Costa Blanca tips please?

[TriciaM]

Hello Everybody.
We are Phil and Tricia from Manchester and we've decided to buy a property in the CB.We understand you get more for your money away from the Costa del Sol and CB is THE new place to invest.
We have a young family so we would like to focus our search on a lively area ( bars and restaurants, not discos and nightclubs - unfortunately ), close to a beach and easy access to airports.
This villa HAS to generate a rental income. I'm asking you, the experts and experienced could you possibly direct my internet search to an area of Costa Blanca allowing me to do as much reasearch as possible before our inspection trip?

Where would you recommend in the Costa Blanca? Many thanks in advance.

Tricia and Phil.

[reddevil]

Hi Tricia and Phil and welcome to the forum!

Don't know about Costa Blanca being the NEW place to buy, coz people have been buying here for years and have made a potful of money in the value of their homes and in rental income. However, nowadays, there is much more competition and much more buildings, therefore less money to be made. If only we knew where the big bucks would be, then we would all invest there. So sorry, no get rich quick schemes anymore.

I heard that eastern european countries are becoming quite popular at the moment?

As for the Costa Blanca, for sure property prices are lower than Costa del Sol and I have a property close to Torrevieja, which is popular with the Brits and Irish (amongst others) and is next to the beach, bars and restaurants. At the moment, property price has increased and rental income covers the expenses so we are happy. But investing in property doesn't usually mean you can just sit back and watch the pennies stack up, it usually involves some kind of admin work and trying to find the best the best places to advertise your property, but you can find out more about that in this forum.

Good luck on your inspection trip and feel free to post any more questions.

[Alan Knighting]

Tricia and Phil,

The Costa Blanca has quite a long coastline, particularly if you include the Mar Manor part of the Costa Calida to the south. There are many towns and villages to choose from and there is a lot of development going on.

Geographically it is divided into two. The northern part has a backdrop of mountains with cliffs and sandy coves along the coast. The southern half is lowlands with flat salt marsh plains and long sandy beaches. You might want to start refining your search on that basis.

The airports are Valencia, Alicante and Murcia depending on your exact location.

In addition to searching for a property on the Internet I would encourage you to do as much basic research as you can find the time for. Try a few books, for instance:-

• Live & Work in Spain - ISBN 1 85458 285 2
  Living & Working in Spain - ISBN 1 091130 41 X
  Buying a Property in Spain - ISBN 1 85703 791 X
  The Best Places to Buy a Home in Spain ISBN 1 901130 96 7

They all include a lot of general and legal information you should have before embarking on buying a property.

One last thing. There's a lot of opportunists around who want to get between you and your money. If a salesman says "trust me" - don't.

Happy House Hunting.

Regards

Alan