relocated the office into Altea from nearby Albir.

I don't get a commission (!) but tell her Steve from Beniarbeig recommended you. It will give you a better introduction to them.

If you need any other advice don't hesitate to ask, there's so much to consider and help is free here 😁

Steve

dinnerout wrote on Thu May 21, 2020 1:35pm:

Hi Debra,

Here are the details of my solicitor. 

Read more...

https://www.albirabogados.com/

A small practice with low overheads and decent charging structure.

The solicitor is called Orlando Torregrossa, but for enquiries ask for Maria. They both speak perfect English, you'll find Maria very helpful as a first point of contact. They can arrange utility connections for you and plenty more. They're called Albir Abogados because they recently relocated the office into Altea from nearby Albir.

I don't get a commission (!) but tell her Steve from Beniarbeig recommended you. It will give you a better introduction to them.

If you need any other advice don't hesitate to ask, there's so much to consider and help is free here 😁

Steve

Jeff22 wrote on Thu May 21, 2020 2:16pm:

Hi Debra

Steve's recommendation for the solicitor is spot on, we also used Orlando and Maria and still do for our tax and other issues. They are very good. 

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Steve's advice on preparation, property searches, bank account and NIE is also spot on. You will soon discover that most properties up for sale are with more than one estate agent. Also some that are advertised are in fact already sold. Despite this there is lots of properties coming onto the market which will give you plenty of choice. As for a bank account we were recommended to use Sabadell and found them very helpful.

"Jim's Guides" are a fantastic resource. Jim has put a lot of work into these and they are up-to-date. 

Hope you are able to get back on track enjoying Altea and searching for your home soon once these difficult times have eased.

Good hunting

Best regards

Jeff