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Torrevieja - to buy or not

Torrevieja - to buy or not

Old Jul 19th 2015, 1:08 pm
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Default Torrevieja - to buy or not

Considering buying a house to use to holiday at 1st but to relocate in 5 years, a few people are putting me off saying to many taxes and red tape when uv actually bought , can anyone give me advise and if this is true ?
Thanks Janet &!gareth
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Old Jul 23rd 2015, 3:46 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Amazing 182 views and no replies............I suggest you do serious research and analysis into the whole property buying process in Spain so that you can decide if it is for you.

Yes of course there are taxes involved with buying (higher than UK) and then maintaining a property and yes some might say there is 'red tape' what do you expect with something as potentially complicated and important as buying property?

If you do not want to get involved with that then employ a professional independent solicitor and let them handle it. This of course is always wise under any circumstances.

Suggest you start here
https://www.gov.uk/how-to-buy-property-in-spain
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Old Jul 23rd 2015, 4:01 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Much better to just rent for holidays until you are looking to move, try a few different areas, make sure that where you pick is right for you to live, not just visit for a couple of weeks a year. There are much better places than Torrevieja, town, plenty of nice places just a few km away, and that is where I suggest you look. I suspect that prices in those areas hasn't yet bottomed out, there are still many unsold, empty houses there. Try looking at Playa Flamenca, Le Zenia, Cabo Roig, Campoamor etc. Winter in those areas is a lot different to summer, and 5 months of unrelenting heat is a lot different to haaving two weeks in the sun each year.
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Old Jul 23rd 2015, 5:41 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Thanks for the reply, what do you mean winters are a lot different as in for better or worse ? Xx
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 5:53 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by Jgrocky
Thanks for the reply, what do you mean winters are a lot different as in for better or worse ? Xx
They can get cold, and Spanish houses are not really built for the cold, rarely double glazed, no cavity insulation, no loft insulation. The further inland you go, and I mean just a few km, the colder, and quite a bit colder. Snow and frost are rare, but do happen, but it's the fact that you do need heating all the time, houses do not retain the heat. First winter you are there won't seem that bad, but a winter after several months of 30+ temps will seem cold, which is why in winter, locals go round wearing coats etc, whereas visitors maay well be in t shirts and shorts.
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 6:24 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by mikelincs
They can get cold, and Spanish houses are not really built for the cold, rarely double glazed, no cavity insulation, no loft insulation. The further inland you go, and I mean just a few km, the colder, and quite a bit colder. Snow and frost are rare, but do happen, but it's the fact that you do need heating all the time, houses do not retain the heat. First winter you are there won't seem that bad, but a winter after several months of 30+ temps will seem cold, which is why in winter, locals go round wearing coats etc, whereas visitors maay well be in t shirts and shorts.
Absolutely correct!!!
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 7:57 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Torrevieja wouldn't be for me and I find there are plenty of nicer areas, but we're all different. It's all about budget and really depends on the individual if buying makes sense. Mikelincs is saying that Spanish houses aren't made for the cold, but you can basically say the same about houses in the UK. There are indeed a lot of poorly built properties in Spain, especially in areas where Brits always liked to buy. At the end of the day you can always improve the energy rating yourself, so it's no different to buying elsewhere if the price is right. You can also build a new home for little money these days and there are plenty of companies that now build eco homes in Spain.
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 8:18 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Thank you for your advise , we know we want to buy in the costa blanca the issue is which area , we want to be somewhere that is open/working all year round, we want somewhere that as a good selection of shops bars restaurants etc and within walking distance to the middle of town, we want an area that is a mix of ages and mix of nationalities.
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 8:19 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by Jgrocky
Thank you for your advise , we know we want to buy in the costa blanca the issue is which area , we want to be somewhere that is open/working all year round, we want somewhere that as a good selection of shops bars restaurants etc and within walking distance to the middle of town, we want an area that is a mix of ages and mix of nationalities.
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.

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Old Jul 24th 2015, 3:26 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by mikelincs
They can get cold, and Spanish houses are not really built for the cold, rarely double glazed, no cavity insulation, no loft insulation.
It depends when they were built. Most existing houses are as you say, not built for the cold, but since 2006 they have improved enormously as a result of a whole new set of building regs that cover all aspects of the build, but in particular, the thermal efficiency of the building. They will now all have full insulation and solar water heating.

Sadly, there have not been too many houses built since then!

We built our house in 2003 and it has floor, ceiling and cavity wall insulation and double glazing. That said, it still costs a lot to heat, but I shudder to think what the bills would be like without it!
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Old Jul 24th 2015, 3:35 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Hi Fred what area did you have yours built ? Is is cheaper to have one built rather than buy one ?
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Old Jul 27th 2015, 11:26 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Janet & Gareth as Mikelincs said above look no further than Cabo..... the winters are mild, so i dont kno wwhat the people above are talking about. Xmas on the beach etc etc. February is cold but sunny, in other words its not quite t-shirt weather. Cabo is open all year round so always pleanty to do and 12 minute drive to Torri couple of minutes to Zenia Boulevard.
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Old Jul 27th 2015, 11:47 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by Jgrocky
Hi Fred what area did you have yours built ? Is is cheaper to have one built rather than buy one ?
Most people will tell you it's cheaper to buy, but that's not always the case. Sometimes you could be spending more money on upgrading an existing house, so you would have been better off building. If I can remember, I think Fred has a huge house? We are considering building something small in the future (80 m2). I got a few quotes in our area for €800 per m2 (all included), but obviously depends on the finishes/materials you want and I have to do a bit more research. The problem with Torrevieja would be that there is no affordable land available, while in our area land is cheap enough.
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Old Jul 27th 2015, 11:54 am
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

come on Moses, who can validate that the land they are buying is even legal to build on or owned by the suppposed seller. Surely you are better off just buying a new buld (2008 onwards) on an urbanisation (not one that has a bad reputation google homes from hell) & enjoy the rest of your life. You can pick up a very nice two bed two bath communal pool large terrace's for Euro 70K (plus costs 14%) & it will cost you 10K to install security bars air conditioning and boiler, job done. Thats in Cabo Roig BTW.
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Old Jul 27th 2015, 12:07 pm
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Default Re: Torrevieja - to buy or not

Originally Posted by wilsman77
come on Moses, who can validate that the land they are buying is even legal to build on or owned by the suppposed seller. Surely you are better off just buying a new buld (2008 onwards) on an urbanisation (not one that has a bad reputation google homes from hell) & enjoy the rest of your life. You can pick up a very nice two bed two bath communal pool large terrace's for Euro 70K (plus costs 14%) & it will cost you 10K to install security bars air conditioning and boiler, job done. Thats in Cabo Roig BTW.
I can only comment on our area, but it's all pretty straightforward. Most of the land where we are is Urban land and it's all on the local plan which you can find online through the town hall. Ideally all connections should be available on site, otherwise that could cost extra, but you'll find most people only have issues when they didn't use a solicitor and bought Rustic land. There are restrictions (height etc.) but we aren't in a historic area and want to keep it simple anyway.

Last edited by Moses2013; Jul 27th 2015 at 12:15 pm.
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