Looking to buy a new apartment in Estepona - Page 2

Why does it have to be a new build?  I’ve bought four properties, none new build and been very happy with them all.

‘Some’ new builds are poorer quality and ‘most’ are significantly smaller than older ones, even only 10-15 years old. Speak to a good estate agent for advice on developments too. Victoria at Future Homes is excellent! We’ve bought and sold with her and she is very professional and trustworthy.

Hello Irishsundance,

I have just been reading your replys. Have to agree with one of the messages about Wellingtonia it is a little further back and it is priced to appeal to both the Spanish and the foreigners. This and the schools surrounding it will make it a little noisy at certain times of the day. Mesas Homes, South Bay and Ikasa Scenic are much closer (up from the harbour) but they are much more expensive than most of Wellingtonia.

Also with the new Off Plan and under construction developments keep in mind that when the property is finished it is going to cost you a lot more than if you had managed to lodge a reservation deposit with a Spanish Lawyer to reserve one. It is standard practice here and in many other countries that the developer has a launch price (for example 2 beds with two baths at 175,000€) once the developer has put in the base and groundworks say after four months he will increase all remaining units by up to 15%, but usually 10%, the building continues and once the structure is finished (not the internal work) he will raise the prices again by another 10 to 15%.

The most important thing is to find your ideal location and get a reservation deposit down with your own Spanish Lawyer, this will lock your agreed price and you will not be affected by any increases.

Secondly find an agent you can trust and stick with them, going alone will not get you a penny of discount on new properties, agents are paid commission if you buy by the developer if you go in alone you will get a very one sided presentation where everything is rosy and perhaps not hear about any negative points. Also the people on site in the sales cabins are not the developers staff it will be a professional company promoting the development and if you go in alone they simply pay themselves the commissions.

As an example of the price structure we can look at Terrazes de Marbella which was the first new development after the recession finished. You could buy a two bed with two baths etc etc for 210,000€ when it was Off Plan, the last one sold when the development was three months short of completion for 375,000€ and I have seen them sell as resales from the first owners for in excess of 400k

So find your preferred part of Estepona and then check the development quality and prices and go from there.

Regards Bill