Weekender Alicante South Issue 119

28 FRIDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2019
www.weekender.news
Starting from scratch
SPAIN offers many different
types of properties
compared with say the
UK. Before you start looking,
you should be very
clear on the following:
1. Why are you buying?
(holiday home, investment,
somewhere to
retire…)
2. How will you spend
your time there? (relaxing,
having family come
to visit, doing sports…)
3. Are you going to rent
out the property to cover
the costs?
4. New build or a secondhand
property? Surrounded
by natives or
among fellow Brits?
by Alex Trelinski
5. Which is more important
for you: budget, location,
property type or
nearby facilities?
Types of
properties
SEASIDE APARTMENTS
These tend to be built
specifically as holiday homes.
Aside from the obvious
advantages of sun, sea and
sand, these properties generally
come with shared facilities
like swimming pools and
tennis courts, all included
within the community.
What’s more, thanks to this
they are quite easy to rent
out when you’re not there.
Research carefully because
prices can vary wildly based
on location and proximity to
the beach.
HOUSES AND VILLAS
Another option is to buy a
house in a town or city, or
the outskirts but of course
the price can still depend on
the exact location.
New builds are attractive
for their balconies and gardens,
although older properties
may cost less. Take
care, though, as the longer
ago it was built, the lower
the construction quality
and the more renovation is
needed.
Houses in residential estates:-
Also known as ‘residential
developments’, urbanisations
offer a mix of
most things you could want
– bars, restaurants and
shops – without ever having
to go too far.
There's lots of choice as
they can contain apartments,
houses and villas,
although some are smaller
and don't contain any extra
amenities.
COUNTRY HOMES
A finca or casa rural may
be the most romantic of all
Spanish dream homes, a cot-
tage with land aplenty in the
open countryside.
Often, they will be older
builds, so be sure that what
you are buying has all the
basics – running water,
sewer pipes, electricity etc. A
specialist lawyer will be able
to help you avoid any pitfalls
like the above.
Take care when
heating your home
As winter draws in and
people start heating their
properties, the Valencian
Fire Consortium have
given some advice about
safety at a time of year
when their call outs always
increase dramatically.
Almost half the house fires
they have attended this year
were between January and
April, with the numbers falling
away dramatically when
THE average house price
in Spain increased by
just over 3% in the third
quarter of the year compared
to the same period
in 2018.
The average price per
square meter is now
€1,638.30, 3.1% more than
the previous year but still
22% less than the peak in
by Simon Russell
the weather warmed up.
The biggest cause is electrical
heating appliances in
poor condition, causing shirt
circuits.
Badly ventilated appliances
such as stoves, radiators
and fires also started a number
of blazes and people need
to be aware of the dangers of
carbon monoxide build-up
by Simon Russell
2008 when the figure was
€2.101 per square metre.
However, it is a healthy
12.5% more than the low
point of €1,456 recorded
in 2014 at the peak of the
Spanish property crisis.
Market analyst Ferran
Font said that the latest
which can be fatal.
They advise householders
to check all devices, place
smoke alarms around the
property and never leave
open flames such as candles
burning overnight or if you
are likely to doze off.
Last year across Spain 123
people died in house fires,
16 of them in the Valencian
Community, a mixture of
burns and smoke inhalation.
Property prices in
steady increase
figures showed a steady upward
trend with this being
the eighteenth consecutive
month when prices have
increased.
The Valencian Community
performed above the market
average with rises of 4.6%
while the Balearics (4.8%)
had the biggest rise across
the country.
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