House new or old - Page 3

GrahamLynn wrote on Tue May 31, 2022 1:40pm:

Solid advice from Cheryl 

Lynn

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Ps They’re busy with a Spanish TV crew filming in the Med Bar between 4-6 pm today.

Manus wrote on Tue May 31, 2022 11:52am:

Hola Nick,

I retired to Spain last March and, whilst planning my move, I had an sort of "entry-level" perception of the "Cube like" new build etc. To cut a long story short, I purchased a 2018 built New Build in Benijofar and I love it!  I especially love the bathrooms and the overall finish seems perf...

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...ect to me. My personal opinion - obviously!

Good luck with the decision making process!

Manus

P.S. Sitting in my terrace presently with a perfect view of a distant crane (on the edge of the urbanisation) ................... I'll miss it when it's gone!!

Cheryl wrote on 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....

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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.

Mate wrote on Mon May 30, 2022 10:18pm:

I agree Kelvin . Sorry to hear your situation. 

BUT . If you know little bit about construction, you know that , houses from 1990 will eats up money.

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Witch you have to calculate with your budget. 

Not everyone have to know about construction, but worth the money to bring architect who can tell you , if it’s worth it or no . ( it cost couple of hundreds of euros )  

I can show you 10 houses in Cabo roigh ( built after 2000) under 150k, 2 floor,3 bath , beautiful yard ,terrace , solarium, community pool , golf 3 minutes away , bars  is up half a block , English supermarket as well . And he still have 100k  make it as he’s taste . 

Long story short, I’m Agree and disagree with you . 

All the best Kelvin 

Regards 

Matt 

Nicklyes wrote on Mon May 30, 2022 9:59pm:

Hi Matt

Thanks very much for the advice 

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I’m in the building industry over here and I agree houses are thrown up nowadays 

I suppose something a little older and tired 

Is it expensive to get it modernised like kitchen bathroom’s ect

cheers nick

Paolo51 wrote on Tue May 31, 2022 7:32am:

Whatever you buy new or older be prepared to throw a lot of money at it for a lot of years, I have found that houses in Spain need constant repairs year in year out and non stop maintenance. 

Moving to Spain was like moving back in time to the 70s in the UK with damp and mold in uninsulated homes, at least newer houses in Spain seem to have a bit of insulation now....

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