Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

For once I agree entirely with Jackytoo. Even if interest from the Spanish end isn't strong, I would have thought a London agent would whip up some interest pronto from the banking set

This is the bit I can't quite understand about "Pain-in_Spain" (what a username !). In the other thread they were complaining that the current price was nearly double what they paid for it, hence the pain of paying CGT. Yet here they are saying they can't sell it for the same price as 9 years ago :confused:

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

I have a few horror stories like Jakytoo. I am sure the majority who let property have no trouble, but I would suggest doing that from London is very risky.

Anyway good luck, whatever you decide and please keep us posted.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

Steviedeluxe, clearly as someone without a sense of humour, my user name was coined to be ironic. When I wrote in the thread you seem to love referring to, I had been told my flat was worth considerably more and CGT would have been very high, my argument was that it is my only property worldwide and the main gripe being that in the UK nobody pays CGT on their only dwelling and is certainly not liable for tax on leaving the country as they are over here. I am selling it for 80 -100k less than what it was valued at 2 years ago, I am not greedy and the price is very fair for what it is, I didn't come here to make money as when I bought the flat I truly thought I'd spend the rest of my life here but now I know what this country is, it is time to go home. With the market as it is here, way worse than the UK, even if I dropped it to what we paid for it, which as I repeat, is not possible due to the fact we need to move back to our home which is London, it wouldn't make much difference as nobody has any money and the banks are not lending.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

If you and your partner havnt made a tax return for past 3 years its worth considering putting in a nil or fictitious (lower than tax threshold) for 08 and 09 and pay the fine for late submission and get one in before end of June for 2010 just in case you do find a buyer. That will take away the worry of paying any tax on the sale.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

There are taxes that exist in the UK that are not in Spain, and vice versa. There is no need to get abusive about it. Just be glad you dont have to pay 3% of the property value EVERY YEAR in taxes like you have to in some parts of the US and Germany.

A fair price is how much somebody will pay, Barcelona prices are down maybe 10-20% from 2007 levels, pretty similar to London. Just be happy you do not live in further down the Mediterranean where prices are down 50%

Good luck in Hackney, not a place I'd like to spend any time in. But yes at least you'll be able to claim benefits.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

So in fact you are NOT selling for the same price you paid 9 years ago! (125.000 Euros). I'm glad we've cleared that one up.

I think you are probably a lot luckier than you realise ie there are a lot worse off than yourself. I really would have thought you'd have a better chance of selling your place by using London international agents, even if you pay more commission (and yes pay cgt). I'm not totally sure why it is, but Barcelona retains that glamour image, which is why prices there are so high compared to say Burgos (or Sheffield).

There's no law that states you have to live in Hackney if moving back to London. Why not Barnet or Croydon or Wanstead or Hounslow?

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

tbf, pain-in-spain lives in the raval which is a neighbourhood that looks like Beirut, on a good day! Both in the quality of buildings and the immigrants that live there.

So not a very attractive location to buy a flat, but would be good for holiday lets as it is very central and parts are kind of a cool in a Graffiti, pot smoking skate-bording way

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

I never said I was selling for same price I bought for 9 years ago, I made a big point of saying I could not possibly sell at this price as we could never return home then. Barcelona is only glamorous if you don't live here for too many years and is mostly a transient city. I live in the equivalent of the East End of London, i.e. few white faces, I am from East London, born in Hackney and am used to it. Our flat is in a trendy area with young professionals mixed in with the trashy immigrants, right in the centre, despite the negatives there are some good points too. We will be simply moving back to the areas of London that we are used, like the infamous Raval in Barcelona, Hackney has it's very trendy bits and is quite central too. For your info we have considered Wanstead as we lived 15 years in Leyton and know the area well but prices are higher there - we'll only have 150k to buy a flat and that doesn't go far at all.

Once again, as I seem to keep repeating, I am not comparing myself to anyone as everything is relative. We have done our time here and improved our flat 100% so selling it for what we paid for would be taking a big loss as we spent years and money making it what it is. The price it's up for is fair, but we cannot go lower so this is why we have to consider the rental route as many people are forced to do nowadays. It seems to me there are lots of bitter and envious people on this forum, yes, you know who you are.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

It was a question of time before you threw in your 2 cents worth, a snob if ever I saw one. As someone who loves throwing statistics around, based on your calculations for the drop in property our flat is below what we should be asking and we are choosing to put it lower so we can get punters interested.

I am sure that you have only lived in the best areas but some of us have had to rough it in the inner city areas. However as we are creative types we could never live in the boring suburbs of anywhere. Hackney has some fantastic bits and some really scummy bits too, most big cities are the same. Our preferred area is Islington or Clerkenwell but we don't have the budget so being close by is the next best thing, unlike many people we live within our means and have tailored our lifestyle to fit.

As you point out, I live in the Raval, which has never had a great reputation in Barcelona but like similar places in London, ie. Hoxton and Shoreditch or Brick Lane, these have now become trendy and popular because of their central locations. If we had moved a few years ago we would have reaped the benefits of the risk we took to buy in an up and coming area. What has happened now is that despite the vast improvements of our neighbourhood there is too much else on the market and many people cannot afford to move.

Regarding claiming benefits in Hackney, well this is a very insulting comment. I've lived off my hard earned savings for years here and have claimed benefits only when I've had a job with an official contract so therefore was fully entitled to them. I intend to go back to my country with sufficient savings for 6 months or more for the two of us to live on, but have absolutely no stigma at all about asking for benefits if I need them as that is what they are for.

You can get back on your high horse now!

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

[QUOTE=pain-in-spain;9254699]It was a question of time before you threw in your 2 cents worth, a snob if ever I saw one. QUOTE]

I live in Benalmadena Pueblo, lovely as it is, that is definitely not the decision of a snob :D

Fair play, you are taking positive action to improve your life and I wish you all the best :thumbsup:

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

This is a simple request for advice on moving back to the UK. It seems to have turned into a have a go at Pain thread

Please give it a rest and give some helpful information rather than make what will probably be a stressful time more stressful!

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

OK, time for me to add some positive vibes. The good news is that London's economy (as opposed to the rest of the UK) is apparently doing well, so the OP should at least have a better chance of getting work. (the downside is of course that prices will remain high)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...back-recession

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

[QUOTE=cricketman;9254721]That's better and so much more civilised. I've been to Benalmadena many years ago and remembered it was quite pleasant, clearly not Marbella which I can only imagine would be hell to live in (in my opinion anyway). As I said earlier, every single place has it's nice bit and grotty bit, to different degrees. The image that many outsiders have about Barcelona is undoubtedly that of an upmarket beach paradise full of great architecture, which of course it does have, but like London there are particularly scummy areas and those in the deepest Raval are so shocking that you'd have to go a long way to see this in modern day inner city London, including the likes of Hackney which look positively middle-class in comparison, believe me I am not exaggerating!

Regarding changing my life, it's not about improving it as such, as has been suggested on here, many would kill for my life, it's just that it's not the one I wanted for me and that's why we're going. The big issue has been the lack of good and stable employment, long before the crisis happened in other parts of Europe, this has been going on for years here and an awful lot needs to be done to reform the antiquated and overtly socialist employment laws for things to really improve, not to mention the lowest of low salaries in comparison to living costs. I'm sick of the transience of Barcelona. Many times I've put the move back on the back burner simply because the thought of it is so overwhelming that it's simply been easier to stay, but both me and my partner have come to the end of the line and sadly for us it couldn't be at a worst time with what's going on in the world but as time is not on our side, we need to overcome our fears and get on with it!

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

What a sad thread. I brought two dogs from Hackney to Benalmadena many years ago. After getting the documentation, I put them in the back of the car and travelled over via Dover/Calais, a journey we all enjoyed, with frequent stops.

Unfortunately I had to take them back again some years later, on landing at Harwich they had to go into quarantine as it was at the time, and it was hard.

I’ve got two different dogs now but their documents are up to date and if I had to I would drive them back too.

We have a relative who brought three cats over five years ago, by aeroplane, and she now has to take them back. She has investigated all the different ways and is flying them back as soon as their papers are ready.

Some of the comments on this thread must be from people who don’t like animals. I try and stay clear of those.

Re: Advice for moving pet back to UK - moving back!
 

Cannot help you at all regarding transporting your much loved cat to the UK but wanted to wish you the best of luck with your plans and hope that it is not too stressful for you. Once a decision like this is made it puts so many things into perspective for you and you can see what needs to happen to make your life better and can then start to take actions to achieve your plans no matter how small or how daunting. It is the decision itself that is the hardest part of all.

Good Luck

Rosemary