Wanted: Property - flat or bungalow

I'll leave others to comment on "viewing trips" as I chose to arrive of my own accord and see a large number of properties shown by a number of different agents over at least a couple of different visits. I also stayed at a property close to (within 500m) of where I actually ended up buying. Organised viewing trips might serve a purpose for some, but they're not for me.

Looking at the company you mention - they have no Spanish contact number and no Spanish office per the "Contact Us" page. That would put me off. I want an estate agent to at least be based where I am looking and ideally have an actual physical office.

Plus the Costa Blanca stretches over 200km along the coastline to well inland along valleys, mountains and meadows. Places are very different so be very difficult to recommend anywhere without knowing what area you are looking. 

I wouldn't do one of those either. It's mostly just my preference, but I have seen people say they partly felt obliged to buy a property, after being driven around all day. 

I just booked a trip and arranged to meet several agents at the properties.

More  or else  🤔  handcuffs  to Estate agents  for duration of  trip, do a.solo trip and do a few of them, as had been  mentioned Costa Blanca  coast  about 200 km long lot of areas , that suit some  not others, mistake  can cost you Thousands, Rent  before you  Buy  golden  rules  on forum  here 😉 

I can only repeat what others have said, they will hard sell you the properties they have and make it sound like heaven. There are many pitfalls to buying Spanish properties and if they can offload something illegal on you via their pet solicitors, they will.  You need to visit independently several times, decide what part of the huge area you want to be in then rent. Will you want to rent it out when you are not here? How far from the airport and will you be buying a car ( very expensive in Spain ) or will you be relying on taxis? How much will that cost you? The EPC rating in older properties will be low so you will freeze when it is cold. Most people will tell you it is warmer out than in.

When you find areas you like, come back on the forum for further help. My advice would be not to step inside a property or speak to an estate agent until you have visited at least twice at the times of year you would be visiting.

When I decided to buy, i already had a list of what and where I wanted to buy but was worried about all the stories of people losing their life savings..so, having never watched an episode of "a place in the sun" but knowing it was a bbc programme,  I thought I'd check out their website, predominantly to get advice. From that, i discovered that they do roadshows,  2 per year and travelled to Birmingham to one. It provided me with invaluable advice and knowledge,  there was even a representative from the uk consulate there who gave me a list of recommended solicitors. I then booked viewings with different estate agents and found my property on the 2nd viewing trip. I still hear about people not using lawyers and surveyors, gives me goosebumps that! Oh, and if you do decide to go to a roadshow,  register with place in the sun's website because you might get free tickets 

Many thanks to all for the very helpful replies. I shall visit shortly and spend some time looking round the different areas before getting too entangled with agents etc. My initial thoughts are to look in places 30 - 60 mins from Alicante airport. I am tempted to go inland for a less touristy experience but will keep an open mind for now.

Someone showed me a news article reporting Spanish locals being unfriendly to foreigners driving up house prices - has anyone had this experience?

A few things to bear in mind, 

1) Public transport is extremely limited/almost non-existant unless you are on major route

2) Car ownership and costs can be high unless you are there fulltime (eg arranging ITV (yearly car test) while you are not there-mandatory and car can not be driven when expired)

3) Apartment or house in a community will attract fees and costs for maintainence/communal areas etc

4) When looking at an area it is paramount that you visit during day/at night, low season/high season, good weather/bad weather etc in order to get an accurate feel for the area

Media reports of unrest are usually hype, fuelled by lefty/socialists govs/councils, eg Barcelona or Canaries or Balearics, while Socialist Government has just announced that up to 1.5million illegals will be made legal (where will they live?).

Most spanish know that Spain relies on tourists and their money and are very welcoming, especially if you make the effort to integrate and join in and even try to learn a bit of spanish.

Not sure about your age, but you should bear in mind facilities. What do you want is what you need to think about. I'm in Torrevieja, which is a pretty big town, with a hospital on the bus route, with a stop a minute's walk away. Shops are a bit further, but tolerable.

The beaches with all the bars and cafes etc are a 10 minute drive.

It's good for us, but might not suit you, as it's on an Urbanization (a housing estate) and the parking is poor.

Swings and roundabouts, imo, but as long as you don't have ridiculous expectations or have an absolute fortune to spend, you get great value compared to the UK.

As for unfriendliness, we haven't seen that, but we're in Torre, which is very cosmopolitan.

That said, there are lots of foreign enclaves inland and the value if you're willing to go further inland means it might be a great idea, as value just gets better.

Just consider what facilities are available and what you can do without.

And if I was looking at a very Spanish area, I'd definitely want to rent first, to check there's no hostility. That said, I've found the Spanish to be generally very friendly in my admittedly short experience (18 months, with months on and off).