# Axarquia, a good area for retirement ?



## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

My first post so here I go ! We are hoping to early retire in 2015 and are considering villages in the Axarquia area. We would like to be walking distance to a village/ town but have a wee bit of land for planting of veggies and fruit trees. 

We will start our village search at the end of this year around the Lake Vinuela area. We want to be within an hours drive of Malaga airport as we are 2.5 hours from major Scottish airports and its a pain for travelling further afield. Any suggestions for areas where we are likely to get a property with land near a village to town.

We hope to rent initially then buy. We realise that buying might not be for everyone ( and has definite risks ) but having lived in tied houses for a greater part of our married life it's important that we have a place that we can improve and alter to our taste. Our pension income will be approx £2000 per month for 10 years till the State pension kicks in, is this a reasonable amount ?

We have looked at various property websites some of which are selling the same properties: is it best to just visit areas and contact agents whilst in Andalusia doing research ?
Thanks for all the info I have gained already with lots still to research.

Portygirl


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

In this area that amount of income will be perfectly fine. Regardless of what others might post, the cost of living in this area is a lot cheaper than UK. You will be very happy here!!!


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

Thanks, I realise that we will have to budget carefully as costs are rising everywhere but hopefully our pension income will give us a reasonable lifestyle.


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

portygirl said:


> My first post so here I go ! We are hoping to early retire in 2015 and are considering villages in the Axarquia area. We would like to be walking distance to a village/ town but have a wee bit of land for planting of veggies and fruit trees.
> 
> We will start our village search at the end of this year around the Lake Vinuela area. We want to be within an hours drive of Malaga airport as we are 2.5 hours from major Scottish airports and its a pain for travelling further afield. Any suggestions for areas where we are likely to get a property with land near a village to town.
> 
> ...


 In the Lake La Vinuela area there are two ways to get to Malaga airport, either way is within an hour of the airport, the coastal motorway, or driving the scenic route to Casabermeja and from there straight down the A45 into Malaga. 

There are many small villages in the area and houses and villas scattered all over the place. Many of the villages are very close to each other and several urbanisations in between. In the Vinuela area you have Puente don Manuel, Venta Baja, Alcaucin, Los Romanes. It has become a busy area with much going on. Living in this area you are just 20 minutes from the coast with a great shopping Mall at Velez-Malaga.

The local Estate agents are called La Maroma. The guy who owns it is local to the area


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

Thank you, great information.


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## katie_banks99 (Jul 28, 2014)

Hi Portygirl, I've been reading posts on this site for awhile as we plan our move to Spain. Our situation is very similar to yours and, we too, have homed in on Lake Vinuela area. Have you made the move? How are you getting on? Any top tips?


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

It's a nice area. I would be very cautious buying anything built after 2004 as there are thousands of illegal houses in that area. Take your time


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Isobella said:


> It's a nice area. I would be very cautious buying anything built after 2004 as there are thousands of illegal houses in that area. Take your time


I was just about to post the same thing, but I think 2002 is actually the "important" date. Personally I'd play it safe and not consider anything built within the last 20 years.

Not saying there aren't completely legal properties around, but you MUST make sure any property you are interested in has a licence of first occupation and proper mains electricity and water supplies (rather than just a builders' supply known as a contrato de obras, which some houses are still on several years after being sold and occupied). 

Take a look at the SOHA (Save our Homes Axarquia) website.

Sorry, I should have said that these issues tend to affect almost exclusively houses built outside of towns or villages, either in the countryside or on recently built urbanisations.


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## katie_banks99 (Jul 28, 2014)

Great advice. Many thanks. It's a shame because some of the new builds look lovely, but wouldn't want to take a risk with something so important. Thank you.

Out of interest, I am a keen dog lover and enjoy long walks - are there areas they can be walked off lead? (I realise this is off topic, so apologise if I am in the wrong place).


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

katie_banks99 said:


> Hi Portygirl, I've been reading posts on this site for awhile as we plan our move to Spain. Our situation is very similar to yours and, we too, have homed in on Lake Vinuela area. Have you made the move? How are you getting on? Any top tips?


No, we plan to move at the end of the year. It's proving difficult to find a village we like that has an availability of houses with a decent garden. The Vinuela area is lovely but I'm quite anxious about the volume of illegal houses. We really had planned to buy in the long term but I can see us renting to avoid buying an ilegal home.
We are out again in 4 weeks staying in Nerja just to have a proper holiday but will explore around Torrox, Frigiliana as well as back over Vinuela way.


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## katie_banks99 (Jul 28, 2014)

Best of luck! Please keep us posted with your journey.


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

Lynn R said:


> I was just about to post the same thing, but I think 2002 is actually the "important" date. Personally I'd play it safe and not consider anything built within the last 20 years.
> 
> Not saying there aren't completely legal properties around, but you MUST make sure any property you are interested in has a licence of first occupation and proper mains electricity and water supplies (rather than just a builders' supply known as a contrato de obras, which some houses are still on several years after being sold and occupied).
> 
> ...


As always Lynn great information. The situation with illegal builds does make me really anxious. We lived in tied accomodation for almost 20 years so buying our own home and being able to alter it to our taste is so important, but so is not losing everything ! Finding older properties near a nice village with decent land is proving difficult. The Axarquia being so hilly is another issue but we do just love the feeling as we approach Velez from the airport. It is a wee bit like the Highlands of Scotland where we live at present, with sunshine, of course. The West of Malaga just didn't do it for us.


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## ABERAFON (Aug 15, 2014)

Hi Portygirl,

I had a villa a few minutes drive from Competa, I would recommend this area as it has much to offer and I suspect that you will find the lake area a little too restrictive over time. I know there are some issues re illegal property but I had my villa built in 2004 ( I sold in 2010 and it was thoroughly checked out by the solicitor of the buyers before they paid) and I know of many who have bought villas built in the same period and they were all legal as was mine. There are a lot of properties in the campo which are legal and if you are happy to use the car for a few minutes to get into Competa, I think you will find some lovely properties in the hills around the village and some lovely people to make friends with. You would also get enough land to grow the veggies and if I were you I would try to get something with a pool. There are lots of lovely walks around the area particularly in the hills across the road from the 'Pavo Real' bar on the Torrox Competa road. I would try a number of agents who I know don't take any properties that have not got all the right paperwork, these are Sunset and Taurus, I would also have a word with Competa Properties as they were very good when they sold my villa. Hope this helps good luck.


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

ABERAFON said:


> Hi Portygirl,
> 
> I had a villa a few minutes drive from Competa, I would recommend this area as it has much to offer and I suspect that you will find the lake area a little too restrictive over time. I know there are some issues re illegal property but I had my villa built in 2004 ( I sold in 2010 and it was thoroughly checked out by the solicitor of the buyers before they paid) and I know of many who have bought villas built in the same period and they were all legal as was mine. There are a lot of properties in the campo which are legal and if you are happy to use the car for a few minutes to get into Competa, I think you will find some lovely properties in the hills around the village and some lovely people to make friends with. You would also get enough land to grow the veggies and if I were you I would try to get something with a pool. There are lots of lovely walks around the area particularly in the hills across the road from the 'Pavo Real' bar on the Torrox Competa road. I would try a number of agents who I know don't take any properties that have not got all the right paperwork, these are Sunset and Taurus, I would also have a word with Competa Properties as they were very good when they
> 
> sold my villa. Hope this helps good luck.



Many thanks Aberafon, we did drive around the hills from Vinuela towards Competa last September. It seemed to take forever and we didn't actually get to Competa but just headed towards Velez Malaga. We don't want to be too far from from the coast and also want to be within an hour of Malaga airport, so might be giving ourselves too many constraints. Can you explain why you think the lake area might get restrictive over time ?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I think estate agents' hearts must sink whenever someone comes through the door asking for a property just outside a village, with some land, but within walking distance of shops, bars, etc. They're what almost everybody wants, but as people are discovering there actually aren't that many which fit that description, and even fewer are going to be for sale at any given time.

I can understand people thinking renting might turn out to be the easier option, but finding a similar house to rent isn't going to be any easier. In the whole of the Axarquia there are 1,205 properties available for rent as of today on www.idealista.com, and almost five times that many for sale, so the supply of rental properties (and an awful lot of those will be pisos) is much smaller.


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## ABERAFON (Aug 15, 2014)

Hi Portygirl,

We knew people who lived up in Vinuela and they tended to feel they were a bit out of it and would have preferred to be nearer to Nerja and the coastal villages and towns. We used to go up there for lunch and it was nice but I always felt it would not be right for us, so that together with what friends said made me feel it was not for us so perhaps something intangible. You may like it there as we are all different but it is a big decision to get wrong and I believe there are issues living up there for many. We lived 7 minutes from Competa, 15 minutes from the coast, 20 minutes to Nerja and 40 - 50 minutes from Malaga airport so the area around Competa would fit your criteria. It is also about 30 minutes from Velez Malaga and the shopping centre. You would also be likely to get a sea view from many villas in the Competa Campo. Travelling from Vinuela to Competa is a bit tricky so it would have seemed a long way although familiarity always tends to make journeys shorter if you know what I mean. When you are in Nerja try having a look around the Competa area and visit the village , I am sure you will fall in love with it, if we were ever to return to Spain we would go back to the area, lovely views, lovely people lovely area and of course Campo villa have land for veggies etc.


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## ABERAFON (Aug 15, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> I think estate agents' hearts must sink whenever someone comes through the door asking for a property just outside a village, with some land, but within walking distance of shops, bars, etc. They're what almost everybody wants, but as people are discovering there actually aren't that many which fit that description, and even fewer are going to be for sale at any given time.
> 
> I can understand people thinking renting might turn out to be the easier option, but finding a similar house to rent isn't going to be any easier. In the whole of the Axarquia there are 1,205 properties available for rent as of today on www.idealista.com, and almost five times that many for sale, so the supply of rental properties (and an awful lot of those will be pisos) is much smaller.


Lynn 
You are absolutely right, houses with land within a short walk to the village are as rare as rocking horse droppings - most people find they have to compromise the land or the short walk, although I walked through the hills from the Pavo Real bar to compete on a number of occasions for the joy of it but although about 10 minutes by car it was a lot longer over the hills on foot


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## melandneil (Feb 6, 2015)

Hi Portygirl,
We're just west of the Lake area, and think its going to be a perfect place to retire - clean air, peaceful, beautiful - beaches and mountains on the doorstep. 
I'm probably stating the ovivous here but I was just going to say look at what heating there is if you do buy a house in that area. Winters can be cold and you'll need a log burner. Or two or three.
Mel


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

2k per month is more than enough.



portygirl said:


> Thanks, I realise that we will have to budget carefully as costs are rising everywhere but hopefully our pension income will give us a reasonable lifestyle.


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## portygirl (May 12, 2013)

melandneil said:


> Hi Portygirl,
> We're just west of the Lake area, and think its going to be a perfect place to retire - clean air, peaceful, beautiful - beaches and mountains on the doorstep.
> I'm probably stating the ovivous here but I was just going to say look at what heating there is if you do buy a house in that area. Winters can be cold and you'll need a log burner. Or two or three.
> Mel


I will miss my beautifully centrally heated home so much as we have only had one for the last fourteen years. Before that it was various houses with a coal fire with radiators which only gave background heat. I'll be back to reading in bed with gloves on ! 
My OH just loves an open or log fire so it's his domain and if a house that we consider buying doesn't have a log burner we will put one in.
It is bizarre that Spain is about 30-40 years behind the UK in the insulation and heating of homes.
Still, the generally better climate will more than make up for it.


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## melandneil (Feb 6, 2015)

Yes, agreed, and swapping grey skies for blue. I will miss central heating, and radiators to warm towels on. Worth it though..


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