aidan1980

Fell in love with Marbella and been a few times now and looking to buy a 2nd home there, more Marbella Centro area to be honest as want to be able to walk everywhere.

As many of you know there are plenty of agents online but from viewing in England they are very vague normally and have properties right up to Estepona listed which isn't where I want.

So is there an equivilant to rightmove or something in spain where you can see locations etc or actually give an exact area and see what comes up

Or if anyone could recommend any other good sites/agents I'd appreciate it plus any other tips.

Ideally I'd like a house freehold but at a push will be able to consider a leasehold apartment although I just see that as a long term rent (rightly or wrongly)

Any other advise would also be very welcome

mikelincs

Kyero is the Spanish equivalent to Rightmove.

aidan1980

cheers, not bad a site but a bit vague location wise though

Loafing Along

Enova Estates , ask for Mari Lundberg. Dedicated and listens to what you want does not simply offer you what they have. Remember though all the agents in the area work off two databases and so will often end up taking you to a house where you will meet another agent ( the one who actually has it on their books ). They then split the commission.Good sites which you can filter : Idealista,Fotocasa

aidan1980

brilliant, thanks a lot, i'll have a look

chrisjolly

Thats because they dont want you to go round and meet the owners yourself and cut the agent out of the deal. None of the agents will give you addresses but it is much better to just speak to locals and avoid the agents altogether.

aidan1980

cheers for that, back over in September so will have a good walk about and look

chrisjolly

Good luck. We made a small flier with our basic requirements written in Spanish and took them round bars, left them in shop notice boards and gave them to anyone who seemed remotely interested. We also sold our house that way and in a week! The transfer tax is expensive enough without having to pay agents fees on top.

aidan1980

That Idealista site listed above is fantastic.

Does anyone (not ignored Chris's advice either above) have an extra advice for specifically Marbella centro area when it comes to buying? Are flats/aprtments problematic? would prefer a house but dependent on cost might not be able to afford that. Do they overprice asking prices as well hoping to top earn or are they quite realistic, obviously supply and demand comes in as well

Loafing Along

Apartments much easier to find than houses unless you really have loads of cash to splash out. Market still quite flat in spite of what the agents will tell you as 25% sales are made to Brits and the pound has taken a pasting - anything you looked at probably gone up in sterling terms by 10% since you joined the forum.Spanish banks still not really offering finance to locals. Good place to look if you are prepared to be away from the centre is up behind the Mosque there is a new development of nice apartments. Closer in an older development with good apartments and close to everything is just by Boulevard Ashmawi. Other end of town all tend to be older and smaller apartments.
Sellers always optimistic on advertised price but will negotiate if they meet a real buyer.Buying an apartment always check Community Accounts - lots of people do not pay their community dues and so little gets done.

Loafing Along

If you liked Idealista have a look at
http://www.fotocasa.es/comprar/casas...centro/listado

can switch language to english

aidan1980

been looking around the Huerta Belon area but as you probably know some are very expensive. Im over next month so hopefully will have a good look around everywhere

Loafing Along

Nice area, quite densely populated with apartment blocks.Real town living, not far from the market which is great.Far enough away from the beach and not so far so you can wander down there when you want.Great choice if you can find what you want. Worth considering rental for a while so you get to know your way around for committing and regretting.

chrisjolly

Best to check out noise levels especially at night in apartments as some areas cab be very noisy. There are also community fees to consider and IBI your local tax is more expensive in Marbella. Why not rent for a while? Good luck.

Dharma

Excellent idea to spread flyers.... Thanks! ;-)