The World of Spain Blog

TWOS blog needs to know.

1. We may be able to help.

2. We need to warn other people.

3. Please leave your comments or information describing your bad experience or problem.

This is how it all begins to go horribly wrong.

For many people, this is the pattern –

1. You see an advert in a newspaper or hear one on the radio about an exhibition in your area, something like “come and find out about your dream home in the sun” or “come along to our free seminar on Spain/Cyprus/Turkey/Cape Verde/ Bulgaria/ USA/ France/ Timbuktu/ the moon” – you get the jist.
2. These will generally be held at a well known venue in your area, a hotel or football ground for example.
3. You have nothing much to do at the weekend, so you get the kids in the car with a can of coke and a packet of crisps and off you go – besides you have a mate or know somebody at work that’s got a place abroad, if they can do it so can you!
4. All the way there, both you and your partner are agreeing on one thing – “we are just going to look, come away with some brochures and have a good think about it”
5. BUT when you get there, the place is buuuzzzzing – flamenco music, glass of sangria, lots of suntanned smiley faces and everywhere you look there are fantastic pictures of apartments, palm trees, beaches and stunning looking villas, and all at fantastic prices. 5 minutes and you’ve got a bit of a glow and you’re jigging up and down pretending to be `Carmen` – you know, the women with the bowl of fruit on her head!
6. And then – you meet your new best friend! Before you know it you’ve been booked on a cheap NO OBLIGATION, NO PRESSURE inspection trip. Well….”you’ve nothing to lose”….you say to the missus….”we’ll have a couple of days in the sun, down a few beers, have a quick look around and come home”
7. hmm, good plan, but you didn’t bank on meeting your new best friends mate in Spain! He’s even more friendly and smiley, just doesn’t like it if I mention the `no` word! I won’t go into the gory details, needless to say – you bought one, yes you really did it……….yes you really………oh no! What did you do?

To be fare, my humorous take on the above sequence of events doesn’t happen all the time, just most of the time!

The point is, that this `convenience option` is ok for some people ie the people that are not really bothered about what they get or where it is so long as it is in the sun, but for most of us this is not the best way to invest tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds, there is a better way.

The acquisition of property, wherever in the WORLD, requires a prudent amount of research. If you were to move house in the UK you would do just that – you would talk to agents, drive around the area, check out transport links, the schools, the amenities and you would do tedious amounts of research on the web to determine prices & whether or not the area is good for you etc.

Being in the same country, you would also have the advantage of media coverage - which could affect your decision & your perception of the area/prices. You would also be able to glean valuable information through all the afore mentioned resources regarding the reputation of the developer.

Most of us would naturally do all of the above and more, and take it for granted, but it is very difficult to do all this very important and necessary research in a foreign country. This is why most people unwittingly go for the easy option – the `convenience method`.

The solution is to do all the research yourself, just as you would do if you were buying a property in the UK.

If this is not possible, then for you own good, seek the help of a true and unbiased locating business like The World of Spain. We have done all of the above, but exclusively in Spain. It would probably take years to do the same again in another country.

The service from a good locating business should be free because they will receive an introduction commission from the vendor/developer.

This method of purchasing property abroad ensures that the client gets a completely unbiased appraisal of what is available based on his/her criteria. Both the convenience method and the locator method aim to present the client with a property in Spain, but this is where the similarity ends. The end results could be worlds apart and both methods could have a dramatic and long lasting, but opposite effect for years after the acquisition.  

Unfortunately there are certain areas of Spain that now suffer as a result of the vast numbers of unwitting people being sold property via the `convenience method`.

These areas have been over developed and over sold, with one area in particular now being stigmatised with the label of having the highest crime rate in Spain – due partly to the fact that there are streets and streets of nothing but part occupied properties, which has resulted in an unwelcoming, artificial environment with no sole.

The problem is that there are still thousands of properties still to be constructed, yet the coaches and mini buses continue to weave there way between the building sites and cranes with the intention of selling even more.

As a result there are hundreds of people trying unsuccessfully to sell and get out of these concrete jungles that are evolving and this is creating a stagnant resale market where, in some cases, many have taken less than what they paid in an attempt to start afresh in a better area or in some cases they have had to throw the towel in and return home.

When you consider that some have parted with there life savings, the consequences of such an outcome are devastating.

Please let us know if you have found yourself in a similar situation. We will offer any help and advice we can. Either click the comment link below or email us.

The World of Spain specialise in one country only, Spain, unlike many of the agents to be found on the web that seem to specialise in every country of the world. It has taken our team the best part of a decade to become fluent in the complexities of property acquisition in just one country, and that being familiar to us because it is right on our doorstep.

I find it difficult to comprehend how vast numbers of `on line agents` can encourage people so flippantly to acquire property in countries with very complex legal systems and dramatically different cultures & religions, and not only do they commit the unwitting purchasers to these unknown quantities, but they describe them as `the next big thing` or `emerging market`.

Consider the following…..

How long will it take for these markets to emerge? if at all! Spain has been emerging since the 60`s!

There is a well known phenomenom referred to as `the herd instinct` where the masses act like lemmings and this human sentiment driven instinct is responsible for driving economies up & down all over the world. When the herd instinct kicks in…….beware! - decisions are generally based upon nothing but hype - we all remember what happened to the so called next big thing in the stock market tech stocks! - the heard lost a fortune!

The herd that are making most of the acquisitions in these so called emerging markets are being seduced by unsubstantiated claims of 20,30 and 40% plus increases in property valuations. Unfortunately for the speculative herd, there are that many new units currently under construction and planned for the future, that these claims of increase in valuation may never become a reality. Newcomers to the market are going to do just the same as they did and buy new/off plan not re-sale. So, the question is - who are the speculative herd going to sell to in order to realise 20,30 or 40% plus gains?

Can any of these countries native population afford to prop up its own property market?

Spain has a ready made `client base` - the UK! We love Spain, we go there every year on holiday and to rent property. Spain can prop up its own property market and it has a ready made rental market. Its only two hours away form us, there are flights every day, all year round for the price of a night out or less. I could go on and on……..

With an estimated 800,00 already there and an average of 70,000 a year going there, your probably thinking along the right lines! 

With almost a decade of experience in property acquisition, renovation & construction, finance, commercial negotiation and customer services, i would say we are well qualified to help with every aspect of the purchase process.

We have encompassed the experience we have gained over the last 10 years in our new web site -`The World of Spain`(which is not yet complete, but we are working on it - night & day!) Please check out our `recent acquisitions` and `case studies` from some of our recent very happy clients. 

We specialise in one country only, Spain, unlike many of the agents to be found on the web that seem to specialise in every country of the world. It has taken our team the best part of a decade to become fluent in the complexities of property acquisition in just one country, and that being very familiar because it is right on our doorstep.

The World of Spain does not have property for sale, nor do we have any incentive or motive to present a specific property or development. Based on the information we request from you, we will apply our experience & knowledge of the Spanish property market to present you with what you really want - due to financial incentives, this may be completely different from what an agent would want you to purchase.

Whats more, our service to you is completely FREE. After locating a property or project specific to your requirements, we will cover our costs and hopefully make a profit by way of an introduction commission.

Check out our recent acquisitions and very happy clients in our case studies.