hello   I just popped in to say nice site you have . been to the area and still looking . now im going to do some homework & read everything here  . pick up as much information as I can so I know what to look for and what or who to avoid .I have to say with so many horror stories here on TV last year its very worrying .It would be useful if anyone could suggest agents to stay away from  

--Last edited by paige on 2008-02-20 18:53:45 --

Hi Paige, welcome to the forum - hope you find it usefull   Any particular villages in mind?

CR

thank you caverenovator any area within 20km of huescar,cular or baza and agents to stay clear of if you know or any with neg feedbacks

Probably safer to make recommendations rather than negatives. Many of the agents read this so don't want another spat. From my part Matilda at www.ruralpropertydirect.com and Nick at www.rusticom.com gave us great service and we bought through Matilda. You'll also get lots of recommendations for Les and Sean at www.spanish-inland-properties.com

Hello Paige - welcome to The Forum! All I can say is don't believe those scaremongering programmes that were on TV last year. I have met the people who have bought the cave in Huescar that had supposedly been built "from the wrong type of rock!" and had collapsed. Nikki is actually on this forum. The problem was just a small part of the cave, it's all been put right and they have bought the cave bargain of the century. x

Recommendations...

http://www.livinginacave.com/pages/cave-business.htm

Quote :

caverenovator wrote : Recommendations... http://www.livinginacave.com/pages/cave-business.htm

Doh! Forgot to mention that. Sorry Mac!

Quote :

Sally wrote : Hello Paige - welcome to The Forum! All I can say is don't believe those scaremongering programmes that were on TV last year. I have met the people who have bought the cave in Huescar that had supposedly been built "from the wrong type of rock!" and had collapsed. Nikki is actually on this forum. The problem was just a small part of the cave, it's all been put right and they have bought the cave bargain of the century. x

Isn't that typical of the british 'he didn't want to do that' doom mongering attitude.

we also spoke to nick at rusticom and the guys at spanish inland properties but eunded up buying from yolanda at Tierra de Andalucia in Benamaurel (see CR's link). She did a fantastic job answering our never ending questions and being local  knew the area inside out. She also came with us to the Police station regularly to help sort out the residencia, that was a great help.

Hello Paige and welcome!

We bought our cave in Galera from Miguel at Casas Cuevas - the support we got from them was great not only during the purchasing process but afterwards too.  They come highly recommended

Paige,welcome, with regard to Estate Agents there are good and bad everywhere. When dealing with an agent here ask yourself, and the agent,these questions. 1)Do they have an office, (Or are they working just from an e mail address?) 2) Are they a registered business?3)And most importantly how much commission are they going to receive as a result of you buying that property.( Agents have to charge a fee, that's how they make thier living, but we all hear stories of people buying a property in the past for (eg) 100k, and the agent taking 20k in commission. Who pays that? You!
Not all are the same, I recently went to take on a property where the vendor said that another agent had told him that he only needs to sell 3/4 properties a year to make a very good living.
Be cautious, shop around, but above all use a good English speaking solicitor, preferably  not recommended by a developer.
Living here is great. The scare stories that you hear about people in Albox and elsewhere, are unfortunate and the food of tabloids.
Good luck, here is great, we look forward to meeting you.

Just to touch on what Little Ken has said, look around also, in some cases the same cave will be for sale through different agents - prices can vary significantly ie on a 100k cave commissions can vary from 5 to 10k.

Down side is that when your enquiring the cave may not still be for sale as agents rarely communicate, the seller is usually too busy or forgets to inform the other agents that he/she has sold so the cave remains on the books/website.

A good agent will allways keep on top of their properties.

Just a few 'minor' things. Always, always find out whether a) the cave has 'legal' electricity (i.e. is there actually a supply and a meter?) b) water connection c) an escritura d) is it a 'legal' build - i.e. not an animal shed that has been 'reformed' into a habitable dwelling.

We were told that a habitable dwelling was defined as one that has a chimney. Our cave hadn't been occupied properly for over 30 years but we had three chimneys including one for the animals!!!

Not so sure about this but heard that "new" caves were not allowed to be dug legally but that particular requirement seems to be "relaxed" in some areas, not sure if that makes them illegal.

Try the Pink Orchid in Baza - they are a mix of Estate Agent and Social networking cafe. Pepe and Sue used to live in Manchester, Pepe is from Freila and native Spanish, there is nothing they don't know or cant find out. They run an estate agency (cant remember the web address) but you can get to it by Googling Pink Orchid Baza - Highly recommended

Pink Orchid Estate Agency Web Addresses are www.dreamhousespain.com and www.cavehousesoain.co.uk

Oooops the second website should read
www.cavehousespain.co.uk......