# moving to Torrevieja can you help



## Guest (Feb 27, 2011)

We are a retired couple from Australia and we both think that Torrevieja is where we would like to retire, you have Valencia, and Alicante within driving distance, we are not after the high life, just want to settle down and buy a small villa around 80k to 100k near the sea, I have been looking on the internet and found real estate sites with hundreds of villas for sale, I don't want to pay too much as we may move after 4 or 5 years, we would do a bit of travelling, I have downloaded the NIE and Residents permit, and I need information on where to get them stamped etc, what's the area like, would living all year round in Torrevieja be ok, are there many ex-pats living along this coast, your help with the pros and cons would be appreciated, we will not move over until the end of September, so we have lots of time to keep checking out Spain,

Robert and Margaret


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Property sales are at a real low now, maybe you would be better off paying €500-600 euro a month in rent rather than risk loosing money trying to shift a property in a few years. Prices have dropped through the floor so (just my opinion) rent, certainly for a while before you buy.

My plan last year was to retire and buy, now I've retired and take advantage of cheap flights from the UK and visit different places to be honest.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2011)

bob_bob said:


> Property sales are at a real low now, maybe you would be better off paying €500-600 euro a month in rent rather than risk loosing money trying to shift a property in a few years. Prices have dropped through the floor so (just my opinion) rent, certainly for a while before you buy.
> 
> My plan last year was to retire and buy, now I've retired and take advantage of cheap flights from the UK and visit different places to be honest.


thanks for the reply if I rented at 600 Euro a month this would work out at 36k for the 5 years, if I bought a villa at 80k and sold it for 80k then I would be better off, this is what I was working on, and the place would be ours to do what we wanted, and I would not have to rely on any landlords. Thanks for your reply.

Robert and Margaret


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Robert46 said:


> thanks for the reply if I rented at 600 Euro a month this would work out at 36k for the 5 years, if I bought a villa at 80k and sold it for 80k then I would be better off, this is what I was working on, and the place would be ours to do what we wanted, and I would not have to rely on any landlords. Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Robert and Margaret


That sounds good in theory, but to be honest there are thousands and thousands of unsold homes in Spain, owned by people who planned to do just that! Some have even abandoned them and gone back to their home country, leaving their houses unoccupied.

Might be sensible to compromise, rent in a area for a year before buying to make sure it is exactly what and where you want? Prices are predicted to fall by a further 10 or 15 per cent this year, so you won't lose out.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Robert46 said:


> thanks for the reply if I rented at 600 Euro a month this would work out at 36k for the 5 years, if I bought a villa at 80k and sold it for 80k then I would be better off, this is what I was working on, and the place would be ours to do what we wanted, and I would not have to rely on any landlords. Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Robert and Margaret


Plus the money that you need to pay in paperwork and tax which is money that you don't get back. Can't tell you how much 'cos when I bought it was a long time ago and in pesetas, but it was a hell of a lot.


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

Torrevieja is very much an ex-pat area. Very little about it is Spanish. Some like it, some do not.

I do know that property prices there have fallen drastically in the last 12 months. It is a gamble whether to buy or not as we cannot tell whether they will go down further, level out or rise.

You may buy a property for 80K and then not be able to sell it.

Do come here before you commit yourself. Be careful of the companies that offer 'inspection trips'. You would be better to come for a few months and have a good look around.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Plus the money that you need to pay in paperwork and tax which is money that you don't get back. Can't tell you how much 'cos when I bought it was a long time ago and in pesetas, but it was a hell of a lot.


8% tax now I think, plus another 3 or 4% for solicitors' and agents' fees.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Robert46 said:


> thanks for the reply if I rented at 600 Euro a month this would work out at 36k for the 5 years, if I bought a villa at 80k and sold it for 80k then I would be better off, this is what I was working on, and the place would be ours to do what we wanted, and I would not have to rely on any landlords. Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Robert and Margaret


Think hard Robert, half a million euro villas are now €125k, do yourself a favour and rent for a few months.

Pay out €80k up front, minus interest over say five years and your €80k in real terms is worth not much more than had you rented.

Good luck with your move mate.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

You need to come over and have a look around before you can know for sure what you want and exactly where you want to live (Iknow, not easy from OZ). What I thought I wanted from my arm chair in the UK was not actually what I needed when I moved here and once the novelty had warn off and I became familiar with the place, we moved again. 

As for your NIE number, officially until you actually are resident here, it will only be valid for 3 months, so maybe dont worry about that until you have at least visited and chosen a property and things are imminent. Also, and I dont know, but do you need any visas, permits or financial declarations to live in Spain on a permanent basis???

Jo xxx


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

You can of course buy a repossessed place on the rent before you buy scheme..


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

bob_bob said:


> Think hard Robert, half a million euro villas are now €125k, do yourself a favour and rent for a few months.
> 
> Pay out €80k up front, minus interest over say five years and your €80k in real terms is worth not much more than had you rented.
> 
> Good luck with your move mate.


we want to buy in Spain because we feel that it would be our home for many years, and the thought of renting just doesn't feel right, and 80k isn't a lot of money for a villa or apartment, I would love to know where I could get a 500k villa for 125k, I would very seriously be looking to buy at that price' as I don't think you could lose out after owning it for 5 or 10 years, the only problem I can think of is health cover and the cost' Australia has a reciprocal agreement with Spain, so don't know if this means with health and pensions' most real estate sites I have looked at in Spain still want top money for property, so I must be looking in the wrong sites, or do you just make an outrageous offer and hope they say yes,

Robert and margaret


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Robert46 said:


> we want to buy in Spain because we feel that it would be our home for many years, and the thought of renting just doesn't feel right, and 80k isn't a lot of money for a villa or apartment, I would love to know where I could get a 500k villa for 125k, I would very seriously be looking to buy at that price' as I don't think you could lose out after owning it for 5 or 10 years, the only problem I can think of is health cover and the cost' Australia has a reciprocal agreement with Spain, so don't know if this means with health and pensions' most real estate sites I have looked at in Spain still want top money for property, so I must be looking in the wrong sites, or do you just make an outrageous offer and hope they say yes,
> 
> Robert and margaret


You sooooo need to come over to Spain and see what you can get for your money, there are desperate people here willing to more or less give villas etc away, then there are many bank repossessions slowly seeping onto the market. And as I pointed out, how do you know exactly where you want to live if you havent been here - I dont mean the area as such, I mean the type of street/road, the type of views, the neighbours, the sun direction, the distance from amemities, will you need a car? As I say, when we first moved over I knew exactly what I wanted, three years on I realise that was simply "the dream"! The reality now is that I wouldnt go back to the first house we rented if it were offered for free! Interestingly when we first rented here, that particular house was also on the market for 550,000€ and we recently saw that it is still on and now is only 220,000€ - a bargain or will it drop even further??? Agents will always try to get the highest price they can and if you're looking from Oz then you probably arent seeing the right information

Anyway, it may not matter about price if you're making a home, but what does matter is that you could be saddled with a place that you dont like and is totally impractical and unable to sell it or move. So to rent for say 6 months would be the sensible thing to do so that you get a feel - or maybe even rent to buy? You would then be in touch with Abogados/Lawyers here, get to know folk and get the inside view of everything! Its unlikely that in 6 months, you would lose any money as house prices here are still falling

As for healthcare? Well the UK has reciprocal agreements with Spain and is a fellow member of the EU, and most expats have to take out private healthcare which I guess will be something you need to look into. There is another thread on the forum which is talking about that issue http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...71597-private-healthcare-recommendations.html. Pensions should be paid by your government to you directly and not thru Spain, as with the UK

Jo xxxx


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## gill556 (Dec 23, 2010)

I live 15 kils from Torrevieja but love going there especially in the evenings, there are quite a lot of ex pats of all nationalities but it is predominantly a Spanish town. The Spanish spend their evenings walking the paseo, the fiestas are well supported and the whole town always feels Spanish.




DunWorkin said:


> Torrevieja is very much an ex-pat area. Very little about it is Spanish. Some like it, some do not.
> 
> I do know that property prices there have fallen drastically in the last 12 months. It is a gamble whether to buy or not as we cannot tell whether they will go down further, level out or rise.
> 
> ...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

gill556 said:


> I live 15 kils from Torrevieja but love going there especially in the evenings, there are quite a lot of ex pats of all nationalities but it is predominantly a Spanish town. The Spanish spend their evenings walking the paseo, the fiestas are well supported and the whole town always feels Spanish.


I'm sure like most of the costas it has expat areas, spanish areas and tourist areas. I've only been to Torrevieja once and TBH I wasnt impressed, it was full of 1960s style buildings everywhere and didnt have a particularly nice feel - but that was one trip and I didnt see it all. Besides we all like different things. I live in Benalmadena and thats probably not on everyones "favourite" list!! As for any of the costa towns being "Spanish", well of course they are, they're in Spain lol!

Jo xxx


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

jojo said:


> You sooooo need to come over to Spain and see what you can get for your money, there are desperate people here willing to more or less give villas etc away, then there are many bank repossessions slowly seeping onto the market. And as I pointed out, how do you know exactly where you want to live if you havent been here - I dont mean the area as such, I mean the type of street/road, the type of views, the neighbours, the sun direction, the distance from amemities, will you need a car? As I say, when we first moved over I knew exactly what I wanted, three years on I realise that was simply "the dream"! The reality now is that I wouldnt go back to the first house we rented if it were offered for free! Interestingly when we first rented here, that particular house was also on the market for 550,000€ and we recently saw that it is still on and now is only 220,000€ - a bargain or will it drop even further??? Agents will always try to get the highest price they can and if you're looking from Oz then you probably arent seeing the right information
> 
> Anyway, it may not matter about price if you're making a home, but what does matter is that you could be saddled with a place that you dont like and is totally impractical and unable to sell it or move. So to rent for say 6 months would be the sensible thing to do so that you get a feel - or maybe even rent to buy? You would then be in touch with Abogados/Lawyers here, get to know folk and get the inside view of everything! Its unlikely that in 6 months, you would lose any money as house prices here are still falling
> 
> ...


thanks JoJo we will rent for a while taking in your advice, but I will buy at a later date, because this will be our home either for a few years or for good, as for pensions, if you have over $370k in the bank the Australian Government starts to reduce your pension, and I think if I'm out of the country more than 6 months then they stop paying a pension, I would love to know the sites in which I would find such bargains, I have been looking at Spain for quite a while now and at 80k all I find is 1x1 or 2x1 and not in the best of condition, or location, so I hope someone can enlighten me as to where the bargains are, 

Robert and Margaret


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Robert46 said:


> thanks JoJo we will rent for a while taking in your advice, but I will buy at a later date, because this will be our home either for a few years or for good, as for pensions, if you have over $370k in the bank the Australian Government starts to reduce your pension, and I think if I'm out of the country more than 6 months then they stop paying a pension, I would love to know the sites in which I would find such bargains, I have been looking at Spain for quite a while now and at 80k all I find is 1x1 or 2x1 and not in the best of condition, or location, so I hope someone can enlighten me as to where the bargains are,
> 
> Robert and Margaret


I don't know where the bargains are, but try looking at the links on this thread post number 65
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp.../2725-spanish-forms-other-useful-links-7.html


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I would suggest looking at sites where owners are selling direct rather than through an agent, like Spain Buying Property Direct from Owners. They are advertised at the price they hope to get, but might accept a much lower offer if contact them directly, especially if the house has been on the market for a while.

Also take a look at bank repossesions - sadly there are an awful lot of these on the market these days.

Spanish Bank repossession property, selected key ready bargains | Spanish Property For Sale

Having said that, you aren´t likely to get a decent sized villa for €80 near the coast. You might need to do some work on the place, or go inland, to get better value for money.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Also a couple of other things: In Spain its very much not what you know, but who - again once you get over here you will find out a lot more about properties, their prices and how it all works. Watch out for illegal builds, altho the law is changing here, there are still some issues with some properties!

Jo xxx


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## gill556 (Dec 23, 2010)

Jo I don't know how long it is since you have been in Torrevieja but at one time it was looking tired and got plagued by grafiti but in the last couple of years all the town centre has been pedestrianised with lots of pavement cafes, there is a new theatre, a new promenade along the sea front, a second marina with very upmarket bars and restaurants. Personally I wouldn't want to live in any town centre as I am a country person and love living where I am but I do like to be able to visit and for anyone without their own transport Torrevieja or possibly Guadamar would be a good choice.





jojo said:


> I'm sure like most of the costas it has expat areas, spanish areas and tourist areas. I've only been to Torrevieja once and TBH I wasnt impressed, it was full of 1960s style buildings everywhere and didnt have a particularly nice feel - but that was one trip and I didnt see it all. Besides we all like different things. I live in Benalmadena and thats probably not on everyones "favourite" list!! As for any of the costa towns being "Spanish", well of course they are, they're in Spain lol!
> 
> Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

gill556 said:


> Jo I don't know how long it is since you have been in Torrevieja but at one time it was looking tired and got plagued by grafiti but in the last couple of years all the town centre has been pedestrianised with lots of pavement cafes, there is a new theatre, a new promenade along the sea front, a second marina with very upmarket bars and restaurants. Personally I wouldn't want to live in any town centre as I am a country person and love living where I am but I do like to be able to visit and for anyone without their own transport Torrevieja or possibly Guadamar would be a good choice.


October last year! Horses for courses 

Jo xxx


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2011)

gill556 said:


> Jo I don't know how long it is since you have been in Torrevieja but at one time it was looking tired and got plagued by grafiti but in the last couple of years all the town centre has been pedestrianised with lots of pavement cafes, there is a new theatre, a new promenade along the sea front, a second marina with very upmarket bars and restaurants. Personally I wouldn't want to live in any town centre as I am a country person and love living where I am but I do like to be able to visit and for anyone without their own transport Torrevieja or possibly Guadamar would be a good choice.


I would buy a car in Spain, can't believe how cheap they are over here, we have relatives in Italy, Bulgaria, and Scotland, if Scotland had better weather I wouldn't think twice about going home, but we have been living in Australia for 37 years, we both love the European way of life, there's just soo much history around Europe, 

Robert and Margaret


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Another FSBO (For Sale By Owner) site:
http://www.needahandspanishproperties.com/spanish-property-direct.html


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