I have been thinking the same thing for the last 12 months and can't understand it either, surley there are some owners from Mallorca who view this site, we have owned in Cala D'or for 5 years now and it was the best thing that we ever done and plan to move here full time once we have moved on our third daughter (15 now) Not really an ex pat but are part time at it as we are there each month. Will keep on looking anyway to see what is going on on the mainland as well
Steve.

Hi Steve. Think I might have spoken to you before on this site. I keep looking for people's experiences on buying in Majorca but there doesnt seem to be any on HT (good or bad). I have been trying to persuade my hubby to buy an apartment in Majorca but he is not keen, he would prefer Greek mainland. I notice you visit every month. Is this just for long weekends? One thing I have noticed, flights dont seem to be particularly cheap to Majorca and then there is the cost of car hire/taxi which all adds up
We aren't old enough to retire (and we have an 11 year old son) so it would be a few years before we could think of living abroad permanently
Do you get any rental income from your property? Look forward to hearing from you.
Gail

Hi Parq, I think the majority of folks on this forum tend to buy off plan in mainland Spain or the Canaries, and they just share their experiences to gain knowledge from one another which is a good thing. We own on the Algarve and dont seem to get many other members who have bought there sharing their views & experiences either, but its nice to see the members of the main topic resorts helping each other out.Good luck with your future purchase where-ever it may be. Cheers Jayjan

Hi Gail, nice to hear from a fellow Mallorca lover, over the years we went all over the place looking at apartments and decided to buy in Lanzarote in 1999. but was gazumped twice in Puerta del Carmen so we took this as a warning from above and ended up in Cala Egos just outside Cala D'or, we have a 2 bed 2 bath with our own garden but shared pool on a private complex that after nearly 6 years has doubled in price so i am really glad that we bought when we did. We book our flights as soon as they come out mostly with BMI or Thompsons from Brum or Coventry as we are to let our business run itself for short periods, we mostly stay Thurs to Mon and have bought a left hand drive car that we park at the airport so we get to our house in less than an hour from landing,This was the attraction for us to Mallorca 4 hours Walsall to Cala D'or great but i am really fed up with flying. The flights are more expensive this year but there are still some bargains to have if you look. We let a few friends and our Daughters use it but otherwise we are there most of the time,going the 14th Aug for 3 weeks. this is someones site who rents theirs.

http://www.choosespain.com/property/299
As you can see from the prices of £ 875 per week July Aug Sept there is money to be made so give hubby a shove and start looking in Sa Coma!!!! best of luck,
Steve.
PS. i wish Tis would hurry up and go on holiday!!

Hi Steve. I have looked at a few sites with properties for sale in Sa Coma but wonder if this particular resort may have reached saturation point for apartments. There seems to be a lot for resale and new build. I know I shouldn't think like this but if for some reason we had to sell, we would be in competition with loads of other owners wanting to sell and we might lose money. Still, it's a gamble I would take
Gail

Hi Gail, If you are out to make a living from your investment then you are right about Sa Coma. we stayed 2 years 97&98 in Vista Badia and the place was alive but now there are so many apartment blocks that you just have to think well where are all the people going to go. From the Kings to Millor is now virtually joined or will be next year and there is only so much beach area. A shame really but thats how it is. You have to forget about your favourite place and invest where you can get a good return unless you can afford not too. Even the smallest of places are going for over €150,000 so it really is a gambol. In Cala D'or a 2 bed 2 bath will fetch €265,000 + tax. Some around the Marina start at € 750,000 2+2
Crazy!!!! Anyway wherever it is i hope you find your dream,
Best wishes,
Steve.

Hi Steve. Never been to Cala D'or but I would like to try it. I have only been to Sa Coma in low season (May and October) so I don't know what it's like in high season with regard to the rental situation. I know it's very British (and I usually avoid those type of places like the plague) but I love the place (my hubby hates it). So I need to find a place that is OK for maybe renting out and also where we can enjoy visiting. The last few times I have been to Majorca have been with my friend and the kids Had a look at Cala Bona and Cala Millor but, as you say, these resorts and Sa Coma will eventually merge. There's also the issue of all inclusive but that's another story
Gail

Hi 28SAC. Were you listening to our conversation in the garden earlier? We have an apartment in Colonia St Pere and have just come back from a wonderful 2 weeks. We are considereing buying a car, but it would always be in the wrong place, and a taxi from the airport would be expensive. Do you just leave your car at the airport or are there any special arrangements. Any info would be great. Thanks.

Hi Pat, good to hear from another owner, for the first 3 years we rented cars from terrys car hire which worked ok when we visited 4 or 5 times a year and was cost effective but as we visit now each month our own car has saved us a lot of money over the year. We bought a LHD car with Spanish plates in the UK and i drove it to Barcelona and then Mallorca and insure it with Direct line Spain which gives us free breakdown cover. €295.
We park it on the 5th floor at the airport which costs € 650 a year and you can come and go as much as you want and also park there to visit Palma and get a taxi to town. It works well for us as we are there a lot.
We often go to Canyamel for the day but have never been to St Pere, Whats it like? I thought that area was mostly German owners. We are back for 3 weeks 14th August and cannot wait.
Regards
Steve.

Hi all, we are currently in the process of buying an apartment in Cala D'or/Egos. I too found that there weren't many owners on this site but must thank Steve for his advice - you've been very helppful.

We have literally just had our offer accepted after a very long negotiation and have actually been looking to buy in this area for nearly 2 years!

I will post updates as we go through the buying process but if anyone wants to PM me with any specific questions I'd be happy to help.

PS. i wish Tis would hurry up and go on holiday!!

Ta for that! Don't think you've ever responded to one of my posts but sorry if my holiday countdown is a problem for you! Thought I was having a bit of fun but seems my sense of humour hasn't been appreciated!

Hi Tis, i have read all of your post and enjoyed your contribution to the mallorca forum the PS was meant to be meaning that i hoped your holiday would hurry up and come round for you as i know you love Cala Bona, sorry if it came across wrong. Hope you do have a nice time and please keep on counting down,
best wishes
Steve.

We first looked at a development being constructed by a well known UK developer - but that meant living on a building site for 2 years - but the plan and end result (we've been back since) was nice.

We eventually decided on an already constructed apartment in a complex of 86. All of the apartments in the complex are different (size, aspect, floor and price). We first looked at a smaller studio- style apartment with a roof terrace, but thought it too small, then a two bed, two bath middle floor apartment with a very private balcony and both fell in love with it.

Start-to-finish was eight weeks, including raising a mortgage in Spain. The sellers were Kuhn and Partners who were fine, but we arranged our own mortgage in order that a survey was carried out (the security is the apartment not our UK home) - just to see if the lender thought the price was appropriate.

We both love having a home away from home. Mallorca really is a 12 month-a-year island with only some of the more tourist intensive towns completely closing (Alcudia, Palma Nova etc).

You can't beat a stroll in the sunshine on an empty beach in December. The island has a real community spirit out of season and the locals really accept you. It's funny, but our local pubs (bars), one where people know you and know automatically what you drink, are all in Mallorca - you don't get the same community in a large city in England anymore.

One point, don't forget IVA tax (7%) when you buy, and you can't include it in a mortgage loan. But apart from that, don't do or risk anything you wouldn't if you were buying a house in England.

I wish we'd purchased years ago.

Pat

Hi Pat. Where's your apartment? I have been looking on the Cotesa website and they have some nice properties in Cala Bona. Do you think Cala Bona would have a nice community in the winter? It is the east coast where I would like to buy (Sa Coma, Cala Millor, Cala Bona).
We are quite a few years off retirement (and we have an 11 year old son) so if it had rental opportunity that would be a bonus Gail

Hi goingonholiday. Keep us all informed of your progress. I will pm you later. Gail

Hi Gail. Our apartment is close to Colonia St Pere, in a "village" called Bethlem. It's NE coast and we overlook the bay of Alcudia. Most of the sea front restaurants close down in the winter but there are a lot of locals and their bars are all still open - they watch football in the pub in the winter like we do. I don't know about Cala Bona but we went to Cala Millor December and found some shops, bars and restaurants open. The whole Island is different in the winter, and sometimes I almost resent all these people coming in the summer. We haven't retired yet, but don't rent at the moment, although some people on the complex (Steve - a ixture of English, German and Spanish) do. There are problems surrounding that but if I go into it then the post will end up as a 1,000 word essay.

Just do it as soon as you can!

Any other comments please

Hi Pat,
we do not rent out to anyone but there are about 40 out of 86 owners who do rent out on internet sites and this has caused our complex big problems as the sheer volume of people increase the overall costs of running the complex and this upsets the owners who only visit twice a year as they pay the same fees per year. so to rectify this we have voted in an over occupancy levi off €200 for a 1 bed and €300 for a 2 bed apartment per year on top of the maintanance fees. This helps to pay for the extra chemicals for the pool and the extra cleaning in the comunial areas.
At the moment about 20 of the renters have paid this voluntary payment with the others promised so that it keeps the "real" owners happy.
This money is going into the fund for the repainting of the complex in 2007. is this along your lines of problem with your complex?
regards,
Steve.

Hi Steve

We really purchased our place on the understanding that no-one rented. Originally only about 5 owners rented, but now I think it's at least 20.

You're right, these renters get a lot more from the standard community charge than other non-renters. I really like the idea of the over-occupancy charge.

At the last AGM our administrator was asked to investigate the legality of short term renting in light of the new tourist letting act. They did a great job; being lawyers they got the tourist ministry to visit and inspect the complex and give an official ruling. The ruling was that the complex would not be granted a tourist letting licence, so any short term lets would be illegal. Apparently, almost no private villa or apartment complexes qualify for a tourist letting licence.

The administrator wrote to all owners giving them 30 days to sort out their booking, after which time they stated their legal duty was to inform the Spanish tourist board and the UK HM Customs and Revenue!

We'll see how this turns out.

Regards

Pat