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There is a lot of talk about Spanish bank repossessions in the press and on the Spanish property forums at the moment. Some reports suggest that the market will be flooded with repossessed property and that banks will sell these properties at knock-down prices. Websites advertising these properties such as http://www.RepossessedPolaris.co.uk have started to appear.
In reality there is not a lot of truth in the reports that claim the market will be flooded with repossessed property. Spanish banks are certainly having to repossess an increasing number of privately owned properties, but the numbers of these properties coming on to the market is relatively insignificant when compared to the volume of properties made available by developers in recent years.
To put this into context, in 2007 Polaris World – the largest developer of golf resorts in the Murcia region – had over 4,000 properties for sale across its resorts. At the moment the main financing banks involved with Polaris World between them have less than 50 repossessed properties for sale on these resorts.
Certainly some of the repossessed property on offer represents extremely good value. The banks calculate the asking price based on the original mortgage amount - which means that some properties will be sold on at low prices and others will be uncompetitive compared to privately owned re-sales.
For example - today you can buy a privately owned apartment at La Torre Golf Resort for almost €20,000 less than the cheapest repossession, but if you wanted to buy a two bedroom villa there is a repossession available at €20,000 less than the cheapest re-sale.
Where the repossession becomes more appealing to many buyers is with the mortgage offer. On a privately owned re-sale a buyer could realistically obtain up to 70% of the purchase price, however some banks will lend up to 90% against their own properties. The terms will generally be more attractive too on bank owned properties.
In addition to repossessed properties and privately-owned resales, there are additional properties available from the banks due to corporate agreements. A number of the banks have agreed debts-for-assets swaps with developers in recent months. This has resulted in the banks owning a number of brand new, un-used, properties to sell on some of the Murcian golf resorts. Many of these properties are offered at competitive prices and with the same attractive mortgage terms as the repossessions.
Bank-owned properties - whether repossessions or properties handed back by the developer - will be 'sold as seen'. A buyer will need to account for furnishing the property, installing air-conditioning and sometimes putting in new kitchens or even boilers, whereas many private re-sales are sold fully furnished and with many improvements made by the current owners. All of these factors need to be considered when deciding whether a repossession is the best value.
So, if you are looking to invest in a golf resort property in Murcia, you need to consider all of the options – repossessed properties, bank-owned stock and privately owned re-sales. A bank repossession may be the best deal for you, but there may also be better offers out there too.
A specialist firm who can advise you on this is Murcia Golf Properties Ltd – http://www.MurciaGolfProperties.co.uk . The company has the largest private re-sales stock of any agent and has agency agreements with all of the main banks. The company can offer all of the best property deals in the region – whether they be a bank repossession or a privately owned re-sale. Murcia Golf Properties also operate a 'try before you buy' scheme in which you can rent a villa on a Polaris World resort at a discounted price, which the company then refunds you if you buy a property with them.
With so many options to consider the first point of call should be to get some un-biased advice from an independent agent such as Murcia Golf Properties - see http://www.MurciaGolfProperties.co.uk or call 0044 1273 302236 for more information.
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