Q. My partner and I are looking to buy a cheap property in Spain with a view to living there permanently and commuting to England via one of the many budget airlines. I’m sure you’re aware that we are spoilt for choice with Spanish property due to the similar national downturn in buyer interest but we are still attracted by competitive ‘off-plan’ deals for newbuilds. Can you advise.

A. A lot of new property in the Eurozone is sold ‘off-plan.’ Put simply, off-plan means when a builder or developer produces plans for a development in advance of construction and starts selling units to buyers based purely on those plans. Usually, the buyer will pay an initial deposit of around 5-10% with stage payments until the property is complete whereupon a final payment is due.

A word of caution, however, given today’s financial turmoil which is affecting most other Eurozone countries similarly to the UK. Many developers, even once financially sound and profitable concerns are in deep financial trouble and/or have gone bust. Sadly, many continue to give the illusion of still trading, taking deposits off unwary non-national buyers and disappearing into the night with their money. If you can handle the risk of buying property off-plan, always use a fully qualified English speaking lawyer (not one recommended by the developer or agent) who is willing to place your deposit into a bonded account with a solid bank guarantee which, should the developer go bust, means that your money will be safe.

If you’d like some more information, take a look at our guide to buying property off-plan.

Off-plan property

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