Over the weekend we started looking on Rightmove and Zooplar at country houses up to £100k in Andalusia and Murcia.

Lots to chose from but many are partly renovated and we wondered why. Our thoughts so far are:

Iv'e started but run out of money
I've started but don't like it here
Can't get the necessary paperwork
I've realised there isn't a market for a property at the price in this area
I've put a shelf up in England so I'm sure I can restore a 5 roomed ruin on my own

Depending on the reason some of them might represent good value for us, your thoughts?

Are we just looking at the wrong websites, and if so are there any you can recommend?

Peter and Cathy

If you can cope with the Spanish more local sites are :

idealista.com
fotocasa.es
tucasa.com
trovit.es

Any of your reasons logical just add - family inheritance and siblings not interested / fighting over will.

Also your point 1 - very common as local builders in the boom were able to "do up and sell" with some excellent profits. Many went broke in the crisis . Hence you will find many semi-built properties, often whole developments of them in the middle of nowhere . Not just the countryside but coast of Andalucia and Murcia is littered with some mega-disasters.

Buying any "country" property is fraught with problems, almost always concerning planning regulations. In many regions - especially Andalucia, getting planning permission for a new build "in the country" is almost impossible now. Renovations are possible, but there are severe restrictions on what you can actually - like you must build only to the original footprint.

This is what happens if you get it wrong.

EXCLUSIVE: British expat couple who invested everything into Malaga home given ONE MONTH to demolish it | Olive Press News Spain

Idealista.com has an English language version if you scroll to the bottom.

The one that stands out is "Can't get the necessary paperwork" , walk away .

Google is your friend https://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...k1.KIGuGo2MRW0

I've found rightmove to have both inflated-price listings as well as those advertising on it to be woefully poor at responding, let alone having any clue about the properties they advertise. And if you do get a response, they tend to tell you whatever you want to hear. Unfortunately, that isn't always the truth.

Idealista has been excellent and easy to use, in my experience, and the responses I've received have been prompt, educated, and straightforward (generally speaking).

Idealista also have a top-shelf, blindingly easy and comprehensive app for your mobile devices... In English, if you wish.

Also : "We've renovated a remote finca/country house to use as a holiday home but the fixtures, fittings and our belongings have been removed while we were away." This happens with depressing regularity in some remote areas.

If you're going for a "project" you have to be realistic on the renovation costs. It can often be cheaper to buy a completed project with all the paperwork in place.

Unless you narrow down your search area, you are also looking at an area bigger than Belgium & The Netherlands, so there will be plenty of bad areas in your search. Some will probably be partly renovated to make it look more attractive to buyers. Spend a little and get a lot. Otherwise you have the usual reasons, high unemployment, planning laws, climate, etc.

Don't forget some of these places are virtually deserted (because there is no work) so making friends, having local services (like shops!) etc is virtually impossible plus it will be very cold in the winter. I thought (many years ago!) everywhere in Spain was hot 365 days a year - I was wrong! Don't buy yourself a load of problems and lose your money.

True , I run my wood burner from around the end of October til end of April.(evenings)