Buying a property as part of a syndicate

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 7:15 am

This is an idea I've had.

In 1986 me and my first wife saw a very small property at the lovely Commmunidad Villacana between San Pedro and Estepona.
It was equivalent to two hotel rooms on top of each other. Bathroom and kitchenette on the ground floor and no 2nd bathroom on the top floor. Nice balcony and small terraces front and back. The main asset was the beach side location and numerous pools and some on site eateries.
When we got back to uk we told our best friends and they asked to come in 50/50.
This made the price very reasonable. I think it ended up 10k each couple.
The other three were all teachers and I was self employed and couldn't worry in school holidays so there was plenty of time for both families to visit several times a year.
It was great for holidays but never big enough to stay for more than a coulpe of weeks. It was so small, we called it La Alacena.
We made a mistake. When they asked to come in, we should have paid a bit more and got a two or three bed place.
The arrangement worked well for 4 years.
Then me and my wife split up.
She got the gold mine, I got the shaft
They split it right down the middle and gave her the better half.
My share included her Quarter share.
Couple of years later the other couple split. He went to live in South America and she lost interest so the current Mrs Coeur de Lion bought them out.
Move on a few years. We started coming just once a year and decided to sell up.
Since then we come to the area once a year and rent. We love it.

To get to the point......

I am thinking of buying again.

I don't think it makes sense to buy a place and only visit once a year.
But if I could get a syndicate of say four families together, we could buy a decent place, that wouldn't sit empty for most of the year.
Btw way I wouldn't touch time share with a barge pole.
The shared ownership would keep the running costs down and we could have some sort of agreement about what would happen when the inevitable friends and relatives asked if they could use it.
What we did with the old place was that a friend or relative paid 50% of the rental to the other couple and a nominal amount to us to cover that periods running costs.
Other thing to consider are what would happen if one of the syndicate wanted to leave.

Has anyone done this or have any views on my idea.

Thanks

wollie
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby wollie » Tue May 08, 2018 7:26 am

Are you mad or what? you say you already got shafted...
"Partners are for sleeping with and lots of times that does not work out"

sorry....

BENIDORM
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby BENIDORM » Tue May 08, 2018 7:35 am

Richard,
My advice would be..Forget It...continue renting or go inland and buy a cheap 'bolthole'..

Partnerships are Hardships..... :(

Regards,
Gordon..

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 8:03 am

Thanks Wollie and Benny.

Wollie..... you misunderstood. I didn't get shafted on the house. In fact we did rather well. Bought when prices were low. Bought out the partners after a slump, and sold the whole place after a major boom. I never regretted buying or selling.
It was the divorce where I got shafted.

Benny ... in uk I live just about as far from the sea as possible,so anything I buy has to be on the coast. I appreciate this attracts a premium.

Are both of you saying buying a second home in Spain, either outright or as part of a partnership is not a sound investment?
I appreciate no one can predict how the property market will perform, but as a long term investment it seems to have worked for people in the past.

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costakid
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby costakid » Tue May 08, 2018 8:24 am

Buy a 2nd home in the uk for rent and the money you earn from that spend on holidaying in Spain. I have never regretted buying in Spain but it has not been a good investment money wise. It has been fantastic for us and our children when they were younger.

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby BENIDORM » Tue May 08, 2018 8:31 am

Richard,
I understand that you would prefer to be coastal, however you don't have to go very far inland to find a good value house in which you could be the sole owners without compromising your ability to control your destiny !

I do think that owning a property in Spain could be a good move at the present time while there are still plenty of good properties available at not inflated prices..

Anyway Good Luck with your plans... :wave:

Regards,
Gordon

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 10:01 am

Thanks for your advice Benny. I value it.

Btw I always confuse you with Peteroldracer. Is he still on the forum.?

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby Unicorn » Tue May 08, 2018 10:21 am

Richard, have you considered trawling round the banks. many of them are holding properties that they will sell for a good price?

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby katy » Tue May 08, 2018 11:09 am

wollie wrote:Are you mad or what? you say you already got shafted...
"Partners are for sleeping with and lots of times that does not work out"

sorry....
My thoughts too. Richard, go to bed and have a lie down or take advantage of this lovely weather and swim it off :wink: :lol:

Spain is for a lifestyle never an investment.

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby BENIDORM » Tue May 08, 2018 11:29 am

Richard shocked me with......

Btw I always confuse you with Peteroldracer.

............YIKES..... :shock: :shock: :shock: ,
You need to visit Specsavers.... :D ..

Peter is still on the forum but downsized and now resides in the Mar Menor area ( A place that I know well )...Good move for him...

I don't think that Richard is really looking for an investment, more lifestyle and to continue his long established love affair with Spain... :thumbup:

Regards,
Gordon

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby Manchesteral » Tue May 08, 2018 12:06 pm

Hi Richard, I have a group of friends who have been operating this system for about 10 years now, six couples bought a large old townhouse in Almeria province, each couple owning two months per year on a rotating basis, ie Couple a in the first year had the right to use in for Jan/Feb, couple b March/April, couple c May/June etc.
The following year couple a had the use of it for Mar/April etc, etc, etc.
If they wanted to swop months they just negociated between themselves until a compromise was reached, in some cases money changing hands with everyone ending up happy, I believe one of the couples split up and they just took one month each.
They drew up a legally binding contract and I believe that one of the clauses was that if they wanted out they had to sell their shares in house (sic) and not to an outsider, another clause was that they could not rent their share out to anyone for money or loan it to anyone other than a close blood relative.
As far as I'm aware they have been doing this for 10 years now, obviously they have had some small problems along the way but as they all still own their shares and are all still friends it's working !
I should stress that these people are all well off and have flexible timetables.

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 1:51 pm

Unicorn... I hadn't thought of that. Thanks. We looked for you in the port Sunday.
Hope you are well. Was going to eat at Caracola but the time wasn't right. I'm not confusing you with someone else am I?

Katy.... you owned in Spain didn't you?

Benny. Didn't mean visualy. I've no idea what either of you look like.

Manchester.... see... your story proves my idea can work.

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 1:57 pm

Benny. You're right. I'm not interested in an investment. Our wants and needs are quite simple and we've never lusted after wealth. I had my own one man band business for 40 years and resisted the temptation to expand. Retired now. Got enough to see us out.

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 2:06 pm

When I said she got the gold mine, I got the shaft, this is what I meant

https://youtu.be/cudY-kC4JOQ

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby Miro » Tue May 08, 2018 3:06 pm

RichardCoeurdeLion wrote: Are both of you saying buying a second home in Spain...is not a sound investment?
I appreciate no one can predict how the property market will perform, but as a long term investment it seems to have worked for people in the past.
RichardCoeurdeLion wrote:Benny. You're right. I'm not interested in an investment....
Seems to me that there's a bit of a contradiction there. For what it's worth, I'm firmly with the doubters here - property in Spain is not a good investment: you could get lucky and ride another crazy bubble, but otherwise the costs of buying & selling, not to mention owning & running, are likely to outweigh any potential financial gains. But even if it is only the lifestyle you're after...OK, it obviously can work out for some, but Wow!....the potential for all sorts of things to go wrong here seem limitless. Why on earth would anyone want to get into such a complicated arrangement, especially in one's retirement years when stress & hassle are supposed to be things of the past? And the most obvious potential result is the ruination of good friendships due to disagreements over money matters. Friends & business do not mix, IMHO.
For once a year visits, why not just carry on renting and enjoying, rather than owning & stressing?
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby Unicorn » Tue May 08, 2018 3:58 pm

Nope Richard, it is truly me and I was eating there both Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes!

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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby katy » Tue May 08, 2018 5:32 pm

RichardCoeurdeLion wrote:Benny. You're right. I'm not interested in an investment. Our wants and needs are quite simple and we've never lusted after wealth. I had my own one man band business for 40 years and resisted the temptation to expand. Retired now. Got enough to see us out.
You did mention investment in your previous post.

Are both of you saying buying a second home in Spain, either outright or as part of a partnership is not a sound investment?
I appreciate no one can predict how the property market will perform, but as a long term investment it seems to have worked for people in the past.


I doubt I would be able to find one friend interested let alone four or six :D If they are couples one half may not be as keen. Rotating periods may not be for everyone. Some may allow relatives from hell to use it. Someone needs to be administrator and there can be a lot of hassle being an absent owner. Imagine getting agreement if a new bathroom or kitchen was needed, sounds like a nightmare.

Agree with Costa kid, buy a UK property and use the income for holidays.

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 6:33 pm

OK OK OK already.

I'm forgetting the whole hair brained scheme.

I have these moments of madness from time to time.

I'm sitting on the naughty step.

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 6:46 pm

Topaz.... we walked right past it about 2.00

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RichardCoeurdeLion
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Re: Buying a property as part of a syndicate

Postby RichardCoeurdeLion » Tue May 08, 2018 8:08 pm

Unicorn... sorryI don't know why I called you Topaz

Loosing it.


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