Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

wearside_2

pbradley936 wrote:

Hello wearside,

We do the same as you and have a place in Fort Myers. We are usually there by now but due to family commitments we will not be there for a couple of weeks. We are selling up now and will still go to Florida but will rent. Our property taxes have shot up and so has the insurance because we are west of the 41 so are considered to be in a flood zone. We are not in a park and so have pay all our own yard and pool services so adding up what it costs we think we will be better of renting. Plus the house has increased in value no end (we are near but not on the beach) over the last couple of years. The legal side of owning abroad has raised questions I had never thought of (that is on another thread) in terms of what would happen if you or your partner died and the tax situation.

Helllo Pbradley

We are further north than you in Zephyrhills. Our property insurance shot up over $1000 this year as we have to be with Citizens, the State Company as the private ones have pulled out of Florida. Our property taxes did not go up much but maybe that is because its a manufactured home. We like being on a park as it gives us a sense of belonging and at least we see the same neighbours each visit. The one time we rented for a couple of weeks we saw no-one as the adjoining properties were empty. We obviously have talked about this house and what happens to it when something happens to us or we are too old to come over. As we have two children we have said that at that time they can have it between them and use it for themselves or decide what to do with it.

Are you coming over for six months and have you applied for and got your US Visas? This is our longest trip so far 85 days and next year we want to get our Visas. Any advice would be appreciated!

By the way it is 59 outside :eek: so I guess the heating will be back on!

wearside_2

EdInvestor wrote:

I suspect people underestimate the strain that expat life can put on relationships, particularly if a couple are fairly isolated and surrounded by people speaking a different language and experiencing a lot of adjustment problems .Some men for instance seem to have problems adjusting to giving up work, even when they are in their home country much less somewhere foreign. Missing friends and family ( particularly grand children) can also be a problem.If couples aren't very good at communication, the relationship can quickly come under stress.

It may be sensible to do things gradually, step by step. That is, don't retire, sell home and move abroad simultaneously. Renting rather than buying may also be best for a while in a new country especially in markets where there is a lot of new build property and pre-owned homes may be harder to sell.That way, if you find you can't adjust and want to come back, it is easy to up sticks without losing any money.

I agree with this and yes it can be a strain on any relationship. Luckily we have been married for 31 years and love each other to bits:embarasse and can talk about these things before they happen Obviously coming to Florida we can only be here for a maximum of six months but we decided to increase the length of our visits each year. There is also the financial side as well as neither of us are yet retired. In 2004 we came for a month then in 2005 for 2 months, a month again last spring and this time we are here for 85 days. Next year it will be 4 months which as it is longer than the 90 days we can stay on a visitors visa, we shall have to go through all the palarva of applying for a full US Visa.

kenshaz

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Agree with EdInvestoe, don't do everyhting at once and keep your house (or a smaller one) in the UK if you can.

We have not sold our UK house, and bought our Spanish house a year before we moved here and used it for holidays during that year .

We knew we had a safety net. Muy importante!

Yes ---do not close all the doors behind,keep your options open,also the UK property market moves so fast.

Mrs_pbradley936

Also we both had Florida drivers license BUT when they did the silly increased security they cancelled them and said we had to reapply every fall (autumn for the rest of you). Needless to say we have not and drive on our British licenses. Plus we hire a car from Alamo for very good rates but it has to be returned every 50 days and a new agreement taken out (even if we keep the same one).

As for getting there we have taken several transatlantic cruises they are very reasonable because the ships do the Med in the summer and the Carribean in the winter so have to reposition anyway.

Another thing for you to think of is the health insurance you will find that as you get older it gets higher and god forbid if you have any health issues. We currently use Insure and Go and they have a $500 excess.

seven-day-weekend

Pobby wrote:

Thank you to seven-day-weekend for the picture that has been painted about living in Spain.Also thanks for the e-mails.I see taht you bought your property in 2003,what would it be valued at now?

Hi Pobby! We bought our house for 51,000 euros in 2003, we have spent around 15,000 euros renovating it.

Funny you should ask about the valuation, we have just had it valued by three different EAs, the quotes come in at 95,000 euros, 135,000 euros and 160,000 euros! So you tell me what it's valued at!

Bear in mind this is a village house in the mountains, I don't think properties on the coast are appreciating by much at the moment.

Mrs_pbradley936

We have had visas for years and got our second ten year visas a couple of years ago. They are B1/B2 type visas. You have to be interviewed now by the Embassy in Grosvenor Square (ever since the 9/11 trouble) and have to prove that you still have property here, that you can support yourself and afford medical care and say why you want to stay more that 90 days at any one time. You also have to be finger printed and take bank statements and utility bills to show evidence of income and that you have commitments and intention to return to the UK.

You have to fill in a form on line and also print it off IT HAS TO BE THE SAME BARCODE AS THE ONE YOU HAVE SUMBITTED ONLINE. Then about a week or so later they give you an appointment but they give about 150 others the same appointment time so you should allow a couple of hours to be there. Once you are past the security checks it is quite quick, you take a ticket a bit like you get at a supermarket counter and wait until your number shows up. One person checks all your ID then you wait again for a proper interview with someone that asks you all the things I mentioned above.

Mrs_pbradley936

Wearside I have also sent you a private message with some other things you might want to consider

wearside_2

Hello! yes I replied to it. Please ignore the US Visa bit I sent it before I read this!!

EdInvestor

As for getting there we have taken several transatlantic cruises they are very reasonable because the ships do the Med in the summer and the Carribean in the winter so have to reposition anyway.

Now that's an interesting thought, what sort of price for one of these transAtlantic crossings? ( I assume it's a one -way?)

fatnan

Hi again!
I quite agree with the comments about people moving abroad without thinking things through properly. We met many couples with young children who had bought apartments on the coast assuming that they would have a ´better life´in the sunshine. In reality, every one of them was scratting around for bits of jobs, such as cleaning holiday apartments, taking in ironing, labouring for local builders, doing odd jobs etc etc, (all very over-subscribed) in the heat of August, and being paid a pittance. We often said that they had left their brains behind in the UK. It is really sad to see young families who have sold properties at home unable to afford to live here in Spain, even though it is much cheaper on the whole than the UK. Of course most of them can´t afford to go back to what they had in the UK before they left.
It is one thing coming to Spain to enjoy retirement, but quite another to find work IMO