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- Categories: Spanish Dream Homes Tags: apartments , bankia repossessions , bbva repossessions , beach resort , buying in spain , fincas , foreclosures spain , living the dream , recession spain , townhouses , villas
Living the dream or facing the nightmare ? For many a mediterrenean lifestyle in a warm climate with a dream home by the sea is the ultimate dream. However, Spain has been hit hard by the eurozone crisis and to many the dream has turned into a nightmare. Those who took out mortgages during the boom years up until 2008 have been facing negative equity and the suddenly very urgent perspective of potentially being repossesed by the bank. Simultaniously unemployment in Spain has hit an alltime high with more than 25% of the workforce out of work.
Thousands upon thousands of expats have traded the dream of a life in a beach resort for a return ticket to their homelands. Leaving behind less demand for services and housing. Combined the consequences for Spain and the expat community have been dire. All the bigger banks such as BBVA, Santander and Bankia have thousands of repossessed townhouses, fincas, villas and apartments on the books that theyre trying to offload at bargain prices.
Not everything is doom and gloom though. The weather is still excellent in Spain, the tourists are flocking the beaches, the food is as excellent as ever and the lifestyle is still charming. It is also worth remembering that the crisis will end. If not today then maybe tomorrow. Point being that however hopeless the employment situation and property market seems at the moment, there will be a hefty upturn too around the corner someplace. With property prices at a level not seen this low for decades this lends you a golden opportunity if you have savings or solidity to secure a mortgage for purchasing a Spanish property.
Dont buy one if youre on a tight budget or reliant on securing a job locally in Spain to pay for it. But if you want a longer term return on investment it may just be the best option out there – the demand for properties is artificially low due to the crisis and the banks limiting lending. Thus, prices are due to bounce back when the economy starts recovering and if you have invested in a Spanish property in meantime, you can reap very tidy profits. Particularly if you research a strong location and a solid property available at a bargain price via the bank foreclosure schemes. You can compare the Spanish foreclosure market to the situation if you were to for instance Buy U.S. Foreclosures, and you will soon discover that whilst the same crisis hit both market – Spain is hit the worst. Basically, that makes it all the more important that you have the economy to safely pay for your purchase, but it also commands a bigger potential profit in the long run.
Do your homework. Check the market and individual properties carefully. Acquire the help of a lawyer … but dont give up. Living the dream is still possible and in fact potentially very profitable too, if you manage to find the right property at a bargain price. Those dream homes are available in Spain right now at fantastic prices. Just do your due dilligence and dig out the best one for you and your family.