Hello/Hola :-)

Hello Folks

I seem to have developed a hankering for a cave home in Spain and happened across this website from link at spanish-inland-properties.

So just popped in to say "Hi" and that I would be interested in any and all good/bad stories about buying and living in a cave house

I hope to visit Galera for a couple of weeks to have a look around. Would December be a bad time to do this? I have only ever visited Andalucia (Granada/Gor/Guadix) in Spring so have no real idea of what the summers/winters are really like.

In the meantime I look forward to reading any and all of your comments/threads in order to expand my research and to help keep my eyes open!

TTFN

Cuch

cuchillo wrote:I hope to visit Galera for a couple of weeks to have a look around. Would December be a bad time to do this?

Welcome aboard, Cuch!
Be aware that December has 2 spanish holidays (the 6th and the 8th) apart from xmas. So you might find places unexpectedly closed if you come over early in the month and plane fares rather high (and places to stay pricey too) later on.

Galera is a nice place to live, we have been here bor 2 years now, nice and friendly, good views, lots of hills. dont live in a cave so cant give views there. places for sale beware who you buy with, we used a man in Baza from rusticom. If you come in Dec bring warm clothes you may need them. welcome.

Welcome, welcome, I think if you are planning to buy getting an idea of what the area is like in the winter, is a great idea, especially the magical month of December. Caves are great all year round, but defo you need heating in the winter. So my tip for December, would be to make sure where you stay, has heating, preferably a log fire / wood burner. You can get many warm sunny days in December but night-time temps can fall below freezing. Have fun and happy Cave Hunting. It is certainly the buyers market with lots of quality caves at bargain prices.

Thanks for the welcome folks

Are there any recommended estate agents I should talk to? (Or ones to avoid!)

If all goes well, is it OK to use the estate agent's recommended lawyers/builders/etc so should I get specific recommendations pick individually?

Oh, finally, what are the thoughts on renovating/building out your own cave house? Is it better to buy a (recently) renovated place? Or to buy an "empty shell" and then get a crew to dig in/build out to your own spec?

TIA

Cuch

wELCOME TO THE FORUM!
Spanish Inland Properties excellent for us. You can guarantee someone will be along to say of another good estate agent / agents, and now you'll probably get pm's from 'part time' estate agents trying to sell you something.
Estate agents tend to be disliked here, just like in the UK. People seem to think that they shouldn't charge for what they do, and they forget that without them, they would probably be still living in the UK.
Best advice is, look around listen to advice from everybody and make your own mind up. If looking for any tradesmen or cave builders / renovators get references and check out their work. Do no different than if you were looking for a tradesman in the UK. DO YOUR RESEARCH CAREFULLY. Youve made the first correct step by joining the forum, introducing yourself and asking the right questions. You'd be amazed at the amount of people that dont and get caught out.

I second what Dave says, 'make your own mind up' and do your research. For sure if an estate agent has been round for many years selling houses and lots of people know of them, and has offices, for me they are a stronger contender, than someone who has just set up and working from the boot of their car.

For me the key role of the Estate Agent, is introduce a property and sell it for a commission. From that, it is for the buyer to check, check and check and double check before they buy. I too used Spanish Inland Properties and they were fantastic, if I was to sell or buy again for sure I would be using them.  

We criss-crossed Almeria and Granada provinces visiting properties for sale with many different agents. For example
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

We quickly came to the conclusion it would be cheaper to buy something ready to move into that didn't need any major projects, than to buy a property that needed a lot of work. For example, adding a below-ground swimming pool with filtration can easily cost ¢15,000. The market is so depressed at the moment that good properties tend to be reasonably priced and it really is a buyer's market.

We fell in love with the area Orce-Galera-Castrill and we stumbled across Spanish Inland Properties' Galera office when visiting the bar across the road. Went to see some properties with Sean and the rest is history. We've yet to complete on our purchase (fingers crossed for 2 September) but so far have found Spanish Inland Properties easy to deal with, the same with the solicitor—Victorio Heras—that SIP and indeed many others recommended.

December will be an interesting time to visit and SIP should be able to fix you up with a cave house rental which will be cheaper than staying in hotel/hostal accommodation. And you can test the theory that cave houses are warm in the winter (perhaps not always true I fear).

Our reconnoitre visit turned quickly into a purchasing visit, but if you are the slightest bit uncertain of whether you should buy, many people will recommend that you rent somewhere first and live there for a while to help you decide whether Spain, and cave living, are for you.

Welcome, suspect you've worked it out already but the Altiplano does have proper seasons, unlike the Costas. The summer is very hot, not unusual to be into the 40s and winter can get very cold, -10 overnight. Not that it should put you off as underground the temperature in a cave will be in the late teens to early 20s all year round.

Hello all

Many thanks for the various bits of information. I think I will ask further questions in the main forum (after searching first!  ) to avoid the answers being lost in a "Hello" thread.

BTW pete_l, took me the most of the evening to read through your blog. Fascinating stuff!

Has anyone else written up their story?

TIA/TTFN

If you look at the signature on the bottom of posts you will find that quite a few people have websites for their caves with links in their signature like the one below.

Quite a few of us got started following Mac's blog. He started the original forum too. He doesn't post much now but I think his original blog is still at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

@Stuart: Yep, just finished reading through your build. Awesome stuff there! Having read it I am tempted to go down the "self build" route too but as Tim says, the cost may be an issue.

@Tim: I hear what you are saying about the temp in winter. Hence me specifically wanting to come in Dec to check things out. I have only ever been in Spain during the Spring so know it can get chilly (freezing!) at night.   The impression I get about the varying temps seems to do with how the outside buildings/walls/doors have been constructed and insulated as that is where most of the insulation may be "missing"

Meant to ask, what proportion of members have their houses as a holiday day home and what proportion permanently live in Spain?

Also, those of you who use them only for your holidays, do you look rent them out during the rest of the year? Or leave it locked up?

I ask because one of my thoughts is that I should be looking to rent out when I am not there and I would only come out there "off season" so as to "maximize" any earning potential.

Thoughts?

TIA

Just received our bill for council tax 285€ understand this is a bit less than we would have to pay in England:)

I, personally, LOVE December here! The often very warm days and the cold, crisp evenings with the smell of woodsmoke emitting from chimneys in every nook and cranny in the village - perfecto! x

Hello and welcome to the forum! Tim's right - it really is a buyer's market at present and although the exchange rate isn't great, there's some bargains around! 
There's no right answers to your questions - there's so many different possibilities regarding properties here and a lot depends on your needs, wants and budget.
The total renovation route suited us - it was really hard work and went on forever, but we've ended up with a cavehouse that is uniquely 'ours'. 
We had good experiences with several estate agents but had very specific requirements and ended up renting here so we could look without feeling rushed. In the end we bought via a local person who had a part-time estate agency ( very informal!) and had lots of local contacts. On that note, there are a lot of older Spanish people looking to sell their caves and move in with family or buy a small apartment, but they don't always advertise very well. So making friends with local people can be worthwhile. Good luck and have fun!

Ponderosa wrote:Just received our bill for council tax 285€ understand this is a bit less than we would have to pay in England:)

Wow! ... Assume that that is the annual bill?
My niece has been looking for a place in London and in one place the council tax is £2.5K a year!!

Yes Sally i agree with you love from October to December beautiful sunny days and crisp evening ! log fire going potatoes in it ! and great for walking too  Oh and baking  

hi!