Spanish property for sale is the most widely used search engine search phrase for people looking to buy property in Spain. I find that incredible because the most important choice is location and always has been. Once you have found your location then you can narrow a specific area within that location. For years not just Spanish property real estate agents but all real estate agents have been taught that the first rule to remember when looking for any property for sale, not just Spanish property for sale, is location, location, location. Spanish property real estate agents will tell you the same but only about their particular area, which means nothing to you. If you were from Spain you wouldn't know Moss Side from Alderley Edge but the price of property for sale in these areas are poles apart.

So how did we set out to find our dream Spanish property.

Our first starting point was the decision to move abroad.

Second we made the wish list: good climate/within an hour of motorways/cheap flights to the UK/reasonable length of flight times/within 5 mins of the beach/good standards of education & health care/cost of living less than or equal to the UK/town big enough to grow a business/within 1 hour of ski resort/a house big enough to accommodate parents staying for long periods within our budget.

We then compared different continents:

Australasia- too far for family visits

The Americas - similarly too far for visits and lacking in the European cultural diversity and history.

Africa - Non starter with children due to poor health care and education. South Africa we felt was too politically unstable with high crime figures.

Asia - Again too far to travel for family visits with too many cultural differences. Concerns also with regard to health care and education.

This left property in Europe which we soon narrowed down to the Mediterranean countries, because of the favourable climate. We looked at areas and properties in Italy, France and Spain. Upon our travels we found Italy expensive, both in cost of living and property and in some places quite scruffy. France was expensive both in cost of living and property. With France we found obvious cultural differences and integration more than challenging. In Spain, we found Spanish property for sale less expensive and the cost of living was far less than that of France and Italy. We found the Spanish people more friendly and have a natural affinity towards the English. We travelled the whole east, south and west coast, looking at each region on its own merits. We found Catalonia (from the French border down to Valencia) had far more rain fall than the south. State education was in the Catalan language not Spanish and was quite industrial (more lorries, traffic, pollution). Crime figures for the Valencia region were quiet high.

Next we came to Almeria and Murcia which has a proliferation of intensive market gardening with hectares upon hectares of plastic greenhouses. The area was very arid, dry climate and often suffering water supply problems. The main industry is agriculture and are only just thinking about tourism. They don't seem to be learning the mistakes made by Spanish developers on  the Costa Del Sol, as blocks of apartments are shooting up everywhere.

The Spanish province of Granada is much greener than Almeria with a good mix of tourism, expanding communication links etc. See why we chose Costa Tropical

Next is the Spanish region of Malaga and the Costa Del Sol is beautiful in places but over development has spoilt this area and mass tourism has consumed all other industries. The Costa Del Sol has lost its Spanish identity in exchange for a sunny England. Also if you are looking for Spanish property as an investment you have to be careful that an area does not have too much property for sale ie. property saturation. When this happens you may have difficulty reselling your Spanish property or getting the right levels of rent on your Spanish holiday home because there is too much cut throat competition. As you go on past the Costa Del Sol you arrive at the Costa Del Luz which is the Spanish region of Cadiz. It is on the Atlantic west coast, stunning sandy beaches, but little in the way of industry and employment opportunities. Many of these Spanish villages get to be under-populated and thus out of holiday season tends to be quiet. Also the prevailing westerly wind can be a little tiresome all year round and the Atlantic Ocean much colder.

The northwest region again, suffered persistent Atlantic wind, larger levels of rain fall and colder ocean water.

Because we were looking for Spanish property for sale within 10 mins from the beach and within an hour of an international airport, this narrowed our search to several specific places. All we then added was the requirements of all the family members, (good health care, good education, good business environment and good all year round levels of social activity). This narrowed out search to the Costa Tropical and because of my enjoyment and necessity for business, the typically Spanish town of Almunecar in particular. This searching process took our family over two and half years of planning, research and searching. Only at that point was it feasible to start looking for Spanish property real estate agents and Spanish property for sale in detail.  Before this point we only looked at property for sale as a gage of afford-ability, which at the end of the day is a fools errand because the price of a 4 bed roomed villa can vary by as much as 60% within the same area.

Spanish property real estate agents came in as many different types as the Spanish property for sale with the vast majority, unqualified and not belonging to any trade organisation ( giving you no recourse for complaint). Spanish property real estate agents charge Spanish property sellers between 3 and 5% of the sale price. More than the UK but similarly to the United States they earn it because of the vagaries of the Spanish property conveyancing system and the bureaucracy that goes with it. Combine that with the usual mixture of nationalities and difference of cultures. For example if you want to buy Spanish property for sale from a Spaniard don´t expect to be able to negotiate the price down by much. A few euros if your lucky! In fact if the property does not sell and Spanish property prices have risen, they too will hike up the price, even if the property will sit on the market for another twelve months! Frustrating if that is your dream Spanish property for sale. But a good Spanish real estate agent is worth their weight in gold as they can liaise with all concerned and often have a better all round knowledge of  all the different factors involved in buying in property for sale in Spain.

For example we recommended a client to an agent  and subsequently bought some land ( when he gets the planning consent it will be a bargain price for this property) and the agent has helped find builders, architects, irrigation engineers, arrange meetings with the mayor, change the land classification, get electric, register title, pay the taxes, buy a water supply contract and submit forms and applications to Granada all within two months of purchase. The agent has also devised a way to split the land and make two houses worth 350,000 euros each. Our client will end up with his dream home for nothing! As I said before it is very important to have the right team of trusted professionals to help you, as you will save thousands of euros and save a lot of stress!!

Take a look at why property buyers chose the Costa Tropical in Andalusia and also you can check out more detailed information on the villages within the Costa Tropical.