Re: Underestimated costs
 

They are ex communist countries where people were mainly given a house for free, so they are not obsessed with house buying at all ;)

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Xabia International College.

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For us the consideration is how to best use the cash - buy in Spain or use the money to buy a cash generating asset. We use BTL as it's what we know. With BTL I can get 8% yield, so £250k in UK property will gross about £20k and net about £14k less tax . The break even point is about €1400 a month. Although we might be able to rent a villa worth more than £250,000 for €1400 per month, but, as I said, there's not a lot about. And the other potential issue is rent might go up in Spain quicker than the UK, and exchange rate fluctuation.

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In general you would also expect appreciation of your asset to be far greater if invested in UK property, having said that if you can't find anywhere to rent and you really want to be in Xabia then maybe the decision is easier

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It is impossible to predict the future

You need to think whether you actually want to buy or want to rent in Spain, and base it on those grounds

A house in Spain is not a good investment unless you are going to live in it and enjoy it for the next 10-20 years or more. So it is incredibly important that you have the right area and you have a guaranteed income for that time

The 10% property sales tax every time you buy kills you

If you can't commit to that, then rent

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Question would be why are you so focused on Xabia and don't you think there would be other more affordable nice areas with international schools?

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I'm open to other prospects, but it's the mixture of beautiful mountainous area that, in contrast to some of the cheaper areas, is not too overbuilt and does not look like a wastelcnd, locals and expats and working town that is still busy in winter, plus a really good school. Also, my partner agreed to the move, but he does not want to live in a really dry zone and the Xabia region has a bit of greenery (nor does he want to live in the north)

We have plans to return in September and see if we can find somewhere else, but the only one I've come up with so far on paper is Nerja, but that looks even more costly. Any ideas would be welcome.

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Just asking as there seems to be plenty of other areas in Spain. When you say North, does he mean North of Spain, or further North along the med coast? I'm only really familiar with Costa Brava/Catalonia, but that would seem to tick all boxes when you say mixture of beautiful mountainous area that, in contrast to some of the cheaper areas, is not too overbuilt and does not look like a wasteland, locals and expats and working town that is still busy in winter, plus a really good school.




I can't comment on school, but I know that there is a St Georges School outside Girona and you have plenty of cheaper areas to live that wouldn't be too far from Girona and the coast.

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This would be an urbanisation you find all over the area and houses are still very affordable + only 15-20 mins drive to international school. Very green, still great weather and excellent coast + you aren't far from Barcelona or France

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Have you had a look around the Jalon valley area or if coast is a must Benissa costa, i think in one of your previous post you said you were looking at a few houses in Moraira but thought maybe its too quiet for you in winter.

This is of course a matter of opinion but i regard these areas as nicer than those around Javea and there is a very well regarded lnternational senior school in Lliber that is not far away, dont know costs of the one in Javea but the Lliber one is around €9500 a year, maybe worth a look if you haven't already

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Seems to be a great area too and is Moraira really that quiet?

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Agree totally, if you're especially if you are pensioners.

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Thanks for your ideas, so places I am not familiar with, so will do some research. We did look at Moraira, but it was a little out of the way for the school, but also not much sub-€300k which was not pokey and on a small plot.

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I would say no, there's no doubt it's a holiday area so is quieter in winter but as has been said they are all a bit like that, the market on Fridays always causes traffic hold ups no matter what time of year it is, having said that the one's in Benissa and Teulada are better according to my better half!

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Yes it's not cheaper, similar if not slightly higher prices than Javea, take a look around the area if you are still there, Lady Elizabeth school is from Moraira/Benissa Costa around 15mins so may be an alternative and will give you a wider area to look for rentals and will provide in abundance the green/mountain/coast area you are looking for