Pool your resources Lou Prendergast, Daily Record 3rd September 2005 (pdf file: Download )
It's Friday night, you've finished work and you're really excited about going home. Why? Because it's your other home you're heading for - the one you finally bought in sun-drenched Spain.
It may sound like a pipe dream, but international developer CLC Resort Homes is making the reality of buying abroad much easier by offering owners a guaranteed rental income for a 10-year term.
The luxury apartments for sale at Santa Cruz Suites in Club La Costa's resort on Mijas Costa on the Costa del Sol come with a leaseback option, as well as four weeks a year for personal use.
It's a win-win situation. When you're not using the place yourself for holidays, you're leasing it back to the company, covering your mortgage and even making money from someone else using it.
And when you visit the show home and experience Club La Costa, you'll understand why it's so popular. This is holiday home heaven for anyone looking for a languid, luxurious break abroad.
The vast complex is built on a series of valleys and hills, and members can use facilities in any of several branded areas - leaving Santa Cruz behind to explore, say, Marina del Sol or San Diego Suites. It's a very pretty place - waterfalls, palm trees and vibrant blooms are bursting out from everywhere, with terracotta tiles defining the walkways to the various properties.
Everything is on site - shops, restaurants, pools, cafes, activities, entertainment, bars and cash machines. There's even an ice-cream van and a little motorised 'train' to take you around the place.
Glorious sunshine is pretty much guaranteed, you can fly direct from Glasgow (with a host of low-cost airlines), you're only 20 minutes from Malaga airport and within easy reach of Marbella and Puerto Banus.
APARTMENTS IN SPANISH RESORT ON MIJAS COSTA WILL INTEREST BUYERS LOOKING FOR LUXURY AND IMMEDIATE RETURN ON THEIR INVESTMENT
Best of all, the accommodation is absolutely beautiful. A range of one, two and three-bedroom apartments are available at Santa Cruz Suites, all with a private Jacuzzi on the terrace.
Once you've watched the sun setting over the Mediterranean from the site's elevated position overlooking the sea, it's time to go inside, and you'll find yourself in one fabulous pad.
It's all marble floors, intricate stonework, a lattice woodwork frame around the spa bath in the master bedroom's open plan en-suite, and really warm, Eastern-influenced interior styling.
Imagine a big, chunky yellow sofa set in front of a widescreen Sony TV with state-of-the-art surround sound system and satellite TV stations. Take control of the remote and you might never want to go outside again.
A low coffee table is set on a fine wool cream rug - at arm's length from a couple of comfy chairs - and there's a dining table and chairs beside the fully-fitted kitchen area.
Enjoy little touches like a powerful shower, top-notch kitchen appliances, dimmer switches for the lights, bedside alarm clock and kitchen equipment including, importantly, a bottle opener.
Being able to take a dip on the sun terrace and eat al fresco - lovely outdoor furniture is included - means you need never leave the privacy of your own apartment if you don't want to.
But if you fancy a blast of holiday atmosphere, you're only two minutes away from the buzz of pool-side culture.
Lie on a lounger soaking up the rays, drifting off to the familiar faraway hum of excited kids splashing about in the water while the smell of food cooking at the beach bar whets your appetite.
Hop aboard one of the open-air trains that run members around the site, stopping at key points such as cafes, mini markets and the entrance to the underpass which leads to the beach.
Some restaurants have play areas outside where bouncy castles have been erected to keep the kids happy while the adults grace the dance floor, strutting their funky stuff to the live band.
Other amenities include lush, landscaped gardens, a 24-hour concierge service, and a spa and leisure centre.
And to add to the attractions, a golf course is currently under construction.
Roy Peires, chairman and founder of Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels, believes that to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of today's homebuyers, building properties of the highest quality construction and design is not necessarily enough.
As far as he is concerned, developers must offer really exceptional amenities and very high standards of service within each development.
He said: "Whether people are buying as an investment, a holiday home with excellent rental potential or a freehold property for their own exclusive use, buyers today have very high expectations.
"And at Club La Costa we aim to ensure that every home we build meets, and hopefully exceeds, these requirements."
When buyers of homes at the Santa Cruz Suites opt for the leaseback programme, they will receive 4.5 per cent of the property's purchase price back, split into 12 monthly payments.
And a second CLC development - designed by a top Spanish architect and located within California Beach Resort - is also available.
This off-plan development comprises 37 two-bedroom penthouses and apartments in a magnificent location, again with private Jacuzzis on the terraces; top-of-the-range fitted kitchens and bathrooms; 24-hour security and concierge service; large communal swimming pools in the landscaped grounds; private beach, and tennis and golf courses just minutes away.
Buyers here are being offered a full-service, hassle-free management and maintenance programme, with CLC Resort Homes taking care of rental, management and maintenance.
Prices at Malibu Mansions are from £240,000. Prices at Santa Cruz start from 155,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, £205,000 for two bedrooms and three-bedroom apartments from £280,000.
For further information on Santa Cruz Suites, contact Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels' London office on 0208 358 4113 or the Spanish office 0034 952 669977, or log on to clcresorthomes.com
Oasis of calm: The luxurious Santa Cruz Suites development in Spain
A place in the sun: The apartments at Santa Cruz Suites are spacious and the interiors have been decorated in an Eastern style
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