scampicat

I would hate to rent. I would not like to have to ask permission to hang a picture up, or have a lodger, or have pets, and I certainly would not like to pay someone else's mortgage!

My husband would go stir crazy, especially here, he is always doing things to the house. Our son even said before we moved here 'don't let Dad buy a house that needs nothing done to it, he won't know what to do with himself'. Quite true. He is a busy person and his art, photography and dog-walking does not fill up his day, he would hate to not have a project to work on.

Some friends of ours rent furnished and it suits them, but I would absolutely loathe it, as well as someone else's four walls and taste in interior design and decoration, you even have their furniture.

Not for me, not ever.

casa del sol

...yes you are right, simply because our parents did well out of it, many of us did well out of it.....our kids, well that is another story, they will find it very hard to buy because of the recent high price rises that made us all feel so much wealthier, they will think why commit ourselves to something that ties you in so heavily, restricts your freedom and could well be more of a future pain than a financial gain.

bil

Yeah, but that's just the scenario as the bubble bursts. Once the market has stabilised, and people are buying property that is more realistically valued with sensible mortgages, who wants to pay rent and at the end have nothing when the same sort of money paid out each month gets you your own house?

jdr

I have owned lots of houses and had mortgages round my neck, came here with enough to buy, but still renting unfurnished and never had a problem about redecorating.
Stress free now and no problem like trying to sell if you want to try elsewhere, I know which I prefer.
The 10% costs you had to move in would pay a good few months rent to start with and nothing to pay on the way out if we move on.

bil

A customer of mine had it right. He would sell his house without buying and hold out for a good price, which was easier as he was the end of the chain.

All his stuff went into storage, then he would look around, and when he found a house he liked, he would make a low offer, backed by the fact that he was a buyer without a chain, and was able to write a cheque 'there and then'.

He said that few people would refuse to drop the price when offered that.

Mind you the UK system is insane. I really like the one here in Spain where you have to put your money where your mouth is.

cricketman

Absolutely, renting is the intelligent way at the moment.

The 10% sales tax equates to 4 years of rental payments in the property I rent! And we'll be moving somewhere else this summer. Why? Because we can!

Happy New year everyone!

casa del sol

Nail on the head.....wait until the market gets back down to reality, has stabilised.....why buy before then, when you can rent.

Buying with a mortgage is similar in price to renting....buying without a mortgage, the rent could easily cover the monthly fall in the value without the hassle.....no reason to rush into buying at the moment, not enough benefits to justify considering the 7% taxes, agents fees etc, etc.

jimenato

Yes, I've rented here in Spain for the last ten years and I'm glad. It has given me the flexibility to move twice when I've wanted to, cost considerably less than the mortgages would have done and I now don't own a house that , even if anyone wanted to buy it, would be worth half what I paid for it. I own a house in the UK which is rented out and frankly I wish I'd sold that at the top of the market.

I definitely would never by a house in Spain - even if I was rich.

AdrianTO

Which is true, but oddly enough, in areas like Puerto Banus and Marbella, while some businesses are shutting down, others continue to open up. For example there is a brand new Hard Rock Cafe that has opened up right in Puerto Banus, not very from La Moraga a high end restaurant that opened last year. Then there is news of an Iceland coming to Puerto Banus and Marks and Spencers opened in the La Canada mall a year ago or so. Terra Sana, a healthy food chain started by students from a private school in the area seems to be opening up new locations all over. I don't know what to make of it.

bil

And had you bought at the bottom and sold at the top and were now looking at a bottom market with money burning a hole in your pocket? Would you be so anti - buy now?

I sure as hell wouldn't. Now is definitely the time to build up a property portfolio if you can do so safely.

casa del sol

You might as well burn the money in your pocket if you buy now....why not put it in the bank and earn 3% at least it will be making something for now...not a lot but something is surely better than nothing.

jimenato

You think it's hit bottom? I don't.

There are other reasons anyway why I would be reluctant to buy a property in Spain - taxes for one thing, poor build quality, building costs and the dangers of being found to be illegal in a few years are others. Anyway I want to remain flexible, you wouldn't believe the feeling of freedom you get when you don't have a mortgage hanging around your neck.

jimenato

And as for wanting to do things to the house, if something needs doing, move.

casa del sol

Or negotiate with the landlord and have it deducted off the rent.

bil

Well, I did say safely. I have no idea if the market has bottomed, and don't have the resources that might make me care.

When it is safe to buy, that's when the next tranche of property millionaires will be born.