jimenato

... its ...

Cats-R-Us

Going back to the original question. I wish we had known how difficult it can be to live, full time, ON a community (as opposed to IN one). Our holiday home ON a community in Alicante was great but when we moved out full time we found out there were always arguments about how it/the pool/parking, etc should be run between various factions of our community (and it was only 39 bungalows). We moved out to the northern part of the Granada province high in the mountains, and now live IN a community. There are English/French/Germans/Dutch here too but the majority are Spanish. Mostly here the locals can also speak French even though we are miles away from France. This is due to many of them going to southern France in September for the grape picking. They are lovely people and have been very accepting of our attempts to speak Spanish. We visited the coast recently and an elderly Englishman was astonished we speak Spanish. His attitude was he was willing to holiday in Spain but wouldn't live here and thought we were strange to speak the language. We still struggle at times but it is always worth the effort as I am sure they appreciate us trying. As would we when we lived in the UK expect foreigners to try to speak the local language - English.

Sir John

Yes me too if i could have sold my place..

angiescarr

I think if you've gone or want to go, the answers may be revealing to people who are thinking about it too. Maybe why did you think Spain was for you and then decide against staying might help people make up their minds?

Sir John

Bereavement of a partner living on your own degenerating health factores?..

Fredbargate

I had my property on the market for a long time after I decided to leave, unfortunately my wife wanted to stay so we missed a couple of opportunities to sell.
I had gotten fed up with the ever obvious corruption, the lack of services, the rising costs, and the increase in political tension caused by the then PP Mayor of La Linea.
My wife was then taken seriously ill and after recovery she began to see things my way.We had been in Spain for 27 years.
We sold at a slightly reduced price but due to the fall in value of the pound we achieved our sterling target. We never had any intention of returning to the UK, but to upgrade the property we already owned in Gibraltar. This we have done by buying another property and then selling the original.
We are both very happy where we are now and Mrs. Fred now wonders why she didn't accept the move earlier.
The sweetener could also be that in the three years we have owned our present property the value has risen 60%

angiescarr

Hope Mrs Fred is recovering well. Glad you managed to cash in to £s before the £ got back to nearing old levels. We lost badly on the way in. Don't think we would ever make that up. Fortunately we don't want to move and most of our earnings are in ££s

101wvd

We are retirees who are seriously thinking about moving to Spain and have made arrangements to go over and have a look around the areas from Torrevieca to Mar Menor. It is interesting but disturbing to see some of you would like to leave and some give their reasons like 'Sir John' which is understandable. We owned a small apartment 30+ years ago on the La Manga strip and then we bought in Florida. We have recently sold our last property in Florida and can't live out there in any case as it's not allowed. We have been doing lots of research and listening to peoples view….some for….some against..living in Spain. We are very concerned and 'scared' in an exciting sort of way. Although we are coming over with a view to buying, I think we will eventually try renting for a few months before spending our funds on our own property.

Would anyone advise us to rent to start or would you take the plunge with the Euro being as it is and we can get more value for our money. Any other suggestions more than welcome please.

bobd22

If I was you I would certainly rent irrespective of the £ rate. As for differing views there are many what suits some doesn't suit others, I suppose if you rent you will be able to form your own opinion based on what you want/need. Also remember there will be many many reasons people choose to return. Sir Johns situation being one, getting older and needing care or closer links with family some will have seen exchange rates go from 1.60 to parity meaning what was manageable is no longer so if on fixed rate sterling pension. Remember there are also very many that live their dream. It depends what we all want!

angiescarr

It's really not a bad time to buy if you have funds to invest. because some are desperate enough to sell at a very low price. And there is a lot of empty property. Prices are generally half what they were in their peak just before the crash of the £ against the Euro (2009) Buy something you like, but always with an eye to future saleability. However the turnaround in values may not happen quickly and the value of the euro can go either way in the medium term. So, if you're 'getting on a bit' might be better to rent and have some fun with your money! ;-) If it were me, I'd rent long enough to do thorough research into not only the area but the kind of property you'd be happy in. But buy something suitable for your later years and at a low price. Spend the rest. You can't take it with you! you can still choose to rent out the small property and live in something grander for a few years while rents are low. This gives you a back up plan.

Fredbargate

Agreed

With elections in Spain and the UK this year who knows what will happen.

shorty666

I see a lot of people are saying they wished they hadn't bought a place or wished they had sold it a while ago, would you guys say it is a good time to get in and buy now or would yous still rent first.

angiescarr

Well, People who want to leave have lost money because the prices are low. So if the reasons you want to buy are because you really want to live here, or that you want a long term investment, yes, it's a good time to buy. But since you'll probably be stuck with your property with no short term gains or only low gains then you should rent for a while to make sure you get the place you'll be happy with for a few years.(In my opinion). And always do your research. I think everyone would agree with that!

Mitzyboy

Thats actiually not strictly true. Ive just left, having bought a property back in 2004. Because the rate of exchange has changed so much in favour of € to £ transactions, we actually didnt lose at all, despite lowering our sales price to a realistic level

Of course as time goes on, the rate is getting less and less attractive for such a move

Horlics

For those considering moving out to Spain, if the exchange rate is going to continue to be a major factor, there are financial products that allow you to effectively fix the rate at the current one for years to come.

As for whether now is the time to buy. I would be guided by future intentions. If you are intending to hold onto the property for the long-term, then once you have chosen a place that you are sure is right for you, I think it's a good time to buy.

But:

- only if you're doing it because you want to live in it
- are sure you could dispose of it in a reasonable amount of time if you wanted to sell it

If you're into property purely for investment purposes, the UK market is better than Spain.