hicornwall

is it possible to sell up in uk and also with an inheritance and rent in majorca with £100000 at age 51 and live of capital and any interest until private pension kicks in at 60, say £6000 a year or 65 £8000 a year then await state pension at 67 also.

mikelincs

Your budget seems very tight, but will depend on just where you live, what sort of property you want to rent, what sort of lifestyle you want to live. I suspect you would need to allow at least €1500 a month, more if you live in one of the more desirable areas. Cost of living in Spain is very nearly the same as in the UK now.

hicornwall

heres my dilemma, i have a partner , we work fulltime in uk, we rent cheaply form local council,have right to buy in very nice part of cornwall, also have small final salary pension from 60 if trustees allow it if it reaches future gmp, or 65 definately.
my intentions is to leave with no assets when i die, or when my partner dies , she has small private pension, we are both 46.my final salary benefits can go to her if i die first.
now the only way to get any significant money in my life is 1. thro a final salary pension, 2. buy property via right to buy and sell in 5 years, 3, inherit which i am a beneficiary of approx £50000 when the sad day comes.
we have no intentions of working beyond say 55, if we stay in uk and dont buy we will have to live of savings , potential inheritance, and final salary pension till we get state pension at 67 and claim housing benefit which will be cancelled due to my final salary pension.
or we buy right to buy and sell up and rent private till we die,or sell up and move and buy somewhere cheap like glasgow, blackpool, but live in fear of leasehold repair bills, cant afford a house.but doing that will mean we have assets and i dont want to leave assets when i die, there is a low life expectancy, approx 68 in my family
i dont know what is best.
hence i also plan to move to majorca, as if i do sell private rents must be lower than private rents in cornwall. we only need a small 1 bed in a tourist town in majorca, but need to pay private health insurance i guess also.
forgive me if my plan seems far fetched

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I 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 me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

mikelincs

You do need to look at the extra costs, you would have to pay for private health cover, there are no benefits that would be available to you in Spain, even when you are retired the heathcare isn't free, you do have to pay for prescriptions.

Fred James

Yes, but only 10% of the cost up to a maximum of €8 a month - hardly expensive!

hicornwall

beside healthcare, do you think uk council rent or buy, uk private rent or majorca private rent is best to be able to retire early

hicornwall

I have stayed a few times in majorca and lived in scotland and cornwall, im now at an age where i want to see whats best in life, i could remain a council renter in cornwall or buy and sell up and move to scotland and rent and have lots of cash in my pocket or buy in scotland and have little cash in pocket
or buy in cornwall , sell up and rent in majorca.
I have friends in scotland with cash in their pockets bought their council homes and seem happy, but since moving to cornwall, it seems different her, attitudes better, scenery better, but poor.
it seems living the run of the mill lifestyle in scottish towns but with cash for nights out etc, but bad weather and sometimes can i say which football team do you support attutude. but cornwall and i expect majorca to no mention of football teams, better weather, but poor concerning cash flow.
I have a friend in scotland who say they would love to live in cornwall, and i say stay where you are at least you can park car outside house and get a seat on the train in summer, but they say weather rubbish in scotland. will majorca be a repeat of cornwall or better heading north to scotland and having amenities, cash , nights out, but bad weather and sometimes prejudice attitutes where religion is concerned.

hicornwall

to buy in open market in my cornish town on open market say £170000, scotland say £70000 or just buy council property, sell up in 5 yrs and rent in majorca.
is it better to live poor in a nice place or have money and live in a dull place.

amideislas

Cornwall is lovely. But yes, Mallorca <can> be like a Cornwall in the sun, as long as (like so many others) you don't presume you have no choice but to live in the expensive expat areas of the southwest, or have a flat on the beach.

Property purchases are complex, usually overpriced awaiting a naive foreign buyer, and often, full of hidden land mines (figuratively speaking). Many estate agents can be dubious (but not all), and you should never rely on what they tell you. Many owners tend to live in a dream world believing they'll get rich - many allow their overpriced, sub-standard properties sit and rot in lieu of getting their millions in the sale. So, it's a special market, and what you might expect isn't always the case - yet there are some real bargains to be had - if you look around.

If you aren't inclined to independently do a lot of due diligence and be in your sharpest and wisest tactical mind ...or have someone you trust explicitly to handle it for you, then renting is very, very cheap and very easy, although you should be mindful that if the owner at some point doesn't like you anymore, or foolishly believes they can make double or triple what they're getting from you, you'll be looking for another place in short order. Most owners won't be inclined to sign more than 3 year contract. I believe after 8 years, they can't get you out no matter what, and nobody wants that.

Cost of living varies greatly. On the coasts, it's much higher (especially in the southwest) In the campo, it's comparatively cheap. The nice thing about Mallorca is that the "campo" is never far from the higher priced urban or coastal areas, so you have easy access to it all, no matter where you live. But most British expats seem to believe it's only possible to live in the southwest. After all, you can get roast beef n' pud with mushy peas, HP sauce, Boddingtons and full English brekkies 'round there.

Otherwise you can live well here inexpensively, as long as you don't succumb to the popular notion of Blighty-in-the-sun. May as well go to Gib if that's what you want.

agoreira

Aren't there certain drugs, not on the list that can be very expensive? I seem to remember JLFS telling us of a rellie paying well over £100 a month.

Fred James

There will always be expensive drugs that aren't on the list, but they often cost thousands, not hundreds. They probably would not be on the UK list either.

As I said, if you are retired you only pay 10% and it is capped at €8 in total for the month.

hicornwall

the problem is in uk to have secure tenancy you have to live in council or housing association and its hard to swap it took me 2 years to do last swap, or you buy, but if you buy all your money is tied up and the only way to get all the cash out is to sell and rent, but the rent wont be council it be insecure private buy to let landlord.
in majorca im happy to rent, i know it wont be council, but id rather have a 3 yr tenancy than a 6 month one.
if i could rent from a housing association in majorca then that would be the ultimate answer, but i cant and never will.

so how in life do you pick a nice place to live without buying and avoid insecure tenancy.I have a nice secure tenancy in uk, but want to live abroad.

hicornwall

im hoping those reading this can relate to my dilemma , too many tv shows with folk selling their businesses and homes from surrey for 300000 and looking for 4 bed villas with pool abroad for 250000 with huge pensions aged 65.
what about folk like me, that could possibly raise a few tens of thousand by using right to buy, a small final salary pension and possible inheritance and be well under 65.does that mean folk like me are to live in uk in rented homes and work till their 65 and then claim housing benefit.
I am not a 65 yr old doctor from surrey selling up, nor a 18 yr old wanting to work as a bar steward for a year, im caught in the middle, that has the potential to make life changing move if my plan pays off, but its not certain, a gamble.

mikelincs

I very much doubt that you can, most secure tenancies in the UK are owned by housing associations or large property companies and the housing rentals are their business, also a huge number of then are aimed at the 'over 55's'. Most rentals in Spain are from individuals, and, in any case, the rules about rented property are very much different to the UK, so it's very unlikley you will get more than a 12 month rental.