# plumbing and building work gran canaria



## rjm84 (May 8, 2012)

Hi all, im a plumber/builder from england, and after a recent trip to puerto rico , gran canaria , decided i would love to move there, but was wondering what its like to get a job , or set up as self employed in the building trade over there, 
are they only spanish building companies, or are there english ones, 
im also a property developer, and was wondering if it would be profitable to be able to A either buy properties abit rundown , do them up and sell them on,
and B buy a plot of land, build on it and sell it on


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

rjm84 said:


> Hi all, im a plumber/builder from england, and after a recent trip to puerto rico , gran canaria , decided i would love to move there, but was wondering what its like to get a job , or set up as self employed in the building trade over there,
> are they only spanish building companies, or are there english ones,
> im also a property developer, and was wondering if it would be profitable to be able to A either buy properties abit rundown , do them up and sell them on,
> and B buy a plot of land, build on it and sell it on


:welcome:


others will probably be able to advise you about building/reforming proprties, & specifically about the Canaries, but in the meantime have a read of recent threads from people wanting to move to Spain, and take a look at the more recent links on the 'employment & economic situation' sticky thread above


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...ain/111300-thinking-moving-working-spain.html


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

The property market here in the Canary Islands is not moving. I have had a property on the market for two years, not one single viewing nor any enquiries and the Estate Agents say the price we are asking is very cheap.

Here on the island of El Hierro, the construction industry are all Canarian firms manned with mainly Venezuelan employees. there are no foreign firms. 

I would suggest that you need to do more hands on research in Gran Canaria to see if it is at all feasible, for at the moment there is 30% unemployment on the island. We were pulling out of the recession, but the new austerity measures seem to have put a stop to that.

One other important thing is the language, you will of course need to speak and understand Spanish.

I can understand why you want to live on Gran Canaria it is a beautiful Island and was our initial destination.

I wish you well and good luck with your venture.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

rjm84 said:


> Hi all, im a plumber/builder from england, and after a recent trip to puerto rico , gran canaria , decided i would love to move there, but was wondering what its like to get a job , or set up as self employed in the building trade over there,
> are they only spanish building companies, or are there english ones,
> im also a property developer, and was wondering if it would be profitable to be able to A either buy properties abit rundown , do them up and sell them on,
> and B buy a plot of land, build on it and sell it on


The laws about buying, building and reforming (doing up) are totally different in Spain and can be very risky. so not something to do lightly. There are alot of old ruins that could have been done up, but due to inheritance laws and the building laws, the permissions havent been granted - As things stand at the moment, you'd not make any money by developing anyway as the property market has crashed and is still crashing. Because of that there are millions out of work builders who are fighting for any work they can get and there isnt much, couple that with the fact that they undercut each other to the point of almost stupidity and its not a pretty picture I'm afraid. To be self employed/autonomo in Spain costs around 250€ a month regardless of whether you earn anything at all - so that has to be taken into account

Maybe you could have another visit and this time do some fact finding and see what maybe about, get a feel for how things are and whether you could find a niche??!

Jo xxx


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## rjm84 (May 8, 2012)

hi all, thanks for the replys, i must say im a little dissapointed in regards to the work prospects, but cant say im surprised, i know the economic situation in spain is quite terrible at the moment, most of the tiles i use on bathroom refurbs come from spain, and i know the tile suppliers here have really been lacking stock due to many manufactureres in spain have gone under due to the recession
, so im stuck in quite a delema, i either give up doing what i love to live somewhere where i would love or stay here and do the job i love, but live in a place i hate , i feel very torn between the two, im going to book a holiday over there and will certainly be looking further into it. i visited the town of puerto rico in gran canaria , and fell in love with it, since visiting there last year, i have constantly thought about moving there, and even began learning spanish, really cant express how dissapointed i would be to not make a new life for myself there


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

rjm84 said:


> hi all, thanks for the replys, i must say im a little dissapointed in regards to the work prospects, but cant say im surprised, i know the economic situation in spain is quite terrible at the moment, most of the tiles i use on bathroom refurbs come from spain, and i know the tile suppliers here have really been lacking stock due to many manufactureres in spain have gone under due to the recession
> , so im stuck in quite a delema, i either give up doing what i love to live somewhere where i would love or stay here and do the job i love, but live in a place i hate , i feel very torn between the two, im going to book a holiday over there and will certainly be looking further into it. i visited the town of puerto rico in gran canaria , and fell in love with it, since visiting there last year, i have constantly thought about moving there, and even began learning spanish, really cant express how dissapointed i would be to not make a new life for myself there


so keep learning Spanish - make lots of recce trips & then when things improve you'll be wel-placed to move


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

rjm84 said:


> hi all, thanks for the replys, i must say im a little dissapointed in regards to the work prospects, but cant say im surprised, i know the economic situation in spain is quite terrible at the moment, most of the tiles i use on bathroom refurbs come from spain, and i know the tile suppliers here have really been lacking stock due to many manufactureres in spain have gone under due to the recession
> , so im stuck in quite a delema, i either give up doing what i love to live somewhere where i would love or stay here and do the job i love, but live in a place i hate , i feel very torn between the two, im going to book a holiday over there and will certainly be looking further into it. i visited the town of puerto rico in gran canaria , and fell in love with it, since visiting there last year, i have constantly thought about moving there, and even began learning spanish, really cant express how dissapointed i would be to not make a new life for myself there


Definitely keep on making trips over. You can look more closely into the reality of living there, (go to building sites, or look at the way places have been done up, look at life away from the holiday resorts). You might get tired of it! At least you'll have interesting holidays  
But please, don't let anyone tell you that things are picking up, recovery is just round the corner and so on, 'cos it just ain't true.
Here's a link to the best known Spanish newspaper in English. You could have a read every week or so to see how things are going
EL PAÍS in English


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Have a look at the capital Las Palmas. I first went there in 1962, the climate is not as good as the south but nevertheless very interesting. We still visit once or twice a year to stock up on essentials that we cannot source here.

If you can do a tour of the island get away from the tourist resorts, it is very beautiful inland, there are places completely different from Puerto Rico, try Teror on a Sunday morning, market day.


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