The Costa Calida is to the south of the Costa Blanca and is in the province of Murcia, 1 hour and 10 minutes south from Alicante but close to Murcia airport. Here you enjoy the best of both worlds the Garden of Spain and some of the finest unpolluted seas and unspoilt beaches in Europe it bolts onto the back of the Blanca's EEC Blue Flag Award.

The popular resorts of Murcia's "warm coast" are around the Mar Menor. Between Cabo de Palos and Cabo Tinoso the few small beaches are dwarfed by cliffs and headlands. The resorts of the southern part of the coast are relatively quiet for Spain. There are several fine beaches at Puerto de Mazzaron and at nearby Bolnuevo where the wind has eroded the soft rocks into some strange shapes. The growing resort of Aguilas marks the southern limit of the coast at the border with Andalusia.

Buying a Spanish property will normally be contained in a private contract with a deposit of around 10% payable which is binding by law. It is possible to agree a contract where either party may change their minds at a financial cost. The private contract should contain details of the agreed deposit payment, purchase price and details for payment of the outstanding balance of the agreed buying price plus any additional extras and your intended completion. A Notary will prepare the official contracts and make sure it complies with Spanish regulations. If there is common ownership a Community of Owners must be established through which community charges can be shared. If your property is contained in an apartment block then the law will relate to the Horizontal Division and this should be clarified, especially in new developments. Any property sale or purchase in Spain should be registered in the Land Registry and its important to make sure any relevant taxes are paid before this is done.

It is common practice for the sale and purchase price to be understated by Spanish sellers, enabling them to reduce their tax liability and reducing your stamp duty fees. However, you could be liable for Capital Gains tax on additional profit once the true price is declared and non residents will normally be expected to deposit 5% of the sale proceeds with local tax offices until any agreements are reached, and could have liability by both seller and buyer if the profits or in excess of set limits around Pt2,000,000.

You would expect to pay a total of around 10% of the purchase price for realestate in Spain. This could include Stamp duty, charged at 7% of the official selling price (4.5% for the Canaries), and 0.5% for contract documents Land Registry is charged against a rateable table held by local authorities. There will also be a tax on the increase of the land your property lies on since it was last sold and should be paid by the vendor. Notary fees will also be included in the total costs.

All your Spanish property taxes will be based on the official price registered, not on selling prices and you would expect to pay under 1% annually, plus additional service taxes set by the local authority. Wealth tax charges apply for residents after 17m ptas of net assets; if you don't apply for residency you could be charged tax for all your net assets. Rate varies from fractions of a percent to over 2% depending on net assets. Click Here for more info.

Spanish lenders will allow you to borrow against Spanish property and can usually be arranged in most major currencies normally over terms of up to 15 years, with exception of 25 years at up to 80% of the buying price.