Castella
 

I have been looking at Castella does anyone know what its like?????????????
Its a nightmare looking for a new home;)
Its a lot of money to make a big mistake

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Rent before you buy;)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

There are terrible problems on the urbanisation there. No habitation certificates. Would avoid if you can:thumbdown:

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

[I am a novice at this what do you mean by urbanisation problems etc?????
At the risk of seeming completely thick:D
I hope you dont mind could you enlarge for me thanks as I have seen a property I like and on first immpression like the area:frown: OH dear any advice off anyone will be gratefully excepted Thanks folks Denise

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Urbanization probelms simply could mean a lot of things. For example poor water and electricity supply, drainage system, Burglaries, nosiy neighbours, houses poorly built, dampness, poor community pool ammenties etc. Its such a broad area that someone needs to be more specific on what they actually mean by urbanization problems. The property you like where is it?

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

how can i find out if a property in Castalla has a habitaion certificate??????????????? Where would I go Who can I ask ???????????????? Denise with panick in tone

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Castalla like a lot of inland Alicante has problems with habitation certificates. Normally without this you cannot get basic ammenties into the property. Best solution go to an independent solicitor for help on this.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Thanks jules, I am flying out to alicante tomo to meet agent any more info will be gratefull before i meet him Denise:)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Denise,

Take note of what several wiser heads say on this forum - namely make sure your solicitor is from a very different area. I am not saying you might not chance on a good one, but from everything I am told by the old hands that would be an unusual stroke of luck.

Best of luck anyway. Will be interested in your progress as we are looking to buy next year (although in the North, not the South)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Firstly never use a solicitor that an agent recommends always get your own independent one. Who is the agent/company I may well know of them personally.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Thanks Biggles I was thinking of getting a solicitor from uk to handle it you have to be so very careful
Good move or not??????????????? dont know
That poses another question Spanish or British property Lawyer ???
Will the wise ex pat forum advise please
Regards Denise

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Jules thanks for your advice appreciate it;)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Denise never use a British lawyer because Spanish property laws are so different from the UK. If you use a British Solicitor they in turn will just use the services of a Spanish counterpart thus increasing your legal fees considerably. If I was buying in Castalla I would be looking to use an independent solicitor based in the city of Alicante and not the town of Castalla itself.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Cheers Jules good tip well got to go shopping no food in house while i stay on computer no one will get fed:D
I hope to be in touch with you again anyone else got any info I ought to know Please get in touch
Thanks and Take care Denise:)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Denise,

From a position of ignorance, I would probably agree with Jules. We may well use a firm in Manchester, who operate in both markets, but that is partly because we want to be extra careful about IHT, and also because my Spanish is at the moment rudimentary. If my language skills are up to it by the time we buy, I might change my mind. But having read Law myself in the UK, I am in no doubt at all that you need a local lawyer

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Spanish IHT tax is complicated and the firm you speak about in Manchester will just use a Spanish contact anyway. I imagine that you will do some recce trips before you move. Better to look for a good solicitor there and try and get in touch with Brits that live there as well. They in turn will put you touch with recommended solicitors there (only issue could be lack of English speaking solicitors) because this is a part of Spain is really untouched by mass tourism. What part of Galicia are you thinking of?

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Jules,
We are thinking of Viveiro/Ortigueira. We are also thinking of independent surveyors as well. We do know how cosy things can be in Spain. Which can be a good or a bad thing:unsure:
But I don't know if I can continue as I do not want to hijack a thread about the South

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

This is I think coastal Coruña/Lugo real remote anyway. What is the attraction there, besides the rain and stunning countryside? By the way surveyors unlike the UK are seldom used in Spain but if you are buying an older property it may well be a good idea. If you don`t want to hijack this thread just start a new one?

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

If you want to e-mail me direct - I work for an english speaking lawyers firm in Spain and we have had dealings with people who have bought in Castalla and have had nothing but troubles. There is no advertising allowed on this forum but I can give you an e-mail address and telephone number if you wish. It is entirely up to you.

I would hate you to make an expensive mistake and believe me the agents will tell you anything and do:sneaky:

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

As said before Denise, tell us who the agent or builder is as there is a good chance that somebody on this thread will know who they are.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Thanks Sue and Jules will contact you on my return to uk after viewing will be grateful for e mail address can you say ony specific problems to give me a clue when speaking to agent ?? Will not mention you or anybody else.
Is it new build problems?????????????

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Denise Castalla has a huge urbanization on the edge of town in a very nice spot that is now several years old. This urbanization has had build problems, severe building delays and other things in general. Which is why the services of a good solicitor are needed. One thing you should be aware of, is that Castalla and the region is one of the coldest costal regions of Alicante in winter due to its height. Something the agent may not tell you.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Is this it?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=515649

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Hondon de las Nieves is a lot further south and as you can see from the article suffers from a lot more problems better that Denise sticks with Castalla

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Lionda, another member here, will have a few stories about Castella if I remember correctly!

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...83&postcount=6

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

It is because thousands of Brits and other nationalities including Spaniards as well, bought these properties off plan as future investments with no intention to live in them. With the over supply of poperties reaching its limit a couple of years ago and the current economic crisis they just now can`t sell them unless they are willing to accept a huge loss on their investment. If you are a buyer there are bargains galore to be had. On the other hand properties in quality areas will not decrease too much therefore making them much less of a bargain and a clever seller will know that.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

You can have problems with any property new or old.

We're not trying to put you off, but hopefully help you avoid a disastrous mistake.

Just because a lawyer is UK based doesn't make him/her any more trustworthy or competent than a spanish one, I've come across solicitors and barristers that I would barely trust to make the tea and do it right.
Although I'd rather go for a Madrid or other large city lawyer that is recommended, sorry I don't know one to recommend.

When you remember that the documents are written in Spanish, a spanish lawyer who is recommended would probably be your best bet because some silly things from the olden days can screw your plans to develop a house completely, and modern stuff too.

Always ALWAYS have every document translated into english and read it yourself, otherwise you won't know what questions to ask, and there are bound to be questions. Always have a clearly defined map of the boundaries, don't be fobbed off.

Don't trust anyone - get proper answers to your questions, and don't do the deal until EVERY single one is answered satisfactorily - it's too late once you've signed your money away.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

I have looked on a map and cannot find the urbanisation of Castella/Castalla anywhere in Torrevieja--can someone help me on this one please ? As the topic is Torrevieja I am sure it must be on a different online map than the one I have looked at.:confused:

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Extreme but if in doubt sound advice

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Yes of course it is and you're quite right to say so, but my view is that it's only OTT if everyone they are dealing with is telling the truth, and sadly that doesn't always happen.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

The sad thing about all of this, is that Spain is an EU country and these disgraces just shouldn`t be happening. You fully expect this to happen in eastern europe etc (saying that most of these countries are admitted now) Iimagine if these scandals ocurred in the UK!!! Personally I would throw any country out of the EU if it can`t respect the property rights of its residents.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

Sorry if this upsets anyone but as the OP I feel obliged to point out that the topic is Torrevieja !!! I am looking for somewhere to live and work and time is running out, so I cannot afford to waste any looking at more posts here when I think they will be of interest only to find they are nothing to do with my topic. I have to support a wife and 2 yr old and wanted information to help me decide where to look for both housing and a job. When I fly to Spain next week I will have limited time to do that so really need as much information as possible so I only visit suitable towns. I realise Denise is new but she should have started a separate topic regarding Castella.

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

I am sure there is room for everybody but fire away and hopefully myself or others can help you:)

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

What type of budget do you have for a property and what type of property are you looking for because this will also dictate the best area for you.

For example nth Costa Blanca dearer than sth Costa Blanca, coastal more expensive than interior etc give us more ideas of what you really want?

Re: Torrevieja-good and bad please ?
 

As the thread was getting a little confusing I have moved the posts about Castella and put them in a new thread.

Re: Castella
 

sorry carefree for taking off route apoligies i havent found out how to start a new thread yet :unsure:
Denise

Re: Castella
 

No worries.

To start a new topic just click the "New Thread" icon that you will see near the top of each country forum.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/faq.p...#faq_new_topic

Re: Castella
 

Denise--no problem at all. I would have hoped the older members would have suggested it really but these things happen. With my time being limited, I got excited when I saw lots of activity and new posts then found they were nothing to do with what I needed to know, which is why I asked for this to be separated.
Those doing a search will of course find Castella amongst other stuff, but my thought was that someone who is only browsing the thread titles [And perhaps have very useful information for you] would not realise that your request was buried in amongst Torrevieja.
Again, no harm done and I hope that by pushing you up to the top again with this reply,someone may be helpful.

PS if you want to reply to me, wait until this is on page 2 or 3 and so push yourself up top again.............but don't tell anyone I told you :D

Re: Castella
 

Hi There
Do you mean Castalla?
If so and it is not too late then I can perhaps help you. We live on Castalla and know the current situation well. If it is Castalla then it makes a difference if it is phase 1 or phase 2. If you still want info then I am happy to help.
Maureen