Viewing Trips - Page 2

We did several trips to find what we wanted. I did a huge amount of research on the Spanish property portals first, Kyero for example. It gave us some ideas of what was available within our budget and also what was available within our criteria. We contacted several agents for relevant properties online, and made appointments to view. We found this to be enormously helpful, and we finally found an area we liked sufficiently to start seriously looking, having, coincidentally found an agent in the area who was extremely helpful. We were prepared to be flexible in requirements, although with a few absolute no nos! They spent several full days with us, getting more depressed by the minute as we hated everything! Until suddenly, on the offchance, they brought us to our house, where we walked into the property and said ‘ we’ll buy it’! So my advice is to take as much time as you can, drive the agents mad and do as much of your own research as possible.

If you plan to be here for the winter you should look for a South or West-facing outdoor space. 

It can get quite cold, and you will want to have a patch of sunny garden to sit in!

Buying the wrong house is a very costly mistake to make in Spain (due largely to the buying costs) so I echo other posters' advice to take your time. Another couple of trips may have to be viewed as a sensible option.  

Have you holidayed in the area? Over a couple of holidays, we rented a few properties with our family, and ended up buying in the urbanisation that we felt was perfect for us. We loved the location, the  nearby facilities, and most importantly, got to know a good few fellow residents, which was a great help in making up our minds. During our first holiday, I walked (and walked and walked!) around many many urbanisations at different times of the day to get a feel for the area.

Personally, we knew we wanted a townhouse, a communal pool, and good orientation. And we got a beautiful 3 bed, with a front terrace overlooking pretty gardens, a huge upstairs solarium and a rear garden - giving us sun or shade all day long. It is 3-4 minutes to the Plaza, and whilst we have always hired a car, it is perfectly manageable without one should we decide not to. 

Enjoy the process and don't rush, and best wishes finding your dream house in the sun. 

Hi as others have said take your time. Many years ago we came to look at properties with an estate agent, it wasn’t actually a viewing trip as we paid our own fares and stayed with friends, so we didn’t feel any obligation that we were expected to make a decision and make a purchase. We did months of research before we came and told the agent our budget and what we wanted ie 10 min drive to beach. After viewing the properties we did see one that we liked, having already seen it on the internet.
Just a little tip….Later that evening we had a walk around the area to see what it was like once people had returned from work and the bars/restaurants were in full swing. There can be a big difference to what you see during the day and what you see and hear of an evening. 
Good luck with your search.

Regards

Anne

Thank you to all that have replied so far, some very useful information that we will certainly take into consideration. Really looking forward to visiting and getting a feel for the different areas.

Or just go sit in the sun at the local bar ;).  We purchased an east facing apartment with good sea view and replaced the 1970s mission brown rubbish windows with double glazing .  Great decision !  We have a warmer place in winter , a cooler place in summer and , if we shut the windows , a much quieter place !  
Meanwhile, my mother can’t stay on her west facing balcony too long as it’s too hot and isn’t any warmer indoors in winter than we are. 

Look carefully at how much winter sun you get on an east facing . We have sun until lunchtime as we have a pool opposite as opposed to a 5 story building . Mum has no buildings opposite and gets baked .  Try find a nice balance . 

we came on a viewing trip about 5 years ago. Chersun Properties. They were very helpful and took us to places we wouldn’t have thought of. Like you we did our research and asked that certain locations were included and we did spend some time looking by ourselves as well. In the end we opted for one proposed by the agent but there was no hard sell indeed the opposite, suggesting we went home to think it over before deciding. Advice we ignored lol and made the offer at the end of our stay. 5 years later we love it. We are located in a new build between Torre de la Horadada and Mil Palmeras. The kids wanted to be near the beach lol. Good luck :) 

Thank you.

On the back of all of this great advice, we are considering extending our stay now so we have 3 days viewing properties and 4 days going back around the areas or visa versa and booking our own accommodation.

Hi Book with several different agents who will collect you &take you to the house thats for sale.We done this 4yrs ago although our budget was a lot smaller than your own and finally settled on a small renovated bungalow in La Siesta.Good luck with your search x

We came on a viewing trip 16 years ago after renting previously in Mojacar for 3 months to see if we liked the way of life 'out of season'.   When we were renting it was within walking distance to the beach and we realised that we didn't want to live so close to the beach as during the summer it can get very busy traffic-wise and very noisy.   During our viewing trip we settled on a little Spanish town called Almoradi, about 20 minutes drive from the beach and Torrevieja.   Almoradi has a bus station (but not many buses), a large health centre, about 7 or 8 supermarkets plus quite a few other food, clothing, shoes and diy shops, a couple of churches, lots of bars and restaurants, quite a number of pharmacies, and a football ground with it's own football team.    Normally there are many fiestas with parades and entertainment (the virus has, unfortunately, curtailed many of these), although some are now starting to take place.  The town is also about 20 minutes drive from the nearest hospital.

It may help with some of the queries that you will have about bureaucracy and driving in Spain if you have a look at the Citizens Advise Bureau Spain website (for the bureaucracy) and the N332 website (for the driving).   The latter site is run in collaboration with officers of the Guardia Civil for English speaking people and includes an English version of the Spanish equivalent of the Highway Code.