House on Ebay
 

A friend has put an offer on a house that is up for auction on ebay :eek: - there is a good chance that they are going to win the auction :( - they holiday in Portugal every year and love it - so this place is on the Spanish/Portugal border but 3 hours up the country from the coast

Im mega worried for them if they go ahead - her hubby thinks hes buying an investment for the future to make money on - apparently its a farm house and is offered for sale by an English person

Ive told them to get in touch with a solicitor to see if the house is legal before they hand over any money - what other things do they need to be asking about

The saying 'if it sounds too good to be true it probably is' is booming around my head - i so hope everything is above board for them - but im just getting a really really bad feeling about it

Thanks in advance xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

1. I think the first question is why are the vendors selling - especially now near the bottom of the property slump.
2. How long do they expect to wait for a return on their investment? If it is more than 20 years then I guess there might be a chance.
3. If they are expecting rental income then if it's nowhere near the coast then you are looking at a very niche market so I wouldn't hold my breath.
4. If they are looking for a country hideaway for themselves and they enjoy solitude then it could be a little jewel.
5. The obvious things you've already mentioned like the title (and this can get very complicated for rural properties as Spain doesn't have primogeniture so every child in every generation might own a slice) hopefully the current owners will have sorted this out.
6. Mains services connected (Elect; water; etc)

I have no experience of buying in the campo so can only offer general advice. I'm sure some wiser souls will be here soon and there are some books which are guides to buying such properties.
Let us know how they go on.

Re: House on Ebay
 

Thanks Mike - will show here this when I get to school xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

if it s modern house then it may be built on agricultural land and so is illegal. An older house may have the same restrictions as land is designated in certain categories.
It could be a 5 bed farmhouse but only a small part is legal. What tax is due on the sale/purchase.
Dont part with any money until its been checked by an independent lawyer - someone you know and trust

Re: House on Ebay
 

If they win the auction but the house turns out to be illegal then they can walk away , if it goes too cheap the vendor may well renege , I`d not worry at this stage , one thing though is dont pay a bean until an out of town layer okays everything.

Lets have the ebay link please.

Re: House on Ebay
 

:rofl: give the link and risk her friend losing the lot ?


Might be doing them a favour or not but hopefully Sam won't risk losing a friend.

Re: House on Ebay
 

Theres only one house with serious bids on it in Spain anyway so its either sold or withdrawn:D

Re: House on Ebay
 

Must admit I took a look but failed to find anything that fitted the area.
But who says the bids are serious, money wise?

Re: House on Ebay
 

Thanks for all your replies xxxxx

The reserve price for the house was 20k euros but the highest bid was 11k which was my friends hubby - the auction ended and the reserve wasnt met - but the guy got in touch with them as they were the highest bidder and said they could have it for 15k i think she said - her hubby offered 14k and the guy was happy with that - so we'll see what happens from here on in - they are supposed to be going over to see it before they hand over any money - im still really worried tbh :(

Im gonna print this page out and give it to her so that they at least have an idea of what to do and ask about - thank you everyone xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

surely this should just go forward like any other sale now?

lawyers, notaries etc.?

just tell them not to part with a cent (except maybe the usual deposit?) until all the paperwork is proven to be in order

Re: House on Ebay
 

I know times are hard, property prices in free fall in parts of Spain, but even allowing for that, what sort of property do you get for £14k???????? You wouldn't get a garden shed for that here! Wouldn't get you much of a conservatory for that sort of money.:confused:

Re: House on Ebay
 

Are they absolutely stupid?? You've read all the advice Sam over the years. If he goes to Portugal and hands over the money without employing the usual legal and normal processes then he is just asking for trouble.

I guess the question as usual is ..... if you bought a house in the UK on ebay, would you really go and pay for it without the intervention of a solicitor????

Re: House on Ebay
 

I know Mitz - ive only just found out about it the other day - ive told them to be so careful - im not even sure about them going over checking it out tbh - but at the end of the day if thats what they want thats what they are going to do :(

He runs a business on ebay so im presuming he knows the risks of buying off there - but i dont think they fully understand the problems in Spain - id never tell them not to do it as they are adults and its there money - but i do keep saying to be very careful - i think they should take someone with them to check it out - im just wondering if its up for sale with an estate agent to get in touch with them and get them to go with them - you just hear horror stories dont you - like them poor people in France - you just never know and like i say im more than a little worried about them tbh

When i go in on Monday im gonna suggest they join here and have a read around xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

Im not sure to be honest - all i know its off an English builder and i think there is a garden big enough for a pool xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

Will do Lynn - ive given them the names of a few estate agents to be looking at xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

They should also consider their own personal safety. Walking into an area they may know little about, knowing nil about the vendor and being out of their own safety zone. It has happened before and the consequences were terrible. Some times "too good to be true" is expensive.

Re: House on Ebay
 

House sales on Ebay are not binding, you still have to do the normal house buying checks, and should never hand over anything until they are done. Just treat it like and house buying. Doesn't matter what country it's in, the auction is only a way fo getting the property out there for people to see, and the normal house buying rules for the country apply. Even the vendor can't hold them to the sale.

Re: House on Ebay
 

Usual deposit is a very bad idea until they know its 100% legal as its very unlikley they would get it back when they find out its illegal / scam.

Re: House on Ebay
 

I would regard a house on e bay much the same as a house advertised in the paper. It may or may not be a scam.

This could be a dream home for some > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Affordable...item20cad665b1

Re: House on Ebay
 

Looks good initially until you realise you are buying a large garden shed for £12k with ground rent of 2600 euros a year :rofl:

Re: House on Ebay
 

As well as needing to establish that the house is 100% legal, I would also be extremely wary as to why an English builder is prepared to sell a house for 14K. If they are that desperate, they might have horrendous debts and there could be embargoes on the property.

Re: House on Ebay
 

beggars can't afford to be choosy? :starsmile:

Re: House on Ebay
 

Good news - they are ot going for it now - I've told her to join here lol xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

Thank the lord for that ! :)

Re: House on Ebay
 

I know i said the same this morning when she told me - i was so bloody worried about them tbh - im so happy now - they are going to be buying but have a long term plan now xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

:thumbup:Now that they are not buying could you tell me were the house is on ebay so i can look at it .. thankyou..

Re: House on Ebay
 

I will ask her tomorrow xxxxx

Re: House on Ebay
 

Rotor - We are the ones who bought 'the garden shed'!! It's lovely, on a very secure site, and is perfect for us.

Missile - Exactly! We did not want to buy something for quite a few thousand, and find out having a holiday home in Spain was not for us. This option was not too great an outlay, the ground rent is manageable, and worth it for the safety and security it provides for when we are not there, but also for when we are.

We are very happy!:)

Re: House on Ebay
 

Well done on taking the plunge Linnick.

My wife and I looked at this property and thought it looked great.

Alas has come 5 years too early for us as we are looking to retire out in Spain.

Hope you enjoy the lifestyle.

Re: House on Ebay
 

Hello and a big welcome to BE.

Excellent information can be found in the BE Wiki, not forgetting the Living and Moving Abroad forum that will help you, another set of great help is the permanent threads at the TOP of each forum, they are very pertinent to that particular forum and makes sensible reading.

Moderators deal with any problems that arise such as inappropriate posts, spammers etc, you will find their names at the bottom right hand side of each forum's index in bold font.

Please contact me if I can give you any further help.

Rosemary

Re: House on Ebay
 

Thanks Swanseajack, its brilliant we are so pleased with it, hope everything works out for you when the time comes!

Rosemary - thanks for the welcome! And the advice, I am having a good look around. L

Re: House on Ebay
 

I hope you enjoy your time in spain and wish you well :thumbup:

Re: House on Ebay
 

Thanks very much Missile, really appreciate it
L

Re: House on Ebay
 

If you need any advice or assistance now or in the future, I feel sure someone on the forum will be able to help.

Re: House on Ebay
 

I'm sure we will, and thank you. Just having a good old browse around at the moment. Going back out in December, not sure what weather we are going to find though!

Re: House on Ebay
 

People say you can't buy a house for next to nothing. But you can. You just often have to take on some problem/s which has 'stumped' the previous owners.
it's usually either that they have run out of money. (if so, why?) That they have problems with neighbours or some undetected water leak. Etc you could prob make a list of the top ten likely problems and work through them. If none of those probs are on the list it is in the 'too good to be true' list!

I've never had any real money so I have bought 5 underpriced properties in my lifetime and made a profit on each except the last one which is my 'forever home'. In 4 of the cases the major problem was undetected water leaks. Once found and fixed things look a lot easier and it doesn't have to cost the earth. And in a different subset 3 were in slightly 'dodgy' areas making them really cheap. And one had problem neighbours. If you have the courage to tackle the problems you can get yourself a really nice place for a pittance. But just don't think there's going to be an easy ride on a very cheap place! And if you're the sort that whines when the problem makes itself obvious, don't bother. You'll almost always come unstuck if you look for something for nothing.

Re: House on Ebay
 

I agree. Our's was relatively cheap as it is a mobile home with a timber extension, however if we were paying the price we did for a house, we would know it would be a complete ruin! Our buyers have bought a place in Vera now, they kept our place for 4 years, decided a holiday home in Spain was going to be used regularly, so bought their new house and have decided to retire out there.