holiday home spain or not

Doc95

Hi looking advice on buying a holiday home in Spain. Looked up previous post but none recent. I have a modest few Euro saved it'll allow me to buy a 2 bedroom town house in la zenia. I was only in it once and enjoyed the idea of moving there some day. I can get a mortgage of 300 a month a little extra added for yearly fees, to pay for it over 30 years. I still have 10 years of my mortgage here to pay so will be putting myself under a tiny bit of financial pressure as in I won't be able to save that €75 a week that I do now. As I can't afford a real fancy place it will still be good, and I know a lad with a 3 bedroom house getting good rent all year round. I hope to move out when my home mortgage here is paid as I have a small pension.
It's bad timing as I'm thinking of leaving a good steady job to go self employed and kids heading for college in 3 years.
I'm hoping rent if I can get it will pay most cost, just looking advice. Thanks
Also any one know how to deal with sellers directly as estate agent's crazy fees out there.

uck51js9zml2yt

You will need to make yourself aware of Spanish legislation in regards buying. From my reading it can be complex and costly.
My worry would be another economic crash. I know what the govt is saying but brexit is around the corner and anyone with any sense knows it won't be good for us.

How secure is your current job? Do you have to go SE? Knowing a steady wage is coming in to pay the mortgage is a good safety net.

Wesser

If you are just moving into a new job a d have three kids to support then I dont think now is a good time. Thats the kind of thinking that got us into trouble in the last boom. People over extendung themselves with debt and looking for second houses in Bulgaria etc and being greedy.

Lumen

Pay off your Irish mortgage first. Then don't take out any more debt secured on that house, or where the lender has any recourse to it.

Tigerandahalf

It is a nice idea but you would want to research it well.
Will you be liable for tax on income earned in Spain? What management fees might you have?
You could hire a letting agent to take care of all bookings, cleaning etc.

It is certainly a great option for retirement. Would you stay out there full time then and possibly let out your place in Ireland?

Lumen

Irish or spanish lender? If Irish you could lose everything.

UsedToWait

Colette Hundreds Penny wrote: »

... I know what the govt is saying but brexit is around the corner and anyone with any sense knows it won't be good for us...

Also, in the event of a chaotic brexit, you may see a lot of British 'expats' needing to sell up and head home, which might make your euro go a lot further.
If I was in your position, I'd certainly be waiting to see how that pans out first..

KellyXX

We were thinking seriously about buying an apartment in spain a while ago when we couldnt buy in ireland.
Now though we ware going to buy in ireland and see whats left and maybe still buy an apartment in spain.
My parents moved over there and love it. They are renting though.
We would be thinking of renting the apartment in summer and using it for a few holidays a year.
We have resisted so far
They idea comes up mostly when its cold and wet here

bilbot79

There's just something charming about the bolthole in Spain. I've been watching a place in the sun since God knows when. I'm never clear about rental income but when I'm on costa blanca chat on Facebook stuff often comes up about where people say after fees and taxes you don't get much.

Some taxi drivers have told me not to touch it. Another did it and thinks it's great while saying rent is covering costs.

Rental companies will do everything but might restrict YOUR use of the place. Check that one out first. I've also heard of places being rented out without the owner knowing.

La zenia is a great area for this purpose. Close to villamartin plaza, the beach and the shopping centre.

I think brexit might pull out a lot of Brits if such oldies are not covered for healthcare. Maybe there'll be bargains down the line.

I think you should save more, pay down debt and also do reconnaissance in the meantime. There are people who will accommodate you for free and show you apartments without obligation while you're there.

GGTrek

Doc95 wrote: »

Hi looking advice on buying a holiday home in Spain. Looked up previous post but none recent. I have a modest few Euro saved it'll allow me to buy a 2 bedroom town house in la zenia. I was only in it once and enjoyed the idea of moving there some day. I can get a mortgage of 300 a month a little extra added for yearly fees, to pay for it over 30 years. I still have 10 years of my mortgage here to pay so will be putting myself under a tiny bit of financial pressure as in I won't be able to save that €75 a week that I do now. As I can't afford a real fancy place it will still be good, and I know a lad with a 3 bedroom house getting good rent all year round. I hope to move out when my home mortgage here is paid as I have a small pension.
It's bad timing as I'm thinking of leaving a good steady job to go self employed and kids heading for college in 3 years.
I'm hoping rent if I can get it will pay most cost, just looking advice. Thanks
Also any one know how to deal with sellers directly as estate agent's crazy fees out there.

I know the market pretty well in the Comunidad Valenciana since I am invested (but I only invest in big cities where I have liquidity, not in summer holidays villages like you would like to do, there are lots of northern european investors stuck with their holiday homes since 2008! Please think about it). Your financial situation is in my opinion too shaky to be thinking about a holiday home in Spain.

You said you want to buy directly from the owners, please look at this website and look for "particular":
https://www.milanuncios.com/apartamentos-en-la-zenia-alicante/

Sure you will save 3% Estate Agents robbery fee, but do you speak enough Spanish to be able to close the deal with owners who most likely will not speak English? Do you know that there is a very hefty 10% stamp duty in Comunidad Valenciana (called ITP the highest in the whole of Spain), any other fee on purchase pales in comparison:
http://www.hisenda.gva.es/web/tributos-y-juego/tributos-impuestos-declaraciones-tp;jsessionid=56D5062320B5FE66C65379F03E5D7A0B

Will you be able to deal with the semi-public water utility company in Spanish (dealing with lazy form filling Spanish public employees is a real pleasure) and the registration of the property. Or will you pay another 500 eur to a "gestor" to do it for you?

Have you thought about "property tax" (IBI) paid to local council every year, "gasto de comunidad" (service charges) it the town house is in a gated community. I had a British friend who visited for a couple of weeks in the summer and loved it and immediately wanted to buy (he had similar financial situation as yours with two mortgages), once I presented him all the issues above he decided that he'd better rent

LirW

My parents bought 1,5 years ago in Spain and live there permanently. We've been talking a lot about the process and the advice she would give anyone is having a well enough level of Spanish, you'll need it to make it work on a longer term. You can pay people to do it for you, but then you'll always depend on others, especially when you plan to move there permanently.
There are english speaking companies but they'll gladly charge you a huge premium for it and you'll never be able to engage with the local people which is really useful at times.

The other thing is that she said never ever buy a holiday home with a mortgage. The Spanish market has a different dynamic and if your holiday home ever becomes a burden, you might see yourself in difficulty getting rid of it.
There are loads of houses on the market there that have an incredibly difficult background and shouldn't be touched with a bargepole. You need very solid legal advice from someone who has a lot of experience. For example it can happen that you buy a house there and get notified from the authorities later that there are planning issues and since you're the owner you're liable for it.

With brexit on the horizon and a mortgage on an Irish house I'd hold off, because that's a perfect recipe for a horrible financial predicament down the line.

uck51js9zml2yt

As UTW said, lots of Brits will have to leave Spain and prices will most likely plummet due to a glut of properties.
A Friend bought 10 apartments during the last bubble in Spain. He sold 1. The crash wiped him and his Irish business out.

Tigerandahalf

You have a lot of balls in the air re going self employed and kids heading to college etc. They may be looking for funds.

Unless you have spent extended time down there before it is risky buying something without knowing the lay of the land.

It might be better to rent for a year or 2. See what areas you like and maybe pick up some good info while there. Who knows you may not enjoy the experience and want to get out. At least renting for a bit will give you that flexibility.

Doc95

Thanks to you all, based on the advice here I'm going to hold off for a while till I get my own home mortgage cleared. I'm going self employed this year so there's a lot of risk. Thanks folks

uck51js9zml2yt

Doc95 wrote: »

Thanks to you all, based on the advice here I'm going to hold off for a while till I get my own home mortgage cleared. I'm going self employed this year so there's a lot of risk. Thanks folks

A good decision. Out of interest what will you be doing when you go self employed?

Doc95

Set up my own garage

Doc95

Good read here. No cheap properties due to brexit, just the opposite as they need to move home before March 2019