Anyone been on a Polaris World viewing trip?

Question

Going on a two day Polaris World viewing trip in Murcia, Spain this weekend and I just wondered what to expect?

Can someone enlighten me please?

Answer 1

Well if you have been on a building site you are about to visit one of the biggest in spain,a concrete jungle.

Answer 2

remember if going  with agent/company ask what commission they put on top of property price..

best to buy direct from Spanish builder......... treat inspection as info trip only.

Answer 3

it is a way of pushing you to buy a property you cannot afford, if you want to buy go and stay in the area you want and talk to people who live there or rent for a month to see if you like it. A viewing trip is a hard sell and will try to wear you down.

Answer 4

I´ve driven past it many times, looks huge.  It really is quite a way out from the sea and probably anything really Spanish! Looks like the accommodation is good but it is so built up it is hard to tell from travelling past.  Large shopping complex relatively close (about 15 mins drive) where there are plenty of shops etc. (Ikea plus others).

Having lived here for 6 years I would suggest that you spend some time in the area of your choice and to get the best price go around and look for yourself.  Remember in Spain the majority of agent put their commission on top of what the seller receives (very much like when you buy a car from a dealer in England). Therefore, you will get a much better deal from buying driect from the owner.  ALWAYS be sure to do your homework and before you hand over any money, make sure you have a good lawyer and that all the paperwork is in order (making sure their are no debts outstanding on a house as they would become yours!  Please don´t be put off, I love it here.  I don´t live amongst many British despite living right on the coast.  There are plenty of places where you could well be in England in the sunshine, doesn´t appeal to me but each to their own.  Buying a property is such a huge commitment and you can get so many good deals at the moment because there are so many huge building sites where homes are not selling so don´t be afraid to barter. Do your homework on the internet - plenty of opportunities to contact owners direct. Dont leave your "brains on the tarmac" as they say, keep your wits about you.  

Hope you have a good trip.

Answer 5

The sales people will NEVER leave you alone. (They probably get sacked if they do).

If you are lodged in the Intercontinental in the Mar Menor Golf Resort this is quite nice.

Murcia is a good place to buy property but I would never buy in a Polaris World resort.

There are too many properties the same (think fierce competition if you ever want to sell).

They make you sign an "exclusivity" contract which means that if you ever want to rent the property out, you can only do it through them (which is actually illegal because it is anti-competitive)

The locations are not great, they tend to buy cheap land and try to make it into a resort. Therefore the resorts tend to be located in agricultural areas which aren't necessarily close to great parts of Murcia.

Certainly go and have a look, just make sure you keep your eyes open and don't make any on the spot decisions.

Murcia is fantastic though and, as one of the other people said, you need to go of your own accord and get to know places you like and people.

The city is lovely but not a big expat community so you have to get your phrase book out!

On the coast there are several expat communities with English bars, banks and things if you find that useful.

Answer 6

If you see Jose Louis Fernandez tell him the adverts are annoying : )

Answer 7

Myself and three other people did a similar trip with another company in 2000, the first hotel they took us to were we refused to stay, it was a dump, we forced a move to a four star hotel.

Their plan for the first day was to rush us round from property to property from 9.00am until 2.30pm most of which we couldn't afford then lunch with plenty of booze, then back on the road from 4.00pm until 6.00pm and back to the hotel for a quick shower and out to a restaurant to be plied with more booze.

The second day was to be a repeat of the first day and the third half day before flying home was to apply pressure to get a binding signature and cheque before we left.

With us that didn't happen, we dictated what we wanted to see and after lunch we returned to the hotel, in the evenings we had our meals in the hotel restaurant and gave the bill to the company, they didn't like it but the paid. on the last day we went back to look at a couple of properties we considered buying but we didn't in the end and that was one of the best decision we've ever taken, they were just outside of Alicanti which is now reputed to be the biggest building site in the Spain.

I don't think others would be able to do what we did because the company made a mistake in a letter they sent us which in effect formed a contract which we used as a stick to get our own way.

The major problem with buying property like Polaris World its made to look easy, they are usually still in construction and take any conpletion date with a pinch of salt, a big bit in fact a truck load, most Spanish buiilds run six months to two years behind schedule thats normal, they won't tell you about the pit falls and there are a lot, and what ever they say the community fees will be, they don't know that can't be decided until the community is set up and that could be months away.

I'm not trying to put any one off I'm just trying to point out that these companys have a vested interest and you will not be high on their priority list.

We did buy a Spanish home in the end in Tenerife with the help of a good Spanish English speaking Lawyer.