Best place to buy.

Thanks everyone so much for your replies. I'm in the process of trawling through properties on line in each area so we can get a starting point. Think we'll be following your idea Grahame of viewing then seeing what's around the property and how far away we are away from what we want.

Thanks Grahame. That would be really helpful.

Thanks. That's really good advice. I'll watch out for that. One thing I've noticed is a couple of agents have had same property but different price.!! Strange.

Grahame, you mentioned you bought last year. Once the offer was accepted what's usually the deposit you have to put down first. We are cash buyers but is there a percentage of the offer you have to hand over for them to take the property off the market, also I've heard if it falls through my end I'll loose deposit, that's why we want it all sorted here first.

Thanks very much Ray. Not sure how it worked deposit wise. We have a lawyer through a place in the sun. Currently they are applying for all necessary documents in order for us to buy around September all being well. So once the deposit is paid does the rest get paid on completion.

Thank you very much everyone for sharing your advice and experiences. It really is food for thought. At least we now have a little more knowledge of the buying process. It certainly opens your eyes.

Excellent advice. Estate agents are in the main nothing more than pond life.Well posted RayD

That's because they are trying to squeeze as much money as they can for their own ends. If other agents are involved by the nominated agent, the second agent will uplift the selling price in order for them to get a bigger share of the sales commission. Treat all estate agents as untrustworthy scoundrels. Ask questions and ANY hesitation in answering shows they have no idea. If they do give an answer then check out their answer. DO NOT as mentioned here already use the Abogado/a that the agent wants you to use. The agent gets a kick back from that Abogado and YOU are the one paying that kick back.

Everything is negotiable, especially if the bathrooms and kitchen need a refurb these are high ticket items.

You will always get more bang for your buck away from the coast, that view has to be paid for.

Look for good storage, you will always need more than you think.