Are you thinking of selling up !
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Been to Madrid a few times and have always found it friendly,in fact the only place I've visited so far that I didn't like was Barcelona but that is because I thought it was too big and sprawling and not anything to do with feeling theatened in anyway.
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
I have felt safe in both UK and Spain. We go up to London a couple of times per month and come back late at night and have never even seen any incidents. Not to say there aren't bad things happening but they are in areas I wouldn't want to go to! Likewise in Málaga, there are plenty of no-go areas but never been in them. Cities are the same the world over, the bad areas attract all the riff-raff. There is a place in Marbella called Las Alberizas, full of druggies and gyppos and I wouldn't even park my car there
There are plenty of reasons to move to Spain but citing crime and unemployment is jumping out of the frying pan into the fire
There are plenty of reasons to move to Spain but citing crime and unemployment is jumping out of the frying pan into the fire
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
We drove through I think it is Torreblanca on the outskirts of Sevilla, it was SCARY I prayed hubby did not stall the car!
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Are you thinking of selling up... No.
Should I be?
Cheers
Gerry
Should I be?
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Are you thinking of selling up... No.
Should I be?
Only you know that Lol !
Should I be?
Only you know that Lol !
No soporto ver la casa sucia, ahora mismo me levanto y apago la luz.
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Where people feel happy/comfortable is mostly an individual thing, however there are some objective realities that impact on whether you are happy somewhere or not, I think I would probably agree with lady muck re UK although I still choose to live there on and off (in London), I'm in my 50s and still feel the buz of a big city too hard to resist, I equally like Madrid for the same reason, however when I'm in Spain I live in La Linea close to my family, I have noticed that for older people there is still a real sense of community, obviously the weather probably helps, my mother is always out with her friends in the many bars and cafes and she regularly goes out dancing til the early hours, something I doubt very much she would be doing in the UK. There are quite a lot of (cheap) activities laid on for older people, much of it organised by the community. Recently my daughter decided to come here to live, mainly to find work, which she did within a month in Gibraltar. I think Spain is great, if you have an income, probably better than the UK but it really does depend on the individual and how connected they are to friends, family and their local community, ultimately I think that is what makes you feel happy and secure above all else, I would argue that that is easier in Spain but not always.
don't turn your dream into reality or it could turn in to your worst nightmare!
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
At the moment I wouldn't sell in Spain, even if I wanted to. sales have been pretty dire since about 2007 (where I lived). I know lots of people who have had their properties on sale for years. Surely the situation can't last much longer. Perhaps in a year or so the market may turn around so better to wait than take a steep cut now.
My point to Lady Muck was that if she wanted to go back and had sold in Spain 2 or 3 years ago then she could sell up in the UK and return with a nice little nest egg Properties like the one we sold are now asking 250,000 less! I had a card this Xmas from someone who returned to the UK. It said hope the weather in the UK is better in 2013 or we will emigrate again, but not to Spain!
My point to Lady Muck was that if she wanted to go back and had sold in Spain 2 or 3 years ago then she could sell up in the UK and return with a nice little nest egg Properties like the one we sold are now asking 250,000 less! I had a card this Xmas from someone who returned to the UK. It said hope the weather in the UK is better in 2013 or we will emigrate again, but not to Spain!
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Seems as though I was wrong about picking up next year, if this is to be believed
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... owing.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... owing.html
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
GUS ,,,, seems i forgot to reply to your horrible post. new properties, many of them have very small bedrooms, maybe you live in a tiny flat and these sizes are your norm, have you looked at any ? obviously not.
Dont insult me because you dont agree with me , who the hell are you? obviously very self important.
In future if i bother to post you are excluded from every thing i post .
My opinion is my opinion of which i am entitled to , so pipe down and go play with the traffic.
To the nice replies of which there wernt many I thank you for respecting my opinion .
Gus is obviously a perfect person
Dont insult me because you dont agree with me , who the hell are you? obviously very self important.
In future if i bother to post you are excluded from every thing i post .
My opinion is my opinion of which i am entitled to , so pipe down and go play with the traffic.
To the nice replies of which there wernt many I thank you for respecting my opinion .
Gus is obviously a perfect person
- scampicat
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Having sold in Spain, (made a tiny profit ) and moved back to the UK the only things I miss from Spain are the blue skies and the thing I find difficult in the UK are the dark nights at this time of year in the UK, it is dark for so long!
I liked living in our little Spanish village and remember the people there with fondness, but for me it's a case of 'been there, done that, had enough, now back again to do something else'.
Everybody will have their own different experiences.
So in answer to the OP 'Are you thinking of selling up', the answer is that we always intended to at some point and luckily sold it, at an acceptable price, to the first viewers.
I liked living in our little Spanish village and remember the people there with fondness, but for me it's a case of 'been there, done that, had enough, now back again to do something else'.
Everybody will have their own different experiences.
So in answer to the OP 'Are you thinking of selling up', the answer is that we always intended to at some point and luckily sold it, at an acceptable price, to the first viewers.
- scampicat
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Agree with this postpigs-might-fly wrote:We returned to the UK after over 10 very happy years in Spain.
We do not regret our return to "home" one iota.
We miss our friends and the sun, but nothing else.
We are glad to be out of the eurozone, too!
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
Better get in quick then.....
According to today's Telegraph, prices in Spain have another 30% to fall !
anyroads.
According to today's Telegraph, prices in Spain have another 30% to fall !
anyroads.
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
The Mail says 50%.anyroads wrote:Better get in quick then.....
According to today's Telegraph, prices in Spain have another 30% to fall !
anyroads.
Dave
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
"The Mail says 50%."
That is tomorrow !
anyroads
That is tomorrow !
anyroads
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
A few days ago I saw our old house up for sale on the internet, for less than half the money the people paid us for it.anyroads wrote:"The Mail says 50%."
That is tomorrow !
anyroads
Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
For a lot of Brits, it all depends what you paid in pounds for the house. If for example you bought for €200,000 in 2002, with the exchange rate then, the house cost £132,000.
If you sold it now for €150,000 and transferred into pounds you would have £121,500.
It's still a loss but not as bad as is being made out. The loss is £10,500. Had you rented instead of buying (at roughly €500 per month), you would have outlaid €6,000 a year. That translates into €60,000 over the ten year period. Compare that to your £10,500 "loss" and it puts everything into perspective.
The ones I feel most sorry for are the Spaniards who were encouraged by their banks to take out 125% mortgages and now find themselves out of work. Even if they managed to sell the house, what they would receive wouldn't pay off the mortgage.
Addendum ... I paid £32,000 for our house in 1989. I don't believe it would sell for much less now!
If you sold it now for €150,000 and transferred into pounds you would have £121,500.
It's still a loss but not as bad as is being made out. The loss is £10,500. Had you rented instead of buying (at roughly €500 per month), you would have outlaid €6,000 a year. That translates into €60,000 over the ten year period. Compare that to your £10,500 "loss" and it puts everything into perspective.
The ones I feel most sorry for are the Spaniards who were encouraged by their banks to take out 125% mortgages and now find themselves out of work. Even if they managed to sell the house, what they would receive wouldn't pay off the mortgage.
Addendum ... I paid £32,000 for our house in 1989. I don't believe it would sell for much less now!
Dave
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
A rare occurance Dave......but I agree with your post. A lot of these "losses" especially with your example of people buying in circa 2002 are paper losses. Someone who paid 200k in that year will have seen "similar" properties advertised in the rags over the next 4 or 5 years at silly prices........300k and more.....and firmly believed theirs was worth that too..............they included this paper profit in their nest eggs I firmly believe. I know because I have heard expats grumbling over there that they can't sell their properties................but they'd sell them if they advertised them at what they paid for them, instead they stick with a price that was conjured up 5 ago, ridiculous in these times and very false
I also agree with your rental comments.................If a couple have the cash to buy a property over there whether it be like us as a holiday home, or to live there full time I can't get my head around comments from people who say "don't buy,rent".......why?...it's pouring money down the pit IMHO.
If we wanted to sell our place I could make it the cheapest 3 bed 2 bath with pool and land in the classifieds, a price I know we'd sell at, recession or no recession.......and still break even.......especially with as you point out the reverse in the £v Euro equation.
We've no intentions of selling as it was never an "investment", it was a hobby/pastime call it what you will, we'll sell when the novelty has worn thin, which it hasn't yet.................but if the need arose to sell there would be no greed involved on our behalf,..........a trait I can see with some trying to sell at present.
I also agree with your rental comments.................If a couple have the cash to buy a property over there whether it be like us as a holiday home, or to live there full time I can't get my head around comments from people who say "don't buy,rent".......why?...it's pouring money down the pit IMHO.
If we wanted to sell our place I could make it the cheapest 3 bed 2 bath with pool and land in the classifieds, a price I know we'd sell at, recession or no recession.......and still break even.......especially with as you point out the reverse in the £v Euro equation.
We've no intentions of selling as it was never an "investment", it was a hobby/pastime call it what you will, we'll sell when the novelty has worn thin, which it hasn't yet.................but if the need arose to sell there would be no greed involved on our behalf,..........a trait I can see with some trying to sell at present.
Property owner in Andalucia since 2002. How time flies.
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !
I agree with Mowser and Devil's Advocate.
I know 3 British couples who have had their houses on the market for over 4 years now, with no success. In every case, they bought around the same time we did, in 2003. The houses were put up for sale in 2007/2008 at around 70% more than they had paid - and not one of them had spent any money improving the properties in the meantime.
During the last 2 years, I know another 3 people who HAVE sold houses in the same area (bought around the same time) for a small profit on the prices they paid (after allowing for taxes etc) and all of them sold within 6 months - one actually sold within 2 weeks with no estate agent involved, just a Se Vende sign.
The ones who have not sold have since been forced to reduce their asking prices, but still won't bring them down to the level that would actually be attractive to buyers. And there seem to be plenty of them around, mostly Scandinavians in this area.
I know 3 British couples who have had their houses on the market for over 4 years now, with no success. In every case, they bought around the same time we did, in 2003. The houses were put up for sale in 2007/2008 at around 70% more than they had paid - and not one of them had spent any money improving the properties in the meantime.
During the last 2 years, I know another 3 people who HAVE sold houses in the same area (bought around the same time) for a small profit on the prices they paid (after allowing for taxes etc) and all of them sold within 6 months - one actually sold within 2 weeks with no estate agent involved, just a Se Vende sign.
The ones who have not sold have since been forced to reduce their asking prices, but still won't bring them down to the level that would actually be attractive to buyers. And there seem to be plenty of them around, mostly Scandinavians in this area.
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