Parador Properties

gallygirl

Partner and I have just signed up for 4 day tripr to Costa Almeira with Parador Properties.
Does anyone have any experience of them? Just how hard is the hard sell?
We probably will buy a house abroad at some stage but preference is for Italy & if we were going to buy in Spain would be Costa De Luz, so reckon credit card will be pretty safe. Are only going on fact finding mission (yes, am sure everyone says that!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Cost £49 for 2 for 4 days, 4* hotel, all food & drink and driven about in a car to look at properties - my favourite hobby anyway!!!!! If they throw in a stop at a handbag shop I'll probably think I've died and gone to heaven!!!!!!!!!:j

Now tell me how awful it will be..........

Riog

Dont know alot about Parador but we went on a similar 4 day visit with Atlas four years ago, and never thought we were under that much pressure and really treated the trip as educational. We actually went pretty much knowing we would buy if the right property and price were found and ended up purchasing just over our budget.
The Costas are a buyers market now and there appears to be many resales to be had
for some hard bargaining as opposed to buying off plan so please do your homework prior to departure.
Have a good time.

gallygirl

Good tip about resales - we were given impression off plan was best. Obviously this is where the money is!!!!!

Riog

Off plan is obviously best if looking for a brand new build but you will more likely have
a 18/24 month wait and less space for any haggling over price. A resale should get you a better price bargain and in theory a better choice of area.
Best thing to do is search the net for new and resale propertys before you go and pickup
the local papers when you arrive, that should give you a good knowledge base before
the day trips start.

Conrad

ali007 wrote:

Partner and I have just signed up for 4 day tripr to Costa Almeira with Parador Properties.
Does anyone have any experience of them? Just how hard is the hard sell?
We probably will buy a house abroad at some stage but preference is for Italy & if we were going to buy in Spain would be Costa De Luz, so reckon credit card will be pretty safe. Are only going on fact finding mission (yes, am sure everyone says that!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Cost £49 for 2 for 4 days, 4* hotel, all food & drink and driven about in a car to look at properties - my favourite hobby anyway!!!!! If they throw in a stop at a handbag shop I'll probably think I've died and gone to heaven!!!!!!!!!:j

Now tell me how awful it will be..........

Spain is the last place I would buy just now. There is a huge over - supply of stuff to let, hence falling prices. Spain as an investment is not an option, especially not 'off - plan'. Buy in Spain in a couple of years for 50% less.

For pure investment Id buy in Cape Verde islands (near Canaries, just had airport built, white sand beaches, much more attractive than the grim Canaries so should sky - rocket).

gallygirl

Conrad wrote:

For pure investment Id buy in Cape Verde islands (near Canaries, just had airport built, white sand beaches, much more attractive than the grim Canaries so should sky - rocket).

Problem is trying to weigh up investment opportunity with somewhere I'd want to own a place. Preference would be for east side of Lake Como - with a terrace to sit on & watch sun set over the mountains.... ho hum. But properties there are older, individual houses, which is what I'd want if I was going to live in it, but as a rental property a new build in a complex will be easier to maintain & safer when empty.

Ho hum. Am using visit as recce anyway - intend leaving credit cards behind!!!!

Cape Verde looks great though & I know it's improving. Ho hum again.

PaulUK_4

Parador...

We went with them in 2003, on the understanding we were only willing to buy a resale - and they put us on a New Build tour.

We had already found a private resale apartment we thought sounded good (https://www.costablanca-news.com) and actually went over 2 days prior to our Parador booked flight.

We viewed the apartment (which we liked) and then went back to the airport arrivals area to be greeted as though we had just arrived.

To their credit, they looked after us (wined/dined/etc) for 2 nights, but they didnt have any resales anywhere near our budget. We got fed-up with things and arranged for a taxi at 7am one morning to "escape".

We purchased the apartment for £50k and have just sold (April 05) for £70k.

BUT WE WERE VERY LUCKY !!!

There are thousands of properties on the market now - and Brits dont like to sell below what they've paid, so are reluctant to sell at realistic prices.

You WILL still be able to find bargain resales from German and Spanish owners.

You may like to read the forum at https://www.torrevieja.co.uk for an idea of the current situation on the Costa Blanca.

If I were thinking of buying anywhere in Spain, France, Portugal - I would wait at least another 12 months, or offer 50% of asking price now.

Paul

santana-mx3

I know two couples who have been on the trip with Parador. One couple didn't experience any hard sell (but the lady is Spanish herself which might possibly have affected it). The other couple find it a bit unpleasant as the reps are not paid a salary and only get commission. Their rep wasn't keen on taking them around because he thought there budget was at the lower end of what was posible and he thought he might be wasting his time. Apparently other reps there at the same time were better and more helpful. Some were pushy, others weren't. In some cases other couples had "reserved" a property early on and were therefore seen by their reps as more serious (even though some were not serious at all). There is no obligation to go ahead with any reservation and no money is committed at that stage.

Parador will take you to a hotel which is used almost entirely by them. Your guide will be with you most of the time (including meal times) and they don't like the couples speaking to each other.

Also, when you go and see properties off plan, the standard practice is to tell you there is only one left!

As for whether buying in Spain is a good idea or not, I don't know. Re buying off-plan, there are the issues of who is liable if it doesn't go ahead and who your contract is with (agent, builder etc). The sites are usually around planned golf courses (but what is the guarantee that the golf course will be built?).

Also, I understand that there are differences in inheritance tax laws in Spain ie. inheritting from a spouse is taxable (this is what a Spanish solicitor had told one of the couples I know who went).

I am no expert on any of this and am just relating part of what two couples I know very well told me when they returned. As for what happened to those couples: one went on to buy (but not through Parador); the other was advised against it by lawyers/financial advisors.

Hope this is of some help.