JOHN2458

Hi Guys, We have a holiday home near Alicante in Spain,On a golf course(well not litterally on it ha ha ) We have had some great times there,and made some good family memories. I was very wary to buy in Spain at the time,but really all went well with no dramas, rather luckily, compared to some stories I have read on here. Now the kids are at an age were they are backpacking and travelling/working. aand we fancy ventures new maybe dubai or cayman Well. OK so now it seems Spain fallen on hard times.I do rent it out and it is still looking good and I think the location is ideal, and if I would want to retire to Spain I would keep it and plod on,(probabaly should of thought of that when we bought in Spain but whatever happens we have had good times,and even if I dont walk away with big profits, the memories are with us.

Surely there are still people out there who still want to have a holiday home in a sunny country were it is only still a couple of hours flight from rainy uk. I think its still a great place for familys I know times are hard all round but people still want holidays ? am I seriously deluded on that part ?

If the pound strengthend and the Euro was 1.50 to the pound again.Do you feel this would bring a brighter future for us all ????? Am I totally mad thinking I could exchange or sell our holiday home ??? If the pound strengthend would things improve ?? If its a no to that, well maybe plod on and wait for grand kids to come along and enjoy the place ?? whats your views ????

missile

You saved the cost of renting. You had the pleasure of ownership. You have the memories. If you want to sell, be realistic and don't be greedy.

JOHN2458

Missile.
Thanks for the quick reply I like that answer, very true,but if I am negotable and open to offers,whether its swop or sell, whats greedy about that ?
I have a few choices
a/ try to sell/exchange
b/carry on renting,visiting and see what happems in 5/10 years
c/ or walk away and ventures new,which I just wouldnt do !!!! well not at the moment lol thanks for you reply

Mitzyboy

I think the greed comment just relates to asking for a realistic amount for the villa, rather than the unrealistic prices that some try for

JOHN2458

Mitzyboy and Missile,
Thank you for the reply, Who knows what will happen ? I believe you make your own luck in life, but a little more luck wouldnt go a miss ha ha.Lets see how the eurozone goes to !!
cheers

agoreira

You can't blame them for trying, offering a low price, same as you can't blame sellers for still asking daft prices. If people are desperate enough, they'll sell, if not, the worse that can happen is they say "no". You can always up your offer, but if the seller accepts your first offer, you'd be wondering could you have gotten it cheaper. A lot of sellers want at least what they paid for the property, and in today's market it often isn't worth that. The sellers "realistic amount" can be anything but realistic.

Mitzyboy

Well ... yes I can blame them for trying ... I dont actually care, cos its their loss ... but if they want to sell then they have to be realistic.

Nearby neigbour has put their house on the market for €275,000. Its not in a good state as it has been neglected for some years. The pool is shallow (3ft) and it needs work. A nearby almost similar villa with a small pool sold last year here for €175,000 including furniture and car. Work it out . Will she sell it? Not a chance in hell, I dont think anyone has actually even been to see it.

So its not really a case of desperation level ..... she could keep that villa on the market at that price for probably 10 years and she still wouldnt have sold it.

moblies

Similar situation we purchased when we had no kids 5 years ago now we have two young kids. Not really wanting to sell but Neighbours that have tried reducing by 40 + 50k had no luck. It would be nice if the Exchange rate improved just to make it a bit cheaper. But have resigned ourselves to hang on and see what happens.

Mitzyboy

Well that I supposed depends on if you are staying in Spain or moving back to the UK. If I was moving back I could attempt to sell for a lot less euros than I paid, and still make a small profit

mikelincs

Depends when you bought, we managed to get what we paid, so were happy with that, so many people bought when there was a boom and prices were high, now they want/need to sell and prices are at very low, so they are likely to amke a loss, even a big one, many won't even make enough to pay off the mortgage.

fionamw

Of course it depends also on the exchange rate when you bought and the exchange rate when you sell............

Mitzyboy

It was between 1.45ish and 1.52ish when we bought, of course a while back it was almost at parity

amideislas

The general concensus is that the Euro will drop significantly, so Spain is going to look a lot more attractive to UK holidaymakers. If so, this is nothing but good news for the entire European economy, not just Spain.

I don't know how the law is emerging in your area, but here, the laws regarding rental of private homes to tourists are very strict, and they take at least 30% of your rental price in tax, presuming you are able to obtain any kind of licence to rent at all, which is usually very expensive and difficult - here, at least.

Many, if not most villa owners aspiring to rent as a holiday property are therefore inclined do it "black", marketing exclusively in the UK and avoiding internet exposure on the major booking sites where the Spanish authorities can discover them.

It's difficult and risky here, but many people still do it...

JOHN2458

Thanks forl all the comments, there are also a few places near ours that have reduced like 40,000 from the average and still not sold but there are only a few up for sale considering all the strories of people leaving spain. Plod on I am thinking for now

moblies

We still have a few houses in our block that never sold, 5 years ago I guess the bank owns them now as the builder is long gone. I'd be happy to see 1.40 again make the mortgage a bit cheaper.