Buying a property abroad can be a real mixed bag

On the plus side are all the hopes and dreams of finding somewhere special to enjoy in the sun whether for a holiday, to retire to or an investment and on the negative side is the minefield of where do I start, how do I meet my list of requirements when I live thousands of miles away and how do I find the right place in the limited time available?   Working with Chris at Marbella Property Consultants meant that we just had to think about the good stuff and decide whether or not we wanted to buy the property in front of us. Chris did the rest. Explaining the process, teeing up viewings for the shortlist of properties that we had agreed met our (very) detailed requirements and involving his numerous contacts of agents, builders, bankers, currency converters, lawyers et al, as required, to satisfy every question that we had. This meant that all we had to do was to consider the information and make an informed choice. Proof of the pudding is in the eating. On our first property hunt trip we spent the first two days with Chris and saw no more than 10 properties. This helped us to rule some in and some out. On the third day we ‘second viewed’ two properties that were serious contenders, one of which needed some work doing so Chris had a builder and Architect on site to talk through any ideas that we may have, and we agreed an offer on our preferred property. From that point it was more red carpet treatment as we were whisked around various legal and financial professionals to get a Power of Attorney set up, pay the deposit and get the wheels in motion, all completed by close of business on our third day. From our first viewing to completion took just 41 days. Let me just stress that Chris is probably a great salesman but that was not what we experienced in his very capable care. What we got was someone who was efficient, well organised, professional and didn’t sell to us or push us into a decision that we might later regret. On the contrary at times he was invisible allowing us to view each property at our own pace and in our own way. He was always on hand to answer questions but we were always made to feel that nothing was too much trouble and he was fine with whatever we decided we wanted to do. If we hadn’t found the right place then he would just carry on looking until we did. Buying property is supposed to be stressful but this was nothing of the sort, indeed because Chris had taken care of all the ‘boring stuff’ we could just get excited about starting our Spanish adventure.