PeterBlackley

Hello

I'd like to move to Spain with my family. But first I want to know more info. If I buy a house or apartment what bills will I pay and roughly how much? If I buy the property I don't pay rent right? Also about the health insurance, how much is it? If we'll be living there from my savings for a while and then later find a job or run some small business. I have three kids that will needs to go to school but they don't speak spanish, they know only the very basics.
Anyone with good experiences that can help? Thanks

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

tebo53

You are asking questions that have big variations in the answers depending upon where you might want to live. Spain is a massive country and with a lot of regions who set their own policies and price structures.

Basically, if you buy a house or apartment you will be paying electric, gas ( if installed, or buying bottled gas), water, community taxes and Basura (rubbish collection if not included in your community taxes) You don't pay rent if you've purchased the property. The cost of all those could vary from region to region.

Healthcare can be very expensive and usually won't cover any existing problems. You will need to prove that you have healthcare for all the family before you can get residency in Spain.

You will need to prove that you have enough savings and/or a regular income so to prove that you or your family will not become a burden on the state. Saving or regular income varies in amount depending on the regional office that you will be applying to.

Jobs, at the moment, are difficult to find as the unemployment rate stands around 20% so unless you can offer anything specialised and be able to speak fluent Spanish you might be struggling to find anything suitable. A lot of Spanish workers will work happily for minimum wage.

Can't help at all with the schooling question.

You need to ask more specific questions and state which area you would like to live.

What employment would you be looking for?

A bit negative I know but there are many requirements set out by the Spanish government that have to be met. There is also a mountain of paperwork to be filled in, if and when you come here to get you and your family fully legal.

Ask loads more questions. This is an excellent forum and you will get a lot of varied answers for you to make informed decisions.

Hope I've shed a little bit of light on the way forward.

Steve

iano

Steve,

I could be completely wrong, it's merely a hunch, but the OP smacks of troll.

tebo53

That would be a bit annoying after all that typing

We'll see if he comes back to us.

Steve

lgm1963

I have been administrator of other forums and have used

https://stopforumspam.com/

as a tool to check whether potential forum members are on the troll list. It is free and simple to use.

Hope this helps

Les

PeterBlackley

Thank you for replying.
I want to move to south, somewhere in Costa del sol or Almeria. I've been there for holidays and we liked it there. I've heard that firstly you'll need NIE number, without it you can't do anything (e.g. buy a house). Then, that some of the letting agents will sort everything out for you if you'll buy a house from them (NIE, bank, notary etc..)
I was thinking lately that I'd let a house on long-term agreement for a year just to try it and see how it goes, then I'd decide whether to get a job or something.
About my savings people told me I need to prove my savings and then they don't really care if you have health care or not but I need to register at the doctors (GP).

Loafing Along

Yes you need a NIE which is relatively straightforward and is your tax number. Yes you will need to provide proof of income and yes you will need to demonstrate healthcare coverage. Both regions quoted have a vast expanse, you need to narrow it down for better advice. Costa del Sol good for Malaga airport - great connections throughout Europe. Coastal strip overbuilt and some horrendous abandoned developments but also some superb ones. Inland also beautiful. Almeria some lovely countryside and amazing beaches, communications not so good as Malaga but Murcia airport OK, less frequent flights than Malaga.
Under no circumstances should you rely 100% on letting agency or estate agent for the complete buying cycle. There are plenty of posts on this forum advising against such an approach, you have no idea where they will lead you in a confident, very assured manner. Chose your own lawyer is an essential step if you are embarking on property purchase.
By the way - long term letting becoming very difficult on the Costa del Sol, become very popular instead of buying as sterling down and post-Brexit concerns influence , also many property owners only want short-term holiday rentals or "over-winter".

PeterBlackley

Yes everyone is saying that I will need the NIE as soon as I go to Spain or I can apply for it before I go but I contacted spanish embassy in London and their reply was 'Do not apply for NIE if you're going to work there for 3 or more months or you're intend to live in Spain. When you're in Spain you must go to town hall to get Certificado de Residencia.' So now I am not sure what's right. Regarding Costa del sol I was thinking Malaga.

Loafing Along

It used to be the case that you could get a NIE and it was valid only for 3 months and then you had to apply for the Residence Certificate , the number did not change. For longer than 3 months you apply directly for the Residence certificate .By the way it is normally done by the police, not the Town Hall and that Certificate will also have your NIE number. If you go to Malaga it will be issued by the police station near Calle San Juan/Avenida de Andalucia.
This is the form : http://www.malagalaw.com/wp-content/...ation-form.pdf
You will also need to pay a fee into a local bank:
http://www.malagalaw.com/wp-content/...Modelo-790.pdf

You will need to check and see if they run an appointment system or you just turn up and queue. Normally you queue first time and are given an appointment

PeterBlackley

Okay, thank you for that. It's was very helpful.
I got a question about UK cars. If you know how much will it cost to get it registered as a spain car. I know I can drive it there for 6 months. If it's worthy to get it imported to Spain or just buy a spain car.

Loafing Along

Worthwhile searching the forum , this has come up in other posts. Lot of people do it but driving a right hand drive I find very uncomfortable. Better to buy in Spain

Lexi70

Hi, first of all a complete novice when it comes to these things and grateful for any help you can offer.. We are thinking of moving to Almeria in the next year or so. We would like to buy a rental for income and also a permanent home for ourselves. Getting a little confused about the tax issues and would like to know if the rental would qualify as an income to pay tax on? I read somewhere that you can get taxed heavily on your savings?? I realise there is so much more we need to learn but just trying to understand the income and tax bit first...

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary