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Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Old Oct 4th 2008, 11:35 am
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Default Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

I am currently living and working as an English Teacher in Barcelona and I am sat here dreaming about a future living down south - Barcelona's glamourous and EXPENSIVE life doesn't interest me in the slightest!!?!?!

I am struggling to find advice on the internet about buying a finca/cortijo in Andalusia, I have many specific questions that I would like some help with - if anyone on this forum can help me with my quest to gather information - I would be extremely grateful

1. Myself and my husband (who is from South America so fluent in Spanish) both have full time employment on indefinete employment contracts in Barcelona, we are in our early thirties with no kids (yet!). We earn average office type wages for Barcelona. How easy would it be for us to get a mortgage to buy a property down south and what paperwork would we need to present and how long would it take to arrange a mortgage? (we don't own any property anywhere else - Spain is our home).

2. I hear that in Spain you can get 100% mortgages, (I am aware of the risks with these!) but in terms of a deposit, would a 10% deposit on a property (under 200,000 Euros) be a good idea on a long term investment?

3. I keep hearing that property prices in Andalucia are tumbling, so for those of you who have lived in Spain longer than me, does this necessarily equate to a good time to buy here? (We are hoping to buy in 10-12 months time).

4. We want to buy somewhere with some productive land - olives/almond/ fruit trees etc - can anyone recommend the size of plot that would be easy enough for us to manage/ earn some kind of income from, also which type of crop has the best income in Andalucia? (Not that we are going to rely on it - just as an extra source of income really!) Remember we will both be working, so the land will not be a full time concern for us...

5. I also want space for a horse or two (having owned/looked after horses in the UK before), does anyone have any recommendations/previous lesson learnt about looking for a property with space for horses in Andalucia?

Thanks for your help!
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Old Oct 6th 2008, 5:22 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Hi, I cannot answer most of your questions, but I do know that property prices are tumbling down now on the costa del sol. My family live in Nueva Andalucia and I am joining them in about 3/4 weeks. I have seen a few properties with land and stabling and very cheap compared with uk. Best to log on to estate agents and have look. I am transporting my horse down at the end of the month. He is going to be in livery, here in the uk, I do it all myself, which I would prefer, but family dont want lots of land so it would be a waste. Feel free to contact me if you wish, and good luck.
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Old Oct 6th 2008, 6:26 pm
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Default Re:Horses and Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Thank you for your reply trentino!

We are still a long way off from living 'down south' - maybe a year, but it's a plan we are holding onto for the future...

I have had a look around on some websites and seen some really good prices like you mentioned, I just hope the market is like that in a year's time! (Apologies to all the people who already own property down south )

I am wondering now how easy it will be to work and earn enough money in Andalusia to pay the mortgage each month - from reading the posts on here it may be a task in itself! It may be a good idea to stay in Barcelona working whilst we are doing up the property, but we wouldnt want to be in the situation where we had a house down south that we could never visit as we were too busy working/living up here!

Good luck with moving your horse from England to Spain and I hope the process isn't too stressful for either of you... Keep me posted on your search for somewhere to live/put your horse...
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Old Oct 6th 2008, 6:35 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

... Went to work today and we have a 'book exchange' shelf where you can leave or take books if they interest you, and I found this...

'No Going Back' Journey to Mothers Garden: The story of a spanish farm and the family who fell in love with it... by martin kirby

.... I have devoured 30 pages already!
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Old Oct 6th 2008, 7:00 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Hi I live in Italy now - but we bought an olive farm about 4/5 years ago just south (20mins) of Granada (I'd say a good chance for work there depending what you do) - our place only has a small nave on it but 350 olive tree's some almonds and a few vines and fruit - it's not all terraced either and it's very close to a large village with ameneties and school etc (for the kids eventually)- I have seen horses kept on a pieces of land just below ours and have heard that one of the locals is keen to set up a riding school there. I'd say you might be better off getting something like that near a village and get a small village house or apartment with a small mortgage - that sort of land without accommodation is not that expensive - you could have the best of both worlds.
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Old Oct 6th 2008, 9:14 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

I have heard that it is now very difficult to get a mortgage on a rustic (as opposed to urban) property.

The sort of property you are looking for will probably be rustic so you need to check that out.
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Old Oct 7th 2008, 10:09 am
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Thanks for your replies...

I have read on this forum that 'rustica' mortgages are difficult to come by - maybe someone on here can give us a little more detail about the situation with buying old/farmhouse properties in Spain..
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Old Oct 7th 2008, 10:16 am
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

clare h - we are really interested in the granada area - i have looked online at some farms to the south - around the lanjon and ogiva areas - but I am worried if these might be a little far away for driving every day for work and back...

If you can, could you recommend any areas close enough to Granada where it wouldn't take more than say, 40 minutes, to drive into the city?
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Old Oct 7th 2008, 10:30 am
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Hi Sarleon, yes the village that our land is just up the hill from is called Restabal - it's 25 minutes to Granada airport or Alhambra from there - with no traffic hold ups. Restabal lies about 10 mins off the main lechrin valley road to Motril.

Our land has the most spectacular views of the whole valley and the lake etc. I can send you some pics if you want - pm me if you'd like to know more.

Last edited by clare-h; Oct 7th 2008 at 10:36 am.
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Old Oct 7th 2008, 4:40 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Originally Posted by Sarleon
Thanks for your replies...

I have read on this forum that 'rustica' mortgages are difficult to come by - maybe someone on here can give us a little more detail about the situation with buying old/farmhouse properties in Spain..
Can be lots of issues - for example no title deeds, doubt as to who actually owns the property and issues with land / access rights, planning issues, etc. It may not be legal to use the building as a dwelling (the Town Hall may have only approved a toolshed, despite the shed having 3 bedrooms + ensuite + pool), there may be all sorts of other restrictions and problems, etc. They don't put "water and electricity nearby" and "ideal for the experienced DIY-er" for nothing!

As many others have pointed out on the forum before, if you're buying on rustic land you're only officially buying farmland / a smallholding, so don't pay over the odds. The Internet may also be a bad place to look - watch out for tourist prices. A couple of weeks ago, I had a property pointed out to me on the market for 36,000 euro - found it on the Internet... 132,000 on one site!!! I've seen plenty of places at 25-50% mark-up but never 266% before!

Advice generally is to find a good, independent solicitor - and probably before you do any of that get a bank to carry out a valuation. For a bank to lend it'll need to have had the title deeds in place for at least two years I think, all other paperwork in order, probably needs to be on at least 10,000m2 (any smaller than that is not a legal smallholding) and in the current climate you may need to know the bank manager very well indeed!! I think clare-h's suggestion of a proper 'smallholding' + village property nearby is a good one.

Good luck...
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Old Oct 7th 2008, 5:31 pm
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Default Re: Buying finca/cortijo in Andalucia - currently living/working Barcelona

Ah.... I see the problem now, its the legendary Spanish red tape... It isn't any better up here half the time!
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