# Our Move is progressing



## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Things are moving along for us for our move next year , we have a house , contract is with our lawyer at present and we should have our keys when we are out in May , we have been lucky to buy from the bank and have a forward contract. Getting our NIE numbers was much less painless than expected after all I have read on the net. We have a Spanish bank account and that was relatively straight forward too (non resident at present until we make the permanent move). There are lots of stories of folks leaving Spain but I guess its like most things with a bit of planning , not relying on an income in Spain and able to support yourself , the dream in the sun is still possible with lots of property bargains if you are in the right position financially. We are fortunate to have family in Spain and I am sure that has made it a whole lot easier, personally I cannot wait to finish work and have a far more relaxed lifestyle than I do now  There must be many folks who have made a success of their move and I know the grass is not always greener but for me our quality of life will be so much better, rural Spain is not for everyone but if you embrace whats required I am hopeful it will be successful, my Spanish is coming on but lessons must continue !!!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

maureen47 said:


> Things are moving along for us for our move next year , we have a house , contract is with our lawyer at present and we should have our keys when we are out in May , we have been lucky to buy from the bank and have a forward contract. Getting our NIE numbers was much less painless than expected after all I have read on the net. We have a Spanish bank account and that was relatively straight forward too (non resident at present until we make the permanent move). There are lots of stories of folks leaving Spain but I guess its like most things with a bit of planning , not relying on an income in Spain and able to support yourself , the dream in the sun is still possible with lots of property bargains if you are in the right position financially. We are fortunate to have family in Spain and I am sure that has made it a whole lot easier, personally I cannot wait to finish work and have a far more relaxed lifestyle than I do now  There must be many folks who have made a success of their move and I know the grass is not always greener but for me our quality of life will be so much better, rural Spain is not for everyone but if you embrace whats required I am hopeful it will be successful, my Spanish is coming on but lessons must continue !!!


 So far, so good and long may it continue that way!! Of course there are many people who are enjoying their lives in Spain and hopefully you will soon be one of them. I guess, by the nature of a forum, we tend to hear the queries and problems, so it may seem that its difficult - its not easy, but if you have done your research and can afford to live without work in Spain, then brilliant

Jo xxx


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

jojo said:


> So far, so good and long may it continue that way!! Of course there are many people who are enjoying their lives in Spain and hopefully you will soon be one of them. I guess, by the nature of a forum, we tend to hear the queries and problems, so it may seem that its difficult - its not easy, but if you have done your research and can afford to live without work in Spain, then brilliant
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanks Jo , I think thats the key thing , to make sure you know what you are getting into , have family that have lived in Spain for 10 yrs and we have been house sitting for them and looked after their business , to have to function on our own in Spain has given us really good insight as to how life will be and I cant wait


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

maureen47 said:


> Things are moving along for us for our move next year , we have a house , contract is with our lawyer at present and we should have our keys when we are out in May , we have been lucky to buy from the bank and have a forward contract. Getting our NIE numbers was much less painless than expected after all I have read on the net. We have a Spanish bank account and that was relatively straight forward too (non resident at present until we make the permanent move). There are lots of stories of folks leaving Spain but I guess its like most things with a bit of planning , not relying on an income in Spain and able to support yourself , the dream in the sun is still possible with lots of property bargains if you are in the right position financially. We are fortunate to have family in Spain and I am sure that has made it a whole lot easier, personally I cannot wait to finish work and have a far more relaxed lifestyle than I do now  There must be many folks who have made a success of their move and I know the grass is not always greener but for me our quality of life will be so much better, rural Spain is not for everyone but if you embrace whats required I am hopeful it will be successful, my Spanish is coming on but lessons must continue !!!


Hi Maureen

What a refreshing post, hopefully we will be in a similar position next year ourselves, a bit later in the year more like Sept onwards. I like the way you purchased your home sounds nice and safe, did you use a bank that advertises it's lists of properties. Not sure yet on rent or buy, we are looking at both. Good luck with the move.

Roy


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

maureen47 said:


> Thanks Jo , I think thats the key thing , to make sure you know what you are getting into , have family that have lived in Spain for 10 yrs and we have been house sitting for them and looked after their business , to have to function on our own in Spain has given us really good insight as to how life will be and I cant wait




TOP TIP: Always expect the unexpected lol

The forum, is here if you need any advice or help and most importantly, to give us another shot of good news 

Jo xxx


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Roy C said:


> Hi Maureen
> 
> What a refreshing post, hopefully we will be in a similar position next year ourselves, a bit later in the year more like Sept onwards. I like the way you purchased your home sounds nice and safe, did you use a bank that advertises it's lists of properties. Not sure yet on rent or buy, we are looking at both. Good luck with the move.
> 
> Roy


Hi Roy and thanks

We have been looking for a while and just kept on checking online for houses in the area we wanted to be in , we missed a couple where we were second in the queue and with this one my brother in law in Spain found it. Its worth adding yourself to the mailing lists of the banks selling properites , Solvia is one of them and it your search on Trovit you will will find a whole selection. think it depends on where you want to be , we will be in rural Spain about an hour from the coast and thats not for everybody but perfect for us , good luck in your search


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

jojo said:


> TOP TIP: Always expect the unexpected lol
> 
> The forum, is here if you need any advice or help and most importantly, to give us another shot of good news
> 
> Jo xxx


Indeed , we are being open minded and pleasantly surprised when things come good , I will keep the thread updated and post some pics if you can do that when we have our keys , I am not opening the cava until then !


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

maureen47 said:


> Things are moving along for us for our move next year , we have a house , contract is with our lawyer at present and we should have our keys when we are out in May , we have been lucky to buy from the bank and have a forward contract. Getting our NIE numbers was much less painless than expected after all I have read on the net. We have a Spanish bank account and that was relatively straight forward too (non resident at present until we make the permanent move). There are lots of stories of folks leaving Spain but I guess its like most things with a bit of planning , not relying on an income in Spain and able to support yourself , the dream in the sun is still possible with lots of property bargains if you are in the right position financially. We are fortunate to have family in Spain and I am sure that has made it a whole lot easier, personally I cannot wait to finish work and have a far more relaxed lifestyle than I do now  There must be many folks who have made a success of their move and I know the grass is not always greener but for me our quality of life will be so much better, rural Spain is not for everyone but if you embrace whats required I am hopeful it will be successful, my Spanish is coming on but lessons must continue !!!


Sounds like everything's coming together!
If you can't make it then no one can. 
You are planning and getting things into place so it's not all left for when you make the move. You will not be relying on work, you have no youngsters in your care, you have a certain amount of money. On top of that you have family here and have visited in the past.
We are routinely critised for painting a black picture of living in Spain today, but if people read the posts carefully they will see that certain people are told that they have more chance than others of living in Spain, probably through no fault of their own, but just because of the way things are.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Sounds like everything's coming together!
> If you can't make it then no one can.
> You are planning and getting things into place so it's not all left for when you make the move. You will not be relying on work, you have no youngsters in your care, you have a certain amount of money. On top of that you have family here and have visited in the past.
> We are routinely critised for painting a black picture of living in Spain today, but if people read the posts carefully they will see that certain people are told that they have more chance than others of living in Spain, probably through no fault of their own, but just because of the way things are.


Things are coming together and its been a lot of work but so worthwhile , its a big move and you cant expect things just to happen for you , you need to make them happen , finding the right house with the right deal has been a lot of work with a few disappointments along the way , we have that sorted now and there is so much info available on the net, you just have to spend the time looking for it and sorting out facts from fiction ! You can plan so much and expect some things to crop up that will make you think again and you have to be prepared to take some risks , but if they are mitigated risks then you have done all you can to make the best of things, we love the life in Spain from our experiences and know its the right thing for us and if doesnt work then you change it ! Life is too short to worry about some stuff ! We are in a fortunate financial position so that makes it easier doesnt mean it cant go wrong but we are trying to make sure we do the right things to make it go smoothly , we have read up on the rules , we are learning the language and we dont expect it to be the same as the UK , thats why we are moving ;-)


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

Have you cut your ties in the UK property wise, this is what we are a bit hesitant about and still considering renting to start with?


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Roy C said:


> Have you cut your ties in the UK property wise, this is what we are a bit hesitant about and still considering renting to start with?


We are selling our house and buying something smaller to rent out in the uk so we will still have a property in the uk if we decide to come back , seems the best compromise as advised smaller properties are easier to rent out , son and daughter will be in the uk and look after the rental property with an agent. We are in the fortunate position that the spanish and uk house will not have mortgages on them, I think if you are buying in spain , the price has to be right and you are not looking at re-selling anytime soon, we have found a fab spanish property for a great price where we can enjoy the lifestyle we are after.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Roy C said:


> Have you cut your ties in the UK property wise, this is what we are a bit hesitant about and still considering renting to start with?


https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/250-000-spanish-villa-sold-070633166.html
To be honest, buying in Spain makes no sense at all and won't for a few years yet.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

bob_bob said:


> https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/250-000-spanish-villa-sold-070633166.html
> To be honest, buying in Spain makes no sense at all and won't for a few years yet.



I think it makes sense if you are in no hurry to resell and have the funds to buy. For us its worked well as we have a great house for a great price but for a not so large investment. Its not good for folks that have been there longer term and wish to sell but for me its the right time to buy if you are in for the long haul. A few yrs back I didnt think we would get a house in spain of the standard and quality we have for the money we have paid. Still a risk but for us its a small risk and a great place to live meantime, its all down to personal circumstances I guess


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

We are really excited , fly to Spain on Wednesday and pick our keys up on Wednesday evening !!!

We are in Spain for 2 weeks so can get the plans for the house sorted in between house sitting for my sis in law and having friends visit.

Its been many yrs in the planning and think it is now paying off ! 

inicio de una nueva vida pronto


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