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Come on now you two – I want this to be a serious thread.
It’s only for the happy bunnies – let us miserable (brainless, stupid, foolish) lot stick to our own threads, goodness knows we have enough of them!Let there be some B A L A N C E……
This is a serious attempt to get a balanced view on this forum, the lack of which has been complained about all week by some.
So am offering them the gauntlet – bring on your balance, make it become a reality – or shut the heck up banging on about balance in future.60 views so far and NADA. Vivimos en esperanza.
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Come on now you two – I want this to be a serious thread.
It’s only for the happy bunnies – let us miserable (brainless, stupid, foolish) lot stick to our own threads, goodness knows we have enough of them!Let there be some B A L A N C E……
This is a serious attempt to get a balanced view on this forum, the lack of which has been complained about all week by some.
So am offering them the gauntlet – bring on your balance, make it become a reality – or shut the heck up banging on about balance in future.60 views so far and NADA. Vivimos en esperanza.
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I have to be honest so far our purchase is going reasonably well, although a) we bought key ready and b) the problem we currently have is our own fault as we filled out a section wrong on the mortgage application. I was going to wait until we had completed and post the whole story, but this thread opened up.
We are buying on Al Andalus in Vera which is a completed complex, and is fully furnished, so we don’t have the problems associated with off plan investments. It was our intention at the beginning not to be co- erced into looking at a piece of land and being told “one day, this will be…..”
We bought on a viewing trip and have used our own independent solicitors (sourced from this forum) and an independent broker for the mortgage, much to the disappointment of our agent. In the end, they accepted our decision to go independent or lose the sale and took us to Aguilas on a Saturday to meet our solicitor. The whole buying trip experience was a pleasant one, even though we knew the underlying motive was to sell, sell, sell. We overheard another salesman “talking up” the expected returns on the other AA development to some potential customers, a figure of 30% growth over the last 3 years was overheard to be mentioned!!!
Communication was initially slow between solicitor and builder to get the contracts (it took nearly 4 weeks for the contract to be presented and accepted), but we are now expecting to complete at the end of September (with a 14 day grace period just in case).
It is a little more difficult communicating with solicitors and agents by email as it is too easy to ignore and constat phone calls can be expensive. We are generally a pretty pushy couple and are always on the solicitor’s and agents case, but responses are a bit manjana!!!
If all goes well, from seeing to owning should be about 10 weeks, which is roughly the same sort of time scale as you would expect in the UK.
I hope I haven’t jinxed us now by speaking so early, but I felt I had to put my tuppenceworth in. I am just glad I managed to find this and other forums before I went out there and got caught, as it was initially our intetntion to purchase something that would be ready early 2008 and I realise now that I could still have een waiting in 2010!!
Mark
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Hola Mark – I know your thread from another forum and the panic about the contract through august – manana manana manana!
Glad its all going well and its brilliant that from the problems others have experienced you have made all the right moves and are better informed.
Definately Claire this thread will be filled from people having benefitted from others experience!
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Hope not Mark although I do expect any of us who post on this thread will come in for some “usual” comments .
Started thinking about relocating to Spain in 2002. Spent a year finding as many forums as I could seeking advice and researching areas. Didn’t find much advice though instead found sites full of complaints about certain companies and regions.
The same it seems that some people on here are having problems with now.
Well hadn’t intended go on viewing trips via UK anyway because we had no intention of buying into an investment. Just wanted a home to live in, in Spain.
Took almost 2 years of daily research via internet and reading numerous books to find a developer and lawyer who would help us source “legal” land for our “legal” individual build.
Can’t deny there were a few panic situations on the way but when we were concerned we did what the Spanish do and hired a Gestoria to double check.
Have lived in Spain now for 2 years and other than on forums have yet to personally meet anyone who has not had the same good fortune as us.
So I suppose one would say we were all lucky. -
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@Inez wrote:
Hola Mark – I know your thread from another forum and the panic about the contract through august – manana manana manana!
Panic isn’t the word for it , although I can laugh at it now :). Everybody “seems” to be talking to each other now, albeit at “Spain” speed and not UK speed. Hopefully now we are at the end of August, things should reach normality again PDQ.
Mark
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There are plenty of positives and this is coming from someone who’s returned to Blitey to lick some serious corruption inflicted wounds.
1. Food. Spanish food is generally very simple and incredibly tasty to boot. Nothing beats a decent tapas feast if you’re not paying a fortune in a tourist trap. It’s also a great deal of fun trying to work out what on earth you’re eating. I still don’t know what half the things in the glass cabinets were 😕
2. Meeting people. To say we met some characters would be an understatement. OK – they weren’t all nice but a lot were. The Ex-pats and the Spanish have to make an effort in such rapidly changing communities and the result seems to be more open communication than we generally see on the streets in the UK.
3. The language – Chatting to a peasant farmer of indeterminate age (40 – 120?) on an Andalucian hillside is hard to beat. Learning some very basic Spanish and putting it to use is more satisfying than I would have given it credit for. Learning that cajones are drawers and cojones are NOT! is a good memory 😆
4. Beating the c**P out of trees. We did a couple of Almond and Olive harvests to help the neighbours. how satisfying it is to take a stick to a tree in the blazing sunshine. Hitting the neighbour in the eye with an almond was quite satisfying too…. As for the modern gadgetry employed for the olive harvest… you can keep it. It reminded me of the mother in law… the jaws were going nineteen to the dozen.
5. Ex Pats – how many people did I see who moved to Spain with no Spanish language skills and no intention of getting any. I found a trip to the mercadona to be great sport. The pointing of fingers at the fish counter and shouting of “two of them ones!!” brought a smile to my face. When the hapless assitant the asked “algo mas?” the bewildered “Eh?!” nearly brought tears to my eyes. There are a lot of very funny things going on over there!
I could go on – it’s nice to remind myself that there were good times and to feel that others can find their own enjoyment over there. But anyone reading this should not dash into anything. Research, trust no-one, don’t gamble what you can’t afford to lose. The fun we had was VERY expensive. This site should try to be balanced so come on all you folks who are upset by negativity share your happy views too.
I’m off to the negative threads now to bring myself back to my current reality 😈
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Tonight I ‘edited’ my opening post to enable me to change the thread title – ended up losing the ‘I’ and ‘N’ on the end of Spain in the process so it now reads ‘SPA’. 😯
Will sort it out later with a second edit, though anyone with an interesting experience in a SPA (bath) is most welcome to post here……Inez??I felt it was only right to add ‘& living’ on the thread title as positive posts on life in Spain should also be included, not just the ‘buying’ part. All part of the positiveness to balance out all the woes us unfortunate purchasers need to post about. It was my original intention anyway to make the thread all-encompassing.
With this addition to the thread title, I have now given myself the licence to re-call a very special moment one evening in Spain.
A few years ago, while travelling around Spain in a motorhome, a friend and myself ended up in a little mountain village late one evening. Somewhere vaguely near Seville I think.
Having found a little tapas bar, we settled down to enjoy some drinks and eats. The bar was not very busy, just a few old boys enjoying a nightcap plus a couple of young guys, black curly hair like gypsies, with a Spanish guitar leaning against their table.
It was getting late, past midnight and we were enjoying a conversation with the barman/owner about Spanish music when suddenly one of the young guys started to quietly play his guitar. And the music he played was pure magic, I can only say I was totally mesmerised. It was a 12-string guitar and the sound the boy’s fingers created was just beautiful.When he finished, there was of course much congratulatory back-slapping, drinks all round, and encouragement for more. The barman then looked at us, winked, and pulled another guitar out from behind the bar. From then on I was in paradise – the bar owner and this boy played together for hours – sometimes slow and melodic, sometimes faster flamenco-type numbers (rythmic hand-clapping and singing provided by the boy’s friend).
It was truly fabulous, this little intimate, impromptu concert, high up in the middle of nowhere late one night and all so uniquely Spanish…an experience I’ll never forget.
Especially the hangover the next morning…. 🙁 ….but worth every ‘thump’.Mark – well done for making it past the ‘finishing post’! Am really pleased for you and wish you many happy years enjoying Spain.
If you’re ever up a mountain somewhere near Seville….. -
@charlie wrote:
Mark – well done for making it past the ‘finishing post’! Am really pleased for you and wish you many happy years enjoying Spain.
If you’re ever up a mountain somewhere near Seville…..Not quite past the finishing post yet, but got an encouraging email from our broker last night saying that the wrongly filled in part of the application had been explained and it was off to the underwriters for final approval. Once that is done and dusted, our solicitor collects our NIE’s next week and hopefully Bob’s your mother’s brother (or Grandad in my case 😉 ).
Mark
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Did anyone read the Costa del Comeback feature in The Times newspaper last week regarding Marbella.
On the face of it and how it was written I would have thought it would give potential new property buyers a new found confidence after the corruption over the past years.
I have friends who are now looking to test the waters and feel that this is now the safest area to look at.Frank
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You could be right about marbella being one of the safest places to buy in the future 🙂 Many other coastal towns were almost as bad as marbella in building dodgy developments/corruption but nothing happened to them because it was political. I was stuck in traffic on the A-7 recently and I noticed near the cable cars at Benalmádena there is a whole new small city going up. The developments must (probably) be the ugliest in the Western world. Yet they are still being allowed to build indiscriminately, marbella cannot now do this so what you see is what you get. Prices are more sensible and the rich Madrileños are still obsessed by it.
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Remember this thread – ‘No moaning minnies allowed’ ❗
http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=964&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 -
@Suzanne wrote:
Remember this thread – ‘No moaning minnies allowed’ ❗
http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=964&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0I just can’t help being positive. In fact I’m absolutely delighted, almost to the point of hysteria.
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Melosine
good to see happy posts, but balance???, the amount of happy posts compared to Suzannes petition, is very much tipped against ‘happy’ at the moment, even taking in to account the ‘silent’ happy people. With people like Suzanne and others highlighting all the problems though, and the bad guys being exposed, we can only hope for true balance sooner rather than later, now that would be something to celebrate!
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I am really truly genuinely happy for those who have happily purchased in Spain. As mentioned before, my first trip to Spain was when I was 11 years old & I fell in love with the place there & then (& a Spanish waiter, I might add 🙄 ). The country is breathtakingly beautiful, the weather, beaches etc etc etc fantastic, and love their music too. I’m often hoovering away happily at home to the sounds of Flamenco blasting out, imagining I was somewhere else. The Spanish language too, I find equally beautiful to listen to, most of the time.
However….I haven’t been to Spain for over a year now as I balk at supporting the Spanish economy while so many of us are facing serious problems because of the corruption; normally I go 2 or 3 times a year. I’ve had long conversations with friends about how ‘unreasonable’ this is, but after reading emails to SPSP nearly every day, detailing these miseries and injustices, I suspect this doesn’t help to rekindle my love, particularly when they come from elderly people who don’t have the same options as younger folk to try & rectify their financial problems.
What really incenses me is the role of the lawyers in Spain who have seriously breached their own professional codes of practice & ethics, and the fact that the Colegio de Abogados does not address this matter. As Maria said in another thread, the Laws are there to protect everyone, buyer & seller, but it is the enforcement of these Laws that is a monumental problem at the moment. Anyone who has a respect for these Laws & isn’t getting justice has a moral duty to do whatever they can to change things, I think.
Rather than arguing about it, let’s be happy for those who have successfully bought property in Spain, and support those who haven’t & are dealing with serious problems.
Sorry this is so long….won’t say another word today, I promise 🙂
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Dear goodstitch44 why do you take everything so personally. The word “balance ” was used because any forum should be so and to concur that not everyone has mega problems when buying here.
To make a comparison with Suzanne’s or any other petition is just ridiculous .
None of us “fortunate” ones ,using this or other forums , gloat but however we should not be denied the right to write what our experiences have been especially on an appropriate thread.
Many of us have empathy and try and help those , who have problems , by directing them to petitions and sites of those who can assist.So give us a break..please.
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As I posted on the old thread I have been fortunate. One of the reasons could be that I haven’t purchased anything since 1999. Spain is/was arrogant with its own success. The Lawyers and Developers began to see themselves as invincible. If I had purchased since then (especially off-plan) I would probably be in the same situation as the (substantially more than 1%) of buyers who have been robbed or conned.
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Oh dear, some of this page 2 has gone a bit wobbly and off-track (bit like the ‘court case’ thread….!)
Just a reminder that the thread title is: Positive experiences when buying & living in Spain ❗
Considering there has now been over a thousand views so far, I feel it’s disappointing but interesting the lack of posts/posters.
We’ve had just four people who I know have ended up purchasing successfully: Katy, Marksfish, Melosine and Mike. (Am not counting your contributions, Inez 😈 !!)
What does that tell us….that the majority of happy bunnies are getting on with their lives in the sun and are simply not interested in sitting indoors on the ‘puter adding ‘balance’ to a forum?I truly suspect this thread will soon just die a natural death, as with the ‘No moaning Minnies’ and the ‘Good News Thread’. Just four contributors bothering to spend time to relate their positive experience says it all really.
And isn’t it fascinating…..the very people who complained the loudest and longest about lack of balance – the double-act with the townhouse for sale –
have not contributed one word.
And what about all their ‘friends and acquaintances’ they bragged about who have never had a problem? Surely they could be motivated to add some balance?
No?…. oh, ok, they’re just not interested then. What a surprise.
So, so much for them truly caring that there is some ‘balance’ on the forum. Maybe they don’t post anymore as they’ve sold the townhouse……?Or maybe they’re just chilling out and drinking their cocoa……
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Er, most of us HAVE posted before about buying/living in Spain relatively problem-free. However, our comments usually get buried beneath the usual landslide…
I moved here in 2003, first bought house in 2004, very cheap (42k), via an agent (who I wouldn’t touch now with a barge pole…but…no problems, although I did sack my lawyer half way thru and winged it!).
I bought another property earlier this year direct from vendor. Bargain, big cortijo, large plot of flat land, pool, 90k. Did my own conveyancing, no problems.
I live here permanently. I run my own successful business (same as I used to do in the UK), I only have to work one or two days per week to earn more than enough € to live comfortably on. I was in my 30’s when I moved here, now early 40’s, am female, live on my own, speak Spanish, have Spanish and English friends…am perfectly happy with my lot here! Is that positive enough for you?!
What’s the matter – do some of you truly believe that it’s not possible to be a success story out here just because you personally weren’t? Is it jealousy or what? 🙄
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Melosine wrote
”To make a comparison with Suzanne’s or any other petition is just ridiculous”
charlie wrote
”Just four contributors bothering to spend time to relate their positive experience says it all really.”
charlie
well done for keeping it real, Melosines post above speaks volumes about how he/she likes to view the situation.
Sorry everyone for highjacking the happy thread, hope to see more ‘happy’ posts today. As soon as i get good news, i’ll be back here with my ‘happy post and smiling like a cheshire cat!!
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Bought a resale this year.
Agents helpful. professional and sorted out all our change of services. phone, electricity, water etc. free of charge. Also sorted out our land registry with us only having to pay them what they paid the Rigistro. Better service than I’ve had from any UK Estate Agent.
Notaria a lot cheaper than I’d expected and sorted out all the ‘autoliquidacion’ of taxes. Very efficient and got all the documentation sent the Estate Agent for us to pick up at our leisure.
Local mayoress and neighbours very friendly and welcoming. Local fishing & hunting associations far more educated in the science of conservation and habitat and make the time for a slow talking incomer.
A painless experience for us and pleasantly surprising given a lot of the press is weighted to the ‘other’ side.
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@hillybilly wrote:
What’s the matter – do some of you truly believe that it’s not possible to be a success story out here just because you personally weren’t? Is it jealousy or what? 🙄
Hillybilly – On the court case thread last week I wrote:
“I think I speak for most of us who have been badly let down by the people involved in the ‘system’ that we are always pleased when people have a successful purchase in Spain, I don’t think any of us are bad-hearted to ‘begrudge’ that to anyone”.I also wrote:
“Unfortunately, it does seem that people with problems tend to post more often than those who don’t, thus seemingly giving an ‘unbalanced’ tone to the forum – but the fact is that most people use forums such as this seeking help/advice”.And that is really the point I’m trying to make.
When it comes to forums, the majority of people who use them are those needing advice and questions answered thus resulting in a natural inbalance.
For some who complain about this inbalance (to the point sometimes that a good thread is wrecked) they are just not taking this fact on board.
And yes positive posts normally do get buried ‘under the usual landslide’ but that is just down to percentages of those who post with good news and those who need questions answered.
That’s why a thread like this will never ultimately work, the inbalance generally on the forum is a ‘stastical’ natural one, not caused by posters themselves.I acknowledge that you are one of the few professionals we are lucky enough to have on this forum. You’ve always been an invaluable source of advice and information – and I don’t think anyone here would ‘knock’ that.
Jealous in the bad sense of the word? No. Pure-hearted envy…..yes 😉 but good for you, I say.
Hopefully one-day many of us will enjoy the same once we sort our mess out. I certainly intend to. -
@mortimm wrote:
Agents helpful. professional and sorted out all our change of services. phone, electricity, water etc. free of charge. Also sorted out our land registry with us only having to pay them what they paid the Rigistro. Better service than I’ve had from any UK Estate Agent.
Thanks mortimm – all helps to restore faith that there are good ones out there (we know they’re out there, it’s just finding them…).
Perhaps worth recommending to Mark, the Administrator, for his ‘Recommended Agents’ list for the forum? -
Well Goodstitch44 ,you have certainly got me there…..please explain how my previous post speaks volumes about me.
As for only a few contributors on this particular thread, which has been hijacked !! ,well perhaps folk on this forum don’t want to be told by other forum members what they should do particularly when we all know that the object of the exercise is so that derisory comments will be forthcoming by those just spoiling for a fight.
I thought the object of a forum was to present a balanced view to people with problems not threads for good or bad but it appears some who don’t even live in Spain think otherwise. -
@Melosine wrote:
….. I do expect any of us who post on this thread will come in for some “usual” comments .
@Melosine wrote:
….. we all know that the object of the exercise is so that derisory comments will be forthcoming by those just spoiling for a fight.
With this cynical attitude, a genuine attempt to get a platform going for positive input is absolutely pointless.
It could have worked and proved an ongoing mine of information such as recommended lawyers/agents etc (as per mortimm’s post) but don’t think it’s going to happen.As for the little ‘dig’ about those of us “who don’t even live in Spain” – I wonder why that is Melosine? Many of us did try…..bit of a below-the-belt comment wasn’t it?
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Whoops,
well i apologise for being partly to blame for poisoning this thread. My negative comments on this thread are aimed mainly at the system and those few (thankfully) who prefer to blame the victims. I’ll try and stay out of here now!
Just like to say well done to those who have posted positive experiences. Please keep them coming in, it gives us in a crap situation hope, and can provide very helpful positive information. I really do wish you all the best, along with those of us still chewing on life’s gristle!
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Yes, Charlie, IT was below the belt…thought I would get my own back for a change.
Bit of a contradiction here as well Charlie. First you write …thread will die a natural death ..and then ..it could have worked…. !!
Any wonder I am becoming so cynical.
Note, I didn’t highlight what you said because I think unless it is for general informative issues it is rude…okay.IMO every thread, where applicable , should have the positive as well and negatives mentioned ( so no apology needed goodstitch) but it should all be achieved by polite postings not sarcasm or accusations because things are taken personally and then usually out of context.
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I’ve re-read this thread several times & am still left 🙁 & 😕
Also not sure how you can have a ‘happy stories only’ thread without input from the many people on this forum with problems, if only to get info & encouragement. Both of which have been more than forthcoming from Melosine. I’ve received quite a few emails from people in the Murcia area, and have asked Melosine for info/help; in one case she’s even gone to the Town Hall to try & help us.
Listening to the people who have bought successfully in Spain, particularly those who live there, is so important & valuable to all of us.
It’s the Insight that we’re all interested in. -
Hi
Think there is a problem word that appears to be responsible for 90% of
the disagreements on these threads and is summed up in one word
BALANCE, (seems a voodoo word)
It’s natural to post the bad news, but why post the good?
Seems many do try or may want to try but perhaps they have a reason 😯 that their contributions may not be welcome on this forum.
Unless their contributions are made welcome then we will never have a
BALANCED forum which represents the true reflection of the Spanish market, both good and bad.Hows that for Super Cool
Frank 8)
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The bad news will always outweigh the good news, at least until people have gained justice in their cases, and the corruption is put to rest ..like it or not. There will never be a balance(sometime soon) IMO.
If my family & I were happily esconced in Spain, we would not even know that this forum existed. Even if we did we would not spend happy sunny days posting here. That would be very sad!
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OK Bad news today was…… internet went down 🙁 , after four calls to telefonica unlugging and plugging back in the flashy thingy on the floor (router) we were finally told it wasnt our fault but there was a major fault in Malaga (we are in Marbella – go figure that one out! 😯 ) and ALL the technicians were there fixing it (fibbers as I saw plenty of their vans out and about 👿 )
Good news was……………….nicking off to ‘go to the internet cafe’ and stopping for a leisurely couple of hours under shade as was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot out there, having a few coffees, then nattering to someone at the next table who is looking to buy out here! So after a couple more drinks, they asked to come back to the office and we are out viewing tomorrow – in the open top car!
Living in Spain, gosh what a chore! Off home now for a walk along the paseo around midnight with no danger of being attacked!
Thats what its all about folks! 😆
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Just so you know I’m here Charlie, another “happy bunny.”
I find the whole idea of a “happy thread” pointless, as it’s not the point. I say advice from “happy Bunnies” is just as valid as advice from those that are clearly not happy, this forum doesn’t need a special happy thread, people come for advice not to read a thread which apparently should read “I’m Happy”
We can argue the merits of positive vs negative all day (night, month, year ) balance in my view is that positive advice from “happy bunnies” should not be seen as an attempt to blame the obvious victims of wrong doing in Spain.
I wish i could get you to understand this is not war, chances are you’ll come out of it alive (unless you worry yourselves to death) I’ve lost money in the past. I’m currently arguing about £42,000 in the courts and as far as i can tell the outcome of my UK (non property) case is a lot less certain than many of the cases which appear here. I can not afford to lose it, but I’m not consumed by the fear of losing. I’ve said it before not many (if any) have lost their money yet, it’s just the worry of not knowing and I’m sorry about that, but this is not personal.
FEAR=Fantasised Experiences Appearing Real
Anyway back to the real world
regards
Paul
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As Suzanne says, people want insight positive or negative, provided it is honest. If people want to read about “living the dream” there are so many forums (especially REA’s sites!). I think people would soon get very bored if lots of posters were coming here and (eg.) saying I bought a property for x amount and now the value has tripled. (let alone a bit sceptical!).
Most posters come on the forum because they have bought and are having problems or are thinking of buying and want information. They probably know that it is great to wake up to another sunny day, it is hard facts that are needed. WHen people ask about off-plan purchases it is usually downright dishonest to be positive.
I see positive threads being informative ie. had a great lawer/agent/ helful person in Town Hall etc.
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Katy
When people ask about off-plan purchases it is usually downright dishonest to be positive.
Why would it be dishonest to say I have had a positive experience buying off plan when i did. I know someone on Los Lagos who also believes he has a positive outcome, and as far as i can see he has. I don’t understand why you think that’s dishonest. You may think it’s misguided, you may even think it’s foolish but it’s not dishonest.
If i was in the market, i would still look at off plan, clearly i would look very carefully indeed given the experiences of others here, but i would still look. there are people on here who have bought long time built properties who still have the same problems as off plan, in some cases far worse.
My insight is different to yours and is no less valid to anyone seeking it.
Regards
Paul
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@katy wrote:
I see positive threads being informative ie. had a great lawer/agent/ helpful person in Town Hall etc.
Katy, you seem to understand exactly what I was trying to achieve with this thread.
It certainly was not supposed to be just a “Happy Thread”.As I said, it could have worked and proved an ongoing mine of information which is why I titled the thread the way I did. If I was considering purchasing in the Asturias for example, I would now be interested in contacting mortimm for help in recommending his agent. A positive result from a positive post found on a positive thread.
However if some wish to see the starting of this thread as “being told by other forum members what they should do” and that we’re just “spoiling for a fight”, I genuinely feel there are some paranoia issues that need to be addressed. Suspicion without reason is nothing other than paranoia.
I wrote my own little contribution on page 1 to show good faith/intentions and to help the thread along, but it seems that for some whatever I do is up for criticism.
I’m now even accused of being ‘rude’ for highlighting – that is how utterly ridiculous some comments are.Paul – you say positive advice from “happy bunnies” should not be seen as an attempt to blame the obvious victims of wrong doing in Spain. I agree.
But sometimes it is hard not to feel that is exactly what is happening when we read ad nauseam how we haven’t done our research, and see words like fool, idiot and leaving our brains behind. We are constantly being blamed and called these names for the predicament we find ourselves in. Is it no wonder we feel indignant at times and ‘say our piece’ in reply?You don’t need to “get me to understand this is not war”, I already know that.
But at times there are posts (like top of page 2/court cases thread) that make a lot of us feel we’re in the middle of one. -
Charlie
we read ad nauseam how we haven’t done our research, and see words like fool, idiot and leaving our brains behind.
I don’t think it’s ad nauseam, it was paulandlyn’s opinion and i don’t agree with their figures regarding the forum. i will say that people on here talk about corruption being a new thing. i have a book by David Hampdhire called “Buying a home in Spain” which in the “Avoiding Problems” section says “from a legal viewpoint buying, Spain isn’t one of the safest places in which to buy a home” He then goes on to talk about getting an independent lawyer etc etc all of the stuff on this forum. When was this book published? Not this year or last, not even this century 1997.
I freely admit i bought a property in Spain rather than feeding my pension as i thought it would be more enjoyable (it is) so i guess i bought to make money, add value to my cash whatever. so I’m as guilty as anyone.
Have a good day Charlie
Regards
Paul
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Hi Paul
It certainly isn’t just Paulandlynn, their post was just an example. This ‘line of discussion’ has been put forward by many eversince I’ve been a member of the forum, though do admit theirs has been one of the longest/most extensive I’ve seen for a long time including only coming to Spain to make a profit out of the Spanish… 🙄
I admit that we didn’t read/know of David Hampshire’s book, but did read David Searle’s excellent book ‘You and the Law in Spain’ which gave us a very good insight and awareness before purchasing. We still fell down the hole though! 🙁
Have a good day yourself Paul, I’m off for a swim!
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it seems more like footy fans arguing about their teams on here than a message board to offer advice, good practice, what to avoid, what to do, etc. ffs why can’t you all grow up and use this board for what it was meant for, there are a million and one boards for arguing all the time. try 606 on the beeb
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I would think there are many many satisfied and happy people living and having bought in Spain but it isn’t so interesting as complaints.
We bought through a local Spanish agent who has been a fantastic help to us.
The Spanish neighbbours are all friendly and insist on us tasting whatever they are cooking that day. (Don’t ask)…. While in the process of dressing freshly killed chicken. 😆We will be moving over full time once we have sold our UK house and are looking forward to it tremendously.
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Hi everyone
I have been absent from this forum for a while as my “good news” earlier in the forum went a little “pear shaped” (as some other readers of another forum will know).
I can say now that completion has finally happened and the hard work is behind us.
What I will say though is it isn’t just the agents that cause grief, but choosing your lender is equally important. Problems with valuation and perceived money laundering issues were prevalent in our purchase, but the solicitor we used looked after us well. Again, we thought the solicitor (recommended on this site) was pants as they sometimes took a while to reply to our enquiries, but they stopped us from doing some things and refused to allow the lender to do others.
I am elated that this has now happened (finally) but will post at a later date the whole sorry tale of the purchase which wil take into account all problems with all agents involved and not just the REA’s.
Mark
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The majority of people I know have had postive experiences especially those i have personally who i put in touch with good lawyers before i personally moved into real estate.
The Majority of people i know have made good money buying off plan but that’s because they could always find someone to move the property on for them and this is where a big problem will be for some people.
You do hear horror stories but most people who have had a good lawyer and not been greedy have very positive experiences here in Spain.
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katy
nothing like a balanced view eh?
well my good news is a court case in May all being well.
just to remind people. Bought in 2002, transfered by UK agent after two years, as building license never even granted!. Two years further on and developer sold (by mistake?) our appartment we were transfered to, which was by now was over two years late. Offered us another appartment on same site at roughly half the size, with no discount!!. So as appartment 3 years late and half size, obviously trying to get deposit back. Next june it will be 6 years since we put our deposit down.
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@katy wrote:
Before you personally moved into real estate! good to hear an independant voice on the forum 🙄
My experience is good but I admit I was also lucky knowing someone who introduced me to an excellent lawyer in Marbella and obviously building my own house helped a lot as well. All I did was passed on what I was taught by someone else.
I moved into real estate for two reasons one I wanted to make money and two I believed that the mission statement for my business (which was the same as my previous businees ) would be succesful here in Spain
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