mogsmum

At the end of next year am hoping to take early retirement from the NHS. Both my husband and I are in our mid 50's. We are keen to do something different with our time and are considering a move abroad. My husbands preferred destination in Spain. For me, I do not mind, however I do require something Rural within easy distance of town etc. Anyway at the moment that is by the by.

We would like to supplement pension with some income. Preferably in the form of some sort of rental property either Holiday type let ( similar to gites in france) - or long term lets. We will not have any mortgage and should be able to fund the purchase of 2 properties, plus have contigency funds. I am looking for information on
tax, equivilant of national insurance, health cover etc and would be grateful for any links etc or advice. We are aware that these are uncertain times in Spain, however your a long time dead in this world if you just live life making plans and not actually doing anything.
I already speak reasonable French and some Spanish - once destination has been decided will take further lessons.
Appreciate your advice
regards
mogsmum

Domino

Well, the answer is No this isnt the time

you will be early retirees so will get the mearest of medical cover, if you are registering the purchase of property you will need an NIE and also tell the tax man (tenants can get a small tax allowance on rent - only if the property is registered). As there is an income you are defined as working and will be required to go Autonomo - which will cost you €260 per month for your medical cover.

there are several hundred thousand empty properties, many even in the "wanted" areas, so who is to say if you can find any tenants.
the housing market is in meltdown at the moment, it may get better - in the next 10 years or so.

please, read the other recent threads here and see all the helpful information there is.

hth

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

lynnxa

this is a great time if you won't be depending upon income from the property - it's cheap to buy atm & will almost certainly become cheaper yet

health care - you should get up to 2 years cover under a reciprocal agreement with the UK via S1 forms - you will still need proof of funds/income however in order to register as resident to gain access to it - I believe ownership of property counts towards this - the rules are still new & it's not clear how they are being interpreted yet

tax & NI - if you are working as self-employed, what Domino says is right about NI payments - in fact in your 50s payments would be higher than that (I'm a little younger & mine are over 270€ a month) - I'm not sure if that applies to letting a property though, I suspect that it doesn't

paying NI however means that you have full access to healthcare for as long as you are paying it

jackytoo

A lot of people thought they could "run a little B&B" for a bit of income. Others bought an apartment to rent out. We knew a few, it didn't work.

whitelinen

Private cover is around €110 per month for a couple in their 50's and you will not have to register as autonomo.

You will find lots of references to both these questions in previous posts and elsewhere.

This has been a very good year for holiday rentals in Spain, however, cannot say the same for long term rentals but who in their right mind would offer long term rental in Spain given tenants rights?

Chiclanagir

I think it has been the worst year for holiday rentals. Personally I would buy a property to rent out for income in the UK. Higher long term rents plus that bit of security if you want to return. You will have something to go back to, plus if you buy two properties in Spain you could end up losing a lot of money and not being able to afford to return.

steviedeluxe

It may be changing...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...oost-rent.html

Pocaloca

Excellent advice. Anything you buy in Spain right now is more likely to go down in value than up, over the next few years.

Holiday lets can be profitable in a prime coastal location, but in rural areas you will be lucky to get bookings for 8 weeks a year.

mogsmum

[QUOTEjackytoo
A lot of people thought they could "run a little B&B" for a bit of income. Others bought an apartment to rent out. We knew a few, it didn't work.][/QUOTE]
Yes appreciate the risk..but does not mean a person should not give it a go
Thanks - no not dependant on income additional to pension.

Nice to see a forum where there is a difference of opinion straight away! LOL
I do not want to rent out in the UK. To be honest if we go then we go, we are not looking at this as a 6 year visit and then return home - I am fully aware that we do not know what the future holds, however We feel that if we move abroad

1 Its is to a country and an area where we feel comfortable
2 It is a permanent move - otherwise just buy a holiday home
3 We are both in our mid 50's - we have both had friends who have died
before they got to 60 - We have no intentions of being part of the
"wish we had done that group"
The information that you have all given is welcome and I appreciate you help.
I will look into the NI contributions - I am aware that we should be covered for the first 2 years from the UK... and we have allowed in our outgoings for medical cover - who knows the way things are over europe even the UK Gov may stop paying overseas!!!!!!

Will be back with more questions

MM

mogsmum

interesting thanks

Chiclanagir

Yes appreciate the risk..but does not mean a person should not give it a go


Thanks - no not dependant on income additional to pension.



Nice to see a forum where there is a difference of opinion straight away! LOL
I do not want to rent out in the UK. To be honest if we go then we go, we are not looking at this as a 6 year visit and then return home - I am fully aware that we do not know what the future holds, however We feel that if we move abroad

1 Its is to a country and an area where we feel comfortable
2 It is a permanent move - otherwise just buy a holiday home
3 We are both in our mid 50's - we have both had friends who have died
before they got to 60 - We have no intentions of being part of the
"wish we had done that group"
The information that you have all given is welcome and I appreciate you help.
I will look into the NI contributions - I am aware that we should be covered for the first 2 years from the UK... and we have allowed in our outgoings for medical cover - who knows the way things are over europe even the UK Gov may stop paying overseas!!!!!!

Will be back with more questions

MM[/QUOTE]

Your choice of course but in ten years time you may feel completely different. Because life does that to you.

mogsmum

[/QUOTE]


Thanks Chiclanagi, that's why I said that we do not know what the future holds, but increasingly we feel that we need to do something different, experience something different, we may feel different in 10 years, but does that mean that because you may change your mind about something later down the line you don't do it. I totally understand what you are saying, financial risk, family etc and fully take that on board, and maybe in 10 years, when and if we have made the move, I may well be on here saying to another person about to embark DON'T but then again I might say yep, accept the risks and give it a go, for us it is the accepting of the risks... As I say I do however appreciate all advice and warnings and take everything on board for discussion.
MM

jackytoo

All our friends who rent have had a glum 3 years. There are just too many properties for rental on the coast. Some of them are/were well established too. Everyone and their Mothers want to rent out!

mogsmum

Hi are you referring to holiday or long term rentals, what location are you?

Remembering that we are not dependent on rental income it would help