Three buyers fighting for one property? Not unusual in Murcia’s Camposol
Whilst the Spanish property market is in many ways a shadow of its early 2000s self, there are certain regions that are vastly outperforming others. Take the month of June in Murcia for example. According to the National Institute of Statistics 1,308 homes changed hands that month in Murcia compared with a national average of just 99. And why is this? Price. At Camposol in Mazarron you can pick up a two bedroom fully-furnished terraced home for 50,000 euros (41,000 pounds) – where else in Southern Spain can you do that?
Mazarron’s Camposol is quite unique in Spain right now as prospective purchasers are literally fighting each other to the best bargains. Kevin Armitt 52, a retired firefighter and wife Shirley 51, from Stoke-on-Trent, found themselves always “the first one too late” in their quest for a home on the Resort before the now infamous volcanic eruption stepped in and became an unlikely hero.
Kevin and Shirley fell firmly into the category of Brits who’d always wanted to live abroad, in particular their dream destination of Spain. As Kevin cashed the last payslip on his firefighting career, the couple bought a motor home and proceeded to traverse through Portugal and Spain but the nomadic lifestyle lost its appeal so it was time to swap wheels for foundations. Kevin harboured a fantasy for a finca but was persuaded by a mate living on Camposol that resort living was far less remote and hard work.
Shirley picks up the story, “We had a budget of £100,000, about 120,000 euros, which our initial estate agent said would buy us a modest two bedroom ‘Rosa’ style property. He gave us a shortlist of four and to be honest we’d have gone for any of them but one in particular stood out at 118,000 euros. We decided to go for it, only Eyjafjallajökull had a different idea and we were grounded in the UK. Days passed and another buyer had an offer of 105,000 euros accepted. Disappointed but not beaten, we decided to use our flight entitlement and touched down three weeks later once the dust had literally settled.”
“The charade continued when we took a shine to a ‘Rosa’ but the agent was unable to get a viewing as the owners were having a relaxing drink in Mazarron Port and would not be moved. Stuck in limbo we tried to plan our next move and found ourselves window-shopping at Mercers who have their own office onsite at Camposol. Staring straight at us was a larger ‘Carmen’ on for an absurd 120,000 euros so we popped in to find out what was wrong with it. Answer – nothing.”
Shirley continues, “Mercers told us that the owner was highly motivated to sell for personal reasons and, having seen a sale fall through in February this year for 192,000 euros, slashed the price to encourage interest. The new price of 120,000 euros had only been agreed the day before and it was doing the trick. In the 15 minutes we sat in the Mercers office, three other people enquired about the property. We tried to convince the agent that we were serious and to put a ‘sold’ notice across the window card – but of course it wasn’t ours - yet!”
“Again, the owner was in Mazarron Port, but in contrast this lady was happy for Mercers to let themselves in and conduct a viewing. Although the home clearly hadn’t been ‘staged’ for us - she didn’t know we were coming - we fell for it instantly. The huge swimming pool, the spacious living area, it was just perfect. A deal was done at just below asking price and we had our dream. Considering the fact that Carmens sold for more than that ten years ago and there was a comparable Carmen up the road on for 170,000 euros, that volcano really did us a favour in guiding us to the best home at the best price.”
The Armitts signed on the dotted line and moved in on 10 June this year. Both have settled in quickly and are having regular Spanish lessons. Kevin is a regular at British-owned Friends in Nautical Sports (FINS), a diving centre in Mazarron, whilst Shirley is mainly acting as hostess for the constant stream of visitors. The Armitt household is fully booked with guests from 9 September to 28 October and Shirley wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve even extended an open invitation to the previous owner to come over at any time as they found them so charming. Also among the guests will be their two sons, Kris 25 and Kevin 27, one of whom dropped a bombshell just a week after the Armitts moved.
Shirley finishes, “Our youngest found out on 9 June that his wife Kara was expecting but didn’t want to tell us until after we’d completed so as not to influence the signing. A week later he confessed so we’re now in Spain mindful of the fact that we’re leaving behind a whole new chapter and the imminent arrival of our first grandchild. This has thrown me somewhat but Kevin’s adamant he won’t be moving back to UK anytime in the next ten years so I guess we’ll have to get used to home and away fixtures with the new family. They’ve already spent a fortnight with us and loved it, hopefully the new addition will too.”
For more information, visit spanishproperty.co.uk.
