# House purchase in Murcia



## Lorraine314 (May 25, 2014)

Hi all, myself and my partner (49 & 50) are seriously considering buying a second home in Spain with a view to selling up in the UK in around 10 yrs or so and moving out completely for retirement. 
We like the warm weather and seem to be directed to Murcia for many reasons including choice of budget airline airports, mild winter climate, lots of property to choose from. We have considered further south but have heard it might just be too hot during the summer. 
We would also like to be able to get to the beach in around 15/20 mins. More importantly we would like to be near a community, somewhere we can walk to in 10/15 mins for groceries, a drink even a meal possibly. 
We don't want to live miles from anywhere or anyone. I have heard that if we want to live amongst Spanish residents then we have to either live in a city or somewhere remote and that the communities are usually expats - perhaps you can confirm this.
If anyone is also prepared to give me an idea of costs for running a private pool, that would also be helpful. Including views on whether its actually a better idea to buy a house with land for a pool once we are here finally, rather than have one now to maintain and only use a few weeks a year. How do people feel about community pools even?
I would be very interested to hear from anyone with a view and look forward to any response.
Thank you.


----------



## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

I don't think you will find anywhere hotter than Murcia.
Sounds as if Camposol is made for you! An urbanisation with many ex pats, and now has many facilities.
If you maintain your own pool it is obviously cheaper . Companies can charge up to 1000 k per year. Chemicals are not cheap, and you need a variety. Also consider possible repairs, pumps are expensive, leaks are very expensive to sort out, particularly if you have to drain the pool!
Given my time again, I would not have a pool, nice though it is in summer.
However, even a community pool involves cost, and there are issues of hygiene and availability.
The pool is a selling point though.


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

What he said ^ ^


----------



## Lorraine314 (May 25, 2014)

Thank you for your comments they are much appreciated.
We have already looked at Camposol and whilst some properties look very nice, I am under the impression that its a pretty big place and unsure if this is what I am looking for. Pinar de Campoverde looks nice too and perhaps not so big. I guess I have to get used to the idea that I am going to swap living on an estate in Southern England to living on an estate in Murcia. With predominantly UK residents. If I want to remain close to the sea that is.


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

+ we haven't a day under 30º until 17th June. The majority are in mid 30s with a 37º next Thursday ! It gets hotter in July. :lol:


----------



## Lorraine314 (May 25, 2014)

What about the winters though? It can get cold sometimes can't it?


----------



## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Lorraine314 said:


> What about the winters though? It can get cold sometimes can't it?


Yes, you will need some form of heating, gas fire, wood burner, electric radiators or central heating from at least November- March. Because many houses are uninsulated, and having tiled floors, are very chilly and damp.


----------



## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

No one noticed my mistake- although swimming pools are expensive they don't cost 1000 k to maintain, more like 1 k!


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Lorraine314 said:


> What about the winters though? It can get cold sometimes can't it?


Yes as Extranjero says you'll need some heating. I've a wood burner but my place doesn't leak heat being an old fashioned cortijo. Normally though once the sun comes up it's warm enough as long as you don't go in the shade. The sun's out here most days even in the winter.


----------



## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

gus-lopez said:


> The majority are in mid 30s with a 37º next Thursday ! It gets hotter in July. :lol:


Gus

I was in Lorca today—it was much larger than I expected.

But talking about temperatures, I noticed it hit 40º on the car external temperature gauge. Was also interested to see that as soon as we got back to Garrucha the temperature gauge dropped significantly. It's hotter inland than by the sea.


----------



## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Lorraine314 said:


> What about the winters though? It can get cold sometimes can't it?


Yes it can get chilly over the winter months for the reasons others have given so you'll need some form of heating system. Bear in mind though that energy costs—gas and electricity particularly are very expensive in Spain, I think Spain is the third most expensive country in the EU for electricity.

The UK 'norm' of gas fired central heating is virtually unknown in Southern Spain for the obvious reasons, so you'll need to consider the most cost effective form of heating for the winter months. Personally I think localised electric oil fired radiators are hard to beat.


----------



## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Lorraine314 said:


> Hi all, myself and my partner (49 & 50) are seriously considering buying a second home in Spain with a view to selling up in the UK in around 10 yrs or so and moving out completely for retirement.


Is now the right time to be buying property in Spain? I'm not saying it isn't (that will depend entirely on your own motivations and circumstances) but I'm not that convinced in my own mind now is the right time.

I'd strongly suggest you consider all the necessary issues before diving in. Transaction costs (the cost of purchase) is between 10-15% of the purchase price depending on province. Running costs would be something like £2-5k per annum depending on property and facilities.

Taking the lower of those costs on say a 2 bedroom apartment costing 100k you'll spend about 30k purchasing and running it for 10 years. That's a fair chunk of money—you may be better off simply taking annual holidays for those 10 years leading up to retirement in different areas to get a better feel for where you want to be.

The real problem with the Spanish property market at the moment is, whilst the properties for sale seem very good value, if you make a mistake and buy in the wrong place not only will you not get your transaction costs back, you may well get stuck in a property you can't sell in an area you don't like in this current market.

Sinking money into Spanish property is fine if you know where you want to be and intend to be there for at least 10-20 years or more, but if your plans change you could get stuck with a property costing money to run and that you can't sell.

I'm just suggesting you think things through before making any firm decisions.


----------



## Lorraine314 (May 25, 2014)

So apart from Camposol and Pinar de Campoverde are there any nice places I should be looking at where I can walk to a few amenities and 15 mins by car to sea? Even places by the sea obviously but they come at a price usually.


----------



## Lorraine314 (May 25, 2014)

Apart from utility bills and the pool being maintained what else should I take into consideration as a usual monthly spend. Some form of council tax I presume?


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Council tax-yearly
Water , here it is 2 monthly . Some places it is quarterly
electric , as above.
Rubbish -2 monthly. Collected here with water bill
If on an urbanisation then possibly there are monthly community charges.
If the pòol isn't going to be used autumn & winter shut it down.


----------



## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> Council tax-yearly
> Water , here it is 2 monthly . Some places it is quarterly
> electric , as above.
> Rubbish -2 monthly. Collected here with water bill
> ...


Not sure what you mean about shutting the pool down, do you mean putting in invierno?covering? emptying? -not a good idea for several reasons.


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I turn mine off , cover with black plastic sheeting & drain all pipework, sand filter & pump. 
( prevents any possibility of frost damage! & yes I've seen -5ºovernight ! lol)
Pool stays full of water. The black plastic does not allow any light through so water stays clear. I don't use anything except to overdose with chlorine.
I don't know many around here that leave them running over winter , including the Spanish. I only turned mine on the other day & apart from being started last year to clean it , that's the first time it's been running since 2012 :lol: & water was crystal clear when cover removed.


----------



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

zenkarma said:


> Gus
> 
> I was in Lorca today—it was much larger than I expected.
> 
> But talking about temperatures, I noticed it hit 40º on the car external temperature gauge. Was also interested to see that as soon as we got back to Garrucha the temperature gauge dropped significantly. It's hotter inland than by the sea.


Yes , it was hot yesterday :eek2: & it always is inland. That's why I like Águilas & anywhere along the coast towards where you are as it is always cooler & with less humidity. 
Lorca has a population of about 95k, 60k of which actually live in the town ; 
It has the longest high street in Spain & safely holds 2nd place in "hottest places in Spain ." 
 Unfortunately. 
I should have sussed it before buying as it is known as Ciudad del Sol & Fortaleza del Sol. :lol:

I am on the southern side ( Águilas) just behind the new commercial centre , Parque Almenara, so it is a shade cooler than in the town;Which in July & August becomes an inferno. Anything you need to do has to be done before 12 ! 
It's no wonder that most Lorquinos decamp to Águilas from July.


----------



## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> I turn mine off , cover with black plastic sheeting & drain all pipework, sand filter & pump.
> ( prevents any possibility of frost damage! & yes I've seen -5ºovernight ! lol)
> Pool stays full of water. The black plastic does not allow any light through so water stays clear. I don't use anything except to overdose with chlorine.
> I don't know many around here that leave them running over winter , including the Spanish. I only turned mine on the other day & apart from being started last year to clean it , that's the first time it's been running since 2012 :lol: & water was crystal clear when cover removed.


We just run the pump for an hour twice a day and put in the usual chemicals. Seems there are several ways to do it


----------



## Paladin46 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Murcia vs Costa Brava?*

I can't speak for or against Murcia, but I can respond that you might want to investigate the many seaside towns on the costa brava. (North of Barcelona)

My wife and I recently retired from the US to a seaside town of Sant Feliu de Guixols. It is an hour north of Barcelona and 25 minutes drive from Girona ( both are served by Ryan Air, so cheap air fares are available.)

Although not as warm as Murcia, many towns on the costa brava offer many of the "wants" you are looking for, walkable towns, close to beaches, in your case the summer there are quite a few British expats living in these towns, but for the most part residents are Catalonian Spaniards, and very hospitable. Real estate in the Costa Brava is probably more expansive than Murcia ,but then again most waterfront towns are more expensive than inland ones.

Good luck in your search.

-bob-


----------

