AIPP Buying Guide Editorial 2019.Indd
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AIPP BUYERS GUIDE THE INDUSTRY VOICE. THE INDUSTRY BODY. THE INDUSTRY STANDARD. HOW TO BUY OVERSEAS PROPERTY SAFELY 14TH EDITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH ADVERTORIAL INLAND PROPERTY SPECIALISTS Country Fincas is a fully legal and long- recommend a local lawyer who are planted with vines, almonds established real estate agency specialising speaks your language, help with and olives. In February the your mortgage application, etc. fields are filled with pink almond in rural property in the inland regions of Our experience, fluency in the blossom. Alicante and Murcia. Spanish language, network of Pinoso has many bars, local experts and extensive local restaurants and shops, a new 24- knowledge has proved invaluable hour medical centre, dentists, two for many of our happy new home primary schools and 1 secondary he company was and Hondon Nieves, Fortuna, owners. school, a theatre. There’s an founded in 2009 Yecla and Jumilla. We offer a full after sales excellent Sports Centre with T by Karen and Our name is Country Fincas service, helping to make the outdoor swimming pools, tennis Brenda and we but we sell all kinds of properties! transition to Spanish life that little courts, football pitches and have a registered and licensed We sell Fincas, country houses, bit easier. Our dedicated, team gymnasium, library and many office in Pinoso town centre. Our villas, town houses, land and live in the local area and can offer other facilities including a customers can have confidence apartments. help and advice on all aspects beautiful picnic area among the that we are an official, trustworthy We listen carefully to our of life in this traditional Spanish pines, complete with barbecues, and permanent part of the customers and aim to match community. seating areas and running water. community. you to your new home quickly At a position of 450 meters and efficiently, we are happy to Pinoso above sea level, the countryside • We have a multilingual team show you as many properties as The beautiful and thriving town provides a contrast between the here in Pinoso. necessary in order to find the of Pinoso is approximately 45 green pine groves of the Sierra • Karen, Brenda, Maggie right home for you. We know each minutes inland from Alicante del Coto and the white soil of the and Callum speak English and every one of our properties and the white beaches of Costa vineyards growing the Monastrell and Spanish personally so we can answer all Blanca and close to the Murcia, grape and produce highly-rated • Marieke speaks English, your questions in detail. Alicante border. red wines. Rose, white and Dutch, Flemish and French It has a population of just Fondillon dessert wines are also • Jan speaks German, Dutch Don’t worry we help under 8,000. Pinoso, also known produced and form part of the and English. you all the way! as El Pinos is named after the ‘denominacion de origen’ wine We are here to help you find pine trees that cover the areas area of Alicante. We have a portfolio of more than your dream home and assist you mountain ranges. Pinoso provides The two main airports of 700 properties in the Alicante throughout the buying process to a Spanish rural lifestyle, no Alicante and the new Murcia and Murcia regions and we cover make the process as smooth and traffic lights, hardly any traffic, airport are both 45-minute drive. the towns and villages around stress free as possible. practically the only jams are For Golfers there are several Pinoso including Sax, Salinas, We can arrange your NIE, caused by the tractors taking the established and famous courses Elda, La Romana, Hondon Frailes open a bank account for you, grapes to the Bodega. The fields with 40 minutes. | AIPP Contact Details Office: 0034 966 180 624 | Mobile: 0034 630 976 105 | www.countryfincas.com | [email protected] Calle Canovas del Castillo 9, Pinoso, Alicante 03650 AIPP BUYERS GUIDE BUY RIGHT, OWN WELL ver heard the saying “buy in haste, repent at leisure?” Buying a foreign property can be a great investment, E offering a wonderful lifestyle. But caution should be exercised, advice taken and precautionary steps heeded to effectively deliver it. That is why AIPP publishes this guide - now in its 14th edition - and available completely free of charge. AIPP is a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2006 to guide and assist British buyers of a foreign property – all our services are entirely free to you, the buyer. We focus on two key areas; 1. Consumer Education & Protection Peter Robinson, CEO, AIPP London and 2. Trade Best Practice (appropriate aspects of our work are endorsed by UK National Trading Standards - Estate Agency Team). We are funded by our 370+ corporate members from 31 countries around the world; AIPP members want you to have the best experience possible in pursuing your property dreams. Our members comprise AIPP does not sell agents, property developers, lawyers, banks, currency specialists, media and other trade professionals. Do take the opportunity to foreign property, research and connect with AIPP members in your country of choice on the AIPP website; www.aipp.org.uk. we do our best to Each AIPP member abides by our code of conduct and business members offer recourse through The Property Ombudsman, should this make sure it is sold be required. This is not available through non-AIPP members, so buyer beware! Ask non-AIPP companies to provide genuine references, take properly them up and, if buying off-plan, make sure you are clear about how the development is being financed. A foreign property purchase usually touches upon significant financial, tax, legal, estate planning and other ownership-related matters. If you are unsure how to best navigate these please do contact an independent financial adviser. Make sure you use a truly independent lawyer to look after your conveyancing. There are many, many successful and happy tales of buyers enjoying their foreign property purchase. Take a few sensible precautions, do your homework and join their happy ranks. Read on and find out how, with our compliments. | AIPP © Copyright AIPP 1 AIPP BUYERS GUIDE TODAY IS NOT LIKE YESTERDAY (THE LAST FOREIGN PROPERTY BOOM ENDED OVER 10 YEARS AGO) round 800,000 & lawyers. Some foreign banks, overseas properties as principle funders, became A were bought by unwitting owners of many failed British people as property developments and have, To support second and retirement homes over the last 10 years, been British owners, before the global financial crisis completing and selling them off (GFC) started in 2008. A peak at discounted prices. But most AIPP has set of around 70,000 British buyers of this stock has now been sold, were active in the foreign property with that remaining perhaps up a sister market in 2007, there are now of little interest to foreign around 30,000 British buyers of buyers looking for a well-located organisation; a foreign property each year. holiday home. the Alliance of Many of those buyers continue Plenty of property was built to own their properties, but some in highly questionable locations International do not – having rushed into as cheap development, finance poor buying decisions. Lack of and speculative capital growth Property research, poor industry practices drove the markets. Some banks and rashness has led a significant have retained choice land sites Owners minority of foreign property acquired from failed businesses buyers into trouble. and now, with perhaps 10 years But what these new buyers hard-won property experience, are witnessing is a landscape are developing sites themselves. of foreign property opportunity Such developments from banks register for our free newsletters, transformed during the past might offer the prospect of better help and advice. Extending into recessionary years. Gone are the due diligence and an attached all the major aspects arising in large Brit-owned foreign-based (conditional) buyer mortgage foreign property ownership, the estate agents heavily marketing offer. Alliance supports British resident themselves aggressively into, As the market continues to owners of a foreign property in particularly, the UK. recover, there will be renewed 4 keys areas: The agents who are left have focus on new-build property, proud reputations to protect, driven by the higher and 1. Knowledge & Support having traded successfully in attractive margins for sales (including free legal advice) showing great customer care agents. Consideration of whether 2. Representation to authority through the lean years. to buy new-build or resale is (National & Supranational Gone too are most of the highly covered in page 9 of this guide. Governments) speculative property developers To support British owners, 3. Offers & Discounts with little or no experience in AIPP has set up a sister (to lower the cost of using land, construction, development organisation; the Alliance of your property) finance or customer services, International Property Owners 4. Owners Community Hub. many with very unhealthy (AIPO). Both owners & buyers relationships with banks, agents should visit www.aipo.org.uk to | AIPP 2 AIPP BUYERS GUIDE GETTING STARTED o where do you begin? Ok, so you think you know which TOP TIPS... country you want to buy your property in - most people S will have visited a country and region many times before deciding to buy there. Many people will be buying with a husband / wife / partner, so it is vital you two are both aligned. You may not intend to rent your property Our top tips to ensure you are both ‘on the same page’? out but circumstances can change - a Each take a blank sheet of paper and a pen and sit in separate rooms. property you personally fall in love with Then answer the following questions and compare results.