Moving to Spain

GoingSolo

After watching “Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun” on TV I'm getting itchy feet.

I'll have a budget of circa £215K after separating plus a private pension of circa £10k and hopefully the state pension in 8.8 years. Don't mind spending up to £150K on my own place to live out there.

I'll have no property in UK to worry about but may want to come 'home' to visit but would probably stay in short term rental for say up to 3 months.

How do I get my hands on the pension and cash once in Spain?

Thanks in advance

Cheeky_Monkey

I wonder if your question might be better placed in the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning Forum - just a thought

ognum

GoingSolo wrote: »

After watching “Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun” on TV I'm getting itchy feet.

I'll have a budget of circa £215K after separating plus a private pension of circa £10k and hopefully the state pension in 8.8 years. Don't mind spending up to £150K on my own place to live out there.

I'll have no property in UK to worry about but may want to come 'home' to visit but would probably stay in short term rental for say up to 3 months.

How do I get my hands on the pension and cash once in Spain?

Thanks in advance

Please go and rent in Spain for a year, a whole year so you understand what it's like through the seasons before you buy anything.

This could be the best thing but it could be the worst!

Mrs_pbradley936

Having known lots of people that have done what you are thinking of doing I would offer the following advice.

Do not buy over there - rent and buy a small flat here that is easy to let.

I know many people that could never buy back a house they lived in for decades - my aunt being a classic example. She sold her house for £120K back in the day and bought a villa with a pool near Benidorm for about 55K in Euros. The weather is still nice but the area has gone down hill in terms of thieves and muggers. The house she sold is now worth over £450K and she cannot sell her villa at all others like it are on the market for 40K Euros.

I could introduce you to a dozen people all with similar experiences.

If you own here are rent there you will still have a nest egg that keeps its worth or goes up. I know it could go the other way but it has not so far!
You can move down the coast if your area goes down market

AlexMac

I really endorse Mrs Bradley's advice; House Price Inflation in UK has consistently beaten that in Fance and Spain, even ignoring Spain's disasterous recession and price crash of the past 8 years. Factor in the unknown, too.

I have an acquaintance who sold a flat in the UK, bought a town house with pool in Andalucia, but whose health deteriorated in his 50's; who ended up back in their aging parents' council house in a particularly rainy part of the UK and cannot sell the Spanish place.

Renting there sounds a great idea, however, especially if you can buy a little BTL to keep here.

Read the many expat blogs too. I was in Andalucia last week, and the expat newspapers were full of threats by the regional government to start asking resident Brits (no matter how defined) to start declaring and paying tax on their overseas assets. probably easier to stay off the radar if you're renting (an extended holiday?) than a home-owner?

And finally, while UK state pensions are index-linked for those in other EU states.... will we still be an EU member after the electorate digest Cameron's achievemnts in Brussels last night?

But, with temperatures there last week in the low 20's while storm Imogen raged here, it's an admittedly attractive prospect. As I scrape the ice off my car I see it's still 17 c in Malaga!

tom9980

Rent first, my parents regularly go on long holidays to greece and they are glad i convinced them not to buy because while they have lots of friends in the place they go they realise they would get bored after 3 months or so. Renting gives them the option to move around more and keep things fresher and should health issues occur they are just a few hours flight from home again. They frequently pay £20/25 per night for holiday accom so it can be affordable.

BarryBlue

ognum wrote: »

Please go and rent in Spain for a year, a whole year so you understand what it's like through the seasons before you buy anything.

This could be the best thing but it could be the worst!

I would endorse this 100%. We are planning to live in Spain for at least half the year in about 2-3 years. We own properties in the UK, including rental properties, and will probably keep a small bolt hole here when we go.


We have several friends living in Spain and they love it there. It's great when you retire, less so if you need to work. All of them say we should rent for 6-12 months before even considering buying. You have to be sure of what sort of property you want, and crucially the right area for you. It may take a couple of rentals to be sure about it.


Hope it works out for you. There are plenty of choices in Spain both for rental and to buy.

seven-day-weekend

You can get your UK State Pension paid in Spain (in fact anywhere in the world) . You have to apply for it in the EU country in which you last worked.

I would echo the advice about renting first. We lived in Spain for eight years, and bought a house, then sold it when we returned to the UK and made a small profit, but I have seen so many lose everything. Make sure it is what you want before you commit, and if you do decide to buy, my advice is buy an existing property, not one that is off-plan. Have a bi-lingual lawyer to check that it is legal.

I would also agree with the poster who suggested keeping a property in the UK.

theartfullodger

GoingSolo wrote: »

.... ...How do I get my hands on the pension and cash once in Spain?......

And, if & when you return to UK requesting benefits and/or NHS treatment why do you think you should still be entitled???

Cheers!

seven-day-weekend

theartfullodger wrote: »

And, if & when you return to UK requesting benefits and/or NHS treatment why do you think you should still be entitled???

Cheers!

If they are Spanish Resident, they won't be entitled to NHS treatment, nor means-tested Benefits, although they will be entitled to claim State Pension and any disability allowances they might qualify for.

We lived in Spain for eight years and then came back. We did not need to claim any Benefits, but were entitled to NHS treatment as soon as we were UK resident.

Mrs_pbradley936

theartfullodger wrote: »

And, if & when you return to UK requesting benefits and/or NHS treatment why do you think you should still be entitled???

Cheers!

My advice to anyone wanting to spend time in a better climate would be to have extended holidays but always be legally domiciled in the UK. It means paying tax here but it also means keeping all your rights (such as they are!!).