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17 Feb 2013 7:06 AM by breffco Star rating in London . 3 posts Send private message

breffco´s avatar
Hi,I am new to the forum
My wife and I are currently looking at moving to The costa blanca south area we have visited Quesda/Dona Pepe/Rojales/villamartin and Orihuela over the past 6 months.All property's we have looked at ( 3 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse / villa ) are very nice and some offer very good plot size.  I am hoping that someone can help us within these areas relating to -:
 
Comm/Suma costs of the property's per Annam
Insurance of property ( a rough guide )
Require Internet connection ( package deal for phone/mobile/Internet )
Electricity ( again a rough guide)
Gas ( again rough guide of costs )
Water rates ( rough guide of costs )
Health care ( again rough costs )
Sky tv package deals ( will be bringing own box )
Vets( local)
Furniture package deal companies
Car running costs plus insurance/mot/tax ( we will bring over our Car from UK to start with )
If there is anything missed from the above please be free to ad
 
My wife is currently a school teacher in the UK and she would like to continue, hopefully on a part time basis so any help on that would be fantastic.For myself I work for one of the biggest retailers in the UK and had enough of working 24/7 as this has effected my health over the past 2 months ( but not serious ) and the doctors have told me to slow down and chill
many thanks   Breffco




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17 Feb 2013 9:44 AM by Mailpoint_Dave Star rating in Algorfa. 3 posts Send private message

Hi

here is a tip for you and I do not regularly post.

Just come here, rent for 3/6 months then move for another 3/6 months. Use furnished accomodation. Walk the area, try the bars and restaurants, find out how it is on weekends and at night. Talk to people, everyone you meet will have an opinion. Check out the amenties, check out what might happen - rubbish tips etc have to be somewhere!

The answers to all of your lengthy list will become clear and more accurate as you will have first hand experience. Treat is as an adventure.

There is very little work here, be very clear that the unemployment rates are NOT made up. It is real and it is bad.

It is a great place to live and work, climate, people and lifestyle - for me- are hard to beat.

Please do not plan it to death, it will go wrong - in spades. Just read some of the brilliant blogs here.

 

Good Luck.

Dave



_______________________
Dave Mailpoint - Algorfa www.mailpoint.es



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17 Feb 2013 10:37 AM by Rossetti Star rating in Oxford and Zurich. 124 posts Send private message

Excellent advise from Dave.

Renting (all inclusive if you can get it) is a good way to go. rents at the moment are VERY low when compared to other countries and tere are deals to be done.

We rent in Sotogrande and although we have been here a short time moving was easy from France and every day is an adventure as we find out new things about the area and Spain in general.

The point about work is well made and I suspect it will get worse in the short medium term.

Just come over and enjoy the experience.

Rossetti





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17 Feb 2013 2:53 PM by acer Star rating. 1538 posts Send private message

It is good advice up to a point but I wouldn't hang about too long in deciding what you wish to do.  There are already a few signs of a recovery - there's been a few sales recently near me including a place that has been unoccupied since it was built in 2005.  You never know, but if I were in your position I wouldn't sign up for a long lease - 6 month renewable would be better.

Good luck.



_______________________
Don't argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.



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17 Feb 2013 5:01 PM by johnzx Star rating in Spain. 5242 posts Send private message

Acer,
                   f I were a betting man, I’d bet that the market has a long way down to go before a true recovery sets in. But that of course is a guess, albeit, an unbiased one.
 





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17 Feb 2013 5:07 PM by bobaol Star rating. 2253 posts Send private message

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 Well, there's a list and a half.  Obviously each area will be different.  As you said you've looked in the Rojales/Quesada area, here are some that I can answer:

Comm/Suma costs of the property's per Annam
Will obviously be different for the area.  In the Rojales (which covers Quesada and Dona Pepa) the IBI (local tax) is based on the registry valuation.  This will not be the price you pay, a little like housing bands for council tax in UK.  This is around 1% of the registry valuation.  Ours is valued at 210,000 (not worth that anymore) and the IBI is €201 per year.  For community charges, it depends on the community.  Some as little as 200 euros others pushing 1,000 euros depending on facilities, lifts, swimming pools, gardens etc so it's pointless to quote those.  You need to ask someone in the community you are looking at.
Insurance of property ( a rough guide )
Our buildings and contents insurance was €220 last year.  Look around, there are lots of companies all trying for your business.  Try to avoid the bank as they are most expensive.  There are UK companies that will provide this.
Require Internet connection ( package deal for phone/mobile/Internet )
Lots of deals going round.  Telefonica is the Spanish national provider but plenty of others providing the packages.  Lots advertise in the free papers and can be anything from 20 to 60 euros a month.
Electricity ( again a rough guide)
This has gone up (as it has everywhere).  It was about 80 euros a month but, looking at latest bills, we have now budgeted for 100 euros a month.  Included aircon, heating and hot water.
Gas ( again rough guide of costs )
None of the areas you mention have mains gas.  You would be stuck with bottled gas.  
Water rates ( rough guide of costs )
All metered.  Depends on a lot of things like if you have your own swimming pool and so on.  Living here permanently ours are about 240 euros a year.
Health care ( again rough costs )
Depends on your circumstances.  You will get around 2 years free if you have paid NI in UK up until you leave.  After that you will not get it free until one of you reaches retirement age.  In the areas you are talking about, the system is constantly changing and you can either pay 90 euros a month or wait until they change the system again as they are talking of bringing in free healthcare for all residents.  Prescriptions cost 40% of the cost of the item or 10% if you are a pensioner/classed as disabled up to a maximum of 8 euros per month.  I'm not sure if there's any cap on the under pensionable age prescriptions but chronic medication is less.
Sky tv package deals ( will be bringing own box )
Receiving Sky is against the terms and conditions in Spain.  Lots of people do it but most rely on freesat.  You can get a copied card share but it will be on the quiet.  Sky won't provide a card to a Spanish address.  Dish installation depends on the size of the dish and so on.  1.4m dish with receiver around 350 euros but lots of deals.
Vets( local)
There are plenty of vets in the areas you have mentioned but I don't know the charges, sorry.
Furniture package deal companies
If you buy a resale property, they generally come furnished.  There are companies like Arca which will completely furnish your house from around 600 euros but it's quite poor quality.  Loads of other companies around.
Car running costs plus insurance/mot/tax ( we will bring over our Car from UK to start with )
Depends on your car.  Insurance is about the same as UK but you get breakdown insurance included.  Petrol about £1.20 (1.40 euros yesterday) a litre (95 unleaded) but goes up and down like a pair of gigolo's jeans.  Car tax - depends on HP and a fiscal horsepower is given to each car.  My Ford Focus 1.8 is 46.20 euros a year.  Each province has a different charge depending on how much they need for that year.  If you bring your own car and intend to keep it as a resident, you have a month in which to transfer it to Spanish plates which could cost about a thousand euros (new headlights, fog lights changed sides, registration fees etc).  If you don't intend to keep it here, older second hand cars are expensive compared to UK.  New and up to about 3 years old are similar in price.
 
As said, renting is a good way forward with a very good 3 bed townhouse at about 500 euros a month and others even cheaper.  Jobs are extremely difficult to get and non-existent if you don't speak Spanish unless you want bar work (at about 4 euros an hour) or self employed but then you have to pay just over 250 euros a month social security whether you have money coming in or not.  My bills, everything with no rent or mortgage, comes to about 300 euros a month.  That's electric, water, community charge, IBI, insurances, petrol and so on.  You can live comfortably on 1000 euros a month (see other posts) but, of course, you may need more for the odd trip back to UK to see the family and so on.  Getting the paperwork sorted is not as difficult as some make out especially if you come under the Rojales area as they are very helpful for the council registry (padron) and the SIP (health card).  
Again, as said, don't overthink it and plan too much.  There are thousands and thousands of us Brits over here enjoying ourselves.  For some it has gone disastrously wrong with illegal builds, agents and builders going bust, missing family and so on.  Try renting for 6 months and see if you fit in before burning your bridges.  Property is very cheap at the moment and are about half the price they were 4 or 5 years ago or more.  





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17 Feb 2013 5:15 PM by TamaraEssex Star rating in Colmenar, Malaga. 508 posts Send private message

TamaraEssex´s avatar

 Bob has referred to this - if you use the search facility at the top right of Eye on Spain and look for a thread called something like "Living in Spain on €1000 or less", it has very useful information on the costs of utilities, car journeys, insurance, pet chipping etc.  The general concensus was that you can live perfectly comfortably on less than €1000, and significantly less if you own your home outright.  

Unlike many others who emphasise that the market may drop further and so you shouldn't buy until it hits rock bottom, I personally feel that you buy when you find the house that you feel will become your home.  I bought in July last year and didn't regret it at all!



_______________________

 Blog about settling into a village house in the Axarquía. http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/tamara.aspx




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17 Feb 2013 6:11 PM by acer Star rating. 1538 posts Send private message

OK Johnzx, yes I keep on hearing that property prices are still to fall further - but I struggle to see the logic. 

The cost of the component parts of land, materials and labour to build new homes will not decrease.  So surely when the current current glut has been sold the price will increase.  There will always be a demand and no builder can provide new homes at a lower price than the total of these costs.

Many houses are currently being sold at less than their replacement cost.  But that won't go on for ever.  When the current excess supply runs out prices will most surely increase.  Spain will always be a place that those from northen Europe wish to move to or own a second property, so my guess is that the recovery will be sooner than some suggest.

 



_______________________
Don't argue with an idiot, he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.



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17 Feb 2013 6:34 PM by tamaraessex Star rating in Colmenar, Malaga. 508 posts Send private message

tamaraessex´s avatar
I'm with Acer on this. And anyway, as I've written elsewhere when this issue comes up - it makes a big difference if someone is buying for investment or buying to live. Maybe I might have saved a couple of thousand euros if I'd waited a year or two - BUT I'D HAVE MISSED OUT ON A YEAR OR TWO IN SPAIN! And what price that?

_______________________

 Blog about settling into a village house in the Axarquía. http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/tamara.aspx




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19 Feb 2013 9:33 AM by breffco Star rating in London . 3 posts Send private message

breffco´s avatar
I would like to thank all for there feedback
I spoke to the estate agent end of last week on the property we was interested in and required a breakdown if possible of the following-
 
Comm tax /Summa Tax ( this was property in villamartin}/Water /Electricity /Gas /Insurance/Internet/Phone /mobile Sky food/Drink /car
Yesterday evening I had a reply ,It does not include spending money came to around 7235 euros per year around 603 euros per month this was from the owners. Also I have read the discussions relating to "Living in Spain on €1000 or less",
 
I have also spoke to our local vets relating to the move about our border collie x and there are no problems there.On healthcare just waiting for replys of mails sent last week


 


This message was last edited by breffco on 19/02/2013.



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