ayseha

My husband and and I have made the decision that we'd like to move to Andalusia in Spain. I was wondering if anyone here had already done this? And what area they would recommend we look at. We'd like a small bit of land, maybe a finca, but not too isolated.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
You might do well to post again on the Spain forum, where there are plenty of folk who won't necessarily look in this Section, and who can advise.
Give a bit more info on yourselves. Will you be looking for work? Are you retired? Do you have children?
Good luck in your venture!

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Rosemary

I have moved your thread to the Spain forum to save you re-posting.

Rosemary

Lou P.

If you want to live on a "finca" or "campo" you need to be even more careful than if you're moving to a village or town. Be aware that the majority of country places (cortijos) with land have no mains electricity or water, no postal deliveries, no butano-boy to deliver your gas bottles (unless you have the huge, propane ones) no buses, no nuffink that you'd get on a country place in Britain or France, also there may not be an escritura and mobile 'phone cover may not be good (no land lines in the campo.) You may need a 4x4 or to make a better access road. Most Spanish people live in towns or villages and drive out to their campo; some may spend 2 months there in the summer. There are delightful places and I know of one near here with a spring that gushes a million gallons a minute (well, a lot) and has never dried up;

Lou P.

Sorry - I didn't realise that'd count as advertising. I just happen to know about it because my friends used to be the caretakers there, as the owner's a musician who is often away, and I've been out there to spend the day sometimes.

AlanJD

Thank you so much Rosemary, it's great to be part of this forum!

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

AlanJD

Thank you for info Lou, really useful to know. We're very much at the start of looking into the possibility of making this move, so I have a feeling we have much to learn! But it looks like this forum will be a great resource and help also to keep our feet on the ground and be realistic about what it will involve. Our ultimate dream is to have a place a that we will one day be able to run residential workshops from (I'm a screenwriter & my wife is a Life Coach) and also somewhere we can live sustainably, grow our own vegetables, maybe keep a few hens that sort of thing, hence us looking for somewhere of a reasonable size and a bit of land.

Fred James

That's a rather broad statement. Unless you go a very long way inland, most of the "campo" properties in Andalucia with a few miles of the coast have electricity and water. We live inland in the campo on 8000m2 and have water and a phone line and a public tarmac road to the property. We even get a good 3G mobile signal.

I am sure the OP will have no problem finding a suitable property in the area. The biggest problem will be to make sure it was not illegally built or extended.

AlanJD

Thanks for your thoughts Fred, that's heartening information. Our other concern is the properties we're looking at in our price range will need quite some renovation. We're definitely up for this but want to be realistic about what those renovations will likly cost and also making sure that its legal to do them. Did you have to do renovations on your campo? And what's your advice around making sure past building work and future renovations are legal.

BigD Nerja

Alan, I'm sure others will agree that firstly take a long term let to experience all the seasons and specific areas. Nerja and the area around there is very good, the road to Frigliana has some good places with plenty of land.
Regarding legalities all I can suggest is get a good Spanish solicitor as it's a bit confusing.

Fred James

There are plenty of properties that do not need significant renovation. You do need a building licence for almost all renovation work and it easy enough to get so long as you are not going to change the overall footprint or adding extra buildings/extensions.

As for the legality of existing buildings - that can be a real can of worms. As BidD said, you need a good lawyer to check it out, but there are a few pointers you should look at yourself initially. Does the size etc of the house agree with what's in the escritura - assuming there is actually an escritura for the house as opposed to just the land. Is there a valid Licence of First Occupation? Have the owners got copies of any building licences for any work done?

If that all checks out all right, then it's time to get a lawyer involved. Also, as already said, rent a place for at least 6 months before you even make up your mind where you want to live.

chrisjolly

Hi Alan, we live in a small village in the mountains behind Marbella which is very convenient for the coast if you want it. There are plots of land and small fincas but many of them are illegal and any building work done to them was not done with permission from the Town Hall. It is a bit of a nightmare at the moment but you have to accept that as part of the process here.
It is possible to get the paperwork done but it does take time and you need a good person not necessarily a lawyer to look into it and get it all done. I would recommend you to rent for a while before you begin. Never mind the long term aspirations as that is another story but just to buy a suitable property is difficult and can take time.
Properties are available and it is cheaper and you get more choice if you avoid an agent and just ask the locals. We were shown a few with a local agent and bought nothing through them but when we asked the locals they came out of the woodwork.
Good luck.

Keith1963

You can buy a very nice property with well water, mains electric and as many have in Spain bottled gas. There is no difference whatsoever in bottle or main supplied gas, your kitchen appliances are the same, obviously with differing fittings for bottled gas, and positioning the boiler and bottle outside is safer and practical. Where we are has numerous ventas and a bus service every hour and schools access. We are three minutes from all the local supermarkets, ten from town with easy parking and all the fish, meat and fresh vegetable markets. And 20 mins for the beautiful city of Cadiz.

My glass is half full.

Make some visits to the area you like, rent a bit, have a good look round. Council tax is usually 150 - 400 euros a year, make sure your best choices are properly vetted with independent advice, many houses are considered illegal but you can still buy very safely.

Enjoy the journey. We did, and it's all just fine.
It's like everything, you can make it happen, if you want it to happen.