I want to tell all kind people sending me PM that I´m not rude not answering your PM I can´t :)

When I try to reply I get the message
"You are only allowed to send Personal Messages if you've reached a post count of 10!"

I´m sure it is my bad, me doing something wrong, nevertheless, can´t reply.  :P

Just wanted to let you know. :)

Make 6 more random posts....problem solved

Please please please, be very careful with what you are going to buy in Catalunya.

In the last week I've spoken to 2 different families who have bought properties around the Palma d'Ebre area, and were told the biggest load of lies I've ever heard, I just cant believe that this is still going on, 9 years after I was 'stung' in the same way.

They were told they could build 50 m2 up to 6 meters high, especially if they registers as agricultors or farmers. They were not told that you need quite a lot of land to do this and also that it costs you a minimum of 250 Euros to be autonomo (self employed)

Although 50 m2 in theory is enough space for a couple who are not needing lots of furniture etc. This building even if given permission is still an ALMACEN'  not to live in, and never will be after you spend all of your money on it.

When these people have gone to the local authorities (after shelling out 18k +) they are told they don't have enough land to be autonomo (even if they could afford it) so therefore can only build an almacen of 35 m2........and it will need an Architects project, when they were told just to present their own deawings and pay the taxes.

I find it absolutely incredible that people are still falling for this crap, especially with all of the information now available on the Internet and especially on this forum, but from my experience they still believe what they want to believe, and then wonder why they have been ripped off.

Today I found a very recent advert for a property in the same town for around 45k, with a huge agricultural building in bad repair, but it states that this can be renovated into a B&B and can connect to the water and electricity close by..........WAKE UP PEOPLE, YOU WILL NEVER GET PERMISSION TO DO THIS IN CATALUNYA.

Ask Pondgirl on this forum about her saga with renovating a beautiful mill, how much she put into it, and after years of waiting and a lot of money later could not get permission, so what do you think the answer will be for an agricultural building in bad repair will be?????

A Belgian couple bought a beautiful finca in Bot, the local Mayor was in full agreement that they could make a rural tourism project and he would back them all the way. Then 4 years down the line after the project has been presented numerous times, because something or the other had to be changed, their Lawyer finally told the couple that the Tarragona authorities, have refused the project, again they spent many thousands of Euros to get to this stage, and to add insult to injury, when they returned to Spain to spend some time on their finca, their caravan had mysteriously caught fire, and that was last February with no forest fires etc.....................go figure!!!!! 

OK rant over, but be careful out there hey!!!!!!

We will be careful, we understand it can be a problem here in Catalunya. We´ll try to keep the "safety-glasses- on. We´ll be as careful as we possibly can.

Hi Ulrika,
Hope you found what your looking for. Tried to ring you but could not get through.
Bob. :)

Hello Bob, we saw your message. Very nice of you. We are getting closer to decisionmaking here :P Have had a busy day and telephones are acting out on us. During some hours today apparantely noone could reach us. Sorry `bout that :/

Tomorrow will be a busy day to, early start, late finish. Say hello to the wife :)

...and soon I´ll be able to use the pm function. :D

//Ulrika & Pär

Post nr 9 :) - PM almost there...

...and this should be The Post that will unleash my PM-ing.

Before you commit to anything get a good Lawyer. I paid 1500 Euro when I bought but it was money very well spent.

We will take it nice and slow. Safetybelts on and secured. Checking, double checking, triple checking... :)

HOWEVER... Landing on Stockholm Airport realising it is - 22 C outside, kind of made us want to skip some of the safety thinking we are used to.

-22 _is_very_cold.

Keep your money as far away from Catalunya/Spain as possible . Apart from the so called estate agents etc..most unregistered ...those that are are dodgy. The regional and state governments are waiting to pounce on legitimate buyers for a share of your money. Buy in an urbinisation if you must . Get legal help...believe nobody without triple checking..the wolves are all around waiting to pounce..buyer beware..you have been warned !!!!
Don't let the weather fool you ...!!!


wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2013 at 1:09am:

We will take it nice and slow. Safetybelts on and secured. Checking, double checking, triple checking... :) HOWEVER... Landing on Stockholm Airport realising it is - 22 C outside, kind of made us want to skip some of the safety thinking we are used to. -22 _is_very_cold.

Beg to differ the whole of spain .no the whole of europe could do without all of this scaremongering ,We have lived here for eleven years and moved house 5 times in towns and on fincas .Yes you do hear of the odd problem but generally all goes smoothly .best of luck too you all.

well said ceilidh. We have been here 6 yrs full time, Owned properties for 10yrs and just love our Spanish way of life.
There is good and bad everywhere, not just in Catalunya.
Good luck and a warm welcome to all our newcomers  [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

We got our minds set. On Spain.

I understand sometimes some people get deep into trouble. Mind you, I know quite a few people in Sweden who intensely regrets buying their house, and that is here in Sweden. Problems occurs, sometimes really bad problems occurs, but we´ll just have to do what we always do, solve or work around.

...and we are not easily scared. However cautious we might be, we are not scared.

Yes i tend to agree,Spain is a great place to live in what ever provence you choose to live in , having had a place in France and paying around 2000 euro a year for fonciere and habitat tax, while not even living in the house ... catalunya is like a breath of fresh air low bills cheap food and fuel etc, but you just have to put up with the bureaucracy.

Yes, as Jools said we had a lot of problems with bureaucracy and spent a lot of money getting nowhere for quite a long time but we are now in the house of our dreams (legally!) and are very happy.

I would say though if you aren't going to live here permanently be very, very wary of living in the campo.

wrote on Jan 24^th, 2013 at 7:20am:

Yes, as Jools said we had a lot of problems with bureaucracy and spent a lot of money getting nowhere for quite a long time but we are now in the house of our dreams (legally!) and are very happy. I would say though if you aren't going to live here permanently be very, very wary of living in the campo.

Wary in which respect Pondgirl? Theives? Beaurocracy? Laws? Rurals? or just in general?

John.

wrote on Jan 24^th, 2013 at 11:20am:

wrote on Jan 24th, 2013 at 7:20am: Yes, as Jools said we had a lot of problems with bureaucracy and spent a lot of money getting nowhere for quite a long time but we are now in the house of our dreams (legally!) and are very happy. I would say though if you aren't going to live here permanently be very, very wary of living in the campo. Wary in which respect Pondgirl? Theives? Beaurocracy? Laws? Rurals? or just in general? John.

its just as safe living in the campo as living in a village we have lived in spain for more than 9 years with 3 propertys and no problems

We have also lived in a village and in the country for the last eleven years no real problems .just speak to your neighbours and dont isolate yourself.

I did say if you aren't living here permanently then be wary.  If you leave a house in an isolated area empty for any length of time you are very likely to be robbed.  We know people who have been robbed four times this year.  The thieves have torn bars out of the brickwork and actually knocked the whole window frames in.  They have also broken in through the roof, ripped out pipework and taken out the washing machine.  This is in an area where there is no-one to see or hear what is going on.

If you are living here permanently there is also the problem of emergency services or delivery services finding you etc  You don't have a proper address if you are living in a converted almacen in the middle of olive fields and you will have to have a PO box in the nearest town as the postie doesn't deliver and you will have to deliver your rubbish to the nearest town too.

None of these things are insurmountable but have to be considered when you are thinking of living here.