Advice needed

[katy]

I feel sorry for anyone in that predicament. They do however have to help themselves, probably won't get any better for them so they will have to confront the situation and go back to the UK. They are not actually short term broke and waiting for the next cheque. Do they actually want their children to queue up for church handouts! What happens when the utilities get cut off?

I am sure there are many young hardworking families in the UK would like a life in the sun but realise that they may not actually be able to find work and defer it until a time when they may be in a better position.

[laswalkirias]

I completely agree with katy, why did they not do their research before leaving England and foolishly "hoping for the best " before setting out and gambling their families future on a "dream"
I am going to Spain on thursday looking for an appartment to rent and I am in the lucky position to be able to do that because I will get a small pension from my current employer if I take early retirement
My partner who is ten years younger has decided that he is not joining me as his Spanish language skillsare laughable and that if it alll goes wrong there is no safety net for singles in Spain.
If you cant afford to retire early or speak Spanish fluently it is madness to leave the UK in the hope of a job in a depressed market.
If you hate the Uk so much , do as I do, and go over a few days every month, get the "high" of being there without risking financial disaster for you or your loved ones.
A.com has helped me so much to come to my decision to move to Spain with my eyes open, I only wish every prospective UK emigrant will read every post on this website to get an idea of what cost "living the dream" actually is.!!!!

[Raquel]

Isn't it sad that the advice offered to a family when they have fallen on hard times in Spain is to return to their home country. Even though they have invested their life and money into their new life in Spain. That means leaving their house stranded, probably pets stranded and returning cap n hand to the welfare state.

I wonder how many British owned houses are left in Spain to rot at the moment?

[hillybilly]

I wonder how many British owned houses are left in Spain to rot at the moment?

Probably a great deal less than the number of Spanish owned houses left to rot.

[Raquel]

Why are they all moving to the UK to sign on as well? and abandoning their homes in the process.

[ken2]

i have not been on this forum very long, but i think this is the most depressing thread i have read so far,so much unhappiness,we have not got a lot, but lets all be grateful for what we do have,i have had a good laugh on some of the threads, but this one, blimey,

[julian]

what do you mean hillbilly, are there many spanish owned homes been left to rot? is so, why so you think that would be?

[hillybilly]

Do you not explore? If you go out for a drive...well, anywhere really, or have a walk around any town or village, you will see empty, abandoned houses, falling into disrepair. There are 3 in my street alone, been like that for the 4 years I've lived here, much longer by the looks of them. Visit somewhere like Chimeneas or Alcala la Real or Alhama de Granada or Puente Genil.
Why? I can only surmise...lack of money to upkeep them, lack of work in the area, dislike of old, damp houses, illness/aging of the owners, multiple owners who can't agree on what to do with a place...best to ask a Spaniard!

Back to the original thread...if you were to read in the UK press of immigrants to the UK who were wealthy enough to have bought property there but who are now crying poverty because they "can't" work (maybe because they can't speak adequate English to make them employable or because they'd "unwittingly" bought a house in the middle of the Yorkshire Moors, for example, where the chances of gainful employment are not great for anyone) would you all be happy to see them receive handouts?

[Jool]

Related to this subject there is a programme on BBC1 on Monday nights about EU and other immigrants in to the UK and jut how hard they have to work. Really opens your eyes to the reality of being an economic migrant.

[Troglodyfae]

I have just waded through this thread and I have mixed feelings. Obviously I am concerned for this family as there are kids involved and I think that no one here would want to think of these kids being without the basics in life.

I agree that the parents should have seen this coming, however hindsight is a wonderful thing. Could it be that they hoped, even prayed that things would come right and that they would get some sort of work etc?

I know what it is like when the rug is pulled from underneath you and often through no fault of your own. I had a friend...still have to be fair....who was doing very well here, and then suddenly his job was drying up on hours, so he took another to compensate for the lost hours. Before you know it both jobs went the way of bristols into the sun, and this guy is now without work. Not a silly or foolish man I have to add, and he did have some savings. He had a choice there and then to return to the UK, but he genuinely thought he could manage to get gainful employment again and in double quick time. Sadly he was wrong, and when the last of his money was spent he had to live on the street.

I heard about this via a 3rd party and I was so shocked. We as a family were not rich by any means, but we did have a spare bed and the food that was generally not eaten in our house could have been his.

Endgame was we searched for him on park benches, eventually found him and brought him back to our house. He stayed for a week whilst he got his act back together, he managed to sort our air fare home with help from family in the UK and went back and sorted himself out. This guy could not thank us enough for that small helping hand, he did return and he could not do enough to repay us. We genuinely did not want anything in return, but we have remained very good friends and I know if I picked up the phone today and said to him "we need your help" he would be here in a heartbeat.

Moral of this story is: anyone can fall on hard times and no amount of forward planning can cater for every event.

I think we need to cut this family some slack and see if there is anything as a collective we can do to help, at the very least see if there is a way we can find a way to get them back to the UK, don't you think?

[frog]

ok as a group,offer them 50 grand for the house,they get back to the uk and we as a forum sell the house on at a profit and donate it to the real needy people in the world

[metalmonkey]

Our bank told us that they were very dubious about giving mortgages to Brits as so many had just left the keys at the bank and returned to the UK

[mijas bound]

hilly, i would be happy to see people recieve handouts in the circumstances you desribe. from their own.

[Troglodyfae]

Our bank told us that they were very dubious about giving mortgages to Brits as so many had just left the keys at the bank and returned to the UK

I think you will find that Spanish Banks are loathe to give anyone a mortgage at the moment, irrespective of nationality.

[ICCSL]

Do you not explore? If you go out for a drive...well, anywhere really, or have a walk around any town or village, you will see empty, abandoned houses, falling into disrepair. There are 3 in my street alone, been like that for the 4 years I've lived here, much longer by the looks of them. Visit somewhere like Chimeneas or Alcala la Real or Alhama de Granada or Puente Genil.
Why? I can only surmise...lack of money to upkeep them, lack of work in the area, dislike of old, damp houses, illness/aging of the owners, multiple owners who can't agree on what to do with a place...best to ask a Spaniard!

My Spanish partner owns 7 houses all in the most amazing state of disrepair. If the houses falling down there could be quite a few reasons as to why but mainly it is because they do not believe in spending money on houses that they are not using or living in. I have often heard Brits ask "don't they realise that they would get more money for it if they maintained it?" They don't agree with that at all - if the house is in a village it will usually be standing on an urban plot. Urban plots are like gold dust now because realistically they are the only plots where you can build a brand new house and have practically no problems with planning. If the old ruin is registered in the campo, the land is worth more than the house, so it doesn't matter if it falls down !!! I will never, ever understand their logic but there it is.

[maddy]

How is it going Jenny? Has anything been sorted for them for the short term? I find myself thinking about this family every morning and do hope they have received some help from their family in England. Well done for all the help and support you have given them.

[El Cercardo]

Take a look at the latest edition of The Olive Press...there is a TV company offering free trips back to UK for folk contemplating jumping ship in Spain...there are email and phone details in the article

[Troglodyfae]

Mmm I find that quite sad that people are contemplating jumping ship as it were, although I do understand that many have very little choice. This may well be some sort of saving grace for this family should they choose to go this route. Whatever happens I hope there is a happy outcome for them or at least and acceptable outcome.