Are you thinking of selling up !

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Julie
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Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Julie » Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:14 pm

Not looking any better :(

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a35c9bf0-45e5 ... z2F3y0W5Jb
No soporto ver la casa sucia, ahora mismo me levanto y apago la luz.

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knowal
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby knowal » Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:40 pm

There's a paywall for that article. Boo!

sujee
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby sujee » Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:00 am

I don't care if house prices fall to zero. This is our home not a financial investment and if we want to move it will be in Spain therefore will make no difference as we will be buying in the same market.

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country boy
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby country boy » Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:30 am

:thumbup:

Laslomas
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Laslomas » Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:53 am

I believe part of the problem that has stagnated the housing market is that people do not usually move (within an area) as they do in UK to move up the property ladder. Spain relied over the boom years on people moving into Spain as first time buyers or investors

In the UK a family may decide to move from a terraced property to a semi, or a semi to a detached, or from a 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom, etc. as a normal progression by investing an extra 20k - 50k or more into their next home. In Spain to simply move to a house of the exact same value as the one already owned will cost an extra 10 - 11% on top which could be that 20k - 50k investment. This is due to the costs and taxes involved in buying a house, so they just do not do it unless they need to move to another area. If they did decide to move just reinvesting the money from the home they sell they will be gradually slipping down the property ladder. :thumbdown:

katy
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby katy » Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:12 pm

sujee wrote:I don't care if house prices fall to zero. This is our home not a financial investment and if we want to move it will be in Spain therefore will make no difference as we will be buying in the same market.
Well said by someone who has been living there 9 months :D

A spanish friends Son thought the same re. moving. They bought a 2/2 apartment on marrying. They now have 2 toddlers and are desperate for something larger. Problem is they can't sell at any price, been on sale 3.5 yrs and have gradually reduced. There is a joke going around in marbella now...they say there IBI bill will soon be higher than the value of their property.

frank
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby frank » Sat Dec 15, 2012 1:39 pm

katy wrote:
sujee wrote:I don't care if house prices fall to zero. This is our home not a financial investment and if we want to move it will be in Spain therefore will make no difference as we will be buying in the same market.
Well said by someone who has been living there 9 months :D

.
I must admit I thought the same. :lol: True if you're not selling it doesn't really matter that much, but it's still reassuring to know that your property is worth at least what you paid for it just in case the unexpected does happen. It might not be an investment but I'm sure nobody wants to see the value of their property drop through the floor. And if you can't sell, the price is immaterial anyway. Hopefully it'll work out well for them, but we've all seen new people come on here waxing lyrical about everything in Spain, only to end up writing from UK when things haven't worked out.
Regards, Frank

No soy residente, simplemente un turista, ¿qué sé yo?

Dr1Gonzo
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Dr1Gonzo » Sat Dec 15, 2012 1:43 pm

frank wrote:
katy wrote:
sujee wrote:I don't care if house prices fall to zero. This is our home not a financial investment and if we want to move it will be in Spain therefore will make no difference as we will be buying in the same market.
Well said by someone who has been living there 9 months :D

.
I must admit I thought the same. :lol: True if you're not selling it doesn't really matter that much, but it's still reassuring to know that your property is worth at least what you paid for it just in case the unexpected does happen. It might not be an investment but I'm sure nobody wants to see the value of their property drop through the floor. And if you can't sell, the price is immaterial anyway. Hopefully it'll work out well for them, but we've all seen new people come on here waxing lyrical about everything in Spain, only to end up writing from UK when things haven't worked out.
problem is that property prices have been pushed well above what they shouldhave been by cheap mortgages and people who over extended themselves.
Not too mention all the debt that countries are in, can't see it improving much anywhere.

sujee
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby sujee » Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:35 am

I take your point that we haven't been here that long but we have never felt more settled than we do now. Our decision to move here wasn't based on a couple of holidays but carefully researched. We have the lifestyle we want, the people we care about can visit as often as they choose. It does sound a bit rose tinted, yet we have embraced the drawbacks and are trying to absorb the language and culture. Hubby goes back every couple of months for work and says as soon as he steps off the plane he counts the hours to getting back and that he has only 2 more years left before he won't need to go back. I haven't been back at all nor do I want to go. :D

We have spoken to many people who returned to UK and have taken losses on their property and none of their reasons for doing so will ever apply to us. Spain is now our home and will be for the rest of our lives. :thumbup:

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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby allgram » Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:23 am

Well done and well said sujee, my O.H. and I heartedly agree with you, too many people wear the "rose tinted,holiday glasses, we retired here and have been back to the U.K. once in nearly four years now,this is our home and we love it all.
allgram.

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costakid
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby costakid » Sun Dec 16, 2012 10:02 am

Julie, Can you copy and paste the article as I cant open it.

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Julie
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Julie » Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:45 pm

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a35c9bf0-45e5 ... z2FEKrpsoj
Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Edit -- Article deleted. It specifically asked that you do not cut and paste or repost on the web.

Copyright laws do apply in Spain so please refrain from doing it in future. Sid
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Free at Last » Sun Dec 16, 2012 5:03 pm

So, if prices more than doubled in the 10 years up to 2007, and have fallen by a quarter since 2008, anybody who bought in the late '90s is still well in profit, then?

The trouble with all these articles about the Spanish property crash is that they relate to the market for the whole of Spain. Including those thousands of blocks of flats on the outskirts of cities and towns, and the whole "new towns" built and never occupied - places where expat buyers never were and never will be attracted to buy. And the lending policies of Spanish banks don't have a huge impact on the majority of expat buyers, either, as I don't think most people buy with Spanish mortgages when they come here - most are either selling up in their home countries or using equity in their properties there to fund the purchase of their Spanish properties.

Of course prices have declined everywhere over the last 4 years - but only people who bought at or near the top of the market and now want to sell for whatever reason are really affected by that. Any "paper profit" we might all have been thinking we'd made on our houses is just that - not a reality and does not represent an actual loss. Given what's happened to interest rates over the same period, we wouldn't have been a whole lot better off if we'd kept the money in the bank, either.

So no, I'm not thinking of selling up. I like it here, after living here full time for six years and in spite of all that's happened since then. We were talking to an elderly neighbour this morning and she was asking, very puzzled, when the Swedish people who have just bought the house opposite hers would be coming back as she finds it difficult to understand people buying houses and going away and leaving them standing empty. "They're not like you", she said and gave me a hug. It makes me happy that people think we're part of the community and not just in it for holidays in the sun or a profit on an investment.

Free at Last
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby Free at Last » Sun Dec 16, 2012 5:03 pm

Duplicate post, sorry

katy
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby katy » Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:01 pm

OH has just been having a gander on here...he says Julie is off message. Don't talk about the war etc. :wink: :lol:

ladymuck
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby ladymuck » Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:38 pm

Think twice before coming back, especially if you need to rent or want a mortgage, you will need 2 or 3 years very good accounts and i mean very very good. can get 5 per cent deposit mortgages but 10% plus is the norm. new property deals are ok if a 10 x 10 master bedroom is acceptable.
Renting is as tough as getting a mortgage they check you out with a company called homelet who are liable to get the information wrong twice, credit rating, work records , and anything else they can check, you must get lots of credit to build your credit rating up.
and you are spoken to like a bit of rubbish, most rentals are dumps 1970s bathrooms and kitchens
no pets, kids or smoking, breathing is allowed I think.
I hate being back and now realise I loved spain warts and all

I know live amongst brain washed people and free speech dosent happen.

masterob
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby masterob » Wed Dec 19, 2012 12:11 am

Ladymuck, I'm confused, are you referring to Spain?

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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby ladymuck » Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:02 pm

Duh of course not. just warning those selling up or not what to expect on their return. :wtf:

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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby frank » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:55 am

ladymuck wrote:Duh of course not. just warning those selling up or not what to expect on their return. :wtf:
In this and other forums we've had many returning expats, and they mostly tell a different story to you. So Spain didn't meet your expectations, UK certainly doesn't, why not try somewhere else? I think you'd probably run out of world before you did find somewhere that was perfect for you. :D I think you'll find the problem a lot nearer to home. Let's us know when you've found Shanghai-La, we'll all join you.
Regards, Frank

No soy residente, simplemente un turista, ¿qué sé yo?

katy
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Re: Are you thinking of selling up !

Postby katy » Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:04 am

I know a couple who went back. Anyone like Lady muck who wants to would go back with a nice little nest egg now if they sold at a decent price when they left :)


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