Hi

I am a newbie to this forum and to be honest far from being an expat.

We are hoping to buy a place in spain later this year, initially it will be a holiday home, going out every school holiday etc but then once the kids are old enough to decide what they are doing we plan to spend more and more time there. I would move out there lock stock and barrell tomorow but the wife prefers to wait.

I do have some questions that I hope somone can help with, most sites I have found are all commercial so give biased opinions hence me coming here.

1. We hope to buy without a mortgage, but I have read on another site that getting a mortgage and keeping our savings in a UK bank is more beneficial due to inheritance tax and the allowance levels are better in the UK. I do not expect that to become an issue for another 30 or so years at least but you never know.

2. We would like the Costa brava area, basically because I have been holidaying there for the past 30 years on and off and I can drive there in a day, however our searches show that you can get far more for your money by going further south, Valencia, Aliacante etc. This appeals to us as we do not have masses of money to spend. On the other hand I have heard that these area’s are over developed with ‘urbanizations’ going up everywhere. We would most welcome independant opinions on this.

3. I am self employed in the UK, earning most of my income from US companies, would there be any problems with me getting a spanish bank account and having some of my US earnings paid straight into the spanish bank?

Thanks

Greg

Hola…....

1. To be honest I think you are right its to early to worry about that…..but if it is important for you then fine. Spanish mortgages are more difficult to get than they used to be in line with the worlds economic problems.

2. Come and have a look for yourself - it is not a total concrete jungle and prices are lower.

3. You are perfectly entitled to open a Spanish bank account - whether your American employers will pay you into that account is a question for them but I dont see why not.

Good luck.

Listen to robi as he is right with his points . Driving here in spain is bit off he fast side and then left hand drive car are not good so sell you car in the uk get more for it and buy youself a car here .
As you have uk bank account you can do the same here in spain just by give you new I-BAN No. out to the Usa companys , if so hold you house in the uk , rent it out , so if you want to return to uk if think dont work out you have some where , sell in few years time . house prices are on down in spain like most off EU area , i would think the long you hold out better price you get ....

south, Valencia, Aliacante area is very built up by the sea but 10 - 15 km in land you fine some wondful places link to Best Choice Villas sl
http://www.bcvillas.com

please kep us posted here what happens please
jurdy

Thanks jurdy!

Sounds like a new radio show

Now lets

Listen to Robi!

Thanks Rob and Jurdy

I am due out to Spain (costa brava) in August, so I may take a drive down to Valencia/Alicante for a couple of days to see the area and view some properties and I am hoping like you say prices may have gone a bit in my favour.

One other concern, a few times here in the UK there have been TV reports/programs of villa’s in Valencia area being ‘compulsary purchased’ so ‘affordable housing’ can be built on the land or something simular, this is another concern of ours.

We are not necesarily look for a coastal resort, but if its not near the coast then a pool is a must for us. So coming inland may be the best option, we viewed some properties at an exhibition here recently where there was 250 properties all of the same style being built on an urbanisation. This is not what we want, but most of what we saw was this kind of development.

For me, taking a day or so to drive to spain is part of the holiday, the family are not so keen on it though. If/when we buy a place which would be just for the hols for the first few years, then I would definately invest in a car out there.

I hope that makes sense:)

Greg

You are right to be aware that sometimes it is necesssary (as in the UK) for compulsory purchases to be made. But dont believe all you see on the UK TV (its a constant source of irritation for us living out here) and although you say you dont want an urbanisation (again keep an open mind they are not all 250 the same type houses) this would not happen on a new development.

As with any property purchase it pays to do your research and only deal with experienced honest professionals.

I have to tell you August is not exactly the best time to go house hunting because its holiday time (so its hot and most agencies, sites etc are closed, and the roads will be busy)

A couple of observations - the compulsory purchase or “land grab” thing is I think theoretically possible anywhere in Spain, but it’s in the Valencian Autonomous Community that the authorities have been most willing to use their powers in this respect, so it’s got more coverage in the news. Certainly my lawyer says it happens in Andalucia too.  However if your land is clearly established as either urban or rural then it’s highly unlikely to happen - it seems to be in grey areas of suburban development that the problems occur.  More worrying in my opinion is illegal building - for decades the authorities have been turning a blind eye or even taking bribes, but the law is really cracking down and that means demolition of otherwise fine-looking illegal homes. There are cases of a local town hall (and notary) claiming a development is legal when the provincial or community government insists it is not - and guess who wins?

On buying a car in Spain; don’t bother until you’re spending many months a year or more in the country.  My reasoning is you will have a choice of which airport to fly to depending on the best deal you can get on the flight (to get to my area there are five or six options at least), so where are you going to leave your Spanish vehicle?  If you leave it at your home you will need to hire a car to get from the airport to it, probably.  New cars are not much cheaper than the UK and second-hand ones are ridiculously expensive (the Spanish don’t seem to accept the concept of depreciation), while hire car rates start at less than ?100 a week and you can choose an appropriate vehicle - for the first few trips at least you’ll need a van to pick up furniture but you might not want one for ever, for example.

Martin

Thank you for your post, it does help a ‘newbie’ to get the views of people that have gone through the experience.

I visited your blog and that as well has opened my eyes, someone had told me that from their experience of going to southern spain they found it a lot more ‘desert like’ than the north, however looking at the pictures on your site thats obviously not the case.

As for the car situation, I didn’t realise that 2nd hand cars are expensive. One reason I was thinking of Costa Brava is we have have built up a circle of friends over the years there and generally they do the ‘airport runs’ for each other and so no need to leave the car at the airport.

The problem with car hire is that we don’t have a credit card, and they do not accept debit cards for payment. For the odd holiday in the past it’s not been a major problem as we have given the cash to friends/family out there and they have booked it with me as a 2nd driver. Is this the same if you have a spanish bank account? do you still require a credit card or do they accepts spanish debit cards?

Thanks

Greg

Hi again, yes, our place is in a very green and lush part of Andalucia, but it is 1,200 metres above sea level and not far below the ski-slopes, so it’s not typical.  Almeria is just next door to Granada and has some real desert, where they used to film spaghetti westerns.  Regarding car hire, I have tried to use my Spanish bank a/c debit card and right enough, they didn’t want to take it and asked me for a credit card instead.  Obviously as I had one it wasn’t a problem.  You must have a reason for not wanting a credit card, but it could save you some hassle, you can get them for free, and you don’t have to run up a debt unless you choose to do so!