European Real Estate Sales
Living in inland Costa del Sol
When you are considering purchasing a country house in inland Costa del Sol, there are a few important points well worth keeping in mind before going around the Spanish countryside searching for your dream home and then a few months down the line finding that this is not the lifestyle you were after.
Starting off with lifestyle, it is slightly different to living on the Coast, different does not mean better or worse, it just means different! The further inland you go, you will find less people speak foreign languages, this is not all bad as it is a great incentive and an excellent way to learn Spanish a lot quicker! Living in inland Andalucia, you will find that population numbers are steady as those living in villages and towns inland tend to be those who have chosen to live there most of the time as opposed to owning a holiday home; you will find people leading everyday normal lives such as going to work in the mornings, out doing the shopping etc etc etc; basically everyday life unaffected by tourism or regardless of the time of the year; the only exception to this is during the month of August when most people go away on holiday and the streets will be a little bit quieter!
Property prices in the Spanish countryside are lower than coastal prices, even a short drive away from the Coast such as Monda which is only 15 minutes from Marbella you will see property prices are considerably lower and you will reap the benefits of countryside lifestyle with the beach only a short drive away.
When looking for properties for sale in the Spanish countryside, you will find that generally speaking architecture and design is different to those on the coast. Properties for sale in Spanish villages tend to be more traditional design with a mixture of modernized facilities and rustic features such as exposed wooden beams (circular or square) and plastering which is not as smooth as in modern constructions. There are of course more modern design properties which would have generally speaking would have been designed for the foreign buyer. Moving away from traditional and modern houses, you will find the well known Spanish Finca. Fincas in Spain are not always on the outskirts of a village or town, the likelihood is that they will be tucked away in an olive grove and you will need a car to get to and from town. Fincas offer a fabulous lifestyle where the countryside can most definitely be enjoyed to its full potential. Many foreigners have opened up their houses for visitors and earn some money operating as a Bed & Breakfast offering the best in rural tourism for those wanting to experience the true beauty of inland Costa del Sol. The other type of rural country house you may have come across is a Cortijo pronounced (Kor-tee-ho). Unfortunately, the term Cortijo is used for lots of rural properties which are not Cortios but fincas or just country houses. The term Cortijo originates from the term Courtyard. It is basically, a Country property built around a central courtyard with its doors and windows facing inward towards it. In the olden days, these magnificent country houses where owned by wealthy families with many acres of farmland. The Cortijo would house the land owners in the main part of the property while the more modest part of the Cortijo would be used for employees. Many grand Cortijos in Andalucia even had their own little churches for employees to worship on a Sunday.
When considering purchasing a finca in Spain, you need to be prepared in most cases to carry out a certain amount of work and ongoing maintenance, there are a number for fincas for sale which have been fully restored and at the same time, there are a good number of fincas in need of modernization and renovation. A further highly important point to keep in mind is planning permission to do structural work on a finca including swimming pools is very hard to obtain, we would strongly recommend you speak with an INDEPENDENT Spanish lawyer who speaks your language in order to have the full information when it comes to carrying out any kind of significant work on a property on rustic land (rustic land is the term used for land which is outside of the parameters of the local town/ village or city).
Depending on the area of Spain in which you are looking for country property there are different names for them and they include Granja, Macia or Quinta for example.
Andalucia offers those wanting to live the true Spain the opportunity to purchase their dream home for a relatively low price as well as to lead a quieter lifestyle and enjoy the lower cost of living in rural Spain.
