Posted: Tue May 31, 2022 12:59pm
Hello Lynn, I agree with you, El Raso always looks lovely and so is the Med Bar, well worth the trip for us.
Villamartin, purely in my opinion, has grown too large, with all sorts of architectural styles and suffers from a lack of investment from Orihuela City who lap up the money from the Costa to spend in the city. From other posts it seems the Plaza is going downhill.
There are just so many differences from UK properties here, the structure, electrics, plumbing, waste, insulation and heating (or lack of) and a plethora of flat roofs which are often far too hot to sit out on in high summer and prone to leaks with the torrential rain we get here at times, not to mention the flash flooding.
New houses seem to have larger windows as demanded by northern Europeans who find traditional Spanish houses too dark. There is a reason for small windows, just look at all the shuttered windows in occupied properties, they keep out the sun. We have all our windows open permanently (with rejas and mozzie nets) from about April to early October but shutters are kept down until the sun has moved away from them.
Your best bet is probably to buy from someone who has been living here permanently as there is more likelihood that they have made changes and dealt with problems as they have cropped up, not always the case, I accept.
Before you even consider buying anything you should visit in the quieter months, or at least those months when you are likely to travel over within the 90/180 day rule as some bars may close down and it may get a bit too quiet for you. Equally if you are ever likely to visit in August when it can get very busy indeed. The N332 coast road is infamous for traffic jams but even so, Playa Flamenca is very popular.
If you will be keeping a car here then you won't have any problems apart from making sure you are able to get the ITV done before it runs out, but if relying on public transport or taxis, the airport bus to Torrevieja is not much use for some late or early flights and taxis fares will add up for multiple visits. Murcia Corvera airport is very limited for public transport and has been non existent for many months and could possibly stop again outside of high season.
In your position I wouldn't even make contact with an estate agent yet. With a car I would just drive around different areas, stopping at local bars etc to get a feel for places. If you are not always going to have a car then do as another member says they did, get timetables from Torrevieja bus station and travel on all the routes.
As and when you do find something, on a second viewing make sure you ask for everything to be turned on; does the air conditioning heat and cool, does the water heater work, do taps actually work and drain away, the pressure in showers, look in the fuse box, what does it look like? Ours had the RCD in the box but it had actually been disconnected because the wiring was so bad (scorching where bare wires were hidden above the ceilings etc) that the system kept tripping, solution? Remove the warning signal! We bought a renovation project so had budgeted.
You have a really good budget, just don't be too eager to spend it. Never give a deposit to an estate agent and find your own independent abogado. https://www.solicitorsinspain.com/articles/why-independent-spanish-lawyer-important#:~:text=Their%20purpose%20is%20to%20ensure,laundering%20rules%20and%20other%20regulations.
Don't be afraid to ask as many questions on here as you like. I wish you all the best, we love it here.