pjj

hi gang im still looking at moving to spain hopefully be very soon just waiting to sell my property and then we will be on our way ! me and my girlfriend have been discussing when we move to spain to start our new life what things we are going to do when we get there , and one of the main things that keeps coming up is paying off morgage in spain , i feel that when we go out there if we have no morgage it will be one less strain on both of us but my girlfriend on the other hand wants us to keep the money in the bank for a rain day which means a rain shopping day in a womens eyes , so we are just wondering what your opinions/advice is on this are ?

zel

Even with the current climate in both the housing market in the UK and Spain I would still prefer to have the money in bricks and mortar compared to the pointless interest rates you get when you put it into a bank account.

Unless of course you can tie it up and with the interest made would contribute heavily towards payments on mortgage anyway. It may be worth seeking advice from a financial adviser before you go.

pjj

i totally agree with you zel i think having no morgage would be a big strain off us as all we would need to do at the end of the month would be to pay our bills and have money for meals out rather than having money in bank to blow

Mitzyboy

Ive been mortgage free for a few years now, and when I look at the interest you pay to a bank for the priviledge of owning your own home then I think the answer is absolutely obvious

jjh

Yes, mortgage free is definately the way to go. We have friends who are employed and who have mortgages and they are struggling to pay them because of interest rate hikes and the rise in the cost of living.

JJ

Sam Greenfield

As long as you dont want to make a quick buck - bricks and mortar are still the best investment you can make

spain

if you havent got a mortgage/rent to pay that is a big chunk of money you havent got to find each month - and of course a bit less stress

pay off the mortgage

pjj

thanks guys you have made our minds up now , we are 100% behind what you are saying morgage free it is then

Splatt

If I could just argue the other side of the coin...
By having cash in the bank you have funds available to start a business if you are that way inclined in any way. You also sound like you could be reasonably young so I think the pressure of having to pay the mortgage will get you off your arses and doing something.
You may decide to buy a 'holiday let' with the cash to generate an income, there's some bargains about out there and as long as the numbers stack up it's a no brainer.
It's the cheapest way to borrow money too, so if you think you could make the money you have work for you and return better than 5 or 6% then it's better in your hand.

Just my humble onion.

Ste.

montgomail

I would be wary of buying a holiday let as a means of generating income. Check out some of the websites for holiday lets in the area that you are going to be living and look at the stats for rental availability. Usually the figures do not add up.

george43

Buy to let is no longer a profitable option. To many properties available surely.

jdr

Pay off the mortgage, best thing we ever did, why let the bank lend you your own money and even charge you to borrow it. lol

pjj

hi montgomail my friend has a couple of holiday lets in spain and has no morgages on them he brought them 7 years ago in spain so he brought them the right way but hes now selling them because hes struggling to get people to rent them plus he s finding that most people rather stay in a hotel with a pool nowa days ! so i agree with you about investing in a holiday let property would be a big NO NO the reason we want to settle our morgage so we can take a big weight off our shoulders and the money that we do have coming we can spend on what we like

CarolineW

Hi pjj

I quite understand that people these days want more service and prefer to be on holiday to be looked after and pampered. Holidays are supposed to be for relaxing and not doing any chores. I know a lot of people who now go to hotels instead of rent a property simply to give them the freedom from things like doing the cooking. It costs more but with hotels having a pool you don't have to think about dealing with the overseas landlord if something needs doing, you tell the hotel!

Mitzyboy

With holiday property lets you have to have the right property. Its no use putting on a box on an urb with a shared pool nowadays. You need something special to work, and something within 6 kms of the coast. The box will probably rent, but it will be a struggle and you wont get that much, bearing in mind you can get a 2 bed locally here with a staggering view, private pool and gated for between £250 and £500 pw depending on season. Bearing in mind you have property rental site charges to pay, how much is a 2 bed box with a shared pool going to give you in profit over a year?