Hi all, I am now nearer to moving to Spain and just need some help with some worries and concerns. Since I last posted on the forum I have been over to Spain and had a good look around area’s and checked prices of day to day stuff etc. My house is up for sale and we are getting nearer to our dream.
My wife and I are looking for a three or four bedroom house or villa to rent on long term for around ?600 pm. We will have a income of around ?250 per week and enough money to pay rent for a few years. Our aim is to settle and try this life change for a few years and see if we like it. If I find work that would be great and if not I will keep myself occupied. My wife is planning on spending all her time with our three dogs and my 19 year old daughter will learn the lingo and look for work.
Can anyone think of anything that I should be aware of that I might not know about.
We got some advice from ex pats living in San Miguel when we were there but more is welcome.
Any living expenses or costs I might have overlooked ?
Any requirement I might have overlooked.?
Any advice on our pets.(3 dogs and 1 cat)
All advice gratefully accepted.

Also anyone that can help with me rent a villa or finca on long term or know a company who is reliable and can help.

what area look two rent again please
jurdy

We like the area between Murcia and Alicante as far in as Buscot. We want to be within a hour of Alicante as we can get cheap flights from there/ But we are open to suggestion.

Hola… I am sure you will find out as you go along… but do be careful and don’t hand money over before knowing the ‘full situation.’ Sadly it seems to be a past time of Brits here to try and rob their own kind????

- Re your rental contract - This is usually done on a ‘temporada’ for 11 months.  This gives you protection and the landlord. (Unless you are renting from a friend?) Make sure you don’t do it on a ‘handshake’ as there could be troubles down the line.  Give yourself some peace of mind. (We had to stump up 3 months rent before moving in, as 1 of those was a ‘fee’ to the estate agent who put us in touch with the landlady.  If we did it again, we would cut this fee out!) 

- Healthcare is a consideration - Will you be retired? or paying for a special ex pat type health insurance plan for you all?
You will only get Spanish ‘Social Secuirty’/Med care if you are paying into the system.
As an eg for an ‘autonomo’ - self employed, this is a whopping Eu250pcm just to cover your SS (NI) contributions, but will cover the whole family. (Not sure about your daughter as she is over 18).

- Tax - Be very careful about becoming autonomo unless you know you are going to earn the Eu250pcm straight off, then your 20%? tax etc, etc.
Part time jobs are sometimes best, as you will get full med cover/SS and of course pay less tax. (I think the hours of work per week must be 16 to get this full cover.)

If you are lucky enough to have enough cash to live on for a while, then sit back and enjoy! (And as you say, keep busy in the garden/whatever!)

Good luck for you move.

SJ

Thanks for all the great advice. My situation is that I own a Taxi in UK and am handing it down to my son. He in return is going to give me ?250-?300 per week as a income. Dont know if I should declare this in UK as earnings or in Spain as earnings. In this situation would it be best to get a part time job just so I can get med care.
What are the entitlements for a British person living in Spain if you get ill do you just jump a flight home. ?

Also can anyone say where to find a villa or finca to rent I have heard horror stories about bogus companies. Any idea’s

Speaking of healthcare, look at Sanitas, for example, the other big private company is Adeslas. I wouldn’t have thought that jumping on a plane every time you are ill is a viable option. Once you are non-resident in the UK you are no longer entitled to free health care - you are supposed to hand back your NHS card to your doctor. Finding a part time job that pays legally when you don’t speak Spanish will be HARD.

Personally, I’d dedicate my first year in Spain to learning Spanish. that would be my “job”. Join the nearest “Escuela Oficial de Idiomas” as soon as you can. Have “english free” days at home, buy Spanish newspapers, and try to read them. i’d even go as far as not getting satellite for the first year. Beleive me, it’ll be worth it in the long run, the more Spanish you speak and understand, the easier life becomes.

Spanish people use sites like fotocasa.com or idealista.com when looking for a house or flat. They are in Spanish though, but it may be worh a look anyway to get an idea of prices. Eleven month contracts are not the norm where I live, especially for unfurnished accommodation. With furnished, contracts can be for up to one year, then you will have to renew, and here, if you are in a touristy area, yes, generally there will be a long winter let price from say, september to june, and then on option to pay the summer price for July and August or clear out. Unfurnished contracts are generally for one year (which is obligatory - ie. if you leave after the first six monts, you’ll still have to pay a whole year’s rent), but these contracts are automatically renewed every year up to five years, then you’ll have to sign a new contract.

What else would I recommend? Getting your paperwork sorted out as soon as possible, ie; your empadronamiento, get yourself registered as resident, to get your NIE. OK, and one last thing, remember that you are not on holiday, in tourist bars you pay tourist prices, if you buy British produce in the supermarket you pay much more than for a Spanish equivalent, and the list goes on. It’s very easy to spend money when you are new to a place and have lots of time on your hands. Decide a monthly budget and stick to it.

Some very good clear advice. Thanks. We both agree taking the first year and learning Spainish is essential and we have already started to learn at home. I am looking forward to learning and that is why we do not want to be in tourist area and more towards the Spanish people. We went to Buscot and it was awesome never met any English speaking people and managed great in Market and Bars. ALTHOUGH READING sPANISH WOULD BE GREAT AS WELL AS i GOT A PARKING TICKET.
We have the rent as well as ?250 per week income for two years so I think we should be ok to start.
As for the Residancy card can we apply here or do you need a address in Spain first. We are going to open Spanish account to pay bills and rent. Are we entitled to health care for the first year until we can get settled and find a past time.?

Please tell me as much as you can it all helps. I am very grateful to you all.

Hi SM.. In reply to your Q;s above ^
I think you actually have to be resident here to apply.  (You can get your NIE on a flying visit though.)  The legal requirement is you can stay 183 days here before you MUST become resident. 

As for ‘free health care whilst you are settling in.’ Sorry to say… ‘No way Jose!’  I have never heard of such a thing.  (The only Ex pats who get free healthcare before they are 65 is someone who might be disabled and is entitled under special rules to have their benefit paid here. But I have not come across that much either.)

It will be a case of ‘fight for survival from day one.’  (I guess this is what puts a lot of people off, but if you are really determined, then you can make it happen.)
You just have to know what to do and KEEP ASKING QUESITONS.

Good luck with the move 😊

(Re the 11 month rental contract - I only use that as an example as in Malaga region this seems to be the norm.)

Yes, learning the lingo is a great way to get on. (Sadly not enough Brits try and get into all sorts of mess!)

PS… There used to be (not sure of the rules nowadays) a period of a month or two? where you could apply to HMRC/NI to have your job seekers allowance paid in Spain whislt you were looking for work here. (But I am guessing from your info that you are self employed in the UK, so would likely not qualify.)

I don’t know if under these rules if you would have got free health cover for the period.
But it is very short and time seems to fly here!

Thanks again for all the advice I am taking notes. I was told to take Travel Insurance for the first year on another site , ? Is that good idea. Also are doctors expensive to visit.?
I take it a Bank Account in Spain is straight forward to get. Or is it better taking your UK account and just using cash machines.

What other expenses should I be aware of from a rental point of view.????????

1. One months rent
2. One month as deposit.
3. Possibly one month agent fee.
4. Gas Bill?    ( How much is this likely to be.? ) Any ideas or guesses
5. Electricity Bill
6. Water rates ? (How much)

what am I missing ?????????????????????????????????

I take it a Bank Account in Spain is straight forward to get. Or is it better taking your UK account and just using cash machines.

What other expenses should I be aware of from a rental point of view.????????

1. One months rent
2. One month as deposit.
3. Possibly one month agent fee.
4. Gas Bill?  ( How much is this likely to be.? ) Any ideas or guesses
5. Electricity Bill
6. Water rates ? (How much)

Re Bank account - yes in theory…
But you need to decide whether you are here for the long haul or not and decide on resident (proof of same with green bit of A4 residency cert and Empadron (registry at your local town hall) may be asked for.) or Non Resident, usually rental contract, NIE (you can apply for this whether you are resident or non as it is a useful bit of paper - go to your nearest National Police where they do same.) Non resident usually is opened with your passport as ID.
Tip - Go for a ‘Caja de Ahorros’ - or building society - as they usually run the account for free (i.e no annual charge) as long as you have one transaction a month (easy enough if you have contract mobiles/other standing orders.)  Unicaja/others charge a whopping Eu40 per annum! (Possibly avoid Barclays/Halifax/Lloyds as these come with high premiums, unless you have a UK Halifax for eg and they allow free internal transfers… but you will pay somewhere!)

Re taking out money from your UK account.  Some say we are daft, but we transfer a lump sum (say Eu4,000 every few months by ‘Swift’ from our UK account.  This costs a flat 9GBP from our bank and nothing at the Cajamar end (but check with the bank you are intending to use if they charge for receiving funds or not, some do!)
You can pay for things on your credit and debit card, but the rate will change as the exchange rate does. It is difficult to keep up! Also some shops here wrongly will charge you a commission for paying in Stirling (they sometimes ask you in the shop which you prefer to have charged to your card. It could work out very expensive.)  I did open a UK Nationwide gold credit card as they say ‘No charges for foreign purchases’ (not cash)..... But I have never used it. Also exchange rate can make the purchase a lot lot higher than you think.

4. Gas bill…
Will depend on your usage of course.  Where we are still has very little mains supply (this is only slowly becoming installed in towns!), and you will likely have the orange ‘butano’ bottles.  (There are silver ones too - but look up Repsol and Cepsa on this site for difference, basically two different suppliers.)  I ‘think’ the orange bottle is about Eu13.70 (including IVA - or VAT) at the moment.  We use just one bottle every 4 months!! But it is only for cooking.  If you have it for hot water, and you are taking baths rather than showers all the time, then it could be one a week?????

5. elec…. Again depends on your usage. We live in a modest one bed Finca (cottage) and run the hot water tank, many electrical goods (TV, fridge, computers etc.) and our bill is about Eu45 pcm. (inc IVA).  When winter comes and if you have no other source of heating (we installed a log fire and this brought the winter bill down considerably), this can sky rocket.  Especially as there is usually no central heating in Spanish houses!!!  (If there is, it could be the larger gas bottles - which I think are Eu60-80 each?) 
Ask the rental co/landlord to see past bills for an idea???

6. Water - you will usually pay for what you use. (I don’t know of any other ways - except in some very small communities where they have their own water supply…. In which you all pay a proportion of the overall usage.) 
Ours is dirt cheap.  Eu60 per quarter? (and we water the garden every day in the summer/fill our 10,000 Ltr pool!)  tip - many water co’s charge xxx per cubic litre for first 10,000??? in each quarter, then it rockets by another 50% for xxx cu ltrs over this and another higher band again??
If you can, work out what your family usually uses in UK and look at past bills from the property you are going to rent.

Other costs?
Phone (landline/internet?) - varies - but around Eu50pcm (inc IVA). If you are lucky enough to get a landline! (In some areas if there is not already one there you have to wait until a number becomes available, or ... pay for a private network installation - which could cost as much as Eu300 for the equipment, which you will not get back.  Costa Blanca - poss look at Citrus Red… but also search the forum for other suppliers as I know this is a popular topic.)

Mobile phones. Very useful!  Either PAYG, or contract (but usually a minimum of Eu12 pcm)  NOTE - mobile phone charges here are astronomical compared to UK!  Poss get 3 with same supplier on same network/enabling free calls between these phones (but you will likely still pay 3 lots of basic contract fees.)

Car/s Most likely you will need transport. (Unless living in a town which will usually have good bus service/connections. Train limited depending on where you are. Motorbikes - unsafe sadly!)
NB Second hand cars here are at a premium!  Insurance (over 25’s included on the car insurance (it is the car that is insured here and any driver over 25 is automatically covered.  so your 19yr old would hike the charge up.  Possibly contact Linea Directa - but other co’s cheaper?>>  But we use them as no quibble claims dept.)

Food - definately cheaper here, but getting more expensive all the time. Eating out - cheaper than UK, but still getting more expensive again compared to what it used to be. (We go for the ‘menu del dia’ - lunchtimes only usually - as they can still be had for aroundEu7/8 - including drink!)

Cost of renting a post box??? Eu 50 pa?  The mail system can be very irratic (esp if you live outside of a main town), so it is wise/safer to have a box at the local post office. (In some cases - Fuengirola is still terrible!)

Hope this helps!

Thanks a million for that. You have helped loads and nice and clear. I hope you dont mind if I ask more from you.

1. When you rent a property it is usually 11 months. What are the upfront costs. I have been told one month in advance and one month upfront.? Also Agent fee’s????????

2. How easy is it to get unfurnished property.?

3. Once in I would set up electric supplier (or would landlord )????

4. Do you think I would have any problems getting somewhere which will let me rent with three dogs.???

5. Do you see any problems walking three well behaved dogs. Is there any proble walking in national parks or countryside with dogs.???

Lots more to ask maybe better PM you as people on this site might get bored with my questions. lol

1. When you rent a property it is usually 11 months. What are the upfront costs. I have been told one month in advance and one month upfront.? Also Agent fee?s????????

2. How easy is it to get unfurnished property.?

3. Once in I would set up electric supplier (or would landlord )????

4. Do you think I would have any problems getting somewhere which will let me rent with three dogs.???

5. Do you see any problems walking three well behaved dogs. Is there any proble walking in national parks or countryside with dogs.???

Hi SM,
I don’t mind answering your Q’s… it may also help other newbies 😊

1. In Malaga (generally) an official contract is for 11 months (but I remember one reply saying in the North? it was 12?)... If you are offered anything other than a ‘Temporada’ 11 months, perhaps best to avoid. This does tie you in and you promise to pay the full 11 months… but it also means the landlord cannot kick you out early….

1 month in advance and 1 month (returnable!!!! - could be some issues with difficutl landlords - so read other stories here!)... deopsit.
I the current climate it is the landlord who is paying the finders fee (as they are desperate!), so you should stick out for not paying this (or if you really had to go 50/50 on the agency fee if one is involved. No more than 1 months rent!)

2.  Unfurnished. You will have to check out the websites. Lots and lots I believe!  The Sur In English - our eng lang free newspaper also has some listings (but unless they have a dedicated CB website, not sure it would cover where you are looking.)  You should of course be paying LESS if you are brining your own furniture.

3. Re elec bill - ‘Usually’ (if done correctly), the bill should be in your name. The elec board will not do this unless all previous bills are up to date (which is your protection.) Likewise, when you move out, any debts/owing needs to be paid before landlord can re-connect… BUT… make sure you pay up all and insist on transfer of bill name back to landlord - otherwise you could be blacklisted!

4. It will depend on the landlord. I.e if it is a dog friendly ex pat, then possibly OK. If it is a not too tidy place (i,.e needs a refresh of ppaint etc), then again poss ok. Check regarding community rules if you live on a community/urbaninization.
You ‘may’ be better off taking a dog friendly place, making sure it is clean and tidy when you leave and all are happy.
NB You should do a ‘walk through’ with a full inventory/state of the property on arrival and also on departure.  Take your OWN photos of any discrepencies, marks, anything that you feel needs noting. Also hand a copy of your notes to the landlord if you think it really necessary. Either they or the Agency should do this as a matter of course. (Our landlady did not, and we are holding our breaths when we leave in next 2 months.)  But we have improved and kept the property in v.good condition in our 4 yr tennacy, so we are hoping she will not nit pick.)

5. Re walking dog in public. I do not know the laws. Poss ask one of the ex pat dog resuce bods on here.
I do know that ‘dangerous breeds’ either have to be kept on a lead or a pshycological test/cert of the owner is required!

I ‘think’ beaches in the summer are OOB to dogs. But winter OK?
Should be no probs if you are a responsible owner. (Some town halls are now fining town owning dog owners if they are caught ‘fowling’ and not cleaning up (there are several dog poop bins around - but IMO not enough.)  But as many Spanish just let their dogs roam free… they are hardbly brought to book.
PS - You will have to have by law all your dogs microchipped. Re register your new address once settled with local vet. (Officially they are not allowed to treat any animal that has not been microchipped.).

Hope that helps 😊
Off for sunday lunch!

SJ

Thanks again it helps allot. Enjoy Sunday Lunch and will pick your brains later.lol

Came across this looking for some other info, as its an old thread I won’t say a lot but two things strike me on healthcare.
1.  Make sure you all have your European health cards -they at will be accepted for emergency treatment for a short time.  In our first month here we had a (luckily false alarm) rush to Urgencias (A&E) and were very glad of the card.

2.  If you can class yourself as in ‘early retirement’ you may qualify for an S1 (used to be called an E106) which can give you up to 2 years health cover.

See
http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-spain/pensions-benefits/healthcare/e106/

If you reply that you are still checking things out I’ll post more!