Hello Everybody ! - Page 2

Hi Mark I think the last comment about doing 90 days in the UK then 90 days in Spain might be a great option for you. Don’t forget that everything is still a bit up in the air following Brexit and I’m sure things may change in regards to required incomes etc. Spain might loose out considerably if they don’t adapt this. However it may be set by the European Union. 

My best advice is to travel over to the Costa Calida. Rent a place for a bit. On some of the golf courses you can pick up an apartment for around €450 a month. This will give you a base to explore. There’s loads of different areas. You’ll also meet people this way too and make valuable contacts. Find a good English speaking solicitor. In terms of La Manga I find it overrated as a destination. It’s basically a long wide strip of accommodation, shops and hotels. Very popular in the summer. You can be a bit isolated depending how far down you go. My best advice again is to try different things. We owned and lived on La Torre Golf Resort. It’s about 20 minutes from the coast but has everything you need including pubs, shops etc. We know a friend who is single and moved out with his two doggies last year. He loves it and has met so many people. If you want to buy you can pick up some great properties at reduced prices. The resort is stunning visually. There’s loads similar too so you might find your ideal location. A car is a must in most places. Good look. If you want a chat further about anything please message me. Mark. 

Some really good advice on here. Just to pick up on the cost of living enquiry:

Food - supermarkets similar prices to the UK. Restaurants generally a little cheaper. Alcohol a lot cheaper.

Buying a property - you need to allow 12%-13% on top of your purchase price to allow for all the costs. The key difference to the UK is property purchase tax which is 8% (as compared to approx. 1.5% for Stamp Duty).

Utilities - many properties are electricity only and electricity is a little more expensive than the UK. Obviously this depends on the size of the property and its facilities - so a pool (pump), aircon, etc. can increase your consumption significantly. You will need / have some form of heating as it can still be cold in the winter - many properties have wood burners; and modern aircon units can provide heat too. Water, broadband, home insurance costs are similar to the UK.

IBI, which is the equivalent of Council Tax, is only about 20% of the comparative cost in the UK.

Cars are slightly more expensive to buy and there is a less developed second-hand market, so less choice. Car tax is cheaper and fuel about 10% cheaper.

Hope this helps!

Was wondering who your health cover is with as planning to retire over to Spain soon?

Tha

Hi, my wife and I are both with Caser Seguros, this was arranged for us by Liberty Seguros in LA who have been processing our residencias for us and will sort our driving licences out for us.

They advised for residencia (as we are not at state pension age) only certain policies are accepted - for example the policy cannot have an excess etc.

We had seen DKV recommended on here, but our bank (Sabadell) were offering a promotion with Sanitas (which is part of BUPA) so we have gone with them. €1362 pa for two of us, no pre-existing conditions and we are aged 50 & 48.

Would you say, RichT (love the pun), that when you've taken into account all the plus and minus costs of living here, it works out at about the same cost as living in the UK.   We think so.  We save on so much eg 'council tax' but lose on electricity etc,.   

I think that overall day to day costs are lower. We don't live there full time yet, but when we do, we expect our electricity costs to be the same as the combined gas & electricity costs in the UK, as we require a lot less heating.

We expect our weekly food & drink shopping bill to decrease and car tax & fuel are lower.

The biggest difference is the IBI -v- council tax. Our IBI is the equivalent of £405pa, whereas our council tax in the UK was £3,000 pa, so we're saving £2,600pa.

However, our costs to purchase a £265k property were £32k, whereas in the UK, I would expect costs to be c.£6k, so it will take 10 years of IBI savings to break even on those costs.

The other consideration is your income - as referenced by other posts in this thread. You need to declare all worldwide income to be taxed in Spain (but there is a double taxation agreement with UK, so you can offset tax paid in the UK against tax due in Spain). I understand that tax rates are similar in Spain, although the personal allowances are lower. There are then further complications around Capital Gains Tax and if you take the 25% tax free element of a pension (which Spain doesn't consider tax free). I'm no expert in these areas, so I would recommend seeking professional advice.

Hi Rich,

We're living here and taking everything into consideration, not that we have done a full accounting, we would say with extra taxes to pay, increased expenditure on utilities; it was (and still is) a long, cold winter period increasing heating bill above and beyond normal winter bill in UK this year and  weekly expenses being on par (save a fortune on wine tho :-))  it will probably calculate out to be about the same as living expenses as in the UK.

The total cost of purchasing the villa was (with all legal fees etc.,) +14% of house price.   Pension incomes alone are taxed at +1% of total.  (UK 20%  -  Spain 21%  (and due to increase) so you have to pay the difference.  Offsets a big chunk of those 'savings.'  Private health insurance.   Or contributions to all drugs/medications which are very expensive in Spain.  Dental & optician treatments are twice the cost of UK ...  Etc,.

If ppl consider moving here and anticipate their living costs will be the same as living in the UK - and they manage do it cheaper then that will be a lovely surprise. 

"However, our costs to purchase a £265k property were £32k, whereas in the UK, I would expect costs to be c.£6k, so it will take 10 years of IBI savings to break even on those costs."

Bear in mind also that if/when you come to sell estate agents are way over the usual UK rate of 1-2% - we have ben quoted 5% - so selling a £265k property would cost you as vendor £13,250. With property prices at best staying the same and more probably dropping you would be unlikely to be able to add this to your advertised price. Property in Spain is not an investment.

It shows why you should always rent before buying, giving you the opportunity to make sure what you buy is really where you want to live for the foreseeable future.

Pete C,

Good point, but how do you all rate the actual real estate prices eg a two bed/single bedroom apartment say 500 metres from beach UK vs Spain or what does €90 or 220k buy, with all up costs in both cases.

Comparative real estate prices bear on lifestyles.