britishbull

Thinking about buying a small apartment in Benidorm city, some bank repo's for less than 50k Euro, rent it out in the summer and use it as a winter bolt-hole whilst maintaining UK residence. Aware that I need a Brit embassy recommended lawyer but are there any obvious pitfalls such as areas prone to flooding, illegal buildings, projects with a bad reputation??

Mitzyboy

This is Benidorm, not the Campo :-)
Same rules as usual apply, use an independent solicitor. Depends what kind of people you want to attract ... the Levante is chip shops and pubs and drunkards in the summer, whereas the Poniente is a nicer area imho.

I went there a week ago, and walked down from the top of Benidorm down to the Levante beach on the pedestrian walk. There were 20 bars and restaurants closed or boarded up, so theres clearly an issue with the number of people going there at the moment.

bob_bob

Pittfalls ? The big ones are not being able to rent it out (and if you do you won't get what you would have done several years ago) and not being able to sell it without taking a hit as property prices are still falling.

britishbull

I was there in the winter and actually surprised how busy it was, albeit OAPs and then I had a two room apartment for 15 euro a night (a bit tired but okay and ten minutes from the beach). Not expecting to make a lot of money from the rental as a holiday let but better than leaving it empty as I don't want to stay for more than 183 days in a year at the moment. Realise prices are still falling but will be making an offer that hopefully takes that into account. Anyway, be there in a couple of weeks time to have a look at what is available, no desperate hurry at the moment.

HBG

A flat in Benidorm for less than 50K sounds like a bargain, even if it is situated in one of the rougher areas. Letting it out to British holidaymakers in the summer shouldn't be a problem either.

As for living there yourself in the winter? I know Benidorm and some parts of it are simply horrible. You could never park a car there, and you'll be living among noise and danger, surrounded by junkies and gyppos. If you leave your place empty, the squatters will move in within days.

Poniente and Levante beaches are lovely, the mountains at Rincoln de Loix are a joy to climb, but if you walk half-a-mile up from Plaza de Europa, you're straight in hell.

bob_bob

Do your homework before buying. I use www.alpharooms.com for solo trips to Spain. Search there for Benidorm self catering, as you found you can get 'digs' for €15 a night, but good(ish) accomodation in August is only €300 a week, move to September and its dropped to €200 a week. Your six month letting period you've factored for at 50% occupancy might gross you €2.5k, minus expenses so take out utility bills, cleaner etc and you won't have a lot left. I'm a landlord myself in the UK and looked at Spain a couple of years ago and decided to buy more in the UK where, depending upon the area you buy in can give you 5% or more return net on your investment.

Dick Dasterdly

I thought about it ten year ago but at 150k for something halfway decent I thought it too much.
50k for something sound in a reasonable area sounds quite attractive and I may have a look myself but no great hurry.
For those who say Beni is on the way down, I think it will always do reasonably well.
Let's face it if places like Beni hit the rocks then Spain as a whole will be permanently up shit creek without a paddle.

Mitzyboy

Benidorm's always been busy, especially in July and August .... what I'm saying is that for so many bars and restaurants (20 in a small area alone) to be closing its obviously not as busy as it used to be and therefore there WILL be a knock on effect with rentals and associated services

agoreira

Not necessarily, it would be my worst nightmare to have to spend a week there, many others feel the same and prefer to spend time in other parts of Spain. "Green tourism" in Spain seems to be gaining all the time. Bit like Blackpool closing, don't think it would affect the rest of UK tourism. People that like say the Lake District, the Peak District, Scotland etc wouldn't mourn the closing of Blackpool.

steviedeluxe

Not just "green tourism" - city breaks seem to be getting more popular.
Foreign tourists spent 601 million Euros in May alone this year in Madrid - a 30% year on year increase!

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/0...340889561.html

EDIT: on the other hand it's actually been a bad time for Rural tourism..

http://www.revista80dias.es/2012/06/...l-20-en-julio/

Mitzyboy

A week, maybe .... but a night out on the odd occasion in Benidorm (Poniente) can be fun. Amazingly, there ARE some nice restaurants around in the old town and it can be quite fun for a night out.

It's not all boozed up holidaymakers puking in the street and fish and chips in Benidorm .... I blame that TV programme

Dick Dasterdly

Quite right Mitzy.
I love my place way out in the sticks but Beni is great for letting the old hair down once in a while and it's certainly not the uncivilised hell hole that many seem to believe.
It may or may not get back to what it was but by its very nature and location there will always be a certain demand for accommodation and entertainment there.

jonboy

I’m inclined to think that the all-inclusive hotel deals are adversely affecting the bars and cafes of Benidorm. There is more competition now, what with Eastern Europe and Turkey offering good deals. The Euro exchange rate was not helping matters until recently.
I do like the old town/Poniente side of Benidorm and prefer to leave the Levante side alone, with its one Euro shops, dodgy characters and Pea men. I find Benidorm is good in low season as it is more relaxed and there are an older crowd about, I fit in well!
I think that perhaps the all-inclusive deals will also affect the flat rental market for holiday lets.
Best regards

jonboy

Dick Dasterdly

These all in deals are nothing new in Benidorm and go back a hell of a long time, at a guess to the early 80s when they realized the possibility of filling up the hotels with old fogies right through the Winter and turning the place into a year round resort.

I would think it was just as popular back then soon after the all-in winter deals took off, because the prices were unbelievable, several months for much the same price as a short stay summer holiday.

They continued right on through the busy times a few years back, a little pricier then of course, but never appeared to have any great adverse affect on normal holiday bookings, so I don't see why they should suddenly make any noticable difference now.

agoreira

Did these deals include all your booze, as much as you can drink? I don't know, I don't have any experience of these type of holidays, but certainly in Menorca they are pointing the finger at so many bar closures to the all in type holidays.
http://travelblog.dailymail.co.uk/20...-invasion.html

A lot of the Spanish press is saying much the same thing, the "todo incluido" is simply yet another threat to many already struggling businesses.