What would you do differently?

I have not said I am unhappy in Spain. My wife and I have had a great 10 years. We made a mistake by not having a home back home. To be able to come and go as you wish would be great. Hotels can be quite expensive even the Premier Inns. Grand children create a big pull and one would be very insensitive to say otherwise. So back to the original question. Would I change anything? As I have already stated have something back home. We are working on it. Apart from that and a few petty gripes which are unimportant I honestly would not change any thing.

What would we do differently? So much, we knew large areas of Spain previously, travelling 25 yrs in mitorhome, we should have rented t least 6 months, then spent time finding ideal solution, but bought a plot, prices to build, via Brit developers, swapped for plot outside village, then the law changed, land not urban, can't build! Stuck! Through good Spanish friends we swapped for hill with huge cave - spent last ten years creating huge cavehouse - should have 1) waited, 2) got an Abogado, 3) had an architect, 4) had a total budget/ price of build, 5) found out about AVE route ( straight through! Without compensation!) 6) learnt Spanish from beginning .  

We did downsize keeping place in UK, now spending more time for grandkids, but feel priviledged to have such a fantastic project, not in the Brit ghettos, not worried about communities, we know many Spanish, enjoy our chats with them, love the a la brasa food, this experience has been a frustrating, challenging but amazing, exhausting costly 13 years.

btw, agree that Spanish admin, data systems, banking, legal practices and planning laws are wide open to corruption which is rife, part of the culture, but will never change. 

Like angeonline I bought a plot doing all the required checks and making sure all was in order, only to find before I could begin building (thank god) that the Junta had reclassified the land as rural. 11 years on The town hall don't give a toss and when applied to are quite happy to grant a building permit unfortunately the Junta don't agree and I am still waiting for their agreement to building an Almacen (half living and half storage).  would never buy land again. But I do love living in rural Spain I couldn't live in the costas sends me running for the hills every time I have to go there.

The reason a lot of Spanish in our village don't make particular friends with foreigners is not because they are not friendly but that they were all born there and have known each other from birth so they don't even think about making new friends. However they are more than willing to chat and have been very helpful to me. You can't walk down the street without every body you pass wishing you good morning.

If I did it again I would rent for a at least a year and then buy a property that was already built.

Angelina, Hummingbird and Candy Floss good to see your messages, Ads positive too. You know it is all out there if you look for it as I said your local Ayumento has some good outings, the local schools have language courses again with outings -the ;local bus services are great and very reasonably priced,  I really think those that are unhappy in Spain will be unhappy anywhere other than England. France and Italy have their own little peculiarities you just have to adjust to your country of living. For me Viva la Spana

Reading other comments makes me realise how lucky I have been overall. I bought an apartment in Lo Pagan last year which was a good price because it was in very poor condition.The agent was helpful and found me a great spanish builder who proved very reliable, cost effective and a source of incredibly useful advice. My spanish neighbours have also been incredibly welcoming.

The one thing I would have changed however is the firm of solicitors I used, who were recommended by the estate agent. They were slap dash, overpromised, & consistently failed to deliver. In the end I fired them and hired the finca manager to sort out things like new electric and water meters - he proved far more efficient and much much cheaper.

I think the best advice is trust your gut instinct when hiring people

"...adjust to your country of living. For me Viva la Spana" 

Oh dear!

Roberto perhaps there is a language barrier as I don't understand your comment "oh dear" all I was trying to say was that if you come to live in a country then abide by their customs and their way of living, this apply's to any country you move to, I have lived in both India and Africa and wouldn't dream of not respecting their customs it makes it much easier to make friends if you do.

 I really think those that are unhappy in Spain will be unhappy anywhere other than England.

I think this comment is both very inaccurate and very ignorant. People who are happy here often refuse to understand why others might not be and therefore assume that these people are impossible to please. Many have come to Spain with the best intentions... buying a house, learning the language, mixing with the locals and being happy and have unfortunately been badly let down by the country, it's laws and it's people. These aren't really peculiarities are they?

Well said fartharder we all have different aspirations and should respect what other people at want to do. People thought we were mad to go and live in Spain. We have had a great time and experienced living  in a different country. We have made new friends from and seen many different cities and villages. Life has been an adventure. If after10 years we decide to return to the UK we do it for many reasons. Not because we are unhappy here. It was never our intention to end our days in Spain. We have family and friends in the UK and grand children in Holland. Travelling regularly to both countries is both tiring and expensive. We hate waiting around at airports. The jobsworths who do their best to make it a miserable experience. If and when prices improve as we are told they will and agents stop underselling property then we may be able to sell and buy something reasonable in the South of England. In ythe meantime we will carry on with our lives and enjoying what Spain has to offer.

Rule number one - respecting your adopted country's culture / customs etc.:

Learn how to spell the name of the country. 

anthomo16, I'm just teasing. Please don't take offence.

Roberto you wouldn't have said it unless you wanted to give offence but honey I have met idiots like you all over the world. I wish you well 

Farthardy, I am sorry that you find me ignorant and I am also sorry that you haven't experienced the rich culture of Spain, the beautiful countryside and the marvellous humour of the local community. If you remain in Spain I would be more than happy to help find out anything you would like to know from local fiestas where you can join in (cost nothing) to finding out what facilities are available in your area which you can enjoy. I am being sincere here.  I don't know your age but please believe me Spain is much kinder to ageing bodies than the cold and rain of England. England where everyone shuts their door as soon as the evenings draw in - no sitting outside on your terrace watching the world go by. England where you daren't walk alone at night. I used to love England but now I am frightened by what is going on. I hope you find happiness wherever you end up.

Bit patronising. Never mind, I can take it, unlike some. Viva The Spanner! 

Is this the right room for an argument? 

Simple,  Don't buy.  Find a property and rent it for three months.  You will soon find out if you are going to settle.  Remember this is not a holiday.

Looking back I wish we never brought our house, the agents spin a wonderful tale but don't tell you the costs both to buy and afterwards.  THe taxes the fees when you buy.  These alone could pay your rent for two or three years, then you have community fees the macro fees. IBI  not forgetting income tax form 210. then my pet hate haveing to deal with Endesa and Acosol and worst of all Telifonca

Property anywhere is a capital investment. It's pointless investing in such a vehicle if no financial returns can be expected. If you only seek a holiday rent or stay in hotels where the financial headache belongs to others.

In Spain the market is broken. Vested interests will tell you otherwise but broken it is and will remain so until the national economy returns to financial norms. There is a school of thought that the Eurozone will in fact never do that.

Buying a holiday home will inflict huge overheads on you that you will be stuck with for good. To obtain a financial return you would need around 6-7% capital appreciation annually to cover your costs and losses. That is just not going to happen. So why do folks do it? I have my theories, what are yours.

Of course immigration is another thing altogether. Then you buy a home but without the experience of your own country you are almost always going to make a mistake. Rent for at least a year in the place where you want to buy. I guarantee, unless you are extraordinary fortunate at the end of that time you will go and buy somewhere else.

If a Spaniard came to my neck of the woods and attempted to purchase a property they could be forgiven for thinking that they were on Mars. I was talking to a guy the other day who's mate had his offer accepted on an early Victorian methodist chapel, it had residential permission so he had plans drawn up and submitted them prior to completion. The plans were accepted but he noticed a codicil that could have been easily missed, it stated that the property could only be used for residential purposes in respect of it being rented to tennants. His solicitor advised him to form a limited company with him and his wife and kids being the shareholders and purchase the property through the company, he is now a tennant of the company, Peak Park Planning don't like it but can't do anything about it.

Had this happened in Spain to a Brit this forum would be red hot with vitriol against the Spanish authorities, the lesson being that when you move to a strange place there will be strange things going on that you have no knowledge of, let the buyer beware.

Hep

Could have a big tax bill! As any rental (which should be a fair market rate) from the tennant to the Ltd Company would be income to teh Ltd company and be subject to corporation tax as well as income tax on any income / dividends paid to the shareholders

May work for them though

Fair point, I wonder if the company took a loan on the property, I further wonder if the rent would negate the loan payment, IHT could also be vastly reduced. However he didn't go to all this trouble to make money, he just did what he had to do in order to live where he wanted to live.

I can only speak on the rules and regulations where I live, there is a 3 years Derbyshire Clause attached to many smaller properties that rules out them being sold or rented to anyone who can't prove 36 months continual Derbyshire residence, great for your kids but crap for someone moving into the area for work, I would be interested to hear of any such strange restrictions in place in Spain.