Crime in la Hoya elche

Hi Tracey,

La Hoya is a largish village - it has a bank and supermarket - but it still feels rural.  It's a great location, as you're only a 10 minute drive into Elche (vibrant and beautiful, known as The City of Palms) and a similar distance in the opposite direction to the coast at La Marina.

I can't comment on crime statistics specifically for that village; the crime rate in Spain is generally higher than the UK, but it tends to be lower level crime, such as opportunist theft, whereas violent crime is worse in the UK.

Kind regards,

Kim

Thank you for your reply obviously it’s s big thing buying and moving to a foreign country but we love the area and think we’ve found the perfect property which is beautiful but it is fenced with barbed wire all around it’s perimeter and we was wondering whether they get problems with intruders

Please sure it is fully legai and has a certificate of habitation. 

Be aware that La Hoya is on the flood plain with all that that entails.   My sister lives there and she says its mosquito land....  can't go out without being eaten alive.... the water table is so close to the surface that you can only have an above ground poll.    Now you know!

Richard

Oh ok Richard thanks for the info

Yes it has it’s all legal

That is good to hear. 

After posting on here about our villa we put a deposit on just on the outskirts of la marina, we are devastated to now be told 2 weeks from completion that it has no habitation certificate... gutted... not the agent who was selling it or the sellers informed us of this, our lawyer found it was illegal ☹️☹️

Hi Tracey,

Sorry to hear your news.

Either the agent, the vendor, or both, have deliberately withheld information upon which you made your offer to buy.  On this basis, you could withdraw from the purchase and be legally entitled to the return of your deposit.  

However, if you're set on buying the property, you could make it a condition of completion that the vendors pay for obtaining the Habitation Certificate - assuming it can be granted; your abogado should be able to advise.

Alternatively, and again, only if you're desperate to have the property, you could negotiate a reduction in the purchase price which reflects that it is not legal.

It's worth saying that there are many illegal properties in the Spanish countryside, which are bought and sold without problem, but before deciding whether you would be happy to proceed, you need to understand any limitations.  For example, would you be unable to develop the property any further?  Even if you establish that, in principle, it would be possible to obtain a Habitation Certificate, would there be other costs involved, such as upgrading the waste system?

In your position, I wouldn't panic.  It may feel desperate at the moment, but remember that there are far more properties for sale than buyers, and the failure of the agent/vendor to disclose the status of the property leaves you with the stronger hand.

I hope all goes well.  When you have a chance, do let us know how things work out.  Good luck!

Best wishes and kind regards, 

Kim