Spanish Property - Polaris

Thanks Dub75

I'd love to be able to use this property 10 times a year, thats what makes me want to purchase, the fact you can jump on a plane for a long weekend and its only a couple of hours away.

The Community charges seem to be the main one, who are these payable to ?

Is the income and wealth tax based on the value of your property ? Does it change if you rent it out ?

Lysa

The family use it over 10 times a year. I only get over there once or twice a year.

The community charges are for the up keep of the pool, gardening, cleaning the common areas etc.

I think the income and wealth tax is based the value of the property. I'm not sure if it changes if the property is rented out. My solicitor sent me some info on taxes. I'll have a look for them and post them tomorrow.

lysa Cork said:

Thanks Dub75
The Community charges seem to be the main one, who are these payable to ?
Lysa

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Generally the community charges are not set exactly until the project has been in operation for a year and a record of costs exists. Quite often, salespeople will understate the expected cost, but obviously a development with a high level of landscaping and grounds maintenance will have high community charges. If the grounds are full of ponds and waterfalls etc, watch out for expensive community charges!

thanks, we are heading out on an inspection trip on Thursday, I have been on to the estate agent twice but they still cant give me an idea of costs, it seems to me they dont want to tell us the costs as it would put us off buying, I thought this property would be a good investment now it seems it will cost us more money to maintain ... I'm certainly glad I did some research before going out, I think we could easily have gotten caught up in the 5 star glitz and bought without thinking about the costs of maintenance. After reading another thread I think renting someone elses property might be the answer, definately sounds less expensive ....

Hi Lysa Cork

I was going out last month on an inspection trip but cancelled. One of the reasons I cancelled was that Polaris World will have to install a water desalination plant as it can't get mains water. This put me off as I envisage possible ownership problems and costs of running the plant. Also, for the next 5 years the place will be a building site. It will appeal only to golfers from the rest of Europe, it will be miles from town and it will have its own town centre. I would expect high prices, same faces and an insular feel - away from the Spanish and their lifestyle.

enjoy the trip with eyes open

Slim

thanks slim,

was that water problem with the Condado de Alhama project or Murcia in general ....

There is a water problem in the whole area and Polaris World did not get permission to connect to public mains, hence the need for a plant.

Slim

We put a deposit on a Polaris World 2 bed apt on Condado 2.5 years ago. A few months later they informed us they could not get planning permission and moved us to another site on Terazzas de la Torre. Although they gave us a 5% discount it was more expensive than the first property. In Nov 2007, we discovered from an on-line forum that they were cancelling that one as well. However, they didn't even contact us to inform us about the second cancellation. 2.5 years later we still have no property. They then tried to move us to a third off-plan site but the aspect of the apt was not as good (i.e. not front line golf) and although they offered, yet again, a 5% discount, it was still more expensive than the second property. We told them we wanted a refund and they agreed and eventually issued a cancellation contract. However, 6 months later we still have not received our money. We are looking forward to receiving our refund and severing all ties with them. From our experience we would not recommend them. They don't communicate with their customers at all and when things go wrong they are a nightmare to deal with. Check out this website www.eyeonspain.com Look under development forums and you will find discussion boards on all the Polaris World sites. People who are living in those resorts will share their experience with you and give you details on expenses/charges. If you really want to buy one, don't buy off plan. Try to find a resale property from a distressed seller. You should get it much cheaper. Check out the BBC website for their "watchdog" programme. There is a clip there with a report on PW and the experiences of their customers. It certainly does not recommend them.

Hi
Polaris properties are quite well finished but as earlier mentioned they are built in quite isolated areas. You are really only using the facilities in the complex and you would have to travel by car to nearest town or to any truly Spanish restaurants etc.
Their golf courses are nice ,well manicured etc. but they would become boring after a while.
The complexes also tend to be very large. 12000 apartments proposed for one development
Murcia and the general area is quite nice.

Anyone considering a PW development refer back to autos (RIP pal) original reply to this post. PW developments are good value holidya homes....if they get built! The fundamentals of purchashing in a PW are the same as any property purchase. The way the market is in SPain however i do feel you would be silly to buy offplan in a PW project. In the current climate this is an unnecessary risk. There are completed properties key ready which are low risk. They are NOT a money making investment though - holiday home yes, ability to rent to freinds and family yes, but dont expect if you're taking a mortgage on the property for it to be self funding or sell for a large profit in a few years time.

Depends why you are buying.

From what I understand from Murcia, do your homework there is alot of product in the market , there are Polaris investor resales (lots), hard to get rental (high tax when you do get rental), and limited resale.

But it is a serious constructor, with a big presence in the area.

Interesting piece on Polaris World developments in The Guardian last Saturday: Spanish property: the fiesta's over.

I put a deposit of 57,000 euro on a Polaris World property 2.5 years ago for pure investment purposes. Recently realised it would be a disastrous investment. PW cancelled the build last Nov because they couldn't sell their current stock. It took 6 months of hounding them, but I just got my refund in my bank account this morning. Counting my blessings!