Despite the economic dip we are still getting many enquiries about houses for sale on La Palma.
Many of the dreamers are gone and most enquiries that we have are from people who have real money in the bank or have already sold a property.
For some people the crisis has given them a reason to invest in property in a stable market, and La Palma is a lot more stable than neighbouring Tenerife and the Spanish Costas.
For other people the downturn has encouraged them to move forward their plans to leave the chaos, pressure and grey skies of Northern Europe and to make their dream of a house in the sun come true now rather than later.
Of course, we have our share of enquiries from people who think that a 10% downturn in some areas means that sellers on La Palma will accept offers of 40% below the asking price, but the difference in asking price and selling price is no different to previous years and the asking prices are only dropping by a few percent.
La Palma is still a good place to buy property. The island is not dependent on tourism and is therefore pretty much imune from the huge effects that a drop in tourism has had on many other locations.
Most Spanish banks are not keen on giving mortgages to foreigners these days but with proof of income and a good property valuation motgages of 60% to 70% are sometimes possible.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Friday, 2 January 2009
House and pajero in Puntagorda village
Puntagorda, La PalmaHouse 525 has been put on the market by the owners at 152,000 Euros
It is EXCLUSIVE to LivingonLaPalma.com
It is a largely restored typical Palmero cottage with 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen and dining room, small bathroom, covered terrace. When the new plan is approved the house can be extended.
There is a separate pajero (stone shed) has a traditional canary-pine floor and roof which could be renovated and extended to serve as a second house, office, workshop or tourist accommodation.
The 2200m2 land is flat, has fruit trees and parts can be cultivated. Close to the road and just a short walk from the shops and bus stop. It is ideal for people wanting to enjoy La Palma and integrate with the villagers of Puntagorda.
Reason for sale: owners moving to a larger house.
Reason for sale: owners moving to a larger house.
Full details at:
Saturday, 6 September 2008
The Phases of buying a house on La Palma
We get requests from people in all stages of their search for a new life and new house on La Palma.
It helps us enormously if you can tell us at the start what stage you are in. It might also help you!
Generally there are 4 phases. Dreaming, Orientation, Planning and Buying.
Dreaming. 'I would love to live on La Palma'
The La Palma Virus is something that affects very many people who have visited La Palma for a holiday. They fall in love with the island and its people and the relaxed lifestyle.
So what do we suggest that dreamers should do?
Stop dreaming and take some action.
Read the dreaming section ...
Orientation. 'Would we realistically be able to live on La Palma?'
In this phase you should be thinking about the lifestyle, costs, your income and personal limitations.
The costs are basically the costs of buying a house, the cost of the move, living costs, cost of services and future costs.
How do you get that information?
Read the section on Orientation ...
The planning phase. 'We are going to live on La Palma!'
So you have decided it is feasable to live on La Palma.
The next thing you need is to plan the most important aspects of such a move in more detail.
- How do we arrange the move?
- When do we want to move?
- What houses are available?
- How do we make the money available?
How can we help in this phase?
If we have not already met in the Orientation phase then it is better if we can talk face to face the next time you are on La Palma.
We can discuss your detailed requirements with you before you arrive and tell you about the available properties. Not all of the properties are on our website www.livingonlapalma.com
When you are here we can meet you to discuss your wishes and walk through a list of possible houses.
Read the planning section ...
The house purchase phase. 'We are buying a house on La Palma'
Now you have found a property to buy on La Palma.
How can we help you?
Helping people to buy houses and land on La Palma is our business.
We can help you through the entire process, including checking papers, preparing pre-contracts, arranging bank accountsa nd NIE numbers and arrange the appointment with the Notary and support you throughout the whole process.
Read the buying section ...
It helps us enormously if you can tell us at the start what stage you are in. It might also help you!
Generally there are 4 phases. Dreaming, Orientation, Planning and Buying.
Dreaming. 'I would love to live on La Palma'
The La Palma Virus is something that affects very many people who have visited La Palma for a holiday. They fall in love with the island and its people and the relaxed lifestyle.
So what do we suggest that dreamers should do?
Stop dreaming and take some action.
Read the dreaming section ...
Orientation. 'Would we realistically be able to live on La Palma?'
In this phase you should be thinking about the lifestyle, costs, your income and personal limitations.
The costs are basically the costs of buying a house, the cost of the move, living costs, cost of services and future costs.
How do you get that information?
Read the section on Orientation ...
The planning phase. 'We are going to live on La Palma!'
So you have decided it is feasable to live on La Palma.
The next thing you need is to plan the most important aspects of such a move in more detail.
- How do we arrange the move?
- When do we want to move?
- What houses are available?
- How do we make the money available?
How can we help in this phase?
If we have not already met in the Orientation phase then it is better if we can talk face to face the next time you are on La Palma.
We can discuss your detailed requirements with you before you arrive and tell you about the available properties. Not all of the properties are on our website www.livingonlapalma.com
When you are here we can meet you to discuss your wishes and walk through a list of possible houses.
Read the planning section ...
The house purchase phase. 'We are buying a house on La Palma'
Now you have found a property to buy on La Palma.
How can we help you?
Helping people to buy houses and land on La Palma is our business.
We can help you through the entire process, including checking papers, preparing pre-contracts, arranging bank accountsa nd NIE numbers and arrange the appointment with the Notary and support you throughout the whole process.
Read the buying section ...
Phase Zero: Dreaming
Dreaming. 'I would love to live on La Palma'
The dream of a life in a warm climate within Europe is a dream that infects many people once they have visited La Palma. They fall in love with the island and its people and the relaxed lifestyle. La Palma being within the Europe Union makes life a lot easier for EU residents. Visitors often get infected with what we call the La Palma Virus.
At this stage the ideas are vague and people wonder what it would be like to live on La Palma. We sometimes get asked this impossible question .. what is it like to live on La Palma.
There are as many answers to that question as there are people on the island.
It depends on who you are, what you like, your age, what you are expecting, how good you are at adapting, whether you have to work or travel and whether it works out the way you wanted. Its a bit like asking what its like living in Cornwall. If you don't have any income its bad everywhere, if you work in Glasgow and like visiting Harrods every week its a real pain and if you hate tourists then don't live in St.Ives or Newquay.
Somewhat surpisingly we also get enquiries from people who ask for details about a specific house who have never been to La Palma.
So what do we suggest that dreamers should do?
Either stop dreaming and take some action or hold on to your dreams until you are ready to take action.
99% of all dreamers just keep dreaming, which is fine except when they expect estate agents to wave a magic wand to create jobs for them, reduce house prices by 70% and shorten the traveling time to Northern Europe.
Ready to take action? Move on to the orientation phase ...
The dream of a life in a warm climate within Europe is a dream that infects many people once they have visited La Palma. They fall in love with the island and its people and the relaxed lifestyle. La Palma being within the Europe Union makes life a lot easier for EU residents. Visitors often get infected with what we call the La Palma Virus.
At this stage the ideas are vague and people wonder what it would be like to live on La Palma. We sometimes get asked this impossible question .. what is it like to live on La Palma.
There are as many answers to that question as there are people on the island.
It depends on who you are, what you like, your age, what you are expecting, how good you are at adapting, whether you have to work or travel and whether it works out the way you wanted. Its a bit like asking what its like living in Cornwall. If you don't have any income its bad everywhere, if you work in Glasgow and like visiting Harrods every week its a real pain and if you hate tourists then don't live in St.Ives or Newquay.
Somewhat surpisingly we also get enquiries from people who ask for details about a specific house who have never been to La Palma.
So what do we suggest that dreamers should do?
Either stop dreaming and take some action or hold on to your dreams until you are ready to take action.
99% of all dreamers just keep dreaming, which is fine except when they expect estate agents to wave a magic wand to create jobs for them, reduce house prices by 70% and shorten the traveling time to Northern Europe.
Ready to take action? Move on to the orientation phase ...
Phase One: Orientation
Orientation. 'Would we realistically be able to live on La Palma?'
So you have decided, together with your partner, that it is worth spending a bit of time seeing if there is a way that you could actually manage a move to, and live, on La Palma.
In this phase you should be thinking about the costs, your income, the logistics, lifestyle and personal limitations.
You need to sort out the possibilities and impossibilities of:
1. leaving your current location and
2. moving somewhere else and specifically
3. moving to La Palma.
The first part of this feasability study is deciding what you want; to identify your requirements.
The second is seeing if it is feasable for you to realise those requirements on La Palma.
Note: If you want to buy a second home for renting and occassional own use then other factors are involved and some of the information below may not apply to you.
We suggest that you start by looking at the personal aspects, because they are the commonest reasons for not moving abroad. Among many other things consider ...
- Will I miss my friends and family?
- Can I settle in a place where few people speak my language fluently?
- Will I miss my work?
- Will I be able to support myself (us)?
- Will I miss the pub, football, bridge club, theatre, etc?
- Will I miss the BBC and ITV?
- How will I feel if I miss the birth of a grandchild, or the funeral of an uncle?
- Can I live without fish and chips, Cumberland sausage, Pickled Onions and Mr. Kipling cakes.
- Do I have ambitions which are not yet fulfilled?
- How would I keep myself busy?
- What would be the consequences for my (young) children?
If you still want to live on La Palma than move on to the logistical and financial aspects.
There are the interrelated isuues of location and lifestyle.
- Which area would you like to live in? Near the beach? Near the shops? Near the airport? Or just the opposite, somewhere quiet and well away from the bustle, growing your own vegetables, or sipping cocktails by the pool all year round? Do you want to be isolated, or close to a village, or near to other foreigners? Do you want to be able to walk to a bar or high class restaurant? Do you have children who need to go to school? Do you need to work? Do you expect to collect people from the airport regularly?
- What lifestyle are you anticipating. This might sound a bit personal but you would be surprised how many people have contradictory wishes. Contradictory in the sense of wanting to live in a traditional cottage in the woods but within walking distance of beach, shops and restaurants. (This particular combination does not exist on the west side of La Palma). Contradictory wishes between partners are also very common. You will need to answer all of the above questions for youselves, and more, in order to find out if it will be possible on La Palma.
- If you need to work, what could you do and would it be enough to live the lifestyle you anticipate?
- Do you have children who would live with you and need to go to school or find work?
- Do you have family and friends who would expect to stay with you and expect a certain level of accommodation and facilities?
- Do you have special needs? For example, wheelchair access or a Harley-Davidson dealership or specialist medical assistance.
- Do you want a country life, or village life, or a town life, or a beach life?
Then you should look at the financial aspects.
On the outgoings side:
- What does property cost on La Palma? The short answer is that buying a reasonable house on La Palma will cost between 150,000 euros and 300,000 euros. For more luxury and size the prices go up to about 500,000 euros and there are properties all the way up to 2 million euros.
Add about 10% for the cost of buying a property.
Buying land and building might save a little money but you will still arrive at roughly the same prices as buying an existing property and have spent 1 to 2 years waiting for permissions and the building work.
Buying an old tumbled down house and renovating it is becoming much more expensive. That 'bargain' which you may have seen is probably cheap for a reason. The reason is often due to location, lack of permissions and possible unresolved boundary or ownership issues.
- Do you have cash available to buy a house outright? Would you come to La Palma and rent an appartment while taking time and look for a house? Would you need a mortgage? If so would you need a mortgage on the new house on La Palma? A mortgage requirement places demands on the type and legal status of the property you would need.
- What is the cost of living on La Palma?
- What is the cost of the health services etc
Consider the income issues:
- How would you maintain your lifestyle on La Palma, do you have enough income (pension?) or do you have the expertise or experience to earn a living on La Palma?
Suggestions for getting the relevant information?
The personal aspects of moving to La Palma are something that you can only resolve yourselves, perhaps with some help from us and Internet.
There is a wealth of information on Internet if you take the time to look for it.
- Read the other posts on this blog and on the main LivingonLaPalma.com website.
- Read the archives of several of the internet forums related to Spain and emigration. There is a huge amount of useful information in these forums.
- Look on Google for general information about emigrating to Spain.
- Look for government and other official websites, you countries embassy in Spain may have a website.
- Write down a list of things that you would no longer be able to do.
- Think about the lifestyle you expect and whether it is attainable for you.
- Learn about La Palma and its towns and villages and the different social and climatic areas.
- Visit La Palma again.
How can we help you in the orientation phase?
We can't make any decisions for you. We can help you through the process if you give us enough information. Tell us as much as possible about your plans, requirements and limitations so that we can make suggestions and give feedback which may help you.
We can indicate and give information about some houses which may suit your needs, or are in your price range.
When you next visit La Palma we can meet you and talk about your plans.
We may also be able to show you some candidate houses from the outside. This is usually enough to give you an idea of the types of houses and locations that are available. At this stage it is not fair to the owners, their keyholders, maybe their renters, or indeed to us to make arrangements to see the inside of a house when you are not yet in a position to buy.
We can't find you a job. We might be able to make suggestions, and may be able to help with some aspects of starting a business.
If your ideas seem to be possible, if the financial plans would work then Read about the planning phase ...
So you have decided, together with your partner, that it is worth spending a bit of time seeing if there is a way that you could actually manage a move to, and live, on La Palma.
In this phase you should be thinking about the costs, your income, the logistics, lifestyle and personal limitations.
You need to sort out the possibilities and impossibilities of:
1. leaving your current location and
2. moving somewhere else and specifically
3. moving to La Palma.
The first part of this feasability study is deciding what you want; to identify your requirements.
The second is seeing if it is feasable for you to realise those requirements on La Palma.
Note: If you want to buy a second home for renting and occassional own use then other factors are involved and some of the information below may not apply to you.
We suggest that you start by looking at the personal aspects, because they are the commonest reasons for not moving abroad. Among many other things consider ...
- Will I miss my friends and family?
- Can I settle in a place where few people speak my language fluently?
- Will I miss my work?
- Will I be able to support myself (us)?
- Will I miss the pub, football, bridge club, theatre, etc?
- Will I miss the BBC and ITV?
- How will I feel if I miss the birth of a grandchild, or the funeral of an uncle?
- Can I live without fish and chips, Cumberland sausage, Pickled Onions and Mr. Kipling cakes.
- Do I have ambitions which are not yet fulfilled?
- How would I keep myself busy?
- What would be the consequences for my (young) children?
If you still want to live on La Palma than move on to the logistical and financial aspects.
There are the interrelated isuues of location and lifestyle.
- Which area would you like to live in? Near the beach? Near the shops? Near the airport? Or just the opposite, somewhere quiet and well away from the bustle, growing your own vegetables, or sipping cocktails by the pool all year round? Do you want to be isolated, or close to a village, or near to other foreigners? Do you want to be able to walk to a bar or high class restaurant? Do you have children who need to go to school? Do you need to work? Do you expect to collect people from the airport regularly?
- What lifestyle are you anticipating. This might sound a bit personal but you would be surprised how many people have contradictory wishes. Contradictory in the sense of wanting to live in a traditional cottage in the woods but within walking distance of beach, shops and restaurants. (This particular combination does not exist on the west side of La Palma). Contradictory wishes between partners are also very common. You will need to answer all of the above questions for youselves, and more, in order to find out if it will be possible on La Palma.
- If you need to work, what could you do and would it be enough to live the lifestyle you anticipate?
- Do you have children who would live with you and need to go to school or find work?
- Do you have family and friends who would expect to stay with you and expect a certain level of accommodation and facilities?
- Do you have special needs? For example, wheelchair access or a Harley-Davidson dealership or specialist medical assistance.
- Do you want a country life, or village life, or a town life, or a beach life?
Then you should look at the financial aspects.
On the outgoings side:
- What does property cost on La Palma? The short answer is that buying a reasonable house on La Palma will cost between 150,000 euros and 300,000 euros. For more luxury and size the prices go up to about 500,000 euros and there are properties all the way up to 2 million euros.
Add about 10% for the cost of buying a property.
Buying land and building might save a little money but you will still arrive at roughly the same prices as buying an existing property and have spent 1 to 2 years waiting for permissions and the building work.
Buying an old tumbled down house and renovating it is becoming much more expensive. That 'bargain' which you may have seen is probably cheap for a reason. The reason is often due to location, lack of permissions and possible unresolved boundary or ownership issues.
- Do you have cash available to buy a house outright? Would you come to La Palma and rent an appartment while taking time and look for a house? Would you need a mortgage? If so would you need a mortgage on the new house on La Palma? A mortgage requirement places demands on the type and legal status of the property you would need.
- What is the cost of living on La Palma?
- What is the cost of the health services etc
Consider the income issues:
- How would you maintain your lifestyle on La Palma, do you have enough income (pension?) or do you have the expertise or experience to earn a living on La Palma?
Suggestions for getting the relevant information?
The personal aspects of moving to La Palma are something that you can only resolve yourselves, perhaps with some help from us and Internet.
There is a wealth of information on Internet if you take the time to look for it.
- Read the other posts on this blog and on the main LivingonLaPalma.com website.
- Read the archives of several of the internet forums related to Spain and emigration. There is a huge amount of useful information in these forums.
- Look on Google for general information about emigrating to Spain.
- Look for government and other official websites, you countries embassy in Spain may have a website.
- Write down a list of things that you would no longer be able to do.
- Think about the lifestyle you expect and whether it is attainable for you.
- Learn about La Palma and its towns and villages and the different social and climatic areas.
- Visit La Palma again.
How can we help you in the orientation phase?
We can't make any decisions for you. We can help you through the process if you give us enough information. Tell us as much as possible about your plans, requirements and limitations so that we can make suggestions and give feedback which may help you.
We can indicate and give information about some houses which may suit your needs, or are in your price range.
When you next visit La Palma we can meet you and talk about your plans.
We may also be able to show you some candidate houses from the outside. This is usually enough to give you an idea of the types of houses and locations that are available. At this stage it is not fair to the owners, their keyholders, maybe their renters, or indeed to us to make arrangements to see the inside of a house when you are not yet in a position to buy.
We can't find you a job. We might be able to make suggestions, and may be able to help with some aspects of starting a business.
If your ideas seem to be possible, if the financial plans would work then Read about the planning phase ...
Phase Two: Planning
The planning phase. 'We are going to live on La Palma!'
So now you have decided that you are going to live on La Palma.
In the orientation phase you should have got a good idea of where you want to live and what type of house you can afford.
Now its down to practical issues of buying a house.
How can we help in this phase?
Helping people find and purchase a house on La Palma is our business.
We specialise in the La Punta, Tijarafe, Puntagorda and Garafia areas but we do have houses or contacts in other areas on the West side of La Palma.
So now you have decided that you are going to live on La Palma.
In the orientation phase you should have got a good idea of where you want to live and what type of house you can afford.
Now its down to practical issues of buying a house.
How can we help in this phase?
Helping people find and purchase a house on La Palma is our business.
We specialise in the La Punta, Tijarafe, Puntagorda and Garafia areas but we do have houses or contacts in other areas on the West side of La Palma.
Our estate agent website is www.livingonlapalma.com
If you can tell us as much as possible about your plans, requirements and limitations we can tell you more about suitable houses that are on our website and several others which, for various reasons, are not on the website.
If the combination of house and location that you are looking for is currently not available we will make a note of your wishes and keep you informed of any new properties and price changes of existing properties.
When you are on the island we can can talk about the current selection of houses available and show you candidate houses from the outside. This gives a very good idea of the location and type of house and we can discuss most aspects of the property and its price.
If one or more of the properties falls within you criteria we can arrange a viewing and be present at the viewing to discuss the positive and potential negative aspects of the property.
When you have found a suitable property and want to negotiate a deal we can guide you through the process and arrange the paperwork.
At this stage you will also have to make a financial plan so that you have money available for a deposit and the full payment on the date of the sale.
Found a house? Read about the buying process ...
If you can tell us as much as possible about your plans, requirements and limitations we can tell you more about suitable houses that are on our website and several others which, for various reasons, are not on the website.
If the combination of house and location that you are looking for is currently not available we will make a note of your wishes and keep you informed of any new properties and price changes of existing properties.
When you are on the island we can can talk about the current selection of houses available and show you candidate houses from the outside. This gives a very good idea of the location and type of house and we can discuss most aspects of the property and its price.
If one or more of the properties falls within you criteria we can arrange a viewing and be present at the viewing to discuss the positive and potential negative aspects of the property.
When you have found a suitable property and want to negotiate a deal we can guide you through the process and arrange the paperwork.
At this stage you will also have to make a financial plan so that you have money available for a deposit and the full payment on the date of the sale.
Found a house? Read about the buying process ...
Phase Three: The sale
The sale: 'We are buying a house on La Palma.'
Once you have seen a house that you would like to buy we will negociate with the owner on the price.
In some cases the price is fixed and the owner will not, or cannot, negociate.
In other cases the owners are sometimes prepared to accept a slightly lower price.
We will acquire relevant official information about the property to check that the information presented by the owner or his representative is correct. Where available we will check future plans for the area.
Once all parties have reached agreement the normal procedure is to sign a pre-contract.
The pre-contract is your security that the owner will sell to you, and his security that you will actually buy the property. A 10% deposit is normally a condition of the pre-contract. A sale date is stipulated in the pre-contract, this is usually within 2 months but sometimes a longer period can be agreed.
This period enables you to set up a bank account, obtain a NIE number, make money available and move it to your bank on La Palma.
Prior to signing the pre-contract we will have checked all documentation of the owner and the property to ensure that the property is correctly registered and that the owner is the sole legal owner. In the case of older properties some extra documentation may be required, this will be done before the actual sale at the notary.
We will arrange the paperwork for the final sale and check it through with the notaries office, we will make the appointment at the notary and be there to guide you through the sale. Where needed we can translate and explain the documents.
We can provide some after sales services, such as arranging telephone connections, changing names and bank details for amenities and making contact with builders, gardeners and cleaners.
Once you have seen a house that you would like to buy we will negociate with the owner on the price.
In some cases the price is fixed and the owner will not, or cannot, negociate.
In other cases the owners are sometimes prepared to accept a slightly lower price.
We will acquire relevant official information about the property to check that the information presented by the owner or his representative is correct. Where available we will check future plans for the area.
Once all parties have reached agreement the normal procedure is to sign a pre-contract.
The pre-contract is your security that the owner will sell to you, and his security that you will actually buy the property. A 10% deposit is normally a condition of the pre-contract. A sale date is stipulated in the pre-contract, this is usually within 2 months but sometimes a longer period can be agreed.
This period enables you to set up a bank account, obtain a NIE number, make money available and move it to your bank on La Palma.
Prior to signing the pre-contract we will have checked all documentation of the owner and the property to ensure that the property is correctly registered and that the owner is the sole legal owner. In the case of older properties some extra documentation may be required, this will be done before the actual sale at the notary.
We will arrange the paperwork for the final sale and check it through with the notaries office, we will make the appointment at the notary and be there to guide you through the sale. Where needed we can translate and explain the documents.
We can provide some after sales services, such as arranging telephone connections, changing names and bank details for amenities and making contact with builders, gardeners and cleaners.
Our estate agent website is www.livingonlapalma.com
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