Have you ever wanted to run away and live in the sun? People used to want a second home in a beach town, but now a lot of them are looking further afield for their dream life.
It's a tempting image: sunny weather, relatively cheap real estate, and several direct low-cost flights from the UK every day, making it easy to get to. You might want to retire in the Mediterranean, or you might want a vacation home where the sun is almost always shining. In either case, the overseas real estate market has exploded in the past few years, and there are now companies that can help you find your own Spanish casa.
What to do
The south of Spain is where most Brits go on vacation. The weather and easy access to the beach are big draws, and many people fall in love with the Costas while they are there. But there's a lot more to Spain than just the south, which some people might find too crowded or too hot in the summer.
Even though it's colder on the Atlantic coast, you might want to think about going to the Balearic Islands or the Canaries. Some online real estate agents focus on a certain area. When thinking about the location, you should think about what you want: city or country, how close you want to be to the coast, how you will get to and from the property, and if there is enough entertainment for you. If you plan to retire there, do you want a city apartment near nightclubs or a quiet place where you don't have any neighbours?
Where to Look
You can buy anything from a "finca," which is a piece of land or a house with land outside of town and usually in the countryside, to a "Urbanizacione," which is a housing estate that is usually near the beach. A common dream is to buy an old house to fix up. However, it may be cheaper to build a new house than to fix up an old one.
People want to live in Spain so much that in some places they buy houses "off-plan," which means before they are built. You can look at plans or a model home, choose your location, and help decide how the house will look. This is often a cheaper way to buy, since you only have to pay a small deposit up front. Villas are detached homes that are built just for vacationers. Most of the time, they cost more than other houses.
