Exchange could solve your property headache
The best ideas are usually the simple ones and a scheme which could provide the solution to your property dilemma is already attracting much interest from its base in Tenerife. In a nutshell, if you own a property or land outright either here, back in the UK or in Ireland, you can exchange it for one or more bungalows to the same value on the lovely island of Fuerteventura. And even if you do have a mortgage on your home, the company behind the project is still willing to look at your situation and try to come up with a deal.
Property exchanges are perhaps more known back in Britain where you often see advertisements from house owners but in today’s difficult times, this scheme could well be the answer you are have been waiting for. And if you are already looking for the catch or thinking that it all sounds just too good to be true, don’t fret. A detailed chat with head of sales, Debbie Martin left me convinced that this is definitely the way forward for many people who are stuck in the property rut and just can’t do anything about their future because their house isn’t selling.
This is how the scheme works. You want to sell your property or parcel of land but can’t find a buyer. Perhaps you live in Britain and want to start a new life in the sun. Or you might want to downgrade and invest in a number of apartments abroad, living in one and renting out the other. Or perhaps you want to move from Tenerife to try out Fuerteventura or exchange a rental property you have bought here.
The exchange experts will visit your property and look at the valuation. This is the catch, you may think, but no, it isn’t. Debbie says they do research the local property market to gauge the price of similar properties but won’t then offer you a ridiculously lower price just to take it off your hands. Provided the price you have the property on the market for is acceptable and reasonable, this is the valuation which will be accepted. The idea then is to equate that figure to the value of the bungalows which are located on a complex called Club Montecastillo at Caleta de Fuste on the east coast of Fuerteventura, some ten minutes from the airport.
There are just over 100 bungalows, with either one or two bedrooms, which are used both for holidays and permanent homes, all set in lush gardens near to the sea and with on-site facilities which include two pools, gym, sauna, bar, reception and management letting company if required. The whole complex, constructed ten years ago but fully modernised, is owned by one private individual who is keen to invest back home in Britain where he now lives.
The bungalows available in the exchange scheme - about 20 - are also being competitively priced at 115,000 euros for a one bedroom property as opposed to the market valuation of 132,000 euros.
The one aspect the exchange scheme does not allow for is any kind of cash back arrangement. If your property is valued at 230,000 euros, for example, you will need to swap with two bungalows and so on. What you do with them thereafter is your choice. As a guide, the average weekly rental is 275 euros.
There is no exchange fee involved in the scheme and each party pays for its own legal costs. And it is aimed not solely at the British market but all nationalities, including the Spanish.
Source: Seven Islands Media Group s.l.