bufforpington

We are newbies to the forum, but have been lurking for a while in the background!

My wife and I are considering a move to Spain. It has been on the cards for sometime, as a retirement idea, but due to my wife’s ill health it seems it may be a good idea to do it sooner, so we can be by the sea and she can hopefully experience some relieve from her condition.

I have already taken early retirement and have a small pension and am a few years away from the state pension. As my wife is a bit younger and career minded she had planned to continue working in the UK as her state pension is a way off, but due to her health it seems unlikely she will now be able to return to work at all. Hence our thoughts about making an earlier move.

Ultimately we would plan to live in Spain permanently but initially want to keep our options open to make sure we are doing the right thing.
Our current thought is that we would rent our UK house out whilst making a temporary move to Spain and rent a property there whilst we see if it is the right thing for us.

We have had a good look around the forum and at free beer but still have a few questions, if anyone can offer information or advice we would be most grateful:

• Has anyone got experience of renting their UK home out temporarily? And if so any advice?
• How long can you live in Spain temporarily for? We had been thinking we would like to give ourselves 6 – 12 months
• What would we have to do in terms of officialdom if we are only living in Spain temporarily?
• We think that our EHIC cards would be sufficient for a temporary stay, as although my wife has ill health it is mainly managed through medication. Would this be legitimate if we are only staying temporarily?
• On a similar note what would the situation be with regards to prescriptions. ATM my wife uses a prepayment prescription.
• My wife is on DLA HR Care and Support Group for ESA, is it possible to continue receiving this whilst living in Spain on a temporary basis? My wife worked up until claiming the above, if that helps.
• We are thinking that some where around Mar Menor could be the right sort of location in terms of climate and bathing. We are a quiet couple who enjoy being close to nature and occasional meals out. We would like to be part of a Spanish community although would appreciate being close to some English speakers too. Does anyone have any suggestions about specific locations that may suit our needs please? In particular if there are any locations we could potentially manage without a car?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but we sort of feel we have got so far with our research, but now need to ask questions.

Any information would be very helpful.

Thanks everyone!
Buff

scampicat

Hi there

If you are in Spain longer than six months you are deemed as resident. Once you are offically resident you can no longer call upon the NHS and will have to have your Healthcare in Spain. You and your wife should qualify for free Healthcare as she is on ESA. You need to get a Form S1 from the UK and then register it with the Spanish authorities. This will also qualify you both for free prescriptions.

As regards ESA - I think this is correct - IF you are only staying a short while (up to three months) then you can continue to receive ESA from the UK. If longer, then you can export it, and it is paid fron the Overseas Dept in the UK. You must continue to fulfil the conditions and you will still have the questionnaires and medicals. You will have these in Spain -bi-lingual questionnaire which your Spanish Dr will endorse and a medical with an English-speaking DWP-approved Doctor.

I think your advice about renting out your house is sound if you are in Spain for a while, but I would do it via an agent as it is difficult to manage whilst abroad. Be aware that the minimum contract for rental is six months.

Personally in your position, I would do it in smaller bite-size chunks (say three months at a time), this way you aviod the residency and healthcare issues and can leave your house empty for that time, maybe with a friend to look after it.

I think this is correct and hope it helps!

HBG

If the finances are in order as well as medical provisions, then a three to six month trial stay seems the best solution. For that time it would make sense to keep on the house in the UK, without renting it out.

Mar Menor is very much a Spanish holiday resort, packed in the summer and very quiet in the winter, but a winter stay would make more sense anyway, rentals are much cheaper, for one thing.

There are areas to the north of Mar Menor which are more geared up for expats but you lose the 'Spanish' aspect to some extent.

Apart from the medical side, I wouldn't worry about officialdom on such a short stay, you would be quite legal.

Rosemary

As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

Domino

renting out the UK house - you would need to discuss with a letting agent in your local area, but be careful which one you choose - there are a number of shysters around, if possible get recommendations.

uk law says an assured shorthold tenancy must run for a minimum of 6 months and renewable on a monthly basis thereafter.

most uk tenancy's are based on an empty house but you can agree what you want. You wll need to get the house electrically tested and any defects repaired. if you leave any electrical items such as cooker, fridge etc these should be tested at the same time. A landlord's gas certificate is required annually, and central heating fully tested.

if it is your home are you prepared to return to find the tenant has painted (poorly) your lovely flock wallpaper, not cut the grass, knocked holes in walls to put up their own 48" tv etc etc etc

in my experience tenants generally do not look after the property as if it was their own, but are jealously guard their own property. I had one who left me with 27 holes in the kitchen ceiling and another who changed my Axminster stair carpet for poor quality thin stuff held in place by over 100 tacks.

If you are able to find a local international company with people coming and going then a "commercial" let would be a very good means of covering the mortgage, and they ensure the property is looked after

friend of mine let his bungalow fully furnished to local intl co whilst out in Singapore and he said the paintwork was in better condition than when he left.

good luck

bufforpington

Thank you so much for all your advice - very helpful!

Scampicat - Thank you so much for the info about ESA, we thought it may be possible to carry on with a claim for a short time, but had never expected my wife could possibly export it. It's also so useful to know that we would be covered for healthcare due to ESA, again another surprise! Although as it is reviewed every year, I don't think we would bank on it for a permanent move - especially with the way things are going.... I think your idea of a 3month stay could be the way to go at first, we don't want to be under any additional stress if we can help it, we'd prefer to worry about officialdom when/ if we make a permanent move.

HBG - Thank you for the inside info about Mar Menor. I guess we were thinking like tourists too! Your suggestion of a winter stay could be ideal, although may be we should re-think locations in view of a possible permanent move. We will have to think about that abit more. Although do you/ anyone have any suggestions of locations that may meet our needs at all? In particular we were thinking somewhere that my wife could bath to try and manage her ill health.

[We were thinking that some where around Mar Menor could be the right sort of location in terms of climate and bathing. We are a quiet couple who enjoy being close to nature and occasional meals out. We would like to be part of a Spanish community although would appreciate being close to some English speakers too. Does anyone have any suggestions about specific locations that may suit our needs please? In particular if there are any locations we could potentially manage without a car?]

The Oddities - Thank you for the welcome, its good to find such a friendly and helpful forum. We certainly found the free beer info useful.

Domino - Thank you for thoughts about renting our UK house out and the info about regs etc. Definitely something to think seriously about, especially as we want to keep stress to a minimum in view of my wife's health. Sorry to hear you had such a dreadful experience, not what you expect, or need.. Your suggestion of a commercial let could be an idea for a longer stay, although as we live in a village we will have to see if there is any demand for it.

If any one has any further advice or info it would be most welcome. Particularly regarding my wife's DLA. Thinking about our finances it could make all the difference for helping us manage, in view of my wife's limited capabilities.

On a similar note one other thing we forgot to ask is can I continue with my claim for Carers Allowance whilst living in Spain temporarily?

Thanks for such helpful advice
Buff

HBG

Thinking more about a stress-free winter let for three months, you would be better off in an expat location where many people take such breaks and the rental markets are geared up for it. During the winter, even summer hot houses like Benidorm or the outskirts of Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa can be surprisingly quiet.

The advantages are that you will have plenty of useful information on your doorstep and travel to other places isn't too difficult. Benidorm has a number of hotels with heated indoor pools for visitors, the sea normally being too cold in the winter.

You can glean a lot of information from forums such as this one, but a conversation with sensible people on the ground is much better. Finding sensible people is not always easy, in either location.

twistedmelon

If full time.
Yes you can continue to get CA.
ESA also but you may lose other benefits attached to that.
DLA yes but not any mobility component, if you are getting it.
Full health cover with free prescriptions etc.

Given what you have said I would totally agree that a temp stay is the best option without renting out your UK property.