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Sunshine and naturism go hand in hand. Rolling naked in the snow may work for some but I need at least 22 degrees centigrade and the sound of an ocean gently lapping the shore.
The trouble is that British summers are proving rather short and unreliable. And ‘global warming’ now sadly, more fact than gloomy speculation hasn’t improved the situation either. The weather is set to get more unpredictable still.
However, for those with a few bob to spare and a little determination to invest it wisely, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There are holiday homes in sun-kissed corners of the world, at prices to suit most pockets. In fact, opportunities exist to retreat altogether from this grey, rain-ravaged and, generally, over-priced land. As interest rates plummet and house prices sit at new highs, many are forging such dreams into reality.
One likely destination has to be the famous Vera Playa in Almeria, Spain. Here, perhaps 340 days sunshine a year can be counted upon. Year round naturism isn’t out of the question (although you’ll need to be a little thicker-skinned December to January).
Vera Playa has an established, and growing, complex of beachside apartments. Its inmates can roam extensive grounds, blissfully unhampered by clothes or inhibition, drape themselves like lazy cats over balconies and patios, or run with abandon into the inviting sea never more than footsteps away.
Our love affair with Spain endures. As maturity and hard work begin finally to bear fruit, thoughts of finding a foothold in the good life here are, naturally, uppermost in mind. So, we visited Vera Playa with an ulterior motive - more than a last minute tan. We wondered: What our money could buy us? (Indeed, what might it possibly earn?) And could Almeria be that elusive place to call home in the autumn of our years?
With such important decisions one must beware of being seduced by the novelty, a few days decent weather, the indecently cheap wine, and the quaintness of it all. The other man’s grass . . isn’t always greener. In the height of an Almerian summer ‘grass’ may not be much in evidence at all. It is wise to know the territory well, to visit it more than once and, if possible, in every season. Otherwise you could be left out of pocket and pining for England’s green and, occasionally, very pleasant land.
Vera Playa is familiar to us. (You may recall our account of it in H&E issue no …. ) There’s more here than one good naturist resort. After the sea, other directions coastal and inland - are well worth exploring too. The nearby Moorish village of Mojacar is a favourite tourist destination. High-rise buildings are absent - a corrugated, mountainous terrain makes them difficult to build and the cost of living is notably cheaper.
The beach, however, was our first port of call, where we strained our ears for words of English that might betray a knowledgeable ex pat in residence here.
Those words, when they came, were from a Dutchman.
Willem was ‘holding court’- a personality surrounded by old friends and new, no doubt acquiring more before the day was done. He was delighted to advise us, but, for a real authority on the subject, Willem directed us to the top floor of a beachfront apartment block. There, another Dutchman, Rob Kingma, and his attractive wife (from Barcelona) welcomed us into their plush residence, with its commanding rooftop view of the entire complex.
By profession a translator in public relations - with a grasp of English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Dutch Rob pointed out various apartments for sale and gave a running commentary on each. We were looking for an investment property, one to let for a major part of the year, and perhaps retire to in the future.
Rob had no obvious selling pitch and freely expressed opinions - when he thought the price reasonable, negotiable, or, simply, too much. He stressed that he was neither an official agent nor a property manager, but he did oversee purchase and rental arrangements for many people there whether a job or his hobby, I suspected the boundaries had become blurred. We arranged to meet the following day for a guided tour of the complex and an internal inspection of properties for sale.
Externally at least, accommodation in the naturist area of Vera Playa is a little nondescript and Legoland-ish. There are new developments nearby more pleasing to the eye but, again, they lack identity.
Given that the beach and the climate are the first reasons for being here and that ‘the picturesque’ is never far away, it’s probably best to leave the aesthetic argument and address the practicalities.
Apartments in Spain are very practical. Whereas in the past I’ve only been tempted to purloin a bath towel, nowadays I’d like to take the rest of the plumbing with me too! No, seriously, fixtures, fittings and functionality have come a long way. Standards here are of a high specification. Bathrooms tend to be much larger than kitchen areas, with capacious corner baths - some blatantly suggesting social possibilities (?!).
At the bottom of the scale (if on the top floor) a studio flat immediately next to the beach was for sale at 7.5 million pesetas (roughly £29000 according to my well-thumbed calculator). And that was negotiable. We didn’t go inside, Rob said it needed some redecoration and we were eager to press on. In retrospect though, I wish we had. How difficult could it be to rent out a location like this one? A tidy earner, I imagined with the right tenants.
From there we inspected one, two and three bedroom properties of varying shapes, sizes and prices.
A one-bedroom apartment at 12 to 13 million pesetas usually comes furnished and, with a sofa bed in the lounge, sleeps four. This is the most popular buy for investment purposes easily let and maintained.
Of course, in holiday letting you can’t bank on full year occupancy here. There’s a lucrative peak season that has to be set against the vacant and lower priced periods, and those when you’ll want to stay. Do your sums, base them on a 6-month income and consider anything more an added bonus. Rob did point out some properties that were successfully let all year round. These were, unexpectedly, away from the beach. Evidently a shielded patio bathed in winter sun beats being sandblasted nearer the shore.
Two and three bedroom accommodations may come in at double, even triple the price. These can be desirable residences but if income is important to you they are harder to rent out, not forgetting, to maintain - most naturists are couples and singles. The grounds themselves, grassy areas and swimming pools, is another expense to be met by the owner, costing in the region of £30 a month. One unsettling fee to pay when buying a home in Spain is the tax, which Rob advised us stood at 6%! Doubtless, this provides a good basis for haggling with a vendor eager to sell but don’t neglect to include this in your calculations. You will also need a Spanish accountant/lawyer (the phrase here is fiscal representative, which doesn’t translate precisely) if you’re letting, and very probably an agent to procure tenants and oversee security, repairs and cleaning. These services don’t always come cheap 25% is not unusual for full management. Finally, whilst Rob assured me that the whole business was in reality a simple transaction (and I believed him), I wouldn’t recommend that anyone takes the plunge without reading a good book on the subject. There are several publications available.
Well, did we buy?
Actually no. Having explored a few miles inland, and seeing the prices tumble, we’ve got our hearts set on finding a Finca (country house), with a little land, some Old World charm, and the privacy to dress or undress as we see fit. Will we tempt our new friends off the beach? I somehow doubt it, but I know we’ll always make time for another day at the seaside.
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Rob Kingma is available to advise and supply rented apartments on Vera Playa.
E-mail: robana@wanadoo.es or visit his web site at: www.parquevera.de (currently only in German but soon to be translated into English and Spanish).
All calculations are based on the approximate exchange rate of 260 pesetas to £1.
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