# Long term rent v buy?



## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

We were considering buying somewhere along the southern half of the Costa Blanca. However, after reading about problems people have with their homes (construction, legalities, services), and/or difficulties in selling them later, I'm starting to wonder whether we should just settle for renting long term. We are already renting for a year while we look around, but the location isn't right for us in the longer term. 

So, thoughts please? Pros and cons? Your experiences? 

In case it makes a difference to the discussion - We'd be wanting a 3 bed (or 2 plus office), detached, 2 bath, large fitted kitchen (preferably separate or almost so) fully central heated and AC throughout, high quality build (no damp, quality fittings and really good plumbing) , min 180 cbm inside, with a garden and a pool long enough to do a few lengths. With enough space between us and neighbours for quiet and privacy. Not sure how much land that would mean. With a long view, ie sea, near or far. As for location, not decided yet. We are looking between Denia and Alicante roughly at the moment, coast and a bit inland. Somewhere quiet but not too far from amenities.  If we rent we'd want to be able to decorate and garden as we wished, within reason, make improvements etc, with the owners permission of course. We want to get the 'our own home' feel and sense of stability. 

Thanks!


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Phew......

If you can find somewhere, You will need a lot of money per month for a rental like the one you describe! 

How much are you expecting to pay per month for a rental like that?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I would always recommend renting first. It gives you a feel for the area, town, place and you also learn about how things are done in Spain. If you find its not for you, then you simply move and find somewhere that is. Once you have established all of that, then look to buy

Jo xxx


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Kikie said:


> In case it makes a difference to the discussion -
> 
> *fully central heated* and AC throughout,
> *high quality build* (*no damp, quality fittings and really good plumbing*)
> ...


Hola 

This is Spain !!! high quality build? million to one shot - just my 2p worth 

Davexf


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Freedom to move :-(*



jojo said:


> I would always recommend renting first. It gives you a feel for the area, town, place and you also learn about how things are done in Spain. If you find its not for you, then you simply move and find somewhere that is. Once you have established all of that, then look to buy
> 
> Jo xxx


We have been here for over 4 months so have already learned some lessons. Hence the concern re buying! We are renting till towards the end of the year. We are a bit over a barrel re locations, for health and work reasons, so don't have as much choice as others might do.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Rental costs*



tebo53 said:


> Phew......
> 
> If you can find somewhere, You will need a lot of money per month for a rental like the one you describe!
> 
> How much are you expecting to pay per month for a rental like that?


To be honest I've only just started trying to find out about proper long term rentals, the sort that could be for years not just several months, so don't know what to expect. We had hoped to buy for between E250k and E300k. So perhaps rent for between E900 and E1100. Without utilities of course. Is that too low for high quality of construction, good fittings and a good location?


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Quality?*



davexf said:


> Hola
> 
> This is Spain !!! high quality build? million to one shot - just my 2p worth
> 
> Davexf


Oh dear. Is this the general consensus everyone? Now I'm worried.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Kikie said:


> To be honest I've only just started trying to find out about proper long term rentals, the sort that could be for years not just several months, so don't know what to expect. We had hoped to buy for between E250k and E300k. So perhaps rent for between E900 and E1100. Without utilities of course. Is that too low for high quality of construction, good fittings and a good location?



:flypig:

Let's put it this way.............I pay €500 plus electric a month for my old small 2 bed apartment on the 12 floor on the outskirts of Benidorm. 

For a villa like you describe will cost you thousands upon thousands per month..........plus utility bills. 

If you find one as you describe for €1100 per month I will rent one as well.

:flypig:


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Really, must be expensive Benidorm way then.

https://www.idealista.com/en/alquil...rmitorios,de-cuatro-cinco-habitaciones-o-mas/

https://www.idealista.com/en/alquil...speig-alicante/con-precio-hasta_1200,chalets/

https://www.idealista.com/en/alquiler-viviendas/el-campello-alicante/con-precio-hasta_1200,chalets/

Move south with all the cool people.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Pazcat said:


> Really, must be expensive Benidorm way then.
> 
> https://www.idealista.com/en/alquil...rmitorios,de-cuatro-cinco-habitaciones-o-mas/
> 
> ...


Ah but......They are not as Kiki was describing! 

You can get similar to the homes in your links if you want to be inland a mile or two from Benidorm, maybe Finestrat or La Nucia. Loads of places there cheap. But I prefer to live where it's a bit livelier than that.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Well I have been wondering where all the cool people are ;-) Probably not so cool down south in August though!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

tebo53 said:


> :flypig:
> 
> Let's put it this way.............I pay €500 plus electric a month for my old small 2 bed apartment on the 12 floor on the outskirts of Benidorm.
> 
> ...



Better think of moving...
We live in a large house on a double plot on the edge of a coastal village in Malaga Province. Three bed, two bath, fitted kitchen, dining room, large salon....swimming pool on elevated terrace. Unfurnished. air con/heating plus (useless)fireplace.We brought all our furniture with us, it was good stuff accumulated over the years.
When we moved in in 2009 the rent was 2300 euros a month which we decided to pay a year in advance upfront. Our landlord had experienced 'problems' with all previous tenants.
After a couple of years we negotiated a reduction and a year later a further reduction. We now pay 1000 euros plus around 500 euros a month for utilities, phone/internet and gardener and pool maintenance.
The house isn't new, it has 'character', i.e. if it were ours we'd make alterations. But it's a quiet neighbourhood, not in a 'community', on a 'normal' street.
I don't know if there are other similar properties available and we got it through a friend of a friend but it's nonsense to say a property of the kind the OP requires would cost 'thousands upon thousands'. Many landlords are keen to find and retain good tenants and are open to negotiation.
Our landlord is a good, responsible one -in fact he's now more of a friend - and he knows he has good tenants.
When we left the UK we sold all the property we owned, commercial and residential, in the UK and overseas. We never wish to be property owners again. We rented in the Czech Republic when we first left the UK, a really fabulous house with in -ground heated and covered swimming pool and landscaped grounds.
It's possible to rent houses you could never afford to buy!!
The huge advantage of renting is that it's easy to move on if a goat farm or sewage works lands next door or you get neighbours from hell. No worries about repairs, not in our case . We do minor repairs ourselves.
The OP should look around. There will surely be bargains available.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Better think of moving...
> We live in a large house on a double plot on the edge of a coastal village in Malaga Province. Three bed, two bath, fitted kitchen, dining room, large salon....swimming pool on elevated terrace. Unfurnished. air con/heating plus (useless)fireplace.We brought all our furniture with us, it was good stuff accumulated over the years.
> When we moved in in 2009 the rent was 2300 euros a month which we decided to pay a year in advance upfront. Our landlord had experienced 'problems' with all previous tenants.
> After a couple of years we negotiated a reduction and a year later a further reduction. We now pay 1000 euros plus around 500 euros a month for utilities, phone/internet and gardener and pool maintenance.
> ...


We also have a good landlord who allows us to live our life and use our apartment as a home. All 2 bed apartments in Benidorm are about €500 per month. I wouldn't change it for anything in the campo, mountain village or small towns. Great social life to be had here in Benidorm especially when you don't need to work!


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

We shall definitely look more at rentals then. Though a new build or own build might give us the quality we want I'm not sure about the resale chances if we decide to move in 5 or 6 years.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

tebo53 said:


> We also have a good landlord who allows us to live our life and use our apartment as a home. All 2 bed apartments in Benidorm are about €500 per month. I wouldn't change it for anything in the campo, mountain village or small towns. Great social life to be had here in Benidorm especially when you don't need to work!


And you'd have to pay me an enormous sum to live in Benidorm, or any big town or big seaside resort. 
Not my copa de vino although I can see the attraction.
There is a great social life here too....if I felt so inclined which will never be the case I could mingle with the rich and not very famous in Marbella....half an hour down the road.
As it is we have excellent restaurants in the village, loads of cultural activities in Estepona, also not far away.
No need to dodge racing mobility scooters propelled by coked-up OAPs either


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Kikie said:


> We shall definitely look more at rentals then. Though a new build or own build might give us the quality we want I'm not sure about the resale chances if we decide to move in 5 or 6 years.


Building is starting again here, barely seven years or so after the last devastating recession in construction. Like the previous boom, it won't last.
Availability will outstrip demand, there will probably be another financial crisis, such are personal debt levels in most countries, Brexit will impact the UK market for Spanish homes....There is already huge availability of the standard two-bed two-bath piso unsold from the last boom.
In fact in five or six years it could begin to go pear-shaped again....


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> And you'd have to pay me an enormous sum to live in Benidorm, or any big town or big seaside resort.
> Not my copa de vino although I can see the attraction.
> There is a great social life here too....if I felt so inclined which will never be the case I could mingle with the rich and not very famous in Marbella....half an hour down the road.
> As it is we have excellent restaurants in the village, loads of cultural activities in Estepona, also not far away.
> No need to dodge racing mobility scooters propelled by coked-up OAPs either


Naughty comment there about OAPs.

I think me, you and several others have commented at length about the pro's and con's of (wonderful) Benidorm so i'm not going to be drawn into that one.

To the OP, you will find many villas available and one's that will suit you size, location and price wise.

Best of luck

Steve :fingerscrossed:


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

tebo53 said:


> Naughty comment there about OAPs.
> 
> :


Last summer I got chatting to a visiting English woman, not an OAP, a great fan of Benidorm. She said she and her mates were off for a week there in September and that they had booked the hotel.......and mobility scooters.
Surely they're not hired to younger mobile people?


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Last summer I got chatting to a visiting English woman, not an OAP, a great fan of Benidorm. She said she and her mates were off for a week there in September and that they had booked the hotel.......and mobility scooters.
> Surely they're not hired to younger mobile people?


Yes they are hired to younger people if they can prove they are disabled (Doctor's letter, disability letter etc) 

If that woman has booked into any Servigroup hotel she might be surprised to learn they have banned all mobility scooters from their premises.

And since then the amount of scooters has reduced substantially. A friend who worked in a mobility shop has been made redundant.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

There have been lot of discussions around rent v buy. We bought , for us that was the right choice , I want the freedom and stability of owning my property. I guess it depends on how much you are able to safely invest without it being a problem if things go wrong. In terms of costs you could find the type of house you are after in your price range in our area but we are inland , Valencia is 35 mins on the train and the coast is a 40 minute drive , so it depends if you are prepared to compromise. All amenties are in the area and if you didnt want to leave the village you wouldn't need to get anything you require. There are private and public primary schools available in the village and a 15 min drive for the same in secondary schools. Its a difficult choice.


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