Areas of interest

There are lots of opportunities in the area. Could you describe what you're looking for a little more - your budget, type of property - villa, apartment, etc, will you be bringing children, do you want an area that mainly speaks English, or Spanish, rent or own a car over here, etc...

Cartegena and isla plana are worth a visit. The guns are but drive up is a bit scary. Alhama has an interesting museum and lovely little church with a market on a Tuesday. Bolnuevo has the erosions and there is a lovely restaurant called la siesta on the beach. Murcia City is worth the drive just to name a few. There are the mines in mazarron and the town is worth a wander round. There are lots of tapas bars in the square and by the town hall. 

From our own experience (we bought a house in Camposol last month through Mercers), once you have chosen a property, don't believe the lies the estate agent will tell you about its condition (they are representing and being paid by the vendor, so will say anything to get the sale). Get a survey done before paying the non-refundable deposit, and then decide whether to use any negative findings to negotiate a lower sale price or move on to a more suitable property. Also, don't use the solicitor recommended by the estate agent (in our case, PALS), they did not represent us and were on the side of Mercers.

To rent it out as a holiday let, you need to register the house with the Office of Tourism to get a Tourist Licence, then register it with the Guardia Civil (because you need all guests to be registered with them using their registration number for your property). Be aware that the bedrooms must be of a minimum size to qualify as a single or double with the Office of Tourism. In our case, we deliberately chose a 3 bedroom Rebecca house, thinking that we would have two double bedrooms and one single for a total occupancy of 5, then found out that the larger double bedroom just qualifies as a double, the smaller double bedroom only qualifies as a single, and the single bedroom is too small to qualify at all - so only 3 guests are permitted to stay in our 3 bedroom house !!

You also need to produce a booklet listing places of interests for your guests to visit (the Office Of Tourism want to encourage them to get out and about, and spend money in the Spanish economy) which must be in Spanish and English (at least) and include a list of emergency contact numbers. To this end, I researched on-line via google and made a list of potential places from home, then spent 5 days rushing around to visit these places once out here, taking notes and added other places as I discovered them. You obviously have to find attractions suitable for elderly couples and young families with kids, and everyone inbetween.   

Yes,  totally agree with you there about estate agent Mercer,  most properties have a leaky solarium roof, which needs to be totally replaced,  this was my first job after I bought my place,  this doesn't come cheap, it cannot be patched up or sealed, like many have tried to do on Camposol, it has to be done from scratch, beware of painted tiles on roof, or tiles over tiles,  once the original membrane is wrecked,  it's none viable, it was a shock to stand under the bathroom light fitting with a bucket during the night, on my first week there, when it rained and then I found out from my neighbors,  that the inside walls of the house had been totally cleaned and painted,  a week before my visit to purchase the place,  as the walls had previously been water damaged and mouldy, the estate agents didn't mention that little gem,  they just wanted a sale,  at least when I sell it now,  I can do so with a totally clear conscience!

That’s really helpful, thank you so much.

You never know, you can visit a place that can throw up a new area to buy in.

We arrive on Sunday and I’m looking forward to exploring !

Regards

Tom.

Thank you, that’s some great information regarding rental and it’s kind of you to share.

We are unsure wether to use it as a commercial entity or just let family and friends use it ?

Selfishly if we do that I can spend more time there myself 😎

Kind regards

Tom.

Hi, the private survey before deposit is a great shout. 

I’ve renovated quite a few in the uk but understand Spanish planning and build practices to be totally different ?

With already being irked by paying/losing 20-30 thousand in taxes, I don’t fancy any extra surprises.

Thanks all for your advice

Tom

Although the property purchase tax is high; in contrast the IBI (Council Tax) is very low (approx. 10% of what I was paying in the UK for a similar value house). I calculated that after 10 years, I would have recovered the property purchase tax in lower IBI payments.

We bought in the Urbanisation "Mazarron Country Club" and have not looked back. The houses are really well built. Our winter heating, in the evenings predominantly, consists of a 1200 watt two bar electric fire. It's usually running on one bar!

The walls of the properties are cavity insulated, unlike so many of properties we viewed. We did rent in Mojon Hills at Isla Plans for a few months in the winter. We had to buy a fan heater, 3000 watts, full belt and on all night.....or we froze. Similarly, in the summer, the houses at the country club are easy to keep cool.

Check out casana.nl website. They do both sales and rental in the country club. They have a big office in the administration building.

It's definitely a hidden Jem when it comes to property search.

When "A place in the sun" TV show comes to the Costa Calida they usually showcase a property in the Country Club as one of the five. Almost always it's the one the people buy.