# To Buy or Rent that is the question



## Alan Huyton (Mar 11, 2008)

We are moving to Spain in 2014 the area we are favouring is around Competa i.e. not too far away from Malaga. To avoid any disappointments we are considering renting a property first then we are free to move at the end of the contract if preferred. However this will delay the purchase and we do not want to miss out on any bargain house prices. If we do decide to rent for 6 months can anyone advise on which agents to contact? I assume we are correct in thinking that the house prices in Spain will at best remain static for the foreseeable future so we won't hit our budget by delaying a purchase. 

One other question we have been struggling to get a definitive answer on is - what financial T & C's do Spain now insist upon for Expats moving there? Can anyone point us in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alan Huyton said:


> We are moving to Spain in 2014 the area we are favouring is around Competa i.e. not too far away from Malaga. To avoid any disappointments we are considering renting a property first then we are free to move at the end of the contract if preferred. However this will delay the purchase and we do not want to miss out on any bargain house prices. If we do decide to rent for 6 months can anyone advise on which agents to contact? I assume we are correct in thinking that the house prices in Spain will at best remain static for the foreseeable future so we won't hit our budget by delaying a purchase.
> 
> One other question we have been struggling to get a definitive answer on is - what financial T & C's do Spain now insist upon for Expats moving there? Can anyone point us in the right direction.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.



Some help - 


you do not have to stay until the end of a contract. You can leave with 1 months notice if you want.
You need either to have regular income into a Spanish bank (circa 650 euros per person per month) or a lump sum (in a Spanish bank) in excess of 6000euros
you need to have health care in place (private, via pension etc.)


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## Leper (May 12, 2010)

Spending 90 days in Spain will require you to register with the local council and you will have to prove you can support yourself financially and have private health ins aurance acceptable in Spanish hospitals.

Rent or Buy is a no brainer. Rent and hold on to your property in the UK in case you need to beat an organised retreat. Don't worry about missing bargains; there's no such thing in Spain.

Expect to pay €500 + electricity costs for one month's rental for a 2 bedroom property in a decent coastal location.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Leper said:


> Spending 90 days in Spain will require you to register with the local council and you will have to prove you can support yourself financially and have private health ins aurance acceptable in Spanish hospitals.
> 
> Rent or Buy is a no brainer. Rent and hold on to your property in the UK in case you need to beat an organised retreat. Don't worry about missing bargains; there's no such thing in Spain.
> 
> Expect to pay €500 + electricity costs for one month's rental for a 2 bedroom property in a decent coastal location.


registering as resident is done at the foreigners' office / extranjería, which is _*usually*_ in a National Police building - it's the National Police who record this registration

registering on the padrón is done at the council / ayuntamiento


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

We've thought this for a long time.

Our original thought was "Let's rent for a year or two, then buy a house."

However, after spending 3 weeks in Spain and seeing things we decided against it. It makes much more sense to us to keep a property in the UK (Which has a much better chance of going up in price (ie. keeping up with inflation)) and renting it out (and use the money you get from the rent to pay your rent).

Buying in Spain is expensive. Once you've bought, forget selling it for a long time. It's not just the "risk" of making a bad "investment", you're free to move if you need to. Spain's a mess, I wouldn't dare to throw any money into it.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Sirtravelot said:


> We've thought this for a long time.
> 
> Our original thought was "Let's rent for a year or two, then buy a house."
> 
> ...


And those are some of the reasons why we chose to rent and not buy, although we sold all our UK properties. 
By the time you've forked out for agents' fees, maintenance and paid tax due on your rental income there's not much 'profit' from such business.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We rent and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We'd like to buy but definitely not yet


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Also I know the area you are looking at really well and I would strongly advise against buying just now...


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

Rent rent rent! Is that clear enough? lol - once you've been here for a year or so you'll have a far better idea of what to do/where to go


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## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

Alan Huyton said:


> We are moving to Spain in 2014 the area we are favouring is around Competa i.e. not too far away from Malaga. To avoid any disappointments we are considering renting a property first then we are free to move at the end of the contract if preferred. However this will delay the purchase and we do not want to miss out on any bargain house prices. If we do decide to rent for 6 months can anyone advise on which agents to contact? I assume we are correct in thinking that the house prices in Spain will at best remain static for the foreseeable future so we won't hit our budget by delaying a purchase.
> 
> One other question we have been struggling to get a definitive answer on is - what financial T & C's do Spain now insist upon for Expats moving there? Can anyone point us in the right direction.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


You might find this a strange answer to you question as we have owned our property here for over 18years but the way things are here now I would definetly rent.The thing if you do buy a property 12months two years down the line if you decide to move it's selling the bloody thing on.It's been said time and time again the bubble has absolutely burst.We bought our first property here then sold it on 7years later for 4times more than we paid for it,moved 120K inland where the hike in prices didn't reflect the coast.If we had rented all the time we have been here I reckon roughly we would have flushed 100,000 down the toilet pan so we have no regrets about buying but yes we were lucky that we came when we did .People will just not grasp that Spain is not the cheap country that it once was which drew us here in the first place.Competa is a nice village also Alcaucin.Sincerely wish you the best of luck in your search.


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## A1sauce (Jul 20, 2013)

I must be contrarian, because I am very interested in buying in Spain relatively soon...but I plan on a long term hold. Many times you have to swim across the current to get the best deals...no risk/no reward. The pendulum over swings both ways. GL on your choice.


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## tobyo (Jul 16, 2011)

We had already decided we are going to rent once we're there and now that I read this thread I know it's the right decision! for us, we want to be done being home owners. while it's been nice on the one hand...on the other: I won't miss the surprise expenses that come along. Like our $1000 expense taking down two old trees that a 50-60 mile an hour wind during a crazy summer storm split at the base (they grew together). I have $1000, just barely....but this on top of the surprise truck repair of close to $1500....did I mention that we are also not buying vehicles once we're in Spain?

good luck with your decision!


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Alan Huyton said:


> We are moving to Spain in 2014 the area we are favouring is around Competa i.e. not too far away from Malaga. To avoid any disappointments we are considering renting a property first then we are free to move at the end of the contract if preferred. *However this will delay the purchase and we do not want to miss out on any bargain house prices*. If we do decide to rent for 6 months can anyone advise on which agents to contact? I assume we are correct in thinking that the house prices in Spain will at best remain static for the foreseeable future so we won't hit our budget by delaying a purchase.
> 
> One other question we have been struggling to get a definitive answer on is - what financial T & C's do Spain now insist upon for Expats moving there? Can anyone point us in the right direction.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help.


There are tens of thousands of properties for sale so you won't miss out. Buying now is not a great idea as prices are still falling so you effectively start loosing money the second you buy a place. Prices won't be moving up in Spain for a long time, several years at the very least. The last thing you want is perhaps having to move back to the UK for whatever reasons and be stuck with a home you can't sell or if you do you'll take a hit on. House prices in the UK are on the up.

Rent out your UK property and even after fees you'll have money from the rent generated to go toward your Spanish rent. Renting gives you mobility, get fed up? Move on which you can't do if you've bought a place.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

tobyo said:


> did I mention that we are also not buying vehicles once we're in Spain?


So how are you planning on getting about? 

Public transport here is limited unless you are in a major city or a tourist area. In many cases, there will be a bus when people wish to get to work and back home, these may combine to provide a service for schools and there may be one or two for shopping purposes. Trains may be one in the morning then perhaps three in the afternoon/evening or vice-versa. Saturdays and Sundays may see little or no public transport at all.

Buses and trains frequently do not run on an hourly/two-hourly or more frequent basis just in case somebody might want to travel. It operates when it is needed, schools, commuting to/from work and the occasional shopping service. If you happen to live within the area covered by a city bus service, you may be better off.


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## GerryFox (Jul 26, 2013)

I would definitely rent - if for no other reason than flexibility.

Different areas of Spain have such different 'feels' to them - you are just not going to appreciate the pro's and con's of any particular place until you have lived there a while.


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## tobyo (Jul 16, 2011)

baldilocks said:


> So how are you planning on getting about?
> 
> Public transport here is limited unless you are in a major city or a tourist area. In many cases, there will be a bus when people wish to get to work and back home, these may combine to provide a service for schools and there may be one or two for shopping purposes. Trains may be one in the morning then perhaps three in the afternoon/evening or vice-versa. Saturdays and Sundays may see little or no public transport at all.
> 
> Buses and trains frequently do not run on an hourly/two-hourly or more frequent basis just in case somebody might want to travel. It operates when it is needed, schools, commuting to/from work and the occasional shopping service. If you happen to live within the area covered by a city bus service, you may be better off.


major city, right smack in the middle of it. we'll be retired and won't be needing to get to work.


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