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I am currently monitoring the state of the property market in Camposol Urbanisation near Mazzaron just for a laugh because alot of English expats have bought property there and they think that it is a great place when in actual fact the place is a dump consisting of houses made of prefabricated concrete blocks imported from Torrevieja. Some say living in Camposol is living the dream – more like living a nightmare in my opinion. There was a TV programme on ITV in the UK some months back highlighting problems with the construction of some of the houses there like subsidence and cracks appearing down the walls.
At the moment the property website rightmove is showing 201 houses for sale (not including flats/apartments) in the Camposol Urbanisation which is quite alot really and the large supply of property on sale can only mean that sellers will struggle to sell their properties. Can the large number of properties on sale there be an indication that people are desperately trying to get out before the proverbial manure hits the fan?
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@mark wrote:
Camposol is at the bottom end of the market but even people with small budgets should do their research – after all it’s probably a lot of money for them.
Anyone thinking of buying there should rent for a while first.
An interesting video about subsidence problems on the Camposol Urbanisation as shown recently on UK TV:
That video was a real revelation to me. Before seeing that video I didn’t appreciate just how bad things really were at the Camposol Urbanisation, what with buildings falling apart and roads buckling, its an absolute nightmare. I really feel sorry for the couple in that video who paid 189,000 euros for their property in 2008 that is now unsellable, worthless because of the structural problems it has. Because the property is unsellable it really does mean that you can buy a property in Spain for just one Euro after all. The properties shown in the video will almost inevitably become unsuitable for habitation and thereby unlivable over time.
Problems on the Camposol Urbanisation
Many of the properties have construction problems particulary on Poligono‘s D7 and C15. All of these problems related directly or indirectly to subsidence. In November, 2008 Grupo Masa withdrew all it’s contractors and subcontractors off-site claiming they had no further finance to carry on making repairs to either the properties or the crumbling infrastructure. At that time approximately 75 properties were awaiting repair under the ten year guarantee. However that number has increased significantly since then and is now in hundreds. Indeed much of the planned infrastructure had also not been completed. Inadequate public road drainage and road surface quality is causing ongoing, continuous, and in some cases alarming damage to private properties. Continuing subsidence as a result of a lack of compaction of the substrate prior to construction and poor workmanship in construction of both road and pavement is a continuing problem along the lengths of Calle Cazorla and Calle Araucarius in particular accounting for some 51 villas in total . This has lead to property walls subsiding damaging foundations to boundary walls. Excess rain water pours into gardens, many swimming pools have cracked and subsided and in the basements/underbuilds of the properties again subsidence of up to 4 feet has been witnessed. Raw sewage has also been detected in these areas as a result of collapsed and broken drains under subsided roads and as a result methane gas is also in evidence…Large cracks are also prevalent on the road asphalt surface, some up to 2-3cms. wide. The road drainage also falls the wrong way (away from the drains)…Following recent heavy rains residents worse fears materialised when one villa tilted and started to collapse. The residents have had to move out into temporary accommodation prior to obtaining re-housing. A number of other villas also reported numerous cracks appearing both internally and externally which have been deemed as repairable by the developer. Another Villa has also moved.
Believe it or not some people who own property on the Camposol Urbanisation have been angered by the way the recent ITV television programme ‘Homes from Hell’ portrayed the area.
Spanish holiday home owners angered by television programme
They claim the programme only highlighted problems from the past and failed to make it clear these had been rectified and that the vast majority of property owners and holidaymakers were now very happy with the development.
One resident was so upset by the way ‘Homes from Hell’ described Camposol that he contacted the producer. He explained to the programme maker that in his opinion Camposol is a wonderful development and that the majority of residents and holiday makers are happy there. The resident went on to suggest that it was about time a TV program was produced showing the good side of Camposol.
It’s unbelievable that some residents of Camposol should take offence to a television programme that tells the truth about the Urbanisation, what bloody cheek. Whatever you do DON’T BUY A PROPERTY THERE!
In answer to my original question as to why there are so many properties for sale at Camposol on the rightmove website it turns out that it is because residents are desperately trying to get out before the entire place falls apart and makes all their properties unsellable.
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I’ve been thinking about this. The problem is that maybe there are people who have decided that they have to be positive. We can all write on a forum telling the truth or a pack of lies but there are people who are going through hell with regards to property.
They have probably paid their whole life savings into a place which is now worthless. They read/hear/see on the tv/radio/web that the Spanish property market has crashed, that property is worthless.
I’ve seen a few people just break down from the stress. The daily grind of wanting to change things, to turn back the clock, to have sold years ago. One has moved back to the UK after finally being lucky enough to hand their keys back. Losing everything they’d spent. Another is sitting it out but their mental state isn’t great, they are hating life and it’s very sad. Another person who I sort of knew actually commited suicide leaving three young children. I not going to start judging the rights and wrongs of that but just to prove that the situation is very serious, more serious that the casual observer would probably even begin to imagine.
Maybe these people are talking up the area because it is the only way to keep them sane. They have realised that they have to get by each day the best they can. If they’ve put all their savings into a property and then live on a state pension what are they to do? Sell their property for 10k? Move to a rented studio flat up north in the UK? Maybe it’s just a little bit easier to stay in their place in Spain and try to talk positively about it. Hoping that things will get better?
It’s not a great situation for many people. In Mazzaron there is a ‘country club’ which was when the dreaded Almanzora Country Club near my town went pear shaped that the company shipped people off to Mazzaron. Shameful the way that the corruption was left unregulated and is still pretty much in the dark.
There are too many people who are living in a ‘homes from hell’ situation. Those back in the UK seem to sneer and laugh and say ‘we told you so’ just as if all of us who bought in Spain had been laughing about the mugs back in the UK. I think all those who were ever laughing were those who bought off plan in Spain pre boom and then sold up during the boom and made their money. They are laughing. Those stuck there definately aren’t. I think that it is shocking that British Government has done so little. They’ll send millions in aid to other countries but have ignored their own people. People who have usually paid their whole lives into the British system just to spend their last savings on a retirement in the sun. Why has there been nothing official from the Government asking about British subjects in Spain? The Ecudorian President supported his people and their troubles in the Spanish property market a few months ago.
What can be done? How can the nightmare come to an end? What is the solution?
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” I think that it is shocking that British Government has done so little.”
I agreed with you up to this point. Once you pack up and leave the UK you are on your own. There is nothing the UK can do as its within Spanish sovereignty.
And what are they supposed to do, pay the mortgages of people living abroad? Hell, lets bail out the entire UK property market. I’d like someone to pay for a a mortgage for me, sound great. Tax everybody else.
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But if people have been duped in a european country why can’t they call on the consulate or the British Government to ask some questions on their behalf in the halls of the EU offices? I believe that a UK euro mp did raise some questions a while ago? I thought part of being in Europe was to have some uniformity? Stupidily too many British people didn’t think too much before paying deposits but many of the estate agent companies were registered in the UK. British people are suffering and you then say that once they have left they are on their own? That’s bit harsh isn’t it. On the front page of a newspaper today there is a story about how much Britain pays India and how they have spent millions on space travel. What about some legal help in the EU courts, or at least a comment in their defense when the Junta de Andalucia make public snide remarks about the Brits? What about help with a legal team which the owners pay for but at least one they can trust and who speaks spanish? The world has a compensation culture but in the case of buying in Spain there is no comeback? What I don’t agree with is the amount of Brits who still believe that the villa they paid 150k for is still worth that amount. They just have to accept that everything has crashed in price.
What are they supposed to do, I don’t know, that is the million dollar question. If you start suing Spain for their wrongs then it’ll start a bigger problem but there must be some way of getting people the chance to get out if they really need to? They are going to take forever to legalise homes and lots of owners will have died before they get their papers. Then add those who have been stung by corruption with legal houses. ie, it’s all ok apart from this or that. Those people also can’t sleep soundly at night. Such a shame and it is keeping Spain down as well as no one can trust anything they do.
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