Hampshirefrank

Hi everyone
Myself and my partner are looking at purchasing a property in Spain, for a holiday home initially and then to maybe move into permanently when the time comes. Is there anything you wish you had known before buying or anything you would have done differently as hindsight is a wonderful thing! Tia

jonboy

Looking back I would not have bought a place as it ties up a lot of money and the cost of the upkeep of the property and bills alone would allow for a good holiday each year itself, add the interest lost and that would be a good second holiday.
Buying means that the property "owns you" not the other way round. You therefore need to go to it, whereas you can go where you want when you want, when you are unencumbered.
However I do have a place and am happy with it and the family use it and enjoy it. I do not live there full time so it is a luxury and expensively so.
Good luck with your planning.

spainrico

I would not have bought off plan - the whole area did not turn out as I expected. I now have that place rented out and live elsewhere.

Some good advice and links here
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-b...perty-in-spain

bob_bob

Very easy to buy, not easy to sell often unless you take a financial hit.

SportyPorty

Hey Frank, I would say make sure you buy the right size property as it's expensive to change later. I wish I had known how much we love the place, as I would have purchased a larger property. When we retire, we plan to be there for ~50% of our time, although never to live abroad permanently I think. So, a one bed apartment was to 'dip my toes' into foreign property ownership, but now we really want/need something bigger. Alas, the last 5 years have been very favourable to property prices in Mallorca, and whilst the difference between a 1 & 3 bed apartment in the same building was only €100k when I bought, it is now almost €200k more expensive. Great news if you are selling or downsizing, not so good if you are looking to expand.

If you are considering buying, and especially if planning a future permanent move, make sure your destination of choice has all of the facilities you want. We have recently looked at (and fallen in love with) affordable villas on the east coast in Mallorca, but whilst they are very, very attractive, for us there would be little to do in such an isolated location. This was something I hadn't really given enough consideration to before I bought, and it's only down to good fortune that we're in such a great spot. Walks, cycle paths, shops, beaches, Palma.....All close by.

Buying is exciting and scary in equal measures. Some people consider it the best thing they've ever done, some the opposite. I'm sure you already know in your heart which camp you'll fall into. For us, a place in the sun was what we have always wanted, and the only real regret we have is that we didn't (or more accurately, couldn't afford to) do it years earlier. Good luck!

Notdunroamin

Whatever and wherever you buy put out of your mind any comparison between owning property in UK and Spain, first and foremost that you will ever make a profit.

We looked at many property options but, surprising even us it must be said, ended up buying a brand new mobile park home and although we are perfectly happy, and content with it and where we are if we did decide that we wanted a change the cost of lifting and transporting our home to another site would be a fraction of the expenses involved in selling a house and buying a new one and could probably also be accomplished in as little as a couple of weeks.

Longlegpete

Can't really think of anything that I would have done or changed really, we probably bought a bigger place than we needed but that's turned out fine after 10 years of ownership.
We bought in the right place so the house is now realistically worth 20 or 30% more than we paid for it but I bought it with the mindset of being able to wright the money off if things didn't go ok.

I'm really glad we did buy it, it's a Holiday home for us and we spend 4 or 5 months a year there but you have all your trappings there, for me this is push bikes, motorcycle and car, something we could not do it we were using the upkeep money for holidays as some have suggested, indeed I used to travel to Spain touring on the motorcycle just to find the roads i now have on my doorstep.

I suppose i would say as some others have said, make sure you buy in a place that suits you and your nearest rather than what someone who is totally different has recommended as the costs involved in moving are much greater than the UK, good luck

Rosemary

Never ever regretted our choice of town. Based on me having a feeling of coming home when we came to see the house. I was negative about the whole idea of buying in Spain so no rose tinted glassed used at all. Now that I am alone here I know that it was probably one of the best decisions that we ever made because of the support and friendship that I enjoy.

I always say that where I live would not suit everyone but it was a very personal choice for us. We had a list of what to avoid, what was necessary in the surrounding area and in all honesty it worked out fine.

So work out a list of what you want from an area, what you hate, what you love, what you will tolerate and what would be an absolute disaster for you and stick to this when looking.

Rosemary

Jerseygirl

Renting for 3/6 mths or more will give you an idea if it’s the right location and will allow you time to look at the different areas/properties.

malver

I looked into buying but after hearing a few horror stories decided to rent instead.
Better to own and rent out your property in the UK then use the income to spend on a long term rental in Spain.

Mark604

On practical note, what I would have done better at the time of renovating the place we bought would be to make it better for the winter months. Better in that some form of proper heating as opposed to just a fireplace. It's all well and good using portable gas or electric heaters, or aircons, but a proper central heating system installed would have been just the thing.

bobd22

Location and the property you will see mentioned time and again. If you get one of those wrong be aware selling and moving not quite as easy as UK. Make sure also for both of you that now really is the right time to do this, not unusual for one to have a change of heart after a short while. Obviously these things are very unique to each individual and couple. Better if you can to choose an area you think is right and have a few holidays lengthy ones if possible to see how it pans out? Different times of the year as well to assess living through winter's which again has been mentioned can be very cold indoors. Property wise it is picking up a little after the 2008/9 crash but still and will remain buyers market so no need to panic. Good luck

missile

Wish we had done it earlier :-)

surreygirl

Wish I had know how difficult it is to sell. I would have purchased a two bed flat instead of a one bed.

Now working now I have having a one bed and wish I could sell, but it seems to take years to sell in Spain and also it is very very expensive.