I have lived in southern Spain, with my family, for nearly 8 years and have watched numerous folks' dream rural lifestyle come to a sad end. The area has changed a great deal: prices are up, water supply is an issue, there are limited income-earning opportunities and an increasing risk of being burnt out by bushfires. Despite this, it is still possible to create the rural lifestyle you want, but it is essential to be asking more questions than simply "Can I afford it?" , "Has the property got title deeds?" and "Has the property got water rights?". Did you know, for instance, that although the property title deed will indicate the number of hours irrgiation water entitlement that you have, this entitlement will be halved and halved again during the summer due to water shortages. Also having water rights doesn't mean that you have the right to bring that water over other people's land to your home ... tricky, eh?! It's important, too, to know whether the land you would like to buy is going to produce the lifestyle you want. A couple who spoke to me after putting down a €10,000 deposit on a rural property, pulled out of the purchase when they realised that it would not be capable of sustaining the livestock they wanted to keep - they lost their €10,000 deposit.
