Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

krisskross · 21 August 2006 at 10:19AM

When we came to sell our place we didn't have to pay the 5% normally deducted for tax as we had taken out residency. We did all the residencia bit because we fully intended to stay. I have been told that some people do it specifically to save the 5%. On a property selling for 150,000 this would be 7500 Euro so probably worth thinking about.

seven-day-weekend · 21 August 2006 at 7:39PM

Yes, we have residency too as we fully intend to be here for the forseeable future.

Did you still have to pay the Capital Gains Tax (or is this the tax you are referring to)? We will have our little 'wreck' next door to sell in a few months (only it won't be a wreck by then!).

krisskross · 21 August 2006 at 8:52PM

No we paid nothing. got the full selling price, a lot of it in 500 Euro notes handed over by the bank manager. That gave me a bit of a shock i can tell you.
Not sure how you stand with 2 properties,think you need a gestor to sort it out.

lessonlearned · 28 August 2006 at 4:23PM

We have a small apartment at the coast. (It's in an urbanisation with a mixture of Brits, Swedish, German, Irish and Spanish - a real mix - everyone gets on well and everyone is very helpful and neighbourly). I absolutely love it there.

Obvioulsy community fees are payable for the communal areas and pool etc (about 150 Euros this year) but even if you add those to the budget, living costs are much much cheaper than the UK.

We currently use our apartment as a holiday home and our families and friends visit whenever we can. We intend to retire there soon. Bring it on!!

So far the best tips I can offer are eat and shop where the Spanish eat and shop.

The "Mercadona" chain of supermarkets are wonderful - great produce and very cheap. They also have Lidl and Aldi. The markets are fantastic for fruit and veg - unbelievably cheap and much nicer tasting than here (they might look a bit knobbly and bobbly but they are far superior to anything you'll buy in a UK supermarket).

When eating out the "menu del dia" is fantastic - three or four courses from as little as 5 Euros (often with wine and bread included).

If you like fish and live near the coast and are lucky enough to have a "fish-place" (sorry can't think of the proper name - having a senior moment - it's where they unload the fish). Anyway they often have a restaurant attached. The menu is the catch of the day and is excellent value and delicious - usually open at lunchtimes only. They are always busy and the locals always eat there.

Always follow the locals and eat where they eat and you won't go far wrong. Yes, some of the bars and cafes are littered with cigarette ends and the TV will be blaring out in the corner (nearly always football or a Spanish Soap) but it all adds to the flavour!!

In general cafes, bars and restaurants knock spots of our UK ones - nearly all are waiter service - none of this having to serve yourself, with cloths on the tables, flowers etc and all offering excellent food, service and value for money.

Petrol, food, leccy, rates, all much cheaper than UK so although we haven't made our final move yet I tend to think that £7K a year would be fine.

I agree with the poster who said use cash. Also, definitley learn a bit of the lingo so you can haggle. (I also find a little light flirting, chatting and joking works very well - the Spanish are very friendly and love to chat and laugh).

With regard to health and medicines etc the pharmacies are excellent and very knowledgeable - so very often you can treat "minor" problems without visiting the doctor.

Obviously medical matters are an area where language difficulties can arise. My tip would be to learn all the relevant words for any exisiting condition, your symptoms and your usual medications (your UK doctor could perhaps provide some kind of statement - for a small fee). If necessary get this translated by an interpreter and learn it (keep your transcript for emergencies).

And then, as soon as you can, enrol for some Spanish lessons - some Spanish towns offer them to new residents for free.

The really good news is that the warmth, sunshine, healthy diet etc do seem to work wonders. My arthritis usually disappears when I am in Spain. Medical conditions such as asthma, chest problems and certain types of arthiritis and joint problems seem to respond to the better climate.

Hope the above is of help - if I think of anything else I'll post again.

seven-day-weekend · 29 August 2006 at 1:05AM

lessonlearned wrote:

We have a small apartment at the coast. (It's in an urbanisation with a mixture of Brits, Swedish, German, Irish and Spanish - a real mix - everyone gets on well and everyone is very helpful and neighbourly). I absolutely love it there.

Obvioulsy community fees are payable for the communal areas and pool etc (about 150 Euros this year) but even if you add those to the budget, living costs are much much cheaper than the UK.

We currently use our apartment as a holiday home and our families and friends visit whenever we can. We intend to retire there soon. Bring it on!!

So far the best tips I can offer are eat and shop where the Spanish eat and shop.

The "Mercadona" chain of supermarkets are wonderful - great produce and very cheap. They also have Lidl and Aldi. The markets are fantastic for fruit and veg - unbelievably cheap and much nicer tasting than here (they might look a bit knobbly and bobbly but they are far superior to anything you'll buy in a UK supermarket).

When eating out the "menu del dia" is fantastic - three or four courses from as little as 5 Euros (often with wine and bread included).

If you like fish and live near the coast and are lucky enough to have a "fish-place" (sorry can't think of the proper name - having a senior moment - it's where they unload the fish). Anyway they often have a restaurant attached. The menu is the catch of the day and is excellent value and delicious - usually open at lunchtimes only. They are always busy and the locals always eat there.

Always follow the locals and eat where they eat and you won't go far wrong. Yes, some of the bars and cafes are littered with cigarette ends and the TV will be blaring out in the corner (nearly always football or a Spanish Soap) but it all adds to the flavour!!

In general cafes, bars and restaurants knock spots of our UK ones - nearly all are waiter service - none of this having to serve yourself, with cloths on the tables, flowers etc and all offering excellent food, service and value for money.

Petrol, food, leccy, rates, all much cheaper than UK so although we haven't made our final move yet I tend to think that £7K a year would be fine.

I agree with the poster who said use cash. Also, definitley learn a bit of the lingo so you can haggle. (I also find a little light flirting, chatting and joking works very well - the Spanish are very friendly and love to chat and laugh).

With regard to health and medicines etc the pharmacies are excellent and very knowledgeable - so very often you can treat "minor" problems without visiting the doctor.

Obviously medical matters are an area where language difficulties can arise. My tip would be to learn all the relevant words for any exisiting condition, your symptoms and your usual medications (your UK doctor could perhaps provide some kind of statement - for a small fee). If necessary get this translated by an interpreter and learn it (keep your transcript for emergencies).

And then, as soon as you can, enrol for some Spanish lessons - some Spanish towns offer them to new residents for free.

The really good news is that the warmth, sunshine, healthy diet etc do seem to work wonders. My arthritis usually disappears when I am in Spain. Medical conditions such as asthma, chest problems and certain types of arthiritis and joint problems seem to respond to the better climate.

Hope the above is of help - if I think of anything else I'll post again.

Agree with the above post absolutely.....but would say if you don't live in an urbanizacion but in a Spanish village...even cheaper. We have just had a night out drinking liquers (anis and sol y sombre ) for 19 euros (from 2000-0200).

Don't get stuck in the Brit enclaves.....go Spanish!

seven-day-weekend · 29 August 2006 at 1:11AM

krisskross wrote:

No we paid nothing. got the full selling price, a lot of it in 500 Euro notes handed over by the bank manager. That gave me a bit of a shock i can tell you.
Not sure how you stand with 2 properties,think you need a gestor to sort it out.

We had our cash transaction for both houses conducted in the bank manager's office.

But I thought you had to pay CGT on ANY sale if you were not re-investing in the area? (no allowance on main home).

I would be very glad to hear that this rule has changed!

krisskross · 29 August 2006 at 9:24AM

I think if you have a residencia card it is assumed that you will be buying another property. We produced our cards for the notary and he was quite happy that we got the full proceeds of the sale, so I assume it was all legal and above board. Too late for them to change their minds...its spent:rotfl: :rotfl:

seven-day-weekend · 1 September 2006 at 3:34PM

krisskross wrote:

I think if you have a residencia card it is assumed that you will be buying another property. We produced our cards for the notary and he was quite happy that we got the full proceeds of the sale, so I assume it was all legal and above board. Too late for them to change their minds...its spent:rotfl: :rotfl:

I have a terrible feeling that after you have had the full amount of money you are supposed to go to the tax office and pay the tax.

Having said that, if you've sold up and left the country, who cares........?

We know a couple who didn't pay any tax on a purchase (because they didn't realise they had to) and what happened? Nothing. , They've since paid all legal rates etc on the property for two years, so it's obviously in the system.

The Spanish law changes so quickly that you never know what you are supposed to be paying.

seven-day-weekend · 1 September 2006 at 3:59PM

Ah! Found it! Not everyone has to pay the tax:

http://www.idealspain.com/Pages/PropertyPages/BuyingPropertyGuide.htm

'When you come to sell the property, capital gains tax will be charged on any profit you have made. This is 35% for non-residents but only 20% for residents. A further concession for residents is that if you are over the age of 65 and have lived in your property for at least three years you are totally exempt from capital gains tax."

So now we know. Unfortunately, it won't help us with our wreck, we will have to pay 20% CGT as we are not over 65, nor have we lived in it.

seven-day-weekend · 5 September 2006 at 5:31AM

i'VE GOT A FUNNY STORY:

(oops, sorry for capitals!)

When some friends of ours moved here to the mountains in Spain, in January, they didn't expect it to be as cold as it was. (Bl**dy freezing because of the altitude). Their house, like ours, being a traditional Alpujarreno style, is full of ill-fitting doors and windows (because usually you need to let the draughts in to keep the house cool). They had no heating whatsoever in the house and there was a bank holiday for three days.

They kept themselves warm by wrapping themselves in the bubble wrap that they had transported their fragile items in!

We never had an electric blanket till we came to southern Spain. The house has no central heating (most of them here don't) and no insulation. Because of the style of the house and building materials used, there is no way to insulate it. In the winter it is VERY cold once the sun has gone down.

Anyway, what we do is, we inherited a load of wood when we bought the house, and have since been given some more, so we have a wood burning stove on the ground floor (the only one with a chimney) and this keeps our large kitchen and the utility/cloakroom warm. Some of the heat also goes up the stairs into the living area (open plan at the top of the stairs), but we also have two calor gas convector heaters, one on the half-landing and one in the room. These keep the living area surprisingly warm. We put a curtain up in the arch between the living area and the shower room and bedroom at the back of this floor to keep the heat in the living area and to save it going up the next flight of stairs. We have an oil-filled radiator on the second floor. We don't heat either of the bedrooms, but we do have a small halogen heater in the little study (actually the third bedroom) , that we just put on when we are using the study. We heat nothing else except the shower room just before we use it. (with one of those electric bar wall heaters). We have electric blankets for the beds (cheaper to warm the bed than the bedroom).

Thought you may be interested in how we get on in rural Spain.

Do any of you have 'unusual' houses to heat, or don't you need heating at all?

Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

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