Hi Diane

We bought in Altinkum in Turkey 2 years ago. Although prices have gone up you can still pick up a bargain. With anywhere try and use a reputable agent & a solicitor too.

We didn't have any major problems with purchasing - just the usual when buying a place (like in the UK), like snagging the property & getting bits of painting done, etc. On the whole it was a really easy process.

We love our place. I'm not sure if I can recommend the agent here, so I'll send you a pm with the details & of a few other for you to look at. If I can help anymore just ask.

Happy house hunting.

Nik

http://www.turkishprivatevillas.co.uk/

Hi

I bought on the costa del sol 2 years ago and after advice I used a reputable estate agent, especially after hearing about a few horror stories.

For a 2 bed property on a nice complex with a pool, you will be looking at prices from approx £100000. Viva Estates are an English speaking estate agent with a good reputation so I would recommend them. (Ian Botham used them so they must be good lol).

The flight is only 3 hours from the uk and there is ample cheap airlines who fly out to malaga. Also there is plenty of British over there too which can help.

The costa blanca is still slightly cheaper than the costa del sol and you can get a property for approx £80000 with a pool and 2 bedrooms.

Hi Diane,

We've just bought in an area called La Duquesa in the Costa del Sol.

Its in between Gibraltar and Marbella, so is easily accessible from both Malaga (50 mins) and Gibraltar (30 mins) airports, meaning cheap flights are easily available.

I have 3 kids so I wanted somewhere with a short flight, with a beach and restraunts close by.

A lot of the property in the Costas tends to be up a hill unless you can afford a kings ransom, but Duquesa is quite flat and pretty undeveloped.

La Duquesa port is picteresque, with plenty of bars and restraunts and the beach is unspoilt.

......we looked on the costa's, couldn't find anything close to the sea in our price range; eventually settled for an apartment in Tenerife which was cheaper than similar properties on the mainland.
From first viewing to signing on completion - 3 weeks ! No problems at all; bought from a "one stop shop",purchasing/management/lettings under one roof, a lot less hassle.
Can gladly send p.m if any help required;if you want to see what £53k can buy, try the www link below.

We came out a few years ago and bought through Life Espana
http://www.lifeespana.com
It was set up by a lovely couple who experienced a stressful time when they first tried to buy a property.
Another reputable company is http://www.ksmarbella.com
Both have good websites.
Good luck.

Hi l would very much like to recomend you Bodrum or anwahere on bodrum peninsula like many of the british people have done.

Hi
We have recently purchased a beautiful 4 bed villa in Turkey on the 'Turkish Riviera' Belek. This is a beautiful if less well known area of Turkey which means that the prices are so much cheaper than more touristy areas. Ours is on a small and secure complex with a shared pool and close to beaches and everything you will need. We were nervous too after hearing horror stories but everything went through smoothly, less hassle than buying here in the UK. Go for it, I dont think you will regret it.

My wife and i bought in majorca - cala bona - last year for about £120k for a 2bed 2 bathroom penthouse. There are still some apartments in our
complex available but prices are now beginning to shoot up.
We found that most people tend to avoid the ground floor apartments in most places - I presume from the security aspect. You will find that in most complexes these are the last to go! We looked at Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca and even though some people might like it we thought it was horrendous, it is like a concrete jungle and is spreading further inland.

I have three suggestions for you.

The first is simple: you can indeed buy a good quality two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the east coast of Mallorca for around £120,000.
The same apartment in the South-West will cost you at least £160,000.
The mainland demonstrates similar variations in price. Why?

It all comes down to what are perceived as desirable or established locations. If you want to rent out your apartment, if you want to see your capital appreciate and, most of all, if you want to enjoy living there yourself, buy in, or immediately adjacent to, the best area you can afford.
It's a good idea to rent different apartments several times at different times of the year to get a real feel for an area. Talk to people who live there. What you see on a two-week package bears little resemblence to the reality of cold winter nights or out-of-season resorts.

True, there are some up and coming areas but these often have disadvantages. In Spain, for example, the Costa de la Luz (ie west of Cadiz) is relatively inexpensive BUT ask yourself why it is so popular with wind-surfers... Also some areas suffer from a glut of new building (eg Dubai) such that both the rental market and second-hand values suffer.

If you chose an area well-served by many airlines and holiday companies, you should be able to get competitive fares. Anywhere within 30 - 40 minutes of a local airport with a flight time of a couple of hours or so means long weekends are fesable. Once you creep up to 4- or 5-hour flights those impulse (or maintenance) trips become less likely...
Personally, I always favour being within reasonable striking distance of an interesting town or city, eg Sitges, which is half-an-hour's train ride from Barcelona.

And finally, look in the local yellow pages (yes, they are almost everywhere!) for an english architect or surveyor. They will usually be pleased to recommend a good local notary or lawyer. Don't even breathe without one and beware the seller or agent who suggests you use theirs.

Good luck!

Dear Diane,

I have just joined this forum and If you have not bought a house yet,I would like to help you about your house hunting.
I am working for an Eskidji Real Estate Agency in Kusadasi/Turkey which a holiday resort on the Aegean coast.We are a branch of an established company with over 150 branches.If you purchase a house through our company,you will experience our professional service.

Hope to serve you.

Best Regards

Nursel Akin
Eskidji Real Estate Agency
Kusadasi Branch-Turkey

Hi

im a brit who has a 4 bedroom house for sale just outside of kusadasi, it sleeps 8 and can have a extra 2 in the lounge, its a private sale and no 3% commision rates to estate agents out here in turkey, it was built in 2000 and finished in 2001 and designed by me, so the standard is very high, not a slap and dash built villa, its also only 90 seconds from the golden sandy beach,

We can sell this property to you with a Turkish or English Solicitor if you wish, no probs,

PM me for the link to the photos, Price is 55k pounds sterling,

Regards

Paul

Well its 18 months since we bought and boy did we make a great decision.
Buying on the outskirts of Kusadasi (8 miles out )was the best decision we ever made .
Kusadasi is there if we wish to let our hair down but the more local towns of Davutlar and Guzalcamli we much prefer.Probably due to the fact i can have 3 pints and a meal for 4 quid lol.
We live for the day we can retire there.
For those who dont remember we bought a 4 bedroom ,three story villa near to Love Beach .
a communal pool,bar etc
Buying was a sinch and they sorted out our bank account,tax cards,council tax(£12 a year lol)
If anyone wants any advice i will be pleased to help
SGZ092@yahoo.co.uk or pm me

wow that sounds like your right next door to my site, im also on teh love beach, whats your sites name?

Hi Guys
As this part of the forum is for advertising private sales and rentals, can I ask you to carry on your discussion by PM.

Thanks a lot.

Bawbee

Post deleted - duplication.

Bawbee

Hi all, we are off to Altinkum to look at some properties. We would like to find a reputable agent, one that hasn't just set up shop, can anyone help?
We have had a few recommended but how do we know the good recommendations from the bad ones? can anyone tell us who not to go with that might help ? is there anyway of telling a good one?

Is it a good idea to hire a car and find properties for sale on your own ? This would cut out the 3% buyers fee and the seller would save on commission to. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks to all the good advice we have received from this and another forum we have decided to go with an agent or 3 and not to hire a car. Thanks everyone you have been a great help

And for the horror stories in Turkey, that happen nearly everywhere in fast developing countries.

It is always easy to hear the bad news , because people tend to not tell the good stories.

Edited by Bawbee to remove advertising. If you'd like to advertise your business on HT, please contact an Administrator.