# Is It Worth It ?



## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

Good morning all ,this is my second post ,I said there would be more questions to follow in the first post ,so here we go . 

The wife and I are planning to move East of Malaga in 2017 ,we like the look of that area but have not nailed down a specific area yet ,we wont be looking for work , I will be drawing a state pension and a small private one , the wife is going to stop work when we move ,she is younger than I and we will continue to pay her NI contributions so she can claim a full state pension when she reaches her allotted 
retirement age ( cant tell you when that is or you can work out how old she is 0)

Now ,we are not rich by any means ,but should have enough money to buy 2 properties ,one to live in and one to rent .We see this as a better place to put our money rather than in a bank ,interest rates being what they are, 

I noticed that some of you may possibly be doing a similar thing ,so ,is it worth it ? 
with some rents being as low as 300 euros (still better than interest from a bank), given possible problems with collecting the rent , repairing damage done by tenants, cost of insurance , the hassle of finding new tenants when they up and leave ,do you inherit the debts they leave ? does that debt get registered against the property ?, do you use a letting agent or do it yourself ,if so what do they charge ,

Is it worth the hassle / do you usually make enough out of it to be worth the effort .


Thank you for any replies , :noidea:


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

llamudos said:


> Good morning all ,this is my second post ,I said there would be more questions to follow in the first post ,so here we go .
> 
> The wife and I are planning to move East of Malaga in 2017 ,we like the look of that area but have not nailed down a specific area yet ,we wont be looking for work , I will be drawing a state pension and a small private one , the wife is going to stop work when we move ,she is younger than I and we will continue to pay her NI contributions so she can claim a full state pension when she reaches her allotted
> retirement age ( cant tell you when that is or you can work out how old she is 0)
> ...



Don't do it!


Think about a buy to let in UK - maybe, but not in Spain.


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## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

snikpoh said:


> Don't do it!
> 
> 
> Think about a buy to let in UK - maybe, but not in Spain.


Thanks for the quick reply Snikpoh ,I know from previous posts you have first hand knowledge of this so your advice is appreciated , Sadly we are not rich enough to buy a rental property here in Cornwall, and one in Spain as the rental market here is geared to incomers and those that rent to Holidaymakers , so we might have to think again about where to put the money , I was initially thinking of renting to locals in Spain as it would of been regular income ,is the Holiday rental market any better over there ? 

Regards to you and those you love , John


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

You don't have to buy a rental in Cornwall, try Hull or somewhere

During the boom years many retirees were talked into buying one to live and one to rent. It didn't work.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Following the 2008 recession in Spain which revolved almost entirely around the property market, and seeing how that has effected the economy, I wouldn't trust my money to the property market. Experts in 2008 soon began to predict that Spain wouldn't recover in 10 years and would never recover back to its former "glory" and so far they have been right. The way things are going now the government is still investing most heavily in building and tourism without opening other horizons and it seems to me the same mistakes will be made.
Read up on Spain and its position in the world before making up your minds.
Google BBC Spain recession Or Spain Crisis or look here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008–15_Spanish_financial_crisis

PS Being able to buy 2 properties makes you "richer" than most


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

The world is an unsettled place right now. Read this morning Spanish banks have had losses with the recent turmoil, as have other countries.

http://www.diariosur.es/economia/ba...panola-pierde-millones-20160213150147-rc.html


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We have been landlords in the UK and Canada. No way would we even consider being landlords in Spain.
We sold all our properties when we left the UK and have rented ouselves for the past ten plus years. That tells you something...
We have a house we enjoy, a good landlord, no worries about repairs and money in the bank.
Snikpoh knows whereof he speaks...


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## LDN2ESP (Jul 24, 2015)

Buy a property to rent in the UK, making sure it's in a desirable location though!

UK rental values are huge compared with most parts of mainland Spain. You'll also avoid the stamp duty hike for 'buy to let' and second/third etc homeowners (April 2016), if it's your only UK home.


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## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

Well this is one question I am glad I asked , I knew things were not great with the banks in Spain ,that was obvious from the amount of properties they have for sale and the willingness to lend 80/90% mortgages ,but I never delved any deeper than that ,just thought it was a good time to buy ?
Having read through the recommended articles that you guys and girls have offered for reference ,I think I might have to think again , thanks for your guidance on this ,,

Regards to you and those you love John


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

https://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2016/0...e-cbs-run-out-of-tricks-and-gold-is-climbing/


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Can I just say that after being here for five months now, I have come to the conclusion that I would buy property in Spain for the lifestyle and not as an investment. However, I would buy property in the UK for investment, even though the market does slump from time to time, my experience is that it's a safer bet. Find a cheaper area than Cornwall, buy a property and get a good letting agent.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2016)

llamudos said:


> Good morning all ,this is my second post ,I said there would be more questions to follow in the first post ,so here we go .
> 
> The wife and I are planning to move East of Malaga in 2017 ,we like the look of that area but have not nailed down a specific area yet ,we wont be looking for work , I will be drawing a state pension and a small private one , the wife is going to stop work when we move ,she is younger than I and we will continue to pay her NI contributions so she can claim a full state pension when she reaches her allotted
> retirement age ( cant tell you when that is or you can work out how old she is 0)
> ...


We wanted to do the same until we found out how heavy the taxes are when renting out a property. If we wanted to rent out a flat in Pamplona for example we would be looking at 24% tax every three months on the gross income made from the tenants. 

We also found out that we could not offset the income against our personal allowances unless we opened up a company which is even more money. Buy to let in Spain is nowhere as good as UK.

Spain has cut back on so many allowances which used to make buy to rent attractive.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

t


> ,just thought it was a good time to buy ?


It may be a good time to buy, but it might not be a good idea to buy a property as an investment or to rent it out.


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## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

Well ... not a single voice in favour ... I get the message . we will look again at doing a buy to rent here in the UK . Our dilemma is if we buy here in cornwall we wont have enough left to buy in Spain as well, We might be able to buy elsewhere in the UK and in Spain but the income wont be as good ,but that's something we have to work out .

Thanks to all of you that have offered an opinion and advice ,we are still determined to come to live in Spain so maybe we have to rent rather than buy (we intended to rent in the interim anyway) and use the rental in the UK to give us a really good life there ,and on the other hand ,if we really hate it in Spain (unlikely ,we both love the sun and the relaxed way of life ,that's why we are in cornwall) then we can at leaste come home to a house here ,

Once again thank you for the advice and words of wisdom there is no substitute for first hand knowledge and this forum has plenty of that,

And this is not the end of my questions ,I still have lots to sort out ,

Regards to you all and those you love John and Karen


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## ponyriver (Feb 3, 2016)

*oh*

Hi,I have a friend who sold up and bought 2 houses in Spain,one was pulled down by the court over there and the other one which she lives in wont be demolished but wont be given planning,so no proper electric etc.and of course she is stuck there,but fortunately she loves it and doesn't want to come home.
Buy in the uk.It doesn't have to be Cornwall,there are many good areas with a good rate of return for your money.I live 11 miles from Lands End,how can you leave Cornwall.x


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I have a friend who has an apartment on a nice development in Javea. She rents it out for between 30 to 35 weeks a year. She makes a higher yield than I do by renting out a 2 bedroom flat in the UK all year.

The right property in the right place can be good.

But, when it comes to an increase in the value of the property, the UK is a better bet IMO.


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## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

ponyriver said:


> Hi,I have a friend who sold up and bought 2 houses in Spain,one was pulled down by the court over there and the other one which she lives in wont be demolished but wont be given planning,so no proper electric etc.and of course she is stuck there,but fortunately she loves it and doesn't want to come home.
> Buy in the uk.It doesn't have to be Cornwall,there are many good areas with a good rate of return for your money.I live 11 miles from Lands End,how can you leave Cornwall.x


we came to cornwall 9 years ago to get away from the rat race ,and now it seems to be catching us up again ,time for a change and a move to the sun ,that plus I,m retiring next year means that for us ,its time for a change and an adventure into the sun.


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## llamudos (Jan 31, 2016)

Horlics said:


> I have a friend who has an apartment on a nice development in Javea. She rents it out for between 30 to 35 weeks a year. She makes a higher yield than I do by renting out a 2 bedroom flat in the UK all year.
> 
> The right property in the right place can be good.
> 
> But, when it comes to an increase in the value of the property, the UK is a better bet IMO.


Yes I,m beginning to see that although Spain may be a good place to live in , it does not seem to be a good investment property wise ,there may be some places where you can make a few bob but ,as my original post asked ,is it worth it , the answer seems to be ,no 
And actually having to re-think our plans has made us look closer as to why we wanted to move in the first place,you know what ? we wanted to go to Spain and relax ,meet new people ,and sit in the sun ,not too worry about being landlords , Thanks to wise words on this site we are going to do just that .


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