Buying Property in Spain

Some of us have only ever dreamed of owning a place in the sun but the reality of owning a Spanish retreat whether for weekends or the longer term is happening for a growing number of people.

Holidays can be wonderful relaxing experiences but for most people they are only a couple of times a year and since they are often in locations or accommodation not visited before, they can be rather a gamble. Buying a home for overseas holidays ensures that you know the location and accommodation and can do what you want with the house to make it a real "home from home", but you may still only be able to stay there a few times a year because work or other commitments in the UK prevent you from spending long periods abroad. However, transport within Europe has now become so swift, frequent and inexpensive that it is possible to have a holiday home in a wonderful location (and climate) which is near enough to visit for weekends. Once there you can simply relax, or use it as a base for exploring the surrounding areas. You'll be surprised at how much you can fit into a weekend and still feel relaxed at the end of it.

With Europe's ageing population more and more people are coming up to retirement age at a younger and younger age. Often their children have flown the nest and many are now selling their homes and opting for something smaller whilst investing the monetary difference in an overseas property.

Then there are younger couples, probably with two good incomes and a taste for foreign travel. Investing in a home in the sun makes an interesting alternative to squirreling it away in a pension fund. Chosen carefully, an overseas property should gain in value and provide a reasonable return from rentals while providing idyllic holidays whenever you want them. It could even be an eventual retirement home.

Of course, there's no shortage of people willing to make an even more substantial commitment by moving lock, stock and barrel to Spain. Now we have faxes, mobile phones and the internet an increasing number of people are no longer working nine to five anymore from a fixed location but are able to relocate their business overseas.

Despite recent increases in Marbella property prices it is worth considering that like for like a property on the Cote D'Azur, France, will cost on average over three times the price. With the introduction of the Euro in the coming years it is likely that property prices in Europe will begin to level out.

So for all these and many more reasons escaping cold, grey and expensive Northern Europe may be the best move yet.