Regrets
 

Hi Is there anyone who regrets moving to Spain

Re: Regrets
 

hello....im thinking about making the move so i will follow this topic with great interest..

Re: Regrets
 

Thousands of people who bought property pre 2008, and were then hit by the price crash leaving many of them still with a property worth thousand of Euros less than they paid and they can't afford to sell,

Re: Regrets
 

Is renting the better option then ?

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Most definitely, then if you don't like the area you can easily move, buying ties you down to an area, and you should rent for at least a year to ensure you like the area and like living in Spain.

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Well I bought in 1985 and have no regrets. Prices will return (they are already well above 1985 value! Depends on length of stay envisaged.

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But we spent ten years back and forth holidaying. Lost a house here, 4 years in the Spanish courts. And still wanted to be here. And then decided after trying different areas. That this coastal area was for us. May cost a bit more in living costas, but now are buying here. :)

Re: Regrets
 

I first purchased in 1984 although I had been in and out since 1970 on occasions staying for up to a year.
I sold the final property in 2011.

I enjoyed the life and will never regret the experience.

Re: Regrets
 

I don't regret it but I suspect you are after some experiences for whatever reason so based on what I've seen;
1. Property; I've seen some get their fingers burnt and others be disappointed when ploughing life savings into a 'dream' property. Rent first for at least a year.
2. Integration; I know people who just can't, kids who can't learn the language, adults who think it's the UK in the sun. It's not, think how the English perceive foreigners who don't learn our language... Spread yourself thin, socialise with Spaniards, British expats, Scandinavians in fact anyone. Sit at home alone and you'll get disillusioned.
3. Work; I've seen businesses go under losing thousands and professionals with no chance. Some make it but most don't, have a back up.
4. Homesick; it's only a couple of hours so don't burn bridges but don't give up at the first pang for rain and cold weather.
5. It is a fantastic country but I have retained property in England so maintain UK residency and fly back and forth when I want thus avoiding the tortuous Spanish administration. I'm lucky.

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Many problems stem from the weird Anglo-saxon obsession with property-ownership. Be like the rest of the civilised world and rent !

Re: Regrets
 

Absolutely no regrets about going to Spain.

I arrived with a job, didn't buy property and spent 8 happy years living and working there. I had a bit of spanish already when I arrived and kept going to classes reguarly for the first few years I was there - knowing the language makes a big difference.

I sometimes regret that I'm not still there but visit when I can and am sure I'll be back for good one day.

Re: Regrets
 

:goodpost: I fully agree.

My OH and I love it here. We've made it our home. We enjoy this lifestyle which we could never have had in the UK.

It's a pleasure to mix with people from different cultures.

Steve

Re: Regrets
 

Really?

If you rent in the Uk at a reasonable cost, say £800 a month, in an average life time you will have a roof over your head but you will pay around £400,000 to someone for the privilige of doing so and you need to ensure you have the ability to pay that right up to the day of your death.

If you buy a house with a mortgage then correctly financed you will pay it off by or even before retirement.

The only difference between those two is maintenence. That obviously depends on your choice of house, and if maintaned well when you reach retirement you can down size if you want and have a handy lump sum to enjoy that retirement.

I would never rent. I moved house around every 7 to 8 years, and I retired at the age of 52 with no mortgage. It enabled me to move to Spain where I bought in 2004. When we left we didn't lose money and sold very quickly. It was because we bought the right sort of villa in the right sort of area.

It's not an obsession that we have as a country. It makes financial sense.

;):lol:

Re: Regrets
 

I bought in the UK, paid it off early, made a nice profit and retired two years early. I used the profits to finance a nice lifestyle here in Spain. I would never buy in Spain but I'm quite happy renting now, paying just rent and electricity and not having anything else to think about.

That is full retirement to me :thumbsup:

Re: Regrets
 

I agree with Mitzyboy.

Our house was bought as a home to live in which we were free to alter in any way that we wished to make it work for us, if we had rented we would not have had the freedom. We took out the mortgage with a Spanish bank 12 years ago but could not insure the payments due to our age at the time so I have had to continue to pay this since Graham died. However, my mortgage ends this month so not only will I have the property that we invested in but also not have to pay to live in it.

Rosemary

Re: Regrets
 

Happy Mortgage end Rosemary! Financially free now and able to use the mortgage money for whatever you want.

Bottom line is you have to research where you are going to live. In the UK it's a no brainer, although young buyers struggle to get on the ladder these days. In other countries it may not be the best option. In Spain, the risk of buying imho is less now than it was 5 or 6 years ago.

But going back to the original question, I have no regrets about moving to Spain, the time I lived there, or purchasing. Had I rented, I would have spent €60k in rental, so even if I had lost €20k on the house sale I would still have been "up". It's a great area I lived in, the only thing I miss about moving back is the weather right now! :lol:

Re: Regrets
 

No regrets about moving to Spain for a different experience, none about the choice of area and none about the town chosen.

Rosemary

Re: Regrets
 

If you want to move every 7 or 8 years in Spain then it makes no financial sense at all - thanks to the 10% sales tax

A property listed at 400k Euros for sale will rent out for 1k per month

If you bought it, you would have to pay 40k sales tax i.e. more than 3 years rent

And then of course there is no guarantee you could find a buyer if you wanted to sell. And then you would have to pay another 10% sales tax for your new property

Re: Regrets
 

It always depends on finances, but I do agree that buying the right property at the right time (where you live and work) makes financial sense, especially if renting is more expensive, but there's no point if you have a huge mortgage and have to rely on a job that pays well.


The problem in Britain is that people always want to climb a property ladder, but they might end up in a property they don't like and are stuck if the market changes. Each case is different in Spain and again it's always about area, finances and lifestyle.


There are plenty of Brits who bought apartments (with their life savings) that are now falling apart and I'm sure they regret it. Most Spanish want to live in the cities where they can work and Spain has enough cheap hotels along the coast.

Re: Regrets
 

I understand, If I buy, I would pay 10% stamp duty and solicitor costs (budgeted 13% total). Do I pay another 10% tax when I sell?

Re: Regrets
 

If you make a profit, you also pay capital gains tax (around 20%+).

Re: Regrets
 

No, but if you sell and then buy another then you have to pay another 10% sale tax. 10% ever ytime you buy

So buying in Spain is only OK if you want to stay for at least 10-15 years, or if property prices increase. Otherwise it makes no financial sense

Unfortunately the quality of rental properties is often terrible, certainly here up North. It is better down South because of how many millions of empty properties there are

Re: Regrets
 

Totally agree, I sold 18 months ago and now rent. Plenty to choose from ranging from small flats at 2-300€ a month to large villas with a pool for over 1000€.

Re: Regrets
 

"Hi Is there anyone who regrets moving to Spain" - rather a naive question really. Those who love it in Spain will tell you how wonderful it is. Those that hate it or have hated it either won't admit it or will be back in the country they came from.

Re: Regrets
 

You're right and it really depends on the individual. One person might have bought an overpriced apartment in Marina d'Or during the boom and has nothing left and the other person bought a mansion in Begur in 2012.

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Regrets? I've had a few, but then again too few to mention.

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Maybe that's what Scot means - Anglo-Saxons are obsessed with sound financial decisions! :rofl: .... Unlike the PIIGS! :(

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You clearly didnt read my post in the right vein
:lol:
I dont remember me saying that people in Spain should move house every 7 years .... i was responding to the Scots comment about anglo saxon obsession and relating to my experience in the UK.

However in effect I DID move in Spain after 7 years and it caused me no problem but I woudnt recommend it for retirees generally

Re: Regrets
 

In my lifetime I have bought 2 houses. One in the uk where we lived for 26yrs & our home in Spain that we bought 12yrs ago. Both were purchased as somewhere to live, NOT investments.
I've never understood the obsession that some people have re the worth of their property. I couldn't care less what our house is worth, it's our home and we are here to stay.

So to answer the question. No I have no regrets.:starsmile:

Re: Regrets
 

Totally agree with what you are saying I do not have a clue what my house is worth, no interest in knowing either.

Rosemary

Re: Regrets
 

I've bought in different countries including Spain.

Number one priority was always a nice place to live with pleasant surroundings.
I ve almost always bought during times of recession though not in every case deliberately.
As a result when I've sold on I've usually had a nice surplus to pay my way for a few years ahead.
I've never deliberately bought with a view to selling on for profit, but as it turned out, I've been very fortunate in that respect.

Buying therefore has always worked out well for me,

but the biggest bonus of all has been the satisfaction and enjoyment of improving the place and its surroundings to my own liking in my own leisurely time with my own hands and at hardly any cost.

So renting for my own use here in Spain is a definite no,no, ....though I do buy and rent to others in a small way in the UK and elsewhere.



One of my favourites, quite appropriate I think.

Re: Regrets
 

Sorry, the point I was trying to make is that it only makes financial sense to buy in Spain if one can see themselves living there long term

I have never lived anywhere in my life more than 5 years so for me it doesnt make any sense, even though emotionally I actually really want to buy, I cannot justify doing so because of the 10% sales tax

By the way, Spaniards are even more obsessed with buying than Brits. Hardly any Spanish people rent, 85% are owners which is even higher than in the UK

Re: Regrets
 

I agree and now even more want to buy in the cities. The main reason is that rents are going up and interest rates are very low.

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Actually rents are ridiculously low in the Spanish cities

The reason people want to buy is firstly cultural, older Spaniards believe that renting is "throwing money away" and convince their children not to rent. Many Spanish parents even buy their children their first flat

And actually in the cities, especially outside of Madrid and Barcelona, there is a huge lack of decent rental properties. Those properties available for rent havent been reformed since the 1960s

Many people who own a good modern flat would rather leave it empty than rent it out because they dont want tenants to destroy it, and the rent is so low, then it is hardly worth their while´

e.g. a flat that costs 250k to buy will rent out for 600 euros per month, and out of that the landlord will have to pay community charge (normally between 100-200 euros per month) and IBI (between 100-200 euros per month), so the landlord´s return is around 1% per year, plus all the hassle that goes with it and having to maintain the property

Re: Regrets
 

Doesn't seem low to me. Especially around Barcelona and Madrid outskirts, many people are now paying more than €600. The mortgage for some of these places is €400.

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Whether the rents are low or not depends on how much these places cost to buy

Back in 2007 I paid EUR1,500 for a 2 bed flat in the centre of Barcelona which was actually good value compared to how much that flat would have cost to rent in London where I had just come from. These flats were valued at EUR500-600k

In Oviedo, I pay 800 euros per month rent for a flat that is also up for sale for EUR800,000

Do the maths! The rents are incredibly low

Re: Regrets
 

In the higher price range it's always cheaper to rent, but if you're lucky enough to be able afford 800K properties, you aren't really bothered about rents, because it's more a lifestyle choice.
For the working class, every cent might count and the maths show buying is cheaper at the moment, so I can understand it.
These examples here:


Buy 90KPiso en El Prat de Llobregat en Eixample en Calle Reus 137687590 | fotocasa




Rent €700Piso en El Prat de Llobregat en Eixample en El Prat de Llobregat - Carretera de la Marina 137717325 | fotocasa

Re: Regrets
 

That rental flat is a sh*thole. Maybe I should be buying BTLs in Barcelona!

I have to say that the Spanish people I hang around with are distinctively middle class so I don´t get to see such things ;):rofl:

Re: Regrets
 

The biggest price you pay with buying a house, especially if you're working class, is the loss of mobility to find a better job. Owning a home is nothing but a big anchor that makes it difficult and expensive to leave town for a better job.

Re: Regrets
 

I wouldn't want to live there, but that is the reality these days. That's why Barcelona is currently great for buy to let, so there you have your next investment :lol:. Honestly, I was shocked myself, but that's how it is.