Moses2013

It wouldn't be their own pool if it's an apartment complex?
A pool is great if you're living in Spain permanently though.

whitelinen

Buy a place and Join a house swap group and you can holiday anywhere in the world. You are not tied to one destination.

IMO renting is money down the drain unless short term to see if the area is suitable.

cricketman

Let's see...

A flat is up for sale for 300k or will rent for 600 euros per month
- I have 300k cash and can stick it in a 5 year bond at 5% return (4% after tax)
- 4% of 300k = 12k per year
- So if I can rent for less than 1k per month then I am better off renting. Plus I have no taxes, no maintanance fees and can move whenever I want

Seems to me that buying is money down the drain

Moses2013

Well it isn't that easy and if it was that simple nobody would buy. Why buy anything if it loses value (car, phone etc.) You would also need 300K cash first :-). Some people buy because it's a lifestyle choice and others want to make a profit. Depending on the area rents could also go up and you could also make a profit by buying now and selling again.

cricketman

Of course

But to say that renting is throwing money down the drain isnt true. Certainly not in the current environment

The last flat I rented was for 800 euros per month. They also had it up for sale for 800,000 euros!

Moses2013

It always depends (Price, location, lifestyle). If you're just renting short term (holidays), or are always moving around, you are probably better off renting. If it's your main home and you're planning to stay for longer why rent if you can buy at a good price. A holiday home is different and many have made a loss, but not all and some might retire in Spain or make more money by renting it out. Our mortgage here at home is lower than what we would spend for rent, so it's a no brainer.

stevescot

That's the extreme end of the scale though. A small house can be bought for circa 35k euro in southern Costa Blanca and will rent for around e200 per month. That's around an 7% return before costs.

If you can be bothered with the hassle of renting it out...

cricketman

Well, if you can find a property that you are happy to live in for 35k then of course it is a no-brainer. Buy the place

Unfortunately I have seen nothing under 300k that I would be happy to live in. And the ones I'd really like to live in are still over 500k

Moses2013

Where do you live again? You can build a villa with pool for less money.

whitelinen

I never mentioned renting a property out at all. I suggested that owning a holiday home does not limit anyone to just holidaying in that one place. Home swaps work well enabling the home owner to visit their holiday home as and when they want and visit other countries at other times.

Only a (snip) would buy a flat for 300K and expect a good return on their investment and only a (snip) would suggest it.

cricketman

Well you can, but a pretty average one in a not so good location

I have been looking for weekend/holiday homes in Asturias that we can use in the summer. I would want one that you can walk to the beach (less than a few hundred meters), with a garden and close to a small town or village

Anything like that is over 300k and anything nice over 500k - and you can only use them 6 months per year due to the weather

This is the best I've seen so far, but a little over budget
http://www.idealista.com/inmueble/2077388/

amideislas

CMan lives in utopia.

Yes, you can buy a lot with €500K. EDIT: or €300K.

But he's right about renting. Whilst I can't speak for other areas, rents are disproportionately cheaper than a mortgage at present.

Unfortunately, Spanish (read: mallorquin) landlords around here tend to live in another world, and can be a real nightmare in terms of penny wise and pound foolish mentality, and tend to shove all problems on the tenant. If the boiler breaks down or the roof develops a leak, it's not their problem. YOU were using it at the time, after all. Taking them to court is a royal pain in the arse, and doesn't guarantee you'll receive any relief. Not to mention that a "deposit" is widely considered a "gift" or "key money". Don't expect to get it back.

cricketman

[QUOTE=whitelinen;11478768]

buy a flat for 300K and expect a good return on their investment QUOTE]

Erm, you are the one that suggested it

The example I gave was a flat, but could have equally been a house

You can rent houses all across Spain for 600 euros per month that would cost 300k plus to buy. The same calculations apply

Moses2013

Welll I don't know the area that well but a piece of land is offered here for 85K and it's just asking price.
Terreno Urbanizable en Caravia en Resto Provincia de Asturias - Caravia 133337732


Or this for 28K
http://www.fotocasa.es/terreno/colun...wGrid=10&tta=0
You can build the most amazing house for 150K-200K these days.

amideislas

A lot of people people don't enter the process with an open mind - particularly newbie foreigners with a few bob. Just call an agent, look at a few places in the expat areas you've been strongly advised to move to, find one that more or less suits you, and buy it. After all, as Phil & Kirstie say, location, location, location!

In that case, €500K starts to look a lot more reasonable. Hell of a lot cheaper than a flat in London anyway. But then, as you have chosen a flat in a suburban expat neighbourhood, you often find out that your neighbours (on the other side of your lounge wall) are not exactly the friendliest bunch, you have to keep everything locked up tight, and the snotty kids down the street keep scratching your car. The local supermarket is 20% more expensive than everywhere else (but they do carry Sharwoods, Carling, HP sauce, and mince pies).

Right, then.

As a practical matter, with an open mind, a bit of independent research, without taking everything everyone tells you as a patent truth, you can get (or build) triple or quadruple the house on a good chunk of land, for half the money or less, in a far more palatable area - presuming you aren't hell-bent on living in an expat area or directly on the beach.