Lecrin Valley News -

6th October 2004

New autovia nears completion

The new autovia linking Malaga to Almeria is well under way. Roadwork's can be seen near Izbor, which will be a major junction for the Granada, Lecrin Valley and the Alpujarras. I have been told that the road will be completed during 2005. This will make the journey time from Malaga to the Lecrin Valley approximately 55 minutes.

25th September 2004

Office re-location

Lecrin Valley has re-located to a new office. The new office is situated in the heart of the valley, next to the restaurant Los Naranjos, Melegis.

27th October 2003

FAIRWAYS AND PISTES

On trips up to Granada in the last week it has been encouraging to see increased signs of construction activity on the site to the south of the city which is now clearly signposted as the new Santa Clara golf course. Still a long way to go, but with associated restaurants, bar and leisure facilities, this 18 hole course will be perfectly situated for the Lecrin Valley- only 10 to 15 minutes away and close to the N323 motorway. Its completion and the extension of the Motril golf course from 9 to 18 holes will add to the existing Granada course (also on the south side of the city) to provide 3 substantial golf courses within 35 minutes of the valley.

To every cloud there is a silver lining. A few days of heavy rain in the area has produced useful early falls of snow on the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. On the occasions when the cloud has cleared, we have been able to see a good cover of snow on Caballo and Veleta and snow as far down as the ski resort itself. All good news for the start of what we hope will be as good a season as last year. The resort normally opens in the first week of December and remains open until the first week of May. The superb wide pistes and well organised facilities make this a great place to ski and, by staying in the Lecrin Valley allow you to wander amongst the orange groves and enjoy the sun!

17th October 2003

Spanish lawyers

To satisfy all the inquirers asking about legal advice in Spain we have given a page to our Spanish lawyers. We have no links other than they represent our company, we find them efficient and trustworthy they all speak good English. If you need Spanish legal advice on property and tax, feel free to contact the law firm directly with any queries you may have.

28th September 2003

Significant property news this week is the substantial reduction in price of Cortijo Alcazar to 650,000 euros. The owner would prefer to sell quickly and this reduction makes the property an exceptional and rare opportunity to buy a fascinating and beautiful house in stunning surroundings. NB. Cortijo Alcazar sold within 3 days of the price reduction.

Options for eating out in the valley improved considerably this week with the opening of a new restaurant in Restabal- in the heart of the valley. The Hosteria Capellania de Alconada is located in a significant and substantial house on the edge of the village.
The building dates from the 17th century and has been carefully and tastefully restored by the present owners, whose family have been connected with the house for much of its history. An interesting piece of its history is connected with an oil painting in the entrance to the building. Some years ago, a fire in the house caused much damage, but somehow this painting of the Virgin and the dead Christ was not destroyed. The family still has a letter signed by the pope at the time which says this was a significant event and anyone who prays before the painting will receive an indulgence in the next life!
There are outside terraces with beautiful views across the valley towards the Sierra Nevada and four separate rooms set up as dining areas. The chef is from Valencia and this is reflected in the rice dishes which are specialities of the house.

19th Sept. 2003

Six months since setting up lecrinvalley.com we thought it a good time to expand the site by adding a NEWS page. We will endeavour regularly to update the page with information/news relating to property in the valley, or items of general interest to those living or considering living in the area. This first item will be mostly about us!

Since April we have sold a wide variety of properties which include unserviced ruins requiring full restoration projects, serviced and restored properties in need of minor works, redecoration or simply a little care and attention, fully restored properties partly furnished and ready to occupy and an unserviced cortijo with 3 hectares of almonds and olives high up in the Parque Natural of the Sierra Nevada.

The Web site has had 4.6 million visitors and we have personally answered 1,020 emails since our launch.Our statistics have shown a month on month increase in activity, with the exception of August where there was an expected slight fall off.

Interest in property in the area is considerable and growing steadily. Don't expect prices to fall or stand still. As interest increases and the availability of ruined houses suitable for repair or reconstruction dries up, there is bound to be pressure on prices. Good buys are still available, but take care with reconstruction projects; look closely at the cost of building work and project management if you are unable to keep an eye on things yourself. We have a small selection of derelict properties on the site and these represent a fraction of that type of property offered to us. We have taken them on because they are the best value we have seen, and we are able to put you in contact with a team of experienced architects and project managers who can take a project through to completion.

Increasingly however, we see there is good value in the purchase of restored property. Owners who undertook restoration projects in the valley 5 to 10 years ago, and are looking to move on, are able to get a decent return on what were much lower property and construction costs, without asking for the sort of money being sought in other areas. Furthermore you will not have to wait 12 months to get into your new home.

Also, watch out for Channel 4's A Place In The Sun, a programme due to go out either in October or November which was filmed in the valley in April and will feature 3 of our houses (2 of which are now sold).

©Lecrinvalley 2003