Types of Properties available at Vera Playa Notes on buying a property at Vera Playa Details of the various developments (urbanizacions)

Types of Properties at Vera Playa There are around two thousand apartments in the dozen or so urbanizacions (developments or complexes) which together constitute the Vera Playa naturist zone. Most of these properties are small holiday apartments, a minority are larger. Some are occupied year round by permanent residents. All or nearly all are privately owned, some are used only by their owners and a relatively small proprtion are rented out to holiday visitors to help cover the costs. The vast majority of owners are Spanish, but there are also many Brits, Germans, French, Dutch, Belgians, Scandinavians and others who own property at Vera Playa. Comparing property prices in the area, prices in the naturist zone are broadly comparable to those outside the zone. Often the major consideration is the amount of outside space - terraces and/or garden, and the orientation of the property to the sun - northern European owners who will be using the property in the autumn, winter and spring generally want a good orientation to get maximum sun, whilst Spanish buyers, and all-year residents may want to ensure there is sufficient shade for the very hot months of summer.		The smaller properties may not be suitable for permanent residents, although, of course, if you have good sized terraces and/or gardens you need less indoor space in Spain as life tends to be lived outside. However you are not going to be sitting outside on your terrace on winter evenings, so making sure you have adequate space inside is quite important. Almost all the properties are in urbanizations, which have self-governing communities to run the common areas etc once they are built - owners of individual properties own their properties in perpetuity and have a percentage share in the community (and are obliged to pay that percentage of the community's costs year by year). The facilities in the urbanizacions vary a lot - probably the most important facility is swimming pools - some urbanizacions have large pools, some quite small. Only 3 urbanizacions have covered/heated pools (essential in the autumn/winter/spring if you like swimming all year round) and one has an outdoor pool which is heated in winter.

Buying a property at Vera Playa

With the single exception now of Natura World, all the major developments within the naturist zone are completed - there are a handful of small pockets of land still to be developed. With around 2,000 properties in the zone there are always several dozen available on the resale market. There are several estate agents who specialise in naturist properties and other agents in the area occasionally have one or more naturist zone properties on their books. Most of the properties which are being built now (or which have been built recently) are well finished and have good facilities, some could even be described as luxurious. The various developments differ quite widely in size, space, types of apartments and general ambience and prospective buyers would be well advised to spend a few days or even a week getting to see and know what is on offer before deciding on a particular property. Beware any estate agent who claims to be "independent" - they are not.  Estate agents act for the vendors of properties and stand to make anything from 4 - 15% of the purchase price of the property (those who organise "free" inspection trips tend to be the ones who charge the highest fees or load the asking prices knowing that foreigners jetted in will not know the local market. Some even expect you to pay them as well! The whole area has been a bit of a Klondike in the past decade and (surprise, surprise) there are an awful lot of unqualified, unregistered and quite simply cowboy/rogue estate agents operating - so beware - the current downturn will probably root out many of these fringe operators. Also - never use a lawyer/solicitor (abogado) or administrative agent (gestoria) recommended by the estate agent who is handling the property you wish to buy. Horror stories about the risks of buying property in Spain do, of course, abound - it is not unknown, even these days, for a builder or developer not actually to own the land he has built on - which can result in a nightmare situation for an unwary buyer. Other common problems include uncertainty as to the boundaries of a property or its garden/land, or property built without the proper permissions and approvals. Although the Spanish government has taken action to eliminate the worst excesses of rogue builders/developers (for instance, all new properties have now by law to be guaranteed against faulty construction by the builders), all these things - and many others - need careful checking out. Essential reading: Buying a home in Spain by David Hampshire, Survival Books Useful link: www.spainexpat.com   You will need to open a Spanish bank account if you buy a property and get an NIE number (if you are a non-resident) and Residencia if you will be living full time in Spain - it is sensible to open a bank account as soon as you decide to look for a property but contrary to some estate agents' advertisements you don't need an NIE number before you buy (a UK/EU passport is adequate) and you don't need to pay high fees to get your NIE or Residencia.		Key advice must be to hire your own qualified Spanish lawyer (abogado) - preferably one recommended to you by a friend or another owner, not a "tame" lawyer or legal administrator recommended by the estate agent or developer from whom you are buying the property. Make sure they speak good English if you don't speak perfect Spanish. Don't make the elementary mistake of thinking that developers, builders or estate agents, however helpful and friendly, have really got your best interests at heart - they haven't - they've got their own!     Just remember they are selling - you are buying (they hope!). Don't leave your common sense at home in the UK - be even more cautious about property transactions than you would be at home, don't sign anything or part with any money at all - not even a reservation deposit - without taking the advice of your solicitor/lawyer. It is easy to pay a deposit but much harder to get it back if things go pear-shaped.     Although you are not likely to come across a property which is actually illegal (i.e. doesn't have planning or other permissions) within the naturist zone, in the wider area it is more than possible.         Few people seem to follow these basic rules, but if you do you are at least somewhat less likely to have heart-aches and regrets - and financial loss - later on. Property in the Vera Playa area is now not that much cheaper than in many parts of the UK (the days of cheap properties on the costas is, regrettably, over), so any property purchase is likely to be one of the biggest financial transactions you make in your personal life, so take time and care and don't get carried away with the romance and enthusiasm for having a home in the sun - pause for thought, take a reality check and give yourself a bit of time before you make a big commitment! Buying a property in Spain is very different from buying in, say, the U.K. Before doing so be sure to read up on the process . Most Spanish estate agents will ask you to pay a "reservation fee" of 2 - 3,000 Euros when you decide to buy a property. You will then be expected to exchange contracts within a prescribed time (typically a couple of weeks) when you will pay a further 10% and then the balance when you go to the Notary to sign the Escritura (probably within another month). The standard practice is for the Reservation deposit/fee to be stated to be non-refundable, but unless you like giving estate agents amounts of 2 - 3,000 Euros you should consider refusing to sign on this basis as there are 1001 reasons why the purchase could fall through and then you are well out of pocket. If you pull out after you have exchanged contracts you wil lose your 10% deposit and, under Spanish law (which some unscrupulous estate agents try to ignore), if the vendor pulls out, they have to refund your 10% and pay you a 10% penalty (but actually getting either could prove long and expensive through the Spanish Courts and you would be wise to ensure your lawyer has enough time to check all the key matters about ownership, debts, planning permissions etc before you exchange contracts). So two weeks from reservation to exchange of contracts is certainly not long enough - better to insist on 4 to 6 weeks and make sure you chase things along as otherwise nothing will happen until the deadline approaches.
The present economic crisis certainly presents problems to those with property to sell - but it gives great opportunities to buyers.    At present, apartments that would have cost, say, 160.000€ in mid 2007 will now be priced at least 20 - 25% lower if the vendor is serious about wanting to sell. If the vendor simply has to sell, the asking price might be even lower, perhaps a third lower than in mid-2007. Those who don't need to sell will either be asking too high a price in the present market or will just be sitting on their property waiting for better times to return.     So if you've got the money there's probably never been a better time to buy in the past 5 years or so. But don't get carried away - study the whole market, don't just see one property and don't be stampeded by an agent who says an immediate decision is necessary. Remember, there's always a better deal round the corner! But seriously, there are some great bargains just now in those cases where vendors just have to sell - sadly their misfortune can be your good luck - it's an ill wind indeed that blows nobody any good. There is not a great number of such bargains to be found within the naturist zone as the supply of naturist properties is finite, but if you don't mind settling for a textile property there are some great bargains to be had - including brand new properties that developers are now desperate to off-load at huge reductions on original asking prices so they can finish off their developments and move on.     Good hunting! February 2009         If being able to live the naturist lifestyle is important to you, do make sure when buying a property at Vera Playa that it is actually in the naturist zone - one development (Playa de Baria 1) started out as a naturist urbanization and the developers changed it to textile half way through selling the properties with the unsatisfactory situation resulting that some people have properties they bought as naturist and others believe the development is textile - not a recipe for a contented life. For practical purposes this urbanizacion must now be regarded as textile as you could not live in it in a fully naturist way as you can in the naturist urbanizacions. (There is now another development called Playa de Baria 2 which is about 600m to the south and is unequivocally textile). Following this debacle, some of the naturist urbanizacions took steps to strengthen their constitutions to make it more difficult or impossible for them to change from naturist to textile. If you are proposing to buy a naturist property at Vera Playa and living in a naturist environment is important to you, you would be well advised to have your solicitor carefully check out that the urbanizacion in which it is situated could not easily be redesignated as textile. One other development (Vera Mar 6 - the detached phase, not to be confused with the main Vera Mar development, Vera Mar, phases 1 to 5, at nearby Puerto del Rey) is in the official naturist zone but after planning permission was granted for naturist development it was (bizarrely) declared textile by the developers, although it directly adjoins other naturist developments. No doubt many of the owners at this development will use the naturist beach but they will not be able to sunbathe or walk around outside in their development's communal gardens naked. There are also a number of other urbanizacions adjoining the naturist beach which are definitely not naturist (e.g. Nuevo Vera, Mirador de Vera, Playa de Baria 2) and others adjoining or close to the naturist zone (e.g. Cala Marques) which are conveniently located for use of the naturist beach but which are definitely not naturist within the urbanizacion. Sometimes properties in these textile urbanizacions seem to be marketed by estate agents in an ambiguous way (e.g. "on the edge of the naturist zone"). If you thought you were buying a naturist property and found when you had moved in that you hadn't, you could be very disappointed - so take care! The Rules of the Owners' Communities for all the naturist urbanizacions do clearly state that they are naturist communities and the Escritura should also incorporate this - mind you, if you've left it until you are sitting in front of the Notary you have left it far too late to find this out! The only urbanizacion to steer well clear of at the moment is Natura World - the biggest single urbanizacion within the naturist zone (570 apartments) - which has been much delayed and continues to be mired in legal and other problems. One day, if all these issues are overcome, it could well be a good development to buy into but until they are give it a wide berth unless you are a masochist and really like having problems. The information given above is only a guide and the owners of this website take no responsibility for any decisions that individuals may take - always seek professional advice and guidance before taking any decisions about acquiring a property and do not rely on any verbal statements from estate agents, property owners or any other interested parties. If any matters are important to you, ensure that they are written into the Contract of Sale and appear in the Escritura. If you do not speak fluent Spanish ensure that all documents are translated for you by a person acting on your behalf, not on behalf of the seller.   Updated February 2009

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