Spanish authorities have ordered the demolition of dozens of homes in a Tenerife fishing village in an escalation of the drive to clear the country’s shores of illegal properties.

Residents of Cho Vito were evicted last week and their homes bulldozed after a judge overturned an appeal to save the cluster of 31 dwellings

Seems like this has reopened the fears of many living along the Spanish Coasts as it appears to reveal a determination by the government to implement its controversial coastal law, with as many as 500,000 properties at risk.

First posted on the 15th August, but reposted as it has received some interesting comments and exchange of views!

With all the ‘bad press’ that the overselling of property by (primarily) UK Estate Agents has received recently I was (initially) pleased to come across something called the Federation of British Estate Agents in Spain as my initial impression was that this must be good news.

The European Commission is taking the Spanish government to the European Court of Justice over the law, which was introduced in the 1990s and allowed developers to plunder rural land belonging to homeowners if they could persuade authorities that it was suitable for urban developments.

Thousands of British property-owners have had their Spanish homes demolished or devalued by exploitation of the law by developers, who are also able to charge landowners for the services they need to complete building work, such as roadworks, drainage and electricity.

The fact that Martinsa-Fadesa have filed for bankruptcy will in all probability mean nothing to most of you ……… until I tell you that they are the largest property developer in Spain!!!!

The papers are talking about a meltdown and that buyers who have made down-payments on properties that they have not yet taken possession of could find themselves losing everything.

The Spanish government are refusing to help out the industry taking the view that the private sector must be responsible for solving its own problems:

In my previous article on The Costas, I linked to an overview of buying property in the various Spanish coastal regions and gave more detail on the Costa Almeria, which includes Almerimar.

I thought as the summaries were useful ones, that I would now look at each of the other costas in turn. Today it is the turn of 2 of the best known ones: the costa del sol, and the costa blanca, the latter of which seems relatively reasonably priced.

From a legal point of view buying a property in Spain can have many complications and peculiarities. As I discussed in my previous post, there are many different taxes and duties the buyer has to arrange. (If you missed this article please click below). Apart from these financial considerations, there are a number of other difficulties that a buyer can experience, which can end up costing a lot of money if they are not solved in time.

For anyone who has decided to buy a property in Spain, as with anywhere else, there are a number of financial considerations over and above the sale price. I have already discussed annual costs and sales taxes in my previous articles; in addition interest rates, if you are taking out a loan are an important factor, and for expats buying anywhere abroad, exchange rates come into play.

Further to my last post on Gibralter, corrupt or not, somebody must be making some serious money, since super-deluxe penthouses go for around a million pounds! Here’s an extract from a recent Telegraph article on property overseas:

This is the third in a series of articles about the cost of buying property here in Almerimar, and effectively in the whole of Spain. The previous 2 articles dealt with the likely cost of purchase of off-plan and re-sale property respectively, and if you missed them the first time around, please click on the links below, and don’t forget to check out some useful comments that have come in:

Almerimar Property - Buying Re-Sale

This article gives a rough guide to the buying process for re-sale properties:

Once you have found a second hand property that you want to buy, and your offer has been accepted (unlike making a non-bindng offer in the UK), in Spain you will be asked to sign a reservation contract, or in some cases a more detailed private sales contract. This also requires you to pay a small deposit usually in the region of 3000€.

He’s an interesting idea that I read about in an article yesterday: if you are not too sure about a property you are thinking of buying in Spain or elsewhere abroad, why not see if you can move in for a few days, or even for just one night? Sometimes things that look perfect in the sunshine by day, have a very different feel at night and early the next morning!

Today I read yet another article, about the dreadful situation some British expats are in, with their homes threatened with demolition due to illegal building which they knew nothing about. This follows on from previous posts the last of which was:

Expat Homes Threatened

Following on from my article yesterday, which talked about where you might still be able to pick up a bargain on the costas, here is a recent news article which underlines AGAIN how difficult the property market is everywhere at the moment.

“According to figures released today by the Spanish Estate Agents’ Commission, around 40,000 Spanish estate agencies - nearly half the total - were forced to close last year, coinciding with a 40% decline in property sales. As a result, it is estimated that around 100,000 estate agents lost their jobs during 2007.

For me the reported turmoil in the Spanish property market is just an interesting news story, as I have no immediate plans to buy more property here and am happy with the home I have. But to the many back in the UK it must be a major factor in putting them off making that move to Spain, or even investing in a much wanted holiday property here. Noone wants to lose money, and recent news from around the world has highlighted that investing in property is definitely not without risk.

It seems as if the situation regarding expat homes that have been illegally built is starting to get very nasty: “Hundreds of Britons fear that they could lose their homes on the Costas in what they claim is an “out-and-out persecution” of the expatriate community.”

An article I read today follows on from my previous post: ‘Dream Home Demolished’. Another English couple fear that their bungalow just outside Vera here on the Costa Almeria is about to be demolished. Next weekend they will be among thousands demonstrating outside their local town hall.

It seems as if the credit crunch in the UK is definitely beginning to bite. I was reading a new property article this morning about the market in the UK, and included was some news on property sales in Spain. This came via one of the big UK house builders who have a mainland Spanish part to their business, and who have reported a big downturn in sales over here between 2006 and 2007.

Following on from my previous article: Homes in the Sun Under Threat, it appears that the demolishions have actually started, and this one is actually in Vera, in our province of Almeria!

“A British couple living in Spain have become the first expatriates to see their home demolished in a move that threatens thousands of properties built on the Costas. Thousands more expatriates living on the Costas could see their homes demolished after it emerged the properties - bought in good faith - had been built illegally. Local corruption and the flaunting of planning laws have allowed swathes of the Spanish coastline to be developed during the last decade.

Ok so for now I have made my choice to be based here in Spain, but for anyone still thinking of buying a property abroad, Eastern Europe keeps coming up as a viable option, AND even for we ‘already expats’ further property investment is always a thought!

An interesting article this week discusses this, and how optimistically 2007 started for the new EU members before the ‘credit crunch’ hit. Even now “EU membership has brought about a measure of confidence and stability that had been absent from the market before 2007,”

I found this great article about the perils of buying off-plan. It was originally published 2 years ago but I think the sensible points of advice still hold true.

What I also found particularly interesting was the fact that EVEN 2 years ago the writer was suggesting that the time had passed to make a quick buck by buying off-plan and selling on before completion.

Despite all the concerns about the property market in Spain, it still reigns as a good choice for expats looking to live or invest abroad, as long as they are careful.

“The recent property market upheavals have created ample opportunities for finding wonderful bargains in Spain – but caution is vital in choosing what you buy.”