[Anonymous]

Hi all,

Just to report back put apartment up for sale last October 2011 with a Finnish Estate Agent, put it up at a 30% reduction from peak price of when we purchased 2004 – we are asking E149900 – we agreed a price of E142,000 after a lot of haggling by Norwegian purchasers. We took a 33% hit on original purchase price but I feel it was still a good achievement in the current climate in Spain! The apartment which was 3 bed bungalow style was located orihuela costa and in good location to beach and all amenities. Off course some of my fellow owners think I mad and are sure that the prices will rise in the not too distant future – who knows – anyone got a crystal ball handy 😀

[Anonymous]

Well done. I imagine in the current climate that’s no small feat.

I think too many people are fixated about money and lose sight of big the picture. Your percentage loss is very similar to mine. I signed up off-plan in 2004 and got the keys 2007, sold in Feb 2009, but placed the property on the market in November 2008. One month at a very low price (the lowest in the complex), but no takers and then dropped to 35% from purchase price, sold within about 4 weeks.

A complete waste of time, effort and money starting from 2004!! This was not my holiday home it was purely an investment so was never occupied.

We are not far off 2014 and I imagine when we get there the market will not be very different from today. Without selling that would have been 10 years of holding a decaying property sapping every penny!

You only have to look at the for sale section on this board. Someone places a property for sale at market value without a hope of selling. 6 months later they have lowered it, another 6 months later lower again. 3 years later it’s substantially lower, but still with no hope of selling as it STILL market value.

I have a story of an elderly Spanish friend that was nearly killed in driving to check on his country home that he no longer uses as circumstances and age prevent him. I advised the family to sell the home, before the accident, at a low price to just get rid of it and start enjoying the money, as the elderly friend will be dead by the time the market recovers. Little did I know that the action of driving to the property COULD be a cause! It’s still not sold as the price has not been lowered and it’s still empty of course.

But unfortunately money clouds the mind! The thought of selling something cheaply to get rid of it is a hard pill for people to swallow, but they fail to see that life is moving on and that it’s passing them by until it’s too late.

I am sure you feel that a real weight has now been lifted off your shoulders:- no burden of a money sapping Spanish property. I have been there so I know that feeling very well!

Good luck with the rest of the process.

[Anonymous]

@jp1 wrote:

Well done. I imagine in the current climate that’s no small feat.

I think too many people are fixated about money and lose sight of big the picture. Your percentage loss is very similar to mine. I signed up off-plan in 2004 and got the keys 2007, sold in Feb 2009, but placed the property on the market in November 2008. One month at a very low price (the lowest in the complex), but no takers and then dropped to 35% from purchase price, sold within about 4 weeks.

Good luck with the rest of the process.

Hi jp1,

Thanks for the reply. We bought in 2004 but the apartment and phase was being built, we took possession 2005. We used it has holiday home and usd it several times a year so I feel in that sense we got our money’s worth. I thought we would have it until we retired but the interest rate in Ireland where I have the mortgage is very high, so even though I’m taking a hit now by 3 to 4 years down the line of servicing this high interest rate the hit would be absorbed if you know what I mean. We have had many good holidays but it is not like renting when you have a holiday home you still have work to do in some form or another when you get there – a lot to be said for walking away at the end of the holiday if you are renting.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations!! (Some) norwegians seem to stil have loads of money to spend, probably the economic crisis has not penetrated yet Scandinavia. The apartment will easily lose an extra 25% of the March 2012 value before the bottom is reached.

[Anonymous]

@flosmichael wrote:

Congratulations!! (Some) norwegians seem to stil have loads of money to spend, probably the economic crisis has not penetrated yet Scandinavia. The apartment will easily lose an extra 25% of the March 2012 value before the bottom is reached.

Thanks Flosmichael. The Norwegian Krone is very strong against the Euro and also they have record low interest rates on which to borrow in their own country giving them great buying power.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Angie. However the Norwegian can book a currency future deal & wait for six months & pick the properties at a much more discounted rate. What ever that percentage rate would be.

[angie]

I’m sure you’ve made the right move Angela, jp1’s advice is spot on, you can move on and put it behind you.

To add to jp1’s example, we met a Scottish couple who bought a similar sounding apartment but on Alhaurin Golf. When we met them, their property had been on the market for nearly 3 years with no interest and we met them 4 years ago. So, 7 years in total, they won’t reduce the price, it’s still on the market, they pay all the community fees etc, it now looks dated, it’s in a noisy area of the golf course, and the Developers have gone bust so there are now skeletal blocks of unfinished apartments and townhouses all around.

They use it for occasional holidays (boring) as it’s same old place, and crime there is quite high so they never know whether it’s broken in to or not. They just can’t think of themselves lowering the price so are stuck with it 🙄

[Anonymous]

Commercial pragmatism is difficult to acquire !!!!

[Anonymous]

@angie wrote:

I’m sure you’ve made the right move Angela, jp1’s advice is spot on, you can move on and put it behind you.

To add to jp1’s example, we met a Scottish couple who bought a similar sounding apartment but on Alhaurin Golf. When we met them, their property had been on the market for nearly 3 years with no interest and we met them 4 years ago. So, 7 years in total, they won’t reduce the price, it’s still on the market, they pay all the community fees etc, it now looks dated, it’s in a noisy area of the golf course, and the Developers have gone bust so there are now skeletal blocks of unfinished apartments and townhouses all around.

They use it for occasional holidays (boring) as it’s same old place, and crime there is quite high so they never know whether it’s broken in to or not. They just can’t think of themselves lowering the price so are stuck with it 🙄

God there situation sounds dreadful – I know people live in hope of prices rising and no one likes to bite the bullet but in Ireland we have learned from from our experience – prices here have dropped by 60% on some properties and still falling. Thank God I have several very good holidays with the kids while they were young and they got to meet several different nationalities, it will be a wrench packing up personal items but once I close the door on the apartment I will be happy.

[Author]

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