There are many problems in buying off plan properties in Spain. Many of these created by people believing in the estate agents speel and then using the lawyers connected to the agents.

check out spanishpropertyinsight.com

I notice that they say it is possible to make gains of up to 100% in 24 months. Also property is rising by 15% per annum. Perhaps those with property in Spain could say if they have noticed this?
As for buying and relying on rent she is braver than I am! We have recently taken the plunge and decided that we would only spend as much as we could afford assuming little or no rental. Did she say the rental was guaranteed? Is she using an independent lawyer? You are right to be concerned.

I would tell your freind to wake up,I think it is very bold of them to guarantee to let the place enough to cover such a large mortgage,if that is indeed what they are saying.How long have your freinds been looking at this.
Stephen.

.......don't know about the mainland, but probably our apartment in the Canaries won't be worth 15% more in a year...it would be unwise to purchase anything on that assumption. Property is for the longer term, where peaks and troughs of values can even themselves out.

While the idea of rentals paying the mortgage is very attractive (glad we didn't need one), the reality can be somewhat disappointing; there can be hidden and/or unforseen costs which could reduce income to a more modest level than you are led to believe......

Quite simple, Vegazone. Get your friend to ask them how they rent out their properties, and how many weeks rental they can get for the villa. One thing's for sure, they won't get many through that website. Then get her to ask for contact details of owners of other villas they are renting out, making sure they match whatever form of advertising they're doing, and then get her to contact them to ask how many weeks rental they get for them.

If she's buying offplan, personally, I wouldn't use an agent for buying unless they were members of a trade association like FOPDAC.......

http://www.fopdac.com/

I have looked on this companies website and all the properties they have are in the Estepona region around Manilva and Casares.

This area has seen a boom in property prices bigger than the rest of Spain. Bigger than the Costa del Sol around Fuengirola and Benalmadena and so this area will have "peaked" for the moment. If I were looking to invest in a region like Manilva then I would want to be satisfied with two points.

1. Is the area a new development area which would mean that my purchase is one of the very first developments in that region. Then I woud look at buying for future investment growth but little rental.

2. Is the area a well constructed area where all the developments are complete and the area is now just having "filling in " developments in pockets of land. If yes and I like the area I would buy for future investment and current rental.

The area your friend is buying in is right in the middle of the two points above so my advise would be, Do not buy. Your friend will not get a rental coverage for their mortgage from this area and the only way a company will offer guaranteed rental is by inflating the original purchase cost ( beyond the rental income so more profit for the developer). When this period ends your friend will struggle.

The Estepona region is to far away from Malaga airport and until a new airport is constructed then people will not be happy to travel more than an hour from Airport to Apartment. Gibraltar is close by but very limited.

Although the Costa del Sol has seen large increases in property, it is still a good area to buy in for the long term investor. But you either look at an area along the coast within 40 minutes of Malaga airport, where you have good shops and facilities that tourists want, or you go inland to a one hour maximum and buy a property in a rural area but with facilities close by ( 10-15 minute car drive).

I hope this advise helps and may I offer your friend good luck and best wishes with whatever they choose to purchase.

We looked at Costa De la Luz and teh rental was only 4-5 months a year at best, as most spaniards take holiday July and August and rest of time a few golfers and dead...
Also the 10% government tax on £168,000 , £16,800 is very high and a terrible start for anyone buying in Spain. It aint that great and the prices are too high. Stuart

Be careful with guaranteed rentals. If the guarantee isn't a full legal contract then it's worthless. Even if it is, there have been cases here where the contract is not with the same company that is selling the property. Then after a year the company that did guarantee you the rentals goes tits-up and you've had it.

thanks everyone.

My friend told be brieflt that its off plan and the nearest airport is Gibralter, when I got excited and said 'oh great we can pop off for a weekend of sun without paying for a hotel she said that we would have to pay her mortage for the week we spend there. She said that 'they' have told her that 'they' only need to get it rented 20 weeks of the year to pay the mortgage off for that year.

She said they have offered her 100%morgage and there lawyers do everything for her all she has to do is sighn. She went last week with her'ex' bloke it's his'friend' that works for the people. She is going back in 2 weeks to prob buy it.

"Only" 20 weeks

Where are the 20 weeks coming from, Vega? I'd strongly advise you to get her to follow my advice in the post above. To rent out a villa for 20 weeks in the first year is exceptional.

there lawyers

Tell her to get her own.

Tell your friend that one of the only places where it may be possible, and I state MAY BE POSSIBLE, to cover a mortgage on rental income alone, is the Canary Islands. Here there is no season and rentals can run into 40+ weeks.

They told her that they would' easily' be able to rent the apartment to cover the mortage payments...I told her if it was so easy then every one would buy a posh place in spain and reep the benefits. I will pass on your points and see what she does/says..she has a mortgage in uk about £400 a month so I think the only way she can pay the spain morgage is by renting it out, howver when is she going to be able to holiday in it.

I have a property in Estepona and I do not rent it out. Everyboby I know who does however, never has any problems letting. the A/P is 1 hour away and for that reason you do NOT get lager louts. I have never seen a drunk sitting or lying in the streets in Estepona. This makes the place very popular with both young families and retired people.

Arg, I see so much of this. If your friend is relying on rental income to pay the mortgage she should most certainly NOT go ahead. If your friend is relying on rental income to pay the mortgage she should most certainly NOT go ahead. It's important, so I'll say it twice.

Look, all she needs is one bad tenant and she'll lose the property. The rental market anywhere outside the established tourist towns is currently very difficult. People want Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmadena, Torremolinos. They want amenities. If the property is actually in Estepona and near the beach it might be okay - but I doubt it is.

You haven't said exactly where it is - if it's an off plan development that's just starting there's a fair chance it'll never be finished. If the structure is up and completion is looming there are normally resales available from people trying to sell on before completion at a SIGNIFICANTLY lower price than the developer is offering. Most agents won't tell you this because the developer is offering the agent 8 to 10% commission - and the resale doesn't.

Oh, and what Bawbee said - NEVER EVER use the agent's or the developer's lawyers. She should get an independent lawyer, and you should expect him to re-write quite a few bits of the contract the developer wants her to sign.

ask yourfriend to email me and i will tell her true facts on the subject,we bought this year with the same promises

sorry about break,no one can garantee rentals,same promise we had made by a very well know estate agent, by one of agents manager in fact that he would rent out our apartment 42 wks year,we had property in 1 Feb,have had to rent since late summer ourselves,through holiday sites,can recommend them,as he gave us 300 euros in 3-4 mths.our mortgage is double that over there,plus bills.we were looking for cheaper place,one that we could have afforded ,ok the ones we looked at don,t look nothing like the one we have but it wasalready fully booked most of year,with a new rental it takes time to build clientel.make sure you have enough cash to cover the first year mortgage rates bills etc,plus we paid 12% costs on top of property it all adds up.

its the one in caseras

Is it the Dona Julia apartments by the developer Aifos?