# Making the decision to go



## CliveBroom (Mar 2, 2016)

My wife and I have toyed with idea of emigrating to Spain for many years. I intend to retire at the end of 2017 and I was thinking of spending up to a year living in Spain to see if we liked it out there before we made a permanent move. We would sell up in the uk and rent in Spain.

Has anyone else done that? How did it go?


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CliveBroom said:


> My wife and I have toyed with idea of emigrating to Spain for many years. I intend to retire at the end of 2017 and I was thinking of spending up to a year living in Spain to see if we liked it out there before we made a permanent move. We would sell up in the uk and rent in Spain.
> 
> Has anyone else done that? How did it go?



We sold up, left the UK and rented.
But we knew we were leaving for good. You don't. So why sell your UK property? What if you find Spain isn't for you?


----------



## CliveBroom (Mar 2, 2016)

We would need to sell up because my pension won't cover the cost of retaining our UK home and renting abroad. We still have a mortgage.


----------



## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

CliveBroom said:


> We would need to sell up because my pension won't cover the cost of retaining our UK home and renting abroad. We still have a mortgage.


Is there any way you could rent out your UK home and use the proceeds to rent here? At least that way you won't have burnt your bridges and the house may even increase in value in that time.

The cost of living is still cheaper here. In general it is considered that, on average, whatever you'd pay in pounds there, you will pay in euros here, that is, what would cost you a pound in the UK would cost 77p here, at today's exchange rate.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CliveBroom said:


> We would need to sell up because my pension won't cover the cost of retaining our UK home and renting abroad. We still have a mortgage.


Which begs another question: would you be able to survive when your capital runs out or severely depreciates?
In the last three months falling exchange rates have seen £1000 buy you 1280 euros today as opposed to 1430 euros in December.
Taxes and prices rise in Spain like anywhere in the world.


----------



## CliveBroom (Mar 2, 2016)

our capital would be invested and we would, for the year, live off my pension. At the end of the year we would either buy in Spain or return home.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CliveBroom said:


> our capital would be invested and we would, for the year, live off my pension. At the end of the year we would either buy in Spain or return home.


If you can survive on your pension and have somewhere to go if you decide to return, then renting for a year is a good idea. It's always best to rent first anyway. We decided to rent as we don't want the hassle of property owning abroad.
Of course you may or may not get a good return on any investment, depending on how much you have to invest and where it's invested.
But if you are sure you'd have somewhere to live should you decide you want to return to the UK then I can't see any problem.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Even if you think you may only be here temporarily, within 90 days of your arrival you will need to register on the list of foreigners and show that you are not likely to become a burden on the state. You will have to show that you have an income of approximately (it varies according to AC and National Police office) 600-650€ per person per month and that you have health care coverage (in full with no co-pay) although if one of you is an OAP, you should be able to get Form S1 from DWP in Newcastle that will cover you, otherwise you will have to have private cover. If you are here for more than 182 days in a calendar year you will be deemed to be 'tax-resident' and liable to pay tax in Spain on your world-wide income.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> Even if you think you may only be here temporarily, within 90 days of your arrival you will need to register on the list of foreigners and show that you are not likely to become a burden on the state. You will have to show that you have an income of approximately (it varies according to AC and National Police office) 600-650€ per person per month and that you have health care coverage (in full with no co-pay) although if one of you is an OAP, you should be able to get Form S1 from DWP in Newcastle that will cover you, otherwise you will have to have private cover. If you are here for more than 182 days in a calendar year you will be deemed to be 'tax-resident' and liable to pay tax in Spain on your world-wide income.


When a state pension is used for proof of income, no monetary amount is required. The pension, however much (or little) is deemed to be enough


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

DONT SELL! 

I sold as I knew I was coming forever after years of regular trips but as others have said, rent you house which gives you an income to pay rent here then your pension for living and then after a year or two if you like it sell up. Just keep your options open because life in Spain is not always what people think!


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

When we sold our house in the U.K., it was a huge weight off our shoulders, so glad to get shut of it.

We did not consider renting, my daughter rented hers through an agent, the scumbag social security tenants, never paid the rent, trashed the house and stole everything that was not screwed down. O.K. they were convicted and went to jail, but my daughter never recovered the financial loss.


----------



## Claire la richarde (Jul 6, 2009)

Madliz said:


> Is there any way you could rent out your UK home and use the proceeds to rent here? At least that way you won't have burnt your bridges and the house may even increase in value in that time.
> 
> The cost of living is still cheaper here. In general it is considered that, on average, whatever you'd pay in pounds there, you will pay in euros here, that is, what would cost you a pound in the UK would cost 77p here, at today's exchange rate.


Renting out the house and using the proceeds would depend on the sums. The OP says he still has a mortgage. If the mortgage payments are equal to or very similar to the rent, there won't be any money left over to pay rent in Spain. When letting out a house, there are outgoings to consider - insurance, agent's fees, maintenance costs, tax.


----------



## rich11 (Oct 7, 2015)

If he waits a year to sell his house wont he have to pay Spanish tax on any profits gained?


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Claire la richarde said:


> Renting out the house and using the proceeds would depend on the sums. The OP says he still has a mortgage. If the mortgage payments are equal to or very similar to the rent, there won't be any money left over to pay rent in Spain. When letting out a house, there are outgoings to consider - insurance, agent's fees, maintenance costs, tax.


And you need the mortgage lender's permission to rent the property out, I believe?


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> And you need the mortgage lender's permission to rent the property out, I believe?


Yes, and when I did it the hiked the interest rate up!!! So... I sold up!


----------



## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

What about selling your property in the UK and buying something cheaper either in bricks and mortar or area that you would be happy to rent out and help clear the mortgage, but still in the UK? My gut feeling after spending 5 months here so far is not to burn your bridges until you are definite about the move.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Gazeebo said:


> What about selling your property in the UK and buying something cheaper either in bricks and mortar or area that you would be happy to rent out and help clear the mortgage, but still in the UK? My gut feeling after spending 5 months here so far is not to burn your bridges until you are definite about the move.


As always it "it all depends!" For us, there was no question of being able to pay all that it cost in UK to keep our flat there with all its expenses plus renting in Spain. So we took great care over what we were looking for from life and where we would be fairly certain of finding it. We sold up and moved, lock, stock and barrel, dragging the (now) 85 year old m-i-l with us. Haven't regretted anything one bit. I see no reason for each us not to die here, among friends, eventually. Fortunately we now a have a village tanatorio because we wouldn't be able to cope with having wakes in the house - far too many to accommodate.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We sold the UK house when we moved here permanently, and paid off the mortgage with a bit to spare, which still there for a "rainy day". It would just about buy us a mobile home in an unfashionable part of Wales, should we ever be kicked out of Spain!

I have friends who rent out their UK homes and are forever worrying about problem tenants, repairs, property values, overseas asset declarations etc etc. Quite honestly I'd rather not have the hassle.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> We sold the UK house when we moved here permanently, and paid off the mortgage with a bit to spare, which still there for a "rainy day". It would just about buy us a mobile home in an unfashionable part of Wales, should we ever be kicked out of Spain!
> 
> I have friends who rent out their UK homes and are forever worrying about problem tenants, repairs, property values, overseas asset declarations etc etc. Quite honestly I'd rather not have the hassle.


We rented our house for six months, to a Polish woman who came with excellent references. We used an Agency who collected rent, arranged tax, utilities, everything...allegedly.
A bank stupidly sent a credit card and later a PIN number to the house although the card had been cancelled years before and they knew I'd moved. The Polish woman used it to withdraw £5000 cash. She moved out hastily when the police were involved.
After that we sold to the first person who made an offer.
The Agency later told us that the employee who dealt with us had invented the reference.


----------



## jackmartin123456789 (Mar 7, 2016)

y self andpartner are moving 2 spain I sept I have 1150e a month my partner has 600e wud that cover renting and cost of living?


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

We rented for a few years when we lived abroad. The Agent was costly but he did get us a higher rental than we expected. They did 3 monthly inspections and if there had been any damage they covered it.

My Sister has been in the Middle East for 6 years and they have rented their house all the time. It is South of London and earns them £24,000pa. Plus the value has gone up around £400,000. During this time the only problems were a complaint from a neighbour about a tree, a bit of fencing blown down. There has been three tenants and the interior painted twice plus a new washer. All these have been dealt with by the Agent, just got the go ahead from my Sister.


----------

