In inland Spain, however, you can find some beautiful properties with far more space and for far lower prices than they would be on the coast. Buying inland also opens up the range of property options, such as fincas, country houses and rural townhouses, often with your own garden or land.

If you choose to buy a house on the coast in Spain, you will probably buy an apartment, unless your budget stretches to something bigger such as a villa or townhouse. Being on the coast means you are likely to be surrounded by everything you need. It's a far more comforting option, too, if you don't speak Spanish. Bear in mind the crowds in summer, though, and the lull in activity throughout winter, when many bars and restaurants close.

A new-build property in Spain is most likely to be an apartment or townhouse on an urban development with similar - even identical - properties. You have the benefit of high quality communal facilities, so by paying a quarterly service charge you save on the hassle of maintaining your own garden and swimming pool. You also have peace of mind when you are away that the development is lived in and looked after.

But you may prefer to live in a more rural setting, whether a finca in the country or an old townhouse in a typically Spanish village, and you may want somewhere that you can renovate or improve according to your own taste. This comes with the worries of having to deal with the upkeep yourself and what happens to the place when you're not there.

In terms of an investment, buying off-plan is no longer the quick road to riches it once was on the Costa del Sol, but it can still be a worthwhile investment if viewed over a longer period. Properties are estimated to rise by about 10% in value this year, which means you will already have improved on your initial investment by the time it's built.

Resale properties now account for the major share of the market on the Costa del Sol where the market is predicted to rise by about 5-10% this year.

On the Costa del Sol, the average house price is £200,000 and you are unlikely to find much for less than £150,000. Villas start at around £500,000. Marbella is the most expensive place on the coast. Cheaper places can be found further east and especially once you head East of Malaga around Nerja and this region of Axarquia.

With off-plan properties you usually exchange a private purchase contract within 30 days and then hand over your first installment, usually 15-30% of the purchase price. Your lawyer will advise you when further payments are due. On the day of completion, the balance of the purchase price is paid, and you (or more commonly, your lawyer) will sign the title deeds for the property, and the keys will be handed over. You should then allow 1-2 weeks before you can move in, in which time you can ask your lawyer to arrange for utility contracts with water and electricity companies.

Spanish banks will usually lend up to 70% of the property value to non-residents. Their choice of mortgages is more limited than that in the UK but it's a relatively simple process to secure a mortgage, provided you have evidence of income and a letter from your bank. If you are not a Spanish resident, you may have to provide an aval, which means someone who can guarantee they will pay in the event of you being unable to.

Most mortgage products are repaid on an interest and capital basis, with a maximum length of 20 years.

Shop around for deals. Ask for a copy of the mortgage contract and take it to another bank to see if they can improve the offer, as they frequently will.

You now need an NIE (see below) to buy or sell a house in Spain, even if you are a non-resident.

As soon as you arrive in Spain you will need to apply for a tax ID number (NIE) from your local police station. You can live in Spain for up to six months a year without having to pay taxes there and without being a Spanish resident. Over that period you are officially a Spanish resident for tax purposes.

The 'land grab' law (officially, the LRAU) was introduced in the Valencia region in 1994 as a way of stopping speculators from snapping up huge swathes of rural land with the intention of developing it later. The town hall simply had to say they needed that land for 'public or social benefit' and they had the right to reclaim up to 70% of the land free or pay a tiny percentage of the market value. It was enough to put speculators off. But then some developers in certain areas spotted a loophole in this law and realised they could apply the same force to owners of isolated rural properties, claiming the land was needed to build new roads or water systems.

The law means these individual owners must either pay or hand over part of their land to help subsidise these developments and it makes no concessions for whether owners of the properties are foreign or not. Those who do not live permanently in the property have not been there to receive the allotted 15 days' notice in which they must present their objection. Problems arose in some specific areas including some parts of Javéa and Orihuela when some private developers, in league with planners at the local government, have exploited a loophole in the law where they could demand compulsory purchase for a discounted price or even charge the owner for 'urbanisation'. No properties in an already urbanised area are at risk - which includes almost all apartments, townhouses and most villas. But anyone considering buying any property in the Valencia region is advised to seek proper legal advice from an independent English-speaking lawyer who knows the local area and its laws. This is particularly vital if you are considering buying outside of an urbanised zone on rural land in the Valencia region.

The Andalucian Land Law puts similar restrictions on buying rural land in southern Spain. You should be particularly wary if you are planning to buy a plot of land on which to build your home and always consult a good, independent lawyer.

The need is even more desperate given the vast amount of development taking place in these regions, particularly Murcia - known as the driest place in Europe - which is seeing mass building of upmarket developments packed with swimming pools and golf courses, for which vast supplies of water are required. So the previous Spanish Conservative government, in cahoots with the major construction companies, came up with an ambitious and highly controversial plan to divert 100 billion litres of water each year from the River Ebro - which runs from the Ebro Delta in southern Catalunya northwest to the Cantabrian border - through a 900km-pipeline to the south of Spain, to irrigate land, water golf courses and fill all those swimming pools. However, the new Socialist government, which depends upon the Catalan coalition government, including the Green Party (ICV), for its majority, is opposed to River Ebro scheme. The plan would have exorbitantly expensive (about €5 billion) and an environmental nightmare.

So the plan has been shelved and a new plan for the construction of desalination plants along the coast from Barcelona to Almeria is being worked on as a way to provide essential water to the south. Fifteen plants would provide the same amount of water as the pipeline, but quicker and more cheaply. This option is not without its environmental problems though, such as the massive salt discharges which could turn the Med into a new Dead Sea, the huge amounts of energy required to run the desalination plants and the large amounts of carbon dioxide the plants would emit. But desalination plants are the only viable solution so far to a problem which must be resolved soon. New developments here are transforming the region and one thing is certain: they are only going to increase in number.