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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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 . Honestly, I was shocked myself, but that's how it is.

True, but there aren't that many jobs in Spain and that's why people live in Barcelona/ Madrid etc. People living in rural Spain, might have inherited the properties and live off the land. They don't have a mortgage and that's how they survive.

No - none.

The 14 years we spent in Spain were a wonderful experience and I would not have changed a thing.

We rented in Spain although we own a couple of properties in the UK.

The rent/buy question is very personal and depends upon personal preference, personal circumstances and locational circumstances.

I see property purchase as a necessary evil - a house is an anchor to me and I would rather not have it but in the UK it just makes so much financial sense.

I would have to pay about £900 a month to rent the house I am in now which is worth about £160,000. As I could afford to buy it (I had a decent deposit) I would have been crazy not to. I could also sell it tomorrow for a decent profit and no financial penalty if I chose to.

This is not the situation in Spain and I would never have bought there - but then I have a different mind set to some.

I am happy that many are content with the houses they have bought in Spain but it wasn't for me. I also know of a fair few people who did buy, would like to sell but have no chance of doing so for anywhere near what they paid.

The other point is that - where we were at least - the build quality was poor and many of our owner friends had to continually spend money on repairs and maintenance.

It's only really an anchor for people who invest all their money in one property, move to Spain and have no other options, especially in typical British areas. Best advice for retired people is to always keep your home in the UK and rent, or buy if you can afford it and don't have to rely on money from a property sale.
Personally I would never buy an apartment in a typical holiday area, because as you say the build quality is often poor and I have plenty of hotels to choose from.

If you buy a good modern flat then it is likely that the maintenance will be fairly low and possibly have the balance of a new build guarantee in place. The IBI and community charge will always have to paid. But as many people will point out - in twenty five years time you will have €250,000 asset that someone else has paid for.