Repossessions

Bank Repossessions

Good news for you?

"Your 'repo-tour' was fantastic. We saw plenty of properties at very good prices. Amazing! There is nothing like seeing them first-hand. We would recommend anyone to just go!" - Mrs Michelle Machan. Alva, Clackmannanshire.

You might be Marty McFly in Back to The Future, only this time it’s back to the late eighties, walking down streets plastered with rows of ‘For Sale’ boards. Uh-oh! The recession’s hit. A surge of vendors are desperately trying to turn their assets into hard cash. As the credit crunch bites the sellers in Spain, it is anyone with money in their pocket that is going to benefit in this buyers’ market. And this is where we come in. Let’s Live Abroad! are contracted to work directly with some of Spain’s biggest banks to handle their repossessions.

First, let’s put things in perspective - because it is all too easy to over-sensationalise. Yes, there is an oversupply of property, but not everywhere. It’s around Marbella, Malaga, Almeria, Alicante and Murcia that you are likely to find the best bargains. After 2008, a jittery reaction from the Madrid stock exchange, the fallout started to impact right up the Costas, sending prices spiralling downwards. In many areas, the government was able to respond by designating some of the new homes to VPO (Vivienda de proteccion official), helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder with subsidised housing and with work too, where, in holiday resorts there is a growing demand for goods and services.

The good times! Snap this 2 bedroom apartment up for £50,000

Strike while the iron is hot. If you are in a position to buy in Spain, you could well be doing it at exactly the right time. Some pundits claim Spain is set for a big comeback. And do you know something? They could be right!

Spain is a stable, central European country in the sunshine. It’s a cheap and easy country to fly to and has a useful language to learn. (Unless, of course, you’re already planning to get your tongue round 33 Slavic consonant phonemes and six-and-a-half vowels in Bulgaria)!

There's a couple of examples of what to expect in this downturn, and here's one of them: -

This top-floor apartment at Entre Naranjos is set amongst orange groves at Orihuela, near Alicante's airport. It was reduced in the downturn from £96,000 to £71,000.

The rooftop solarium at Entre Naranjos

The Entre Naranjos apartment lounge

The communal swimming pool at Entre Naranjos

We will ensure you deal with a good English-speaking lawyer. It could save you from the sort of heartaches that otherwise pass as entertainment on When It All Goes Belly Up. In a moment of bitterness, perhaps you think it fine retribution for all those gloating couples you’ve suffered on My Place In The Sun Is Better Than Your Place. Obnoxiously happy couples every one; sitting by their pool, sipping chilled Chardonnay from fancy glasses while you face them, clutching a TV remote in a drafty lounge listening to the garden shed door practically banging off its hinges in a Force 10 gale. Just desserts I hear you say!

But on the other hand, if you can’t beat them and are thinking of joining them, a good local lawyer will look after all the sorts of things you won’t want to. They will be well-versed in any curious local laws. In Andalucía, for example, they will know to ensure you must have all the correct paperwork, like a Documento Informativo Abreviado (DIA) and a Ficha Informativa (FI). The DIA applies to all new-build, off-plan and resales that have undergone architectural renovation. The documents include location, number of units, developer details, pricing and licences. The FI is for resale properties that haven’t undergone this sort of renovation and will include a nota simple (copy of the Land Registry). A good lawyer is worth their weight in gold.

Another tip for buyers: Be sure the builder declares any reductions they make to you on a property, or you could be asked by the Spanish Revenue Office why you bought a property so cheap when everyone around you paid so much. That might result in you having to pay extra tax when you come to sell.

Some builders have been known to sell to clients at a much reduced price after they’ve discounted the deposit that was left after a previous purchaser pulled out! Don't worry, we will help you avoid any pitfalls.

We can help too with an inspection tour to see a selection of repossessions, resales and newly-built properties that are available. Call Let’s Live Abroad! on 0141 25 88 935. We are getting some incredible bargains landing on our desks every day, but by far the easiest way to pick one up is to book an inspection tour with us and be taken out and shown what is available at that point in time. Diaries out everyone!

€100,000 off the price!

In this example, this four bedroom and four-and-a-half bedroom detached villa in Finestrat, close to Benidorm and Alicante airport was on the market for €499,950 and has been massively reduced for a lucky purchaser to buy at a snip! It’s is on the market for €399,950 at the time of writing.

Interior of the villa in Finestrat

Fitted kitchen of Finestrat villa

Stairwell of Finestrat villa

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