sporTTy

Hi!

Been lurking a while as a guest but could resist no longer.

Not sure if i am posting this stuff in the right place so please move it if not!

I have been reading with much enthusiasm the forum topics but still have loads of questions. Many of them will sound dumb and will more than likely have been asked before. If that is the case please could you post the links!

Our dream of living in Spain is slowly becoming reality and i am soooo excited! 10 years ago we knew that when we retired we wanted to do it and live in Spain. Now we know that is deffo going to happen but the house will be coming sooner than initially anticipated. In 3 years time the money we have tied up in other things will be free and rather than squander it we will be putting it towards our house in Spain. Our idea is that we will buy somewhere as a holiday home to start with which will then become our full time home.

We know we want to be on or around the Costa del Sol but that's it.
My questions are:

1. We know we need to do lots of trips out to visit the different areas. Inspection trips have been advised.... would you advise them as an initial way of seeing an area and do you have any companies you could recommend?
2. Would it be better to buy a holiday apartment and then upgrade to a house when we move out full time or go for the house straight away?
3. Anybody have any estate agents that they could recommend we start looking at?
4. Is it too soon to be doing anything considering it will be 3 years before we are in a position to even buy somewhere?

Really looking forward to all of your feedback. Thanks in advance

Dxf

Hi and Welcome to the forum,

Firstly search this forum for absolutely anything remotely of interest; secondly the internet has a mass of information so you should be able to narrow down some of the "hard slog" of actually going and seeing villages etc.

And lastly visit areas that you think may be of interest, and learn from the experiences why they were or were not suitable. Don´t rush and take your time, enjoy the experience

Davexf

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.

Great to see that you have stopped lurking and joined up so that you can now speak to us.

As you already know the research that you will do in the next 3 years will be an enormous help to you because less mistakes will happen. So many people go on holiday and decide that they like the place and move there only to find that it is not so good out of season and that the things that they had enjoyed became so boring that it became a thorn in their side.

Giving yourself the 3 years to discount places is wonderful, if you can stay in a variety of areas and vary the type of accommodation such as apartments or villas this will give you more of an idea of what you do not want.

Good luck and enjoy your research.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

jackytoo

Whatever you do stay away from inspection trips. They hook you in, only show what they want to. Before looking at property it is best to choose the area where you want to live. Take your time and choose carefully, make the wrong choice and it could take years to sell.

Rosemary

I know that some people see these trips as a way of having a cheap holiday and seeing different areas. Never been on one and would not. Are they high pressure selling?

Rosemary

sporTTy

I've done one of these kind of trips in the UK, many years ago. I think it was like a timeshare thing but very similar to how i would expect an Inspection Trip to work. You have to be a very strong person to not be bullied into signing up to asnything (luckily i am!). I think the lure of the trips though is that they are so cheap.

I guess though with time on our side we will find some cheap flights at certain times of year and look around ourselves.

Thanks for all the great comments so far

Lynn R

Personally I do not think it would be a good idea to buy a holiday apartment with a view to upgrading to a larger property later. You would have to pay approximately 10% of the purchase price in buying costs on each purchase, remember. In the current climate (and who knows what the property market is going to be like in 3 years' time) you would probably find the first property difficult to sell and even if it sold you would be unlikely to make enough profit to recoup the additional 10% you had paid. In the unlikely event that you could sell at a profit, there would be capital gains tax to pay, as a non-resident.

I think it is really too early to be looking around at properties, but it would certainly be a good idea to try to pinpoint the area where you would like to settle. Where you would eventually like to live is of course entirely dependent on your own needs and preferences, but you need to look at areas in terms of a place to live permanently and not somewhere to have a nice holiday.

teuchterpete

Hi
Spot on Lynn. Living abroad and Holidays abroad are different. Set that your aim from the start and always keep asking yourself " Can I see myself living in this house?". You now have different priorities, and a holiday property is not usually ideal for living in on a permenant basis. School, health , distance to shops, community life ( what to do on those long winter nights!) , to mention a few.
Pete

anninspain

1. Use your time in the UK to learn Spanish
2. Visit as often as you can
3. Rent an appartment on the coast then a villa inland then a townhouse inland so you know what you want.
Whatever you do DO NOT GO ON AN INSPECTION TRIP!

HBG

Do not buy a property in Spain at this time, the prices are falling, even more than in the UK.

sporTTy

Think we might avoid the inspection trips then and do it oursleves.

Hubby and i have already decided to learn Spanish this year (when the new courses start in September) with an aim to be able to be understood and to be able to understand when we arrive in 3 ish years. Couldn't imagine moving there and not being able to speak the language, would make like far too difficult!

jackytoo

Most of the agents who offer inspection trips are ex-timeshare salespeople. No such thing as a free lunch.

Some really sound advice above. We already had a holiday home when we moved out permanantly, loved it. We soon found out it wasn't suitable when we lived in it all the time. Not just the house but the area. Went to the other extreme and moved inland...hated it. Our last house we lived in 11 years. Think of the taxes we paid until settled. Best to rent first.

Rosemary

Where we lived in the UK there was a long waiting list (2 years) of people wanting to learn Spanish so it might be worth your while asking at college prior to them putting out the lists for September.

Rosemary

Saxy

Without a doubt "RENT FIRST" (I recommend renting all of the time, which is what my OH and I do). Buying is such an English thing, tying up money which could be better invested, with the interest paying the rent. Rents in Spain can't legally be increased annually by more than the consumer price index. Find an area and meet the locals English & Spanish (the Spanish are very friendly). If you are in our area for any time, let me know (on here) and we would be glad to show you arround, as I'm sure other members would!
As to the language, a very good starter is "Marcus Santamaria", an ongoing course on the internet.

Hope this helps,
John

Rosemary

Agree with you, Synergy Spanish is an excellent starter course.

Rosemary