House-hunting in Spain: where to start

Finding your dream home in Spain seems like an impossible task when you’re just only starting, especially if you’re not even sure what you’re looking for! We began without a clear idea of where we wanted to buy. We only knew that it should be somewhere on the coast, and not too far from a beach. Which coast? We didn’t care that much at that point. Plus didn’t know which coast was which anyway…

I don’t know Spanish, so I started looking on sites such as Zoopla and Rightmove which have their ‘overseas’ sections. However, I soon found out that they’re not of much use if you don’t know the geography of the coastal regions that well. Ploughing through hundreds of ads is difficult if you have to check where the property is on a map each time you see something remotely interesting – only to find out that it’s 30 miles from the nearest beach. Zoopla and Rightmove don’t offer searching by map options for properties outside the UK, but there are Spanish sites that do!

Fotocasa

fotocasa.es is my favourite. It’s user-friendly, modern-looking and offers plenty of filtering options, which come in handy when you finally decide that you’re after a detached house rather than a flat (and that a swimming pool is a must!). More importantly, you can simply click on ‘search by map’ and just move along the coast (if you’re so inclined).

You can also set up property alerts which arrive in your inbox or/and use Fotocasa app which offers the same features as the website. The app also gives you a very neat option –  you can go directly to Google Maps ‘Street view’ to see your chosen property (providing the vendor/agent located it precisely).

It’s also available in English which is rather helpful if you don’t know your chalet from your finca.

Idealista

idealista.com has similar features, although doesn’t exactly offer Fotocasa’s ‘search by map’ option – however it will show you where the properties are once you’ve narrowed your search by selecting the region and the area that interest you.

There’s also an Idealista app, and both the site and the app are available in English; you can sign up for property alerts too.

Pisos

pisos.com looks somewhat similar to Idealista site and offers very similar options, including viewing your search results on a map.  It doesn’t seem to be available in English though – a real bummer at the beginning – but there’s a flip side. You will pick up some estate-agent Spanish phrases very quickly! ‘Muy cerca de la playa’ is my favourite one!