Property Hunt - Spain by Christopher Nye

PROPERTY HUNT

THE EXPERTS To help Jo and Tony with their purchase, some words of advice...

Retiring couple seek year-round home on Costa del Sol for 150,000 They’re looking for easy access to a dual-season holiday home, so Jo Edwards and Tony Smith from south London are combing the Costa del Sol, reports Christopher Nye

Mark Bussell. Sales Executive, Blue Flag Properties, www.blueﬂagproperties.com

MARK BUSSELL

THE BRIEF

PROPERTY AGENT

WHO Jo Edwards and Tony Smith live in south London, where Tony works as a driver. Jo has ﬁve grown-up children, 10 grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way.

Peter Esders, lawyer, Chebsey & Co, www.chebsey.com

WHAT THEY WANT Jo and Tony want an easily maintained property on a development that they can visit all year for holidays, including an extended winter break. It needs to have at least two bedrooms, preferably three, and access to a pool. Ideally, they would like a villa with a private pool, but assume this is out of their budget in their favourite area, so a townhouse or apartment on a top-notch development would be a good compromise. They would prefer to keep to a budget of around £150,000.

Two stretches of this costa offer Jo and Tony great properties on budget, in nice locations close to the beach and town. Firstly, Mijas Costa, running west from Fuengirola to the edge of Marbella. Marbella itself is too pricey, but once past it, the Estepona/Manilva area is good value for money, too, maybe even slightly better than Mijas. The beneﬁt of Mijas is that it’s just 30 minutes from the airport, whereas Estepona is an hour away. Both of these areas have good year-round expat communities, so they’re never ghost towns even in winter, when you’re still getting 18-to-20ºC temperatures. £150,000 gets a very nice apartment within walking distance of a town and beach, and sharing a pool. The same budget will get a townhouse, perhaps a bit further walking distance or a bus ride from the beach, but sharing a pool with fewer other households. Prices are rock-bottom now, and, with the better pound-euro rate cutting prices by 15 per cent, this really is the best time to buy.

PETER ESDERS

LAW SPECIALIST

Being mature buyers purchasing a home in Spain, inheritance and inheritance tax is likely to be more of a worry than other items such as income tax or capital gains tax. In the past, being unmarried would have caused difficulties, but over the years it has become easier to avoid some of these problems. Making sure that the correct people inherit is generally not a problem now – the difficulty comes with how much tax is paid, because if you are an unmarried couple you are treated as strangers for tax purposes, meaning that you pay a higher rate of tax than a married couple. Having said that, it is possible to register yourself as an unmarried couple and benefit from some of the advantages that a married couple have. You need to take advice not only on who should be the registered owner(s) of the property but also how best to leave the property in your wills to make sure that things run smoothly should one of you pass away, and that taxes are legally reduced as much as possible.

WHERE They have family and friends near the Costa del Sol, and love the beaches and coves, as well as the restaurants and shops along here. They also like how easy it is to reach from London. The property must be near the seaside – not within walking distance necessarily, but no more than a bus ride away. They have no particular preference for where on this coast, though, and would like our ideas on where is affordable, but fun all year.

Amanda Lamb is presenter of Channel 4’s hit TV series A Place in the Sun

AMANDA LAMB

PRESENTER OF A PLACE IN THE SUN

It’s funny how people often overlook the most obvious and attractive places to buy, like the Costa del Sol, maybe assuming they will be too pricey. But prices here are now 40-60 per cent less than during the boom, yet with all the same attractions, and so convenient: you can pop over for a nice lunch in Fuengirola’s “ﬁsh alley” and be back in Britain for tea, if you wanted. That carries on all year, while some of the Mediterranean islands are hard to reach after September. Buying on a community/urbanisation, the couple need a good lawyer who will check that the community is solvent (big clue: you can get an idea from the state of the place, if it is well cared for and is paying for the pools etc to be looked after). They don’t want to buy where half the owners are defaulting.

REASON FOR BUYING As retirement approaches, Tony and Jo are considering their options and realising that they would like to move from the big city. So they are hoping to divide their time between the south coast of England and the south coast of Spain. With so many family members to visit, easy year-round access from the UK is vital.

Turn over to see the four exciting properties we found for Jo and Tony! 30 aplaceinthesun.com

DID YOU KNOW? The Costa del Sol claims to have the largest number of golf courses per head of population in the world. Yes, even more than Florida. British owners in Marbella, dubbed “Butlins for billionaires”, include Lord Sugar, Max Clifford and Simon Cowell, right. But even they can look a bit shabby next to the Russian oligarchs and Saudi princes who now call it home. Many British visitors only see the airport in Malaga, but the birthplace of Pablo Picasso has seen considerable investment recently. Its charms include its fish restaurants, the Picasso Museum, its port and the beautiful, evocative English cemetery, established in 1831 (which has its own gift shop). In Fuengirola, 6,000 out of around 70,000 inhabitants are British, the highest group after the Spanish. Such a proportion emphasises the need for foreigners to register, to ensure that central government funds are allocated to the area accurately. aplaceinthesun.com 31

PROPERTY HUNT

PROPERTY 1

PROPERTY 2

PROPERTY 3

PROPERTY 4

€233,000 (£183,100)

€199,950 (£157,100)

€210,000 (£165,000)

€205,000 (£161,100)

Where: Between Mijas Pueblo and Benalmadena

Where: Cabopino, near Marbella

Where: West Estepona

Where: Estepona

Property details:

Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë

Three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms 152m2 built area on a 140m2 plot Communal pool shared between six properties Private garden Fireplaces and air conditioning Marble ﬂoors

Two bedrooms, two bathrooms Built size of 105m2, plus balconies and terrace Private and communal gardens Small, well-kept urbanisation with pool Next to Cabopino golf course 15-minute walk to beach and marina

Four bedrooms, two bathrooms Built area of 135m2, on a plot of 97m2 Private and communal gardens Roof terrace Communal pool Walking distance to beach

Two bedrooms, two bathrooms Built area of 102m2 Newly built to highest standard Two communal swimming pools Tropical gardens and 9-hole golf course Close to sea and Estepona town

For more details: Blue Flag Properties, www.blueﬂagproperties.com, 0034 952 472 283

For more details: Garratt Homes, www.garratthomes.com, 0034 952 83 23 23

For more details: Raine International, www.raine-international.com, 0034 952 811 463

For more details: Blue Flag Properties, www.blueﬂagproperties.com, 0034 952 472 283

This pristine property packs everything Tony and Jo are looking for, into a neat and beautifully maintained package. It has two double bedrooms and a single bedroom upstairs, along with the bathroom. The bedrooms open on to balconies with unobstructed south-west-facing views, perfect for watching the sunsets over the Andalusian mountains. The kitchen is large and well-equipped, the living area is open-plan, with a cool and modern ﬁreplace and separate dining area. The house is part of a six-property development, sharing a communal pool (easier to cope with than a private pool), but it has its own private garden, with mature plants watered by an automatic irrigation system. The garden also features a partially covered 39m2 terrace.

It’s a taste of Marbella bling, but with a bargain price tag attached. This house would have gone for silly money a few years ago, but is priced for a quick sale. It has all the mod-cons you’d want, including an open ﬁre, a satellite TV, easy access to the town and airport, and sports facilities including golf and tennis. The property is on a bijou development on one of Europe’s most dazzling coasts. It’s on the airport side of Marbella, just a 30minute drive from Malaga airport, with easy train and bus options too. The development opens on to a golf course and countryside, including woods. For Jo’s grandchildren, the beach is a manageable 15-minute toddle, with the port and marina a potential source of entertainment for teenage visitors too.

This cosy cottage is less open-plan than the others, but you’re getting four bedrooms for the price of two, and if Jo and Tony feel adventurous they could knock through for a more open-plan feel. The garden is also small, but opens on to a large and undulating grassy area that’s perfect for making friends. The large communal pool is close, but not too close, and the beach is within walking distance. The shops and nightlife are a bit further away. Estepona is further from Malaga, around 90 kilometres, but offers the possibility of ﬂying into Gibraltar, 50 kilometres away, or even Seville, at 200 kilometres. As Jo and Tony start to enjoy life in Spain, they may get the conﬁdence to explore more of Andalusia, and even take the nearby ferry over to Africa.

Gorgeous new apartments on a top-class development on the Costa del Sol – what more could you want? These two- and three-bedroom flats come with marble floors, fully fitted luxury kitchens, air-con, underground parking, sea and mountain views and tropical gardens. Those little extras that make a property special include “his and hers” sinks and underfloor heating. Jo and Tony’s younger visitors will be thrilled to see the Safari Park nearby, while the adults enjoy the onsite golf course. Estepona, with its marina, nightlife, beaches and secluded coves, is easy to get to, and there are fishing villages to explore, and Estepona’s famous Costa Natura beach for anyone feeling overdressed in a bikini.

THEY LIKE:

• We like the size and the general layout of the house. It’s big, with the bedrooms upstairs and the living area downstairs. • The kitchen looks lovely. Actually, it all looks lovely. • The open-ﬁre will be cosy in winter, and we will have wonderful views all year. It’s not just a summer holiday home.

• This looks absolutely sensational. The pool is obviously a highlight. • We don’t play golf, but this house would be a good place to start. What are green fees like, though? • It all looks so clean, fresh and easy to maintain. That’s great for rental, if we ever decide to go that way. • The location looks perfect, too.

• We like the green beyond the garden very much. We can imagine waving the grandkids off to play while we get some napping done. • It’s a nice pool, big enough for proper exercise, not just splashing! • Having the option of walking to the beach is great, too. • There are plenty of beds for visitors.

• These apartments look luxurious and attractive at a great price. • The underground car parking will be a real beneﬁt in peak summer. • Location-wise, they look perfect: walking into Estepona is ideal. • The views are just stunning, in every direction.

THEY DISLIKE:

THEY DISLIKE: • It’s far enough from the airport to be a pain to get to. • The kitchen is a bit small, but nice new units and granite work tops. • It looks a little bit lived-in – but we could spruce it up a bit.

• The other apartments we’ve seen, with three bedrooms and a private garden, just sound better for us than this one. • We worry whether there would be much of a year-round community here – what’s it like in winter?

THEY DISLIKE: • There isn’t a lot to dislike, but we are slightly concerned about the location. Yes, it’s near the airport, but how far is it from a town and the beach?

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• Three bedrooms would have been better. • The garden looks great, but is a bit cramped, with next door so close.

THEY DISLIKE:

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PROPERTY HUNT

MORE COSTA DEL SOL PROPERTIES

El Faro, Mijas

WHAT NEXT? We’ve shown Jo and Tony four homes on the Costa del Sol. So what is their next move? Let’s ﬁnd out what they’re thinking... Jo and Tony: We have been really impressed with these properties. They are better than we thought we could get, but slightly above our budget, too. Hopefully, we can knock the price down a bit. We are completely sold on the Costa del Sol – why buy anywhere else in Spain, at these prices? We think that Mijas is probably a better bet than Estepona, mainly down to the distance from the airport. It’s so easy to get a train from Malaga airport along to Fuengirola, and anything to avoid car hire will be appreciated. We are a bit nervous about the economic news, and wonder how this will play out – the Spanish banks own lots of properties, yes? And the Spanish banks are in trouble, yes? So won’t they eventually end up ﬂogging them off cheap? Probably just after we’ve bought, knowing our luck! However, we think that once the holiday rush has died down, we’ll make a few trips over there. After all, with Gatwick so close to us, we can literally nip down there for lunch.

DON’T OUR SEMIN MISS BUYING IN ARS ABOUT SP PORTUGAL AIN, FRANCE, AND ITALY AT

At the NEC Birm September ingham 28-30 2012

€100,000 (£78,600) Ground-ﬂoor studio apartment in a pleasant suburb between Fuengirola and Mijas, right by the sea. The apartment is cleverly organised, with split levels to differentiate living areas. It comes furnished and with a relatively new ﬂoor. It opens on to the community gardens and a good-sized community pool, with amenities and the beach nearby. It’s easy to look after and easy to rent out. Garratt Homes, www.garratthomes.com, 0034 952 83 23 23

Manilva

€150,000 (£117,900) Two-bedroom house on a plot of 250m2, with a built area of 90m2 and a terrace of 40m2. It is built over three levels with a spiral staircase, and has sea views from the terrace. The sea is just a 10-minute walk away. The house has enough room for an extension, or for a swimming pool. It requires minor renovation, but has the beneﬁt of double glazing, a ﬁreplace, satellite TV and a utility room. Raine International, www.raine-international.com, 0034 952 811 463

Mijas Costa

€425,000 (£334,000) Three-bedroom house on a 2,000m2-plus plot with mature gardens and plenty of privacy. It has a large dining room with a double-height vaulted ceiling, a traditional kitchen, patio, lounge with ﬁreplace, and three double bedrooms, all with built-in wardrobes. The gardens include several terraces and shady areas, and a private swimming pool, which is sunny all day. Blue Flag Properties, www.blueﬂagproperties.com, 0034 952 472 283

FOR MORE SPANISH PROPERTIES, GO TO www.aplaceinthesun.com/spain

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