hi, and morning to all. Does this sound a good idea.. 1 villa in spain that probably wont sell for agesssssss. 1 english couple that desperatly want to move to spain, thing is why not swap houses or flat? I have just sent my estate agent an e mail to do just this, dont know what he will say BUT even if the house or flat is not where I would like it to be maybe I could rent it out and at least the english couple get to spain quicker, that way if all goes well all happy, does this sound ridiculous? pat

Not ridiculous at all, anything is worth a try. Builders do part exchange in order to sell on new properties. Good luck in finding a perfect match.

It is a good idea. Just one thing will anyone want to move/retire to Spain at this low exchange rate. If I was in the UK now I wouldn't consider it unless things change.

Have you thought about all the taxes involved in this?
You'll have to pay tax on the rent the english couple pay (or would pay) you for
living in your house and they'll have to pay tax on the rent you'll pay (or would
be deemed to pay) to them, for living in their house.
Now I know you'll say "ahh, but no money will change hands." That doesn't
matter. At least in the english tax system, you'll be presumed to be getting a
"benefit in kind" (i.e. something instead of money) and the tax will be calculated
on what that value is - or what the taxman assesses it as being worth.
Worse, when you do get to sell you house (or the english couple find a buyer
for theirs), since you aren't living there, it won't be your primary residence so
you'll get dinged for CGT.
I'd seek professional financial advice on all of this before proceeding. What
starts out as a nice idea to short-circuit the system could turn into a nightmare.

I thought what the OP meant was to swap completly. ie, exchange title deeds. There would still be tax to pay on that of course.

yep i did mean to swap houses so no money (as sucH) changes hands. In other words somebody might have a flat or house that is roughly worth our villa and just swap deeds , or something along that vein. I suppose it could work, the scenario could be something like
couple have a flat or house worth about £180.00 , they like my villa so although my villa is more expensive I accept their offer because I could be waiting years for a buyer....job done, all happy because although I have my own place in UK I could let out the other couples place,

I think it is a good idea.

Edmond's Estate Agents Branches all over Spain.A stuffed purple Dinosaur named Posh Paws is their logo. I have attached a pic of the staff at their Marbella office.

In theory it sounds like a good idea Patsy I wonder if it's been done before and if so how it went. Chris is trying to sell up and get over, maybe you should talk to her and possibly arrange a house swap for a short period to test the water so to speak. Could work

i am open to all suggestions, but who is chris? thanks, pat

We too have thought of doing this - would be interested to know more.

Chrisw..." Estate agents, campaign to make them work! " ..........look for the thread.

Not sure if relevant but we "exchanged" homes in the UK in around 1992. We needed cash for buying a home in Spain (not relevant to the situation). We had a detached home worth around £75,000, the people we exchanged with had a small bungalow worth around £50,000 in the same area. They agreed to "Buy" our home and pay us the £25,000 difference. We bought their home. Their son paid the £25,000 and moved into the upstairs of our place and the elderly couple moved from their bungalow into the downstair of our place enabling their son to look after them. It worked out OK. Good luck with what you decide

The person who swops for a Spanish house will still have to pay the 10% or so buying fees here and as you will be the seller there may be CGT.

Hi - loads of people are looking into this now. We've come across dozens in Spain who are considering this, but finding a sensible exchange proves more of a challenge. As well as the CTG in Uk, taxes in Spain and fees etc (which all have to be found, of course), one of the first considerations is finding a mutually suitable swap with a fully legal property and a vendor who takes a realistic approach. This idea is definitely not for the faint hearted and you will get masses of unsolicited sarcastic 'advice' and 'guidance' on forums. It pays to be wary of offers to exchange that look too easy, or to good to be true - they're usually exactly so . We've looked at a couple of those but don't waste time with them any more as the vendors are usually pretty transparent, even though they don't think so.
An exchange won't short circuit the system but in the current climate, if we can find a permanent exchange for a property in Spain that stands up to legal scrutiny, then it is worth at least exploring as a way of dealing with a capital asset that in our case, would be more beneficial to us in Spain than the UK.