Im going to buy in Spain.

Coolaboy

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I have about 35k cash and we my wife and I 50 yrs. Going to retire in 5 years time. Kids will be married and gone. Had enough of long winter evenings, food and cost of living way to high in Ireland and cold environment most of the year. Unfortunately Spain will be going into a recession and I hope to pick up a small property in the South of Spain. Will buy near a reconised airport. Any areas in particular that are good to live in? James.
 
Sue Ellen called it right - I bet she's a good poker player too!

Not all decisions to buy property in Spain were bad. Ours was twofold (i) Investment for additional income during our retirement (didn't work) (ii) A warm place to visit whenever we wished (did work).

Coolaboy just wants a place in which to enjoy early retirement and have a cheaper place to follow his dream and perhaps have a better quality of life. That's OK too.

I know several people who retired and still live in Ireland and spend an average of 6 months per year in their purchased property in Spain. They don't rent out their house in Ireland or their property in Spain. And fair play you could spend your money in a worse way. They are happy with their decision and all I can say to them is Well Done!

I don't know what Coolaboy wants to spend on Spanish property but for €35K he might as well stay in Ireland. You can buy property for even less than that in Spain, but believe me - you don't need to live in such a place (my opinion).

You can rent a good 2 bedroom low rise apartment which is centrally located for €650 per month Nov/March so why buy. You have peace of mind and if the place didn't suit you can rent elsewhere the following year. You have more options without committing a huge amount of money.

But, you still want to buy!
1. Rent in the area for at least 4 continuous weeks during Nov/March. (Believe me this time will indicate whether Spain is for you)
2. Don't even think of selling your best asset (your home in Ireland).
3. If you wish, you can rent your Irish home which will more than pay for your expedition to Spain. (Good Option!).
4. (Not for the light-hearted) - Many people I know in Spain swore they wouldn't rent out their Spanish property ever; I've checked their Facebook entries and believe me most do rent out.
 
Great advice Leper. Where do you have your property. We had a marvellous holiday in Calpe one year, I’d consider there.
 
1. Rent in the area for at least 4 continuous weeks during Nov/March. (Believe me this time will indicate whether Spain is for you)
This is so true, I remember a couple that were set on moving to fuereventura in the canaries because it was so relaxing and away from their busy lives in Dublin, they spent 3 weeks over Christmas there on another holiday with a view to moving there. Everything was closed , it was so quiet, they were bored out of their trees.
 
If we ever decide that we need to change our ways for the environment/future of our kids, air travel will become more expensive/less common. For the purposes of climate justice, regular travel would get hit more than occasion use, so maintaining property in two countries would, ultimately, be cost prohibitive. And others will travel less too, so the same properties in tourist resorts would become less desirable and derive less of a return. Maybe we won't act until the worst climate breakdown is evident and common, and even then areas like southern Spain will be exposed to regular droughts.
 
Wow folks. Thanks very much for the advice. Will take it all on board. Probably will go this Oct and rent out a place for 3 weeks and see what price and what's going on. My main reason to go would be the long dark winter months.....
 
Hi Coolaboy
Spending time in Spain during the long dark, wet Irish winters is a lovely thought and one I share myself. With retirement not too many years away, buying a property in Spain is something I often ponder, but it’s a big decision. Renting would be a safe move which would allow you to become familiar with an area.

Leper has given some wise words of wisdom on the subject of buying property abroad, particularly in Spain. One point that’s not often taken into consideration is the annual property fees. I’ve noticed that the additional annual costs are never really highlighted on TV programmes such as “A Place in the Sun”.

Another point to consider is that at any given time there are thousands of properties for sale in Spain. Not so strange really, but I have read that up to 90% of people regret buying a property abroad.


Good luck with your decision.
 
Agree Derry 2020, a YouTube vlogger living in Murcia commented Thursday just gone that there's enough empty properties to house all of Spain. Only way you'll know where and what's good is to rent.
 
If you are looking to escape some of the Irish winter, you can rent a nice apartment in many Spanish locations for 3 or 4 months for the same annual cost as owning a property (and without having to make a capital outlay). And you have none of the worries about perhaps renting the property to recoup some of the costs when you are not using it.
And you can change your location each year.
 
If you are looking to escape some of the Irish winter, you can rent a nice apartment in many Spanish locations for 3 or 4 months for the same annual cost as owning a property (and without having to make a capital outlay). And you have none of the worries about perhaps renting the property to recoup some of the costs when you are not using it.
And you can change your location each year.
You don't have to wait a year to change location, you can do it every 4/6 weeks if you wish.
 
I have about 35k cash and we my wife and I 50 yrs. Going to retire in 5 years time. Kids will be married and gone. Had enough of long winter evenings, food and cost of living way to high in Ireland and cold environment most of the year. Unfortunately Spain will be going into a recession and I hope to pick up a small property in the South of Spain. Will buy near a reconised airport. Any areas in particular that are good to live in? James.

I would strongly urge against it.
Spain is already full of unsold,empty houses and after the devestation that Covid-19 will bring to the Spanish economy whatever you buy will undoubtably be cheap but you'll never sell it when you tire of being surrounded by other pensioners recreating what they miss back home.There's a lot of Daily Mail readers there too !
Mainland Spain in winter is a miserable place.
If you're going to buy then at least head as far south as you can - Tenerife,Lanzarote etc.
But I would second what many other posters on here say and that is rent somewhere in the sun in a different place every year.
We have wintered in Tenerife, Florida, Thailand and Panama. All good in their own way but nice to lock up and hand the key back as Spring approaches and not to have to worry about the place for the rest of the year.
Finally the old adage remains true - when you buy a place abroad the first thing you must think about is the day you want to sell it.
We bought a nice place in Florida at the very bottom of the real estate crash in that state and finally sold last year with a 50% profit.We never stayed a night in the house and rented it out permanently the whole time we had it.But we spent 6 months researching and searching for the right location which we knew would be attractive when we finally came to sell it.
Do your due diligence diligently !
 
It gets cold and dark in Spain in the winter too!

If you buy somewhere in a complex with a swimming pool, it will be empty and soulless in the winter. You will also need to check out what facilities are still open. If the complex has a supermarket, it's likely that place will be closed too in the winter, so how far will you need to travel to get groceries? If you live in a town, where there is some life in the winter, you will probably forgo a swimming pool, which will be nice to have when the weather improves.

As for price, if you bought somewhere for €35k in Ireland, it is probably in the middle of nowhere or in a crime ridden area. The same applies to Spain. You will really need to do your homework on the area that you are buying in. No point in living in an area with a drug problem or an isolated place where you don't meet anyone.

I would keep the capital and spend it on being able to move around the place. If you get it wrong one year, you just don't go back. If you love it there, the landlord will be perfectly happy to book you in for the following year if you are block booking for months.
 
It gets cold and dark in Spain in the winter too!

If you buy somewhere in a complex with a swimming pool, it will be empty and soulless in the winter. You will also need to check out what facilities are still open. If the complex has a supermarket, it's likely that place will be closed too in the winter, so how far will you need to travel to get groceries? If you live in a town, where there is some life in the winter, you will probably forgo a swimming pool, which will be nice to have when the weather improves.

As for price, if you bought somewhere for €35k in Ireland, it is probably in the middle of nowhere or in a crime ridden area. The same applies to Spain. You will really need to do your homework on the area that you are buying in. No point in living in an area with a drug problem or an isolated place where you don't meet anyone.

I would keep the capital and spend it on being able to move around the place. If you get it wrong one year, you just don't go back. If you love it there, the landlord will be perfectly happy to book you in for the following year if you are block booking for months.

Indeed.
A quick search of property websites for Spain shows that the very MINIMUM price of property available is €50,000.
It's clear this poster hasn't even done the barest research.
 
....and another point to note is the near collapse of the aviation industry, in the future flights may become far more expensive, less choices etc. its not a good time to be considering to buy abroad right now. €35000 wont go far in buying a place, you need to have a buffer here in case you lose your job and if you have any other unforeseen expenses.
 
I have about 35k cash and we my wife and I 50 yrs. Going to retire in 5 years time. Kids will be married and gone. Had enough of long winter evenings, food and cost of living way to high in Ireland and cold environment most of the year. Unfortunately Spain will be going into a recession and I hope to pick up a small property in the South of Spain. Will buy near a reconised airport. Any areas in particular that are good to live in? James.
We purchased in Tenerife 20 years ago. We enjoyed many long holidays there. Weather in winter is usually good around 20 - 24 deg.
Lots of demand for renting, in the winter, but then you don’t have it for yourself.
Eating out is very cheap and with no heating costs you can live cheaply. Lots of Irish people there too.
We now sold ours with a 25% profit as it becomes a chore to keep it and bear in mind the. 4- 4 1/2 hour flight.
However we would not spend from November/March in Spain, as we found it too cold.
We really enjoyed our years there and still return autumn and spring renting in same complex. It is not easy to get a rental property if we had no contacts we would not get a property for the months we want.
In relation to purchasing, prices have reduced because of Brexit and The Covid 19 is bound to effect prices too. So should be a good time to purchase.
Good luck with your decision. Browtal
 
We purchased in Tenerife 20 years ago. We enjoyed many long holidays there. Weather in winter is usually good around 20 - 24 deg.
Lots of demand for renting, in the winter, but then you don’t have it for yourself.
Eating out is very cheap and with no heating costs you can live cheaply. Lots of Irish people there too.
We now sold ours with a 25% profit as it becomes a chore to keep it and bear in mind the. 4- 4 1/2 hour flight.
However we would not spend from November/March in Spain, as we found it too cold.
We really enjoyed our years there and still return autumn and spring renting in same complex. It is not easy to get a rental property if we had no contacts we would not get a property for the months we want.
In relation to purchasing, prices have reduced because of Brexit and The Covid 19 is bound to effect prices too. So should be a good time to purchase.
Good luck with your decision. Browtal
Interesting post by Browtal.... Wondering if prices have bottomed out in Lanzarote?
What would one be expecting to pay for 2 bedroom apartment in good location? And yes I have read all Lepers posts
 
I've read through all of this thread again and many posters have given their personal opinions and some are factually wrong. Whenever I post, I try to post as close to the truth as possible (even where I am at the receiving end of whatever). We arrived in Costa Almería in the first days of August and outside the return to see Limerick beating Cork in the All Ireland Hurling Final we're still in Spain. Southern Spain is having a heat wave since we arrived and to be honest the humidity is getting to me and probably will see us returning to Cork within a fortnight, but we've already booked flights for Spain in November to help shorten our winter with some decent temperatures that will allow us to walk longer distances etc.

Many Spaniards are staycationing and so the resort is still full (no traffic jams, no Lager Louts, full restaurants and the beaches are busier than I've ever seen). The children's play areas are full from 10.00pm (yes 10.00pm and dark but with public lighting), with children using swings, slides, see-saws and being minded by adoring grandparents. What was a Half Brit/Half Spaniard Resort has blossomed into a Spanish Family Resort.

Property prices have risen by at least 15% (more in preferable areas) since early 2021. Rental charges have skyrocketed (they would of course with us using the place instead of renting it out and making a few bob). If you intend renting a place in Spain over the winter/spring you could do worse than contacting somebody with good contacts. Contacting a Spanish based estate agent could see you paying bigger money than budgeted.

An AAMer contacted me recently in Spain and of course I always like to see visitors from Ireland. He had seen a property on a website which appeared to tick all his "Buy" boxes and the price was better than he expected. From the print-out I knew there were some things he didn't consider. It was 8.00pm and bright and I drove him and his wife to the property. It was overlooking a sewage treatment plant which in the future will grow (and it had plenty of room for expansion). The hum he heard is a nightly sound of its rotating machinery; the hum he smelled is a 24/7 experience and not for the faint-hearted. That sunken area is known locally as Mozzie Central. The estate agent advertising didn't mention these. Incidentally, the couple were driven a different route to the property earlier by the estate agent.
 
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Wouldn't mind a bit of heat in Costa Almeria right now Leper, glad you enjoying your stay. Could you give me a guide for asking price for 2 bed apart with pool at the moment? Hoping to view 1 in Lanzarote on Friday. Still at research stage. I've enjoyed reading all your posts thank u.
 
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