Buying a home in Spain and where to settle

Thanks Brenda, I put the website together in the hope that it might help someone looking to buy in this area. I joined this forum to meet people from the area with similar experiences and that has helped. My main concern was the legal side of buying and with (at the time) no spanish or much grasp of what buying here entailed it was really a case of searching for some good advice. I wrote to seven banks and only one replied. I wrote to a few solicitors and two replied, one was very late and a bit vague but the company mentioned were brilliant. There seem to be a lot more things to take into consideration in Spain and even mundane things like buying a new gas bottle lead to lots of complications like safety checks and boilers being condemned! If it helps one person then it was worth it (and it also means I dont have to explain to my friends were the Costa de la Luz is!)

www.findingahouseinspain.co.uk

Hello Steve (and Bren52)

Reading both your posts and the blog brought a wry smile to my face as that's what we are hoping to find too! 

We also squeaked in before Brexit but via the Costa Blanca for several months; then moved to a rental in Costa del Sol. However, we found we could not forego the treasures that Cadiz and Seville have to offer. I actually tried for the same building in Jerez, but the Idealista listing was out of date. We're still looking. If you have any area tips, I'd love to hear them :) Thank you.

Hello Laurianne, 

Many areas in Jerez are wonderful definitely Centro is , sociable and convenient for all your everyday needs  , there’s not really good or bad areas , all areas are a bit of a mixture, as seems to be the Jerez way. The local people are and have been wonderful , very friendly , welcoming and helpfulSo it  is more about finding a home that suits you in an area that is good for your lifestyle, we no longer use a car so for us being close to rail and bus routes works well, we walk everywhere!! I can only really speak of Centro and Santiago , I haven’t spent any time in areas further out , but if you have a car then really all areas are in easy reach , there’s plenty of parking within the centre, so again it’s finding a home that suits your needs.I would without doubt , deal with Konsell’s on Porvera  for all  legal requirements , they have been so efficient  in all things!! We were unsure of all legal / townhall responsibilities , they have explained and helped us with literally everything , registering with the health centre, council tax , personal taxes , advice on anything I’ve been unsure of that’s cropped up. They have taken so much stress away from us . Moving here without doubt is the best move we could have made , easy reach of beautiful beaches, beautiful buildings and  history, close to rail and air connections to the rest of Spain . Andalucia is a very special place ………… I do wonder if possible, if you could spend a couple of days here visiting estate agents , if you would find something not on Idealista. We found our apartment by word of mouth at an estate agent that knew it was coming onto the market , so we were fortunate to have first refusal . I wish you luck with your search , I hope you  find your special place and love it in Jerez as much as we do .If there’s anything  else you’d like to ask , if I don’t know the answer I will probably be able to speak to someone who does, so by all means ask .All the best Brenda 

Thanks for the lovely reply - we're in Jerez a couple of times a month.

We've viewed some properties with Elite and other agents, just not found the right one yet. Perhaps we could meet for a beer at Gallo Azul :)

Hi Laurien

I can only  echo a lot of what Brenda has said. I also spent about four years searching daily  on idealista before viewing two properties in Siglo  Doce and trying to view another which wasnt available really - not sure  why. Two more have been sold since we bought in November last year. There are a number of developments just being started in the Belen area where we are, similar in style. As you probably know Jerez is up  for city of culture in the future so a vast amount is being spent on the old historic centre where we are. Its a bit of a building site in places where several old buildings are being renovated and two new museums built (flamenco and Lola Flores). There is a new development where one of the old bodegas is being renovated/rebuilt near  Fundador which looks similar to ours. If anything comes up in our development I will let you know. Brendas comments about how friendly and helpful people seem to be in our particular area are absolutely the case. Its hard to describe how different is the reception we have had, in comparison to that of France where we had somewhere for a lot of years. The bank manager was fantastic in Jerez and as Brenda mentioned Konsell were and continue to be just excellent. We are in Jerez from  the 7-21 of september  - let us know if you are in town at all -  Im sure either Brenda and Dave or ourselves will  be lurking around near the Gallo Azul :)

Best of luck

Steve

Steve, you are always so much better at explaining things than myself !! Whole heartedly agree with all of us meeting up whilst your here …….. El Dave and myself have been known to lurk about quite a lot !! Hopefully we’ll all meet up soon ! 

Thank you for the encouragement! We'd love to hear.

The Fundador development may be interesting as well - if we can find who is marketing it. We'll definitely be there between those dates; may I pm you closer to the time? 

Yes absolutely, we will look forward to meeting you . I echo Steves words , that if we hear of any interesting  new properties , we will update you. Quite often September is a good time to buy , the holiday let’s have finished and some owners will be looking to sell . What sort of property are you looking for ?

3+ bedrooms and somewhere to park.  

Like you, our covid-caused delay impacted our budget, so sensibly priced.