Upmarket Spain - myth of the buyers market

I was Recently asked by a client to find a beachfront apartment in Marbellas golden mile

The criteria was a 3 bedroom apartment with good seaview upto 1.6 million close to Marbella centre. The client wanted to know he was getting a bargain buying in Spain
After contacting my network of 8 local agents in the immediate area and receiving 100 property details it soon became obvious that none of the agents had any real deals. Most property sent did not match criteria, very few were near the sea. The ones that were with sea view were tired and needed considerable sums spent on them to achieve the standard of luxury this client required and would take his budget well over 1.7 million

As with many clients they beleive the press that there are a mountain of repossessions in Spain ready to be snapped up, there for the taking.

For those that bought in the golden mile the majority were probably looking for the best location and buying without mortgage. At this level they are not under pressure to sell. Even if the recession has had some affect on their lifestyle at this level people often juggle their finances without having to panic sell.

Spain does have give away property for sale but much of them are found in out of the way back hill destinations or overlooking the motorways or where the architect must have studied a degree course for social housing in 1970´s Peckham. There are masses of repossessions or cheap property available in the bottom of the market.

The picture certainly changes when you approach Marbella, Puerto Banus and the luxury enclave of Sotogrande. In Sotogrande there is a shortage of property for sale as many villas after 3 years on the sales market are now rented or simply withdrawn due to owners seeing offers well below the price they wanted.

Whilst there is the odd bargain in the luxury market they are for those who live local and get the whisper early through their local networks. If you simply phone an agent monthly and hint that you may be able to fly in if its interesting enough normally means you will miss out.

There are possibly 20 prospective buyers here in Sotogrande who say they want to buy a villa all making statements along the lines that they will buy something that was 4 million for around 2 million. Many of these claimed buyers have been in rented accommodation for over 2 years still waiting for the one bargain that never seems to arrive or if it does it isnt quite the outlook or design they want.

For many of these people agents smile and continue to forward property but I suspect many of them will remain in rented for some time to come.

Its the same old story if you are very specific with your requirements then in the upmarket areas more often than not you will need to pay or go without.

With the uncertainty people who want to live here have put plans on hold but most people will run out of patience as another cold UK winter looms and then they will return to find "a place in the Sun"

Rentals July August 2010 in Sotogrande

What is happening this year with Holiday rentals in Sotogrande

It seems that the demand is well down. Those that are seeing good results do so off the strength of past bookings and good service. Whilst Tailor Made do not provide holiday rentals the fact is that last year through March April May we were receiving around 6 to 10 inquiries a day from people seeking a July or August rental

This year I have seen around 3 inquiries a week.

So the time is right to reconsider the strategy for your rentals. Many people are switching over to Long Term Rentals opting for a steadier reliable income.

For those that want to continue holiday letting www.eurolonglets.com is a website where you can advertise for Free and the free period which ended September 2010 is about to be extended for a further 12 months.

If you are interested in switching to Long term rental options then please call me Francis 687569427 or office in the port 956790320

Also if you need to insure a villa as a second home or as a holiday home please contact me for a brochure we can assist with such insurance in 44 countries

Holiday Home insurance abroad

Do you have a holiday home abroad which is vacant much of the year ? Are you renting out your spanish villa to long term tenants or holiday tenants?

If the answer is YES! Then you need to make sure the insurance you took out when you bought the villa covers you for holiday or long term rental. If you are not renting you need to make sure it is covered when vacant.

We can provide just such insurance. Fully comprehensive, Lloyds underwritten policy,Insured when occupied or vacant and insured if it is rented Long or Short term.

Contact us for terms and conditions

For more information on insuring your home abroad in many different countries email Francis Payne sales@tailormadesotogrande.com or phone 0034 956790320

The Hideaways Club An investment and a holiday

In Sotogrande Spain, Tailor Made estate agents

are appointed to promote and sell shares in a property fund that invests in Luxury Villas around the world. This is an investment in freehold property with the advantage that you can stay in anyone of the stunning locations. Those who bought into The Hideaways club 4 years ago have seen the investment rise in value. A share 4 years ago would have cost just over 170,000 pounds. Now to buy a full share costs over 245,000 so profit despite the recession. The portfolio stands at 26 properties and more are added each year.
For those who are interested there is a fully equipped beautiful villa right here in Sotogrande.

We have been promoting this investment to a number of merchant banks who are under pressure to reduce bonus payments so need to find alternative solutions to renumerate high performers. Why not buy into The Hideaways and offer your high performer 6 weeks in luxury villas in stunning locations , or maybe use the villas for high level meetings between directors. For the bank this renumeration to staff can be shown as an assett investment.

This form of investment works well for those who dont want to have the hassle of maintaining a property abroad or who do not like to holiday in the same place. If 6 weeks is not enough you can add additional weeks by buying more weeks.

If you need to sell then the administrators are obliged contractually to sell 1 second hand share for every 2 new shares sold. To date none of the 150 members have asked to sell their share which is a testimonial in itself.

see pictures of the houses click on this link

call francis 0034 956790320 to discuss further or we can send you a pack with all the information www.tailormadesotogrande.com email sales@tailormadesotogrande.com

The estate agents fee are they worth it

The 30 minute phone call
appointmnent agreed
15 minutes to get there
30 minutes to assess
1 hour to discuss and agree
1.5 hours preparing spec
40 minutes attend on brighter day for pictures of product
7 or 8 hours setting up promotion websites portals hardcopies, window cards
45 minutes per property preparing adverts
cost of adverts with no guarantee of selling every property
20 attendances in 12 months 15 min each way travel say 1 hour each viewing
20 minutes Vendor calling in calls to discuss market
20 minutes Vendor calling in to change price
4 or 5 hours agreeing contract terms
4 or 5 hours assisting with problems and there are always problems

Oh dear it hasnt come off and the deal is dead calculate the lost time

Another 10 viewings average time with buyer 1 hour and finally another deal
2 hours preparing & often amending several times the sale in hand details
few more hours meeting experts
several hours negotiations
several more hours chasing lawyers, surveyors, quotations

loose deal due to arguments over costings

few more hours retreaving deal between both sides

Finally a completion

Multiply this by 160 properties on your list and keep in mind that you may only sell 40 to 50 of them

Howm much work does an estate agent provide free of charge and how much do we actually get paid for. The get paid for part is a small percentage

Calculate the cost of this amount of time spent for a plumber electrician lawyer

Occasionally a property comes on the market and sells quickly, vendors often believe its down to the property. Often its more down to an agents costs in getting noticed by prospective buyers. The more hot buyers they have is often down to the more advertising and promotion that they do.

A buyer walks into an agents office or comes to find an agent because of the costs the agent has spent in attracting that buyer

Estate Agents do provide a good service for the charges they make. In UK commission is lower but there you expect to sell 4 or 5 times more property than in Spain.

Estate Agents Sandbanks in Poole Dorset : General Chat

Sandbanks Blog good to have your say about Sandbanks its residents,the property in Sandbanks and Living working on Sandbanks

Do not always believe what you read in the papers they love hyping the glam.
The glam is in the beauty of the place. Get out of the car and walk the area allow 2.5 hours to walk all round it with time to stop off for a drink at the Haven Hotel waterside bar, or maybe breakfast in Le Cafe or lunch in Cafe Shore. On a cold day a hot chocolate in Jazzys after a brisk beach walk.

Make a comment on your experience but only after you have walked the walk. Too many people doing a circle in the car then leaving with a clueless opinion.

your opinions below

Francis : My Telegraph Sanbanks Poole

Sandbanks Beach Poole in Dorset United Kingdom South Coast

About Sandbanks and who lives on Sandbanks see this link. You cannot always beleive the press. The funny thing about the Piers Morgan programme on Sandbanks was that 98% of the participants were not from Sandbanks. Click on this link to find out more.

Francis : My Telegraph