This is no fictitious case study; this is my own personal experience (Larry Warren).

My wife and I bought our first property in Spain in 2001 as a ‘toe in the water’, just to see if we liked Spain and the concept of a holiday home in the sun. It was also to be part of ‘the pension pot’, a low risk investment that diversified our portfolio. We knew little about investing in overseas property then, so we researched and we listened.  Front line beach (too expensive for us) or buying on a golf course, the more upmarket the better, was the advice then, so we bought on a Championship golf course, although we could not afford front line golf. But we obeyed the rules – buy quality, quality, quality for investment, and location, location, location.

Back then we had no plans to actually live in Spain, that was to come later. The property is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom terraced townhouse with the communal swimming pool right outside the front gate. It was bought ‘Off-Plan’ for €135,000 (about £93,000) which was paid in instalments; £3,000 deposit, then 25% in one month, another 25% two months later and the final 50% upon completion (which was delayed until mid 2003). In December 2007 it was valued at about €200,000 (about £141,000), a gain of 48%. The monies were paid in instalments so calculating annual investment returns is not straightforward, but using ‘simple arithmetic’ the 48% gain over 6 years is a simple 8% per annum.  Not bad for a ‘toe in the water’!

Our second property is a luxury 3 bed 2 bath detached architect designed villa with its own swimming pool on an approx. 400 square metres plot. We bought it for €387,000 again ‘Off-Plan’ in October 2003 with €3,000 paid as an immediate deposit; 25% within 15 days (that was tight!); another 15% within 6 months and the final 60% payment paid in December 2006. It is on a Polaris World Resort, but not just any Polaris World Resort, it is on El Valle, their most prestigious and upmarket 5 Star Resort, their ‘jewel in the crown’. This again is on a golf course, but here Polaris opted for the best golfer in the World, Jack Nicklaus, to design these courses.

There are only 10 Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses in the whole of Europe and 9 Jack Nicklaus courses are on Polaris World Resorts. At El Valle the ‘buy on one, play on all’ concept allows residents and their guests to play all of the 9 courses on the ‘Nicklaus Golf Trail’ (3 courses are open, 6 are to be built, 3 of which are ‘Bear’s Best’ courses, and all 9 are within a 25 km radius of El Valle). And again the property is not front line.  Valued in December 2007 at around €550,000, by any measure a tremendous return on the money. 

Is there any wonder I subscribe 100% to the purchasing of second homes and permanent homes in Spain? And it goes to prove that one doesn’t have to buy front line golf or front line beach to achieve good returns.

But quality, quality, quality and location, location, location is, as always the rule!

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