natalia84

Hi everyone. Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice.

My parents are selling their property in UK and buying in marbella area. Should be over there looking in a few months. My partner and I are going to move with them too. My parents will be retiring however my partner and I want to work.
He is 28 and a structural engineer/piling operative/house foundations by trade. I work as a veterinary receptionist but have many years of admin, receptions and working in the travel industry. I am 29yrs. My partner is keen on poss starting our own business over there, small bar possibly.
Does anyone have any websites or info on getting started over there? for basic things like doctors, dentists, tax, work etc?
any info would be much appreciated :-)

Many Thanks

Dxf

Hi and Welcome to the forum,

There are many many threads on this forum about starting a business / running a bar.

Please do yourself a favour and research these topics

Davexf

teuchterpete

......and most of them negative. I'm afraid.
Pete

natalia84

Why negative pete? My parents have lived in marbella before around 6yrs ago but i have never.

Natalia

Fred James

They are negative because there are no jobs and running a bar is a recipe for losing money.

Unemployment in that area is over 35% and even worse for young people.

As for jobs in the construction industry - there is almost no construction work going on at all. There are two million finished properties for sale in Spain.

teuchterpete

Not the place, the job prospects. But I still wish you good luck though.
Pete

Pablo the sailor

Fred, let me if you dont mind inject a little positive energy into this!
firstly, a bar is NOT a recipe to loose money, it depends entirely on you making sure you have done the right business deal! I have been here since 1986,I started working in a beach bar and in discos, eventually i was able to put a deposit down on a FREEHOLD local, then, after a few years when I had finished paying for it I built my own pub, no rent to pay, no landlord, MINE!! Sure, i had monthly payments to the bank to meet, but these were about 50% less than any monthly rentals in local bars!! The people who have had their fingers burnt are the ones who came in when everything was going well, paid to much for the dreaded TRESPASO and ended up with a ball and chain on their ankle and landlords who just increased rents, it also meant they could never shut for holidays as they would be coming back with rent to pay, a recipe for disaster!! My advice to anyone would be to buy FREEHOLD, do not even consider Trespaso, a freehold gives you a chance to live the dream, have a great lifestyle (a pub can be fantastic fun if that is what you want to do)....if you cant afford a freehold then a straight rent may be another option!!

natalia84

Hey thanks so much for your advice :-) sounds amazing what you have done for yourself :-) we already have about 40,000 saved up (most due to a comp claim my partner had with work) so we are looking to see what we could afford.

Tha ks again for ur help :-))

X

chrisjolly

The great news is that you will love living in the Marbella area but take it easy on your plans for work and what to do when you get there. Give yourself time to settle in but be very very flexible about what work you would like to do and DO NOT take anyones advice about buying a bar or any other business. Give yourself time and talk to the locals, learn basic Spanish and get to know the area. Good luck...

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

Fredbargate

3 deletes ????

Pocaloca

Natalia, you have a Russian name, do you speak Russian? If so you might be onto a good thing ...

MARBELLA, the most popular destination for Russian tourists

la mancha

Pablo
I’m new to the forum but not to Spain. I enjoy reading views and comments here but I cannot believe that anyone could give such bad advice as to buy a bar freehold in Spain at this moment in time. When you tell us what you did from 1986, you are talking about another era. Good luck to you for what you have done but remember you started at a good time. Those days are a world away from where we now find ourselves. I, too, remember Spain in 1986. Those were the days when you could open a business and thrive. Nowadays I would advise anyone coming to Spain not to open a business unless they are prepared to lose their outlay. Sorry to be a bit negative but I’m trying to save you from making a big mistake. There are so many bars for sale and rent all along the coast. Why do you think this is?

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.

He has to sound positive as he is selling his business so will not want to put buyers off. Totally agree with everyhting that you have said.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

big wheels

Some useful reading.

And bear in mind this was 2008. Before the $hit really hit the fan.
March http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=519269
May http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=538406
June http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=545645
November http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=576010