we're giving the UK the fingers up.Selling UK property before UK goes to the dogs

Technoape,
We too used to live in Braunton (Saunton Park) and really loved that part of the world.
However we've now lived on the Costa del Azahar for five years and have loved every minute of it.
We've made a big effort to integrate into the local community and have made friends with a lot of spaniards as well as other nationalities. Fortunately there aren't too many Brits here as the last thing we wanted was a british enclave.

Dear All,

Sorry, as I have confessed before I am something of a gullible simpleton and tend to believe people.

I believed TechNoApe's post and story and gave my meaningless 100% thread support.

Just as I did with the first post.

Others did not, they queried both posts and some even laughed.

The truth is that neither post should be taken 100% literally, and perhaps were never intended to be so, is that not so?

TechNoApe seems to accept that he is something of a "wordsmith" and even confesses to "painting pictures in your minds" but does not wish to be a "teller of stories" in case that has unfortunate connotations.

That is something of a fine distinction for this simpleton but OK by me, if you say so.

But I still have difficulty not thinking of some one who owns three properties with two of them let out ,as not an entrepreneur even if some additional income is required to service matters.

My own suspicion is that with the acknowledged shrewdness, the portfolio will grow in time, is that likely?

Certainly the thread has thrown up substantially different views on the alternatives to Spain.

My daughter's extended holiday view of America was 100% favourable, a young friend's life there seems blissful (18 years) as is my niece and husbands life in Florida (22 years).

That is not to say that Spain does not have its attractions if you can afford them.

Though from the look of Justin's polar clothing perhaps he would be better off in the Gulf Stream somewhere.

One sad fact from a long time ago was that a friend's mother died after being flown back from Spain, from the after-effects of dehydration that the Spanish hospital did not notice or treat. Sad but true.

Best Regards

Norman

Norman,

Being an educated man myself I can understand your reluctance to believe what you read whether it be in the Newspapers or on this forum, however you need to believe and understand the following:

1) Yes! My wife and I currently own three properties, one in the UK and two here on the Costa Del Sol.

2) The aforementioned property in the UK has only recently entered the property market and is currently under offer, with a completion date set within an acceptable time frame due to the small downwards chain, at no point are there any 1st time buyers and everything is going smoothly (touch wood). As you can understand, we have already moved to the CDS, therefore there is no forward chain.

3) The same UK property has NEVER been rented to ANYIONE and was our home for just over thirteen years.

4) During our visit to Duquesa in January 2006 we decided to see if we could afford to purchase a holiday home here on the CDS, with a view to potentially renting this property on odd occasions to family and close friends for a small nominal sum. This we did and completed our 1st purchase of a two bed, two bath Penthouse Duplex in Duquesa during August 2006.

5) The aforementioned Spanish property was intended to also be our main residence for the 1st six to eighteen months as and when we relocated to Spain, as during our visit in January 2006 we also decide that we would indeed eventually relocate to Spain.

6) We had initially a five year plan to relocate to Spain, however as time moved on, and bills and taxes started to rise, the timescale started to shrink, as did the housing market in the UK.

7) During our visit to Duquesa in January 2008, we at that point felt that we wanted to relocate to Spain sooner rather than later, therefore I set wheels irrevocably into motion that would see my wife and I relocate to Spain BEFORE the year was out. This I made a solemn promise to my wife I would achieve for us during said timescale

8) At this juncture we set about viewing other properties in Spain with a view to selling the 1st property BEFORE buying a larger property, as we felt we would not only require such, but also a private garden in addition to private terraces was a necessity for our Dog.

9) Fate decided to lend a hand and during a visit to Duquesa in May we viewed a property that we felt 'ticked all the boxes' and that, due to the housing market decline in Spain, we were able to ascertain said property at a substantial discount.

10) I also decided that rather than sell the 1st Spanish property, and in doing so only make a modicum of a nett gain, that we would rent the property on a long term basis for initially  two or three years. This we did successfully again in a short period of time.

This I said during my 'Television' interview with Justin, so I cannot understand your inaccuracies when you post a reply that is clearly intended to be derogatory and defamatory. If you continue to do such, then I and others are more than happy for you to belittle yourself in front of thousands, however may I be so bold as to suggest you ascertain the correct facts before doing such!

Quote: "The truth is that neither post should be taken 100% literally, and perhaps were never intended to be so, is that not so?"

In one word, NO! What I posted, however slightly over embellished, is the truth of the situation that we left behind. There is no modicum of truth in what I have said, only undeniable facts.

Quote: "TechNoApe seems to accept that he is something of a "wordsmith" and even confesses to "painting pictures in your minds" but does not wish to be a "teller of stories" in case that has unfortunate connotations."

May I at this juncture disclose that however eloquently I speak, that I may NOT be considered a "teller of stories" as that intends to imply imparting fiction rather than fact when one retorts.

Quote: "Certainly the thread has thrown up substantially different views on the alternatives to Spain."

Indeed your very efforts and those of others have achieved such, however may I re-iterate the following:

This forum is all about Spain, not Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the USA and all the other countries mentioned. No! It is ALL about Spain and about helping people that have moved to Spain or people who may be thinking about doing so now or in the future or people who have or are about to purchase a holiday home here, or indeed people who just want to holiday here. Yes! It is ALL about Spain and I think perhaps we are missing this with some of the posts, and indeed some of the topics that we see around this forum.

Further I take this opportunity to express the following Norman:

"Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread"

And lastly in closing this reply,

"Fortune favours the brave"

technoape

such a shame you feel you have to explain in detail your success in life .. especially to someone who is  obviously wanting to ruffle anyones feathers at every given chance

i have 4 properties etc and give 2 fingers to those that dont pat me on the back because of it...

i say 'well done' to 'you'.... cos its damn hard work getting what we have ...its damn well harder holding onto it...

take no notice dont bite your the better person.. trust me its green eyed monster syndrome

quick questions

1/. how do you take cars to spain, as they are wrong side drive - is it easy to drive over there. can you get insurance in spain for such a car or is it easier to keep up the uk insurance.

2., getting pets to spain by water - and use of car as above - what ferries do people use, and how far south do they go

replies welcome - have pets - no we wont allow them to fly 'hold-class' its cruel - feel very strongly, if oxygen masks were deployed, my wife would refuse it on the grounds one would not be deployed in the hold for our furry children - some may say this is madness - to us NO - our 4 legged pals are as precious as our kids and do not deserve a death sentence.

Come on Guys and Gals,  Dont take the bait

We lot from Devon are better than that

We cant read,We cant right but ,We can drive our tractors write,

Just Dan

Hi Gravitatingsouth,

There is a thread on the forum taking Pets to Spain, if you do a forum search there should be some information that might help you. Good Luck

 Pat

Hi Gravitatingsouth,

I've just seen your pm.

I have loads of info for you and will pm you all the details you need tomorrow, as it is way gone midnight here in Spain as I type, or try to as we have been out for a meal and I have had a cerveza or three, hic, hic!

1st thing you need to ensure is that  your pets have their Pet Passports, your Vet can do this for you. Try and get this done SIX MONTHS BEFORE you leave the UK, as should you need to go back to the UK for whatever reason, then your pets will NOT be allowed back into the UK under the Pet Passport scheme and will have to be quarantined.

In order to travel from the UK to Spain via sea I would suggest Plymouth to Santander. This route is covered by Brittany Ferries and their website has loads of info with regards to travelling with your pets.

www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/

They have also just started a route from Portsmouth to Santander if that is any help. Make sure that you book your crossing WELL in advance, as they have much less room for pets, so you may find that you can't get a crossing when you need it, and don't forget that they do NOT run an all year service.

With regards to taking your UK car abroad, you must check with your current car insurance company that you are covered for EU travel, as most of the 'cheap' insurance companies leave this out of the policy. If you are covered for EU travel, then all you need to do is make sure that you have headlamp converters fitted when you get to Spanish soil, you can get these from Halfords for example, and also make sure that you have TWO warning triangles and at least TWO Yellow fluorescent emergency vests, as they are compulsory in the EU. Once here in Spain there are a couple of companies that offer EU insurance for RHD cars on British registration plates, I haven't used them myself as I intend to re-register my British registered LHD car during the next few weeks.

As I said on 'The Siesta Show' make sure that you have a good Sat Nav however use it as an AID to navigation, don't rely on it. Make sure that you have a good map with you and also make sure that you have gone through the route you wish to take so many times that you can see the route in your sleep.

If you need any help finding pet friendly hotels then let me know, as we used such and had a great welcome, indeed Tyler was allowed to stay in the room with us!

We're still driving our RH Drive car after five years being over here. It's not a problem.
The first thing that we did on arriving was to have the local garage change the headlamps from left dip models to right dip. That wasn't at all expensive.
We also registered the car here in Spain with Spanish plates and use a Spanish insurance company.
At that time we also changed our driving licences to Spanish ones although that is not really necessary nowadays providing you have a UK postal address.

We drove over with our pet dog but made two stop overs with friends on the way.
We have a number of other friends who travel back and forth regularly by ferry and they tell us that not all the ferries take dogs throughout the year so it's best to check first.

Dear All,

why is it that any view or fact that does not correspond to complete enthusiasm for the ex-pat life in Spain is condemned as derogatory?????

why should anyone believe that a successful entrepreneur is somehow not to be held in esteem???????

why are the alternatives to being an ex-pat in Spain not to be mentioned, forbidden even????????

how is it possible for something that has been embellished and even over-embellished to still be 100% literal and therefore 100% factual????????????

why is someone wishing to see only the facts stated, without any degree of spin, advertising or embellishment in concert with the forum's stated policy of "telling it like it is" condemned as negative etc. etc.????????????

For the record I like and enjoy Spain and tried to buy there and thought that I might have enjoyed winters there (current weather is of course abnormal, I hope and summers may be too hot).

If I get my savings back and join the ex-pats will I be welcome???????

Even  if I refuse to join the spin "brigade" and pretend that everything is wonderful.

Perhaps even TechNoApe will honour his promise and show me round????????

Thank you everyone for the additional information.

Best Regards

Norman

Dear All,

why is it that any view or fact that does not correspond to complete enthusiasm for the British resident life in the UK is condemned as derogatory?????

why should anyone believe that an arrogant and bitter person's interpretation of an "entrepreneur" is somehow not to be held in esteem???????

why are the alternatives to not wanting to reside in the UK not to be mentioned, forbidden even????????

how is it possible for something that someone believes to be embellished and even over-embellished to still be 100% literal and therefore 100% factual when one obviously doesn't believe anything posted by anyone in the first place????????????

why do some people, wishing to see only the facts stated, condemn everything as negative etc. etc.????????????  Why, or why??

If you get your savings back and join the ex-pats will you be welcome???????  (Maybe you should ask yourself that?)

Even if you refuse to join the "have done it and been there brigade".

Perhaps even TechNoApe will honour his promise and show you around????????  Totally down to TechNoApe (but for sure he seems a decent, forgiving man - others would have been much less tolerant of someone calling them a liar!).

Thank you everyone for the additional information.

Best Regards

Normansands, is it that you just want to make "Finca' status here on EOS?????  Because, as has been stated before, by me and others, you have chosen to ignore/upset/offend members on various threads, you obviously don't believe anything anybody says, from those that have actually lived the experience or not, other than if it is a negative opinion about investing in Spain (then you seem to revel in it!).  What exactly do you want to achieve, other than irritating everyone - or is that really just your wont, your mission on EOS?  Because you don't appear to have contributed much.

Apologies, Justin, in advance, but this member doesn't cease to be objectionable.

Loving this thread!

Gravitatingsouth, you are still relatively new to this forum, and I know this is "your" thread, but do take the time to search around some older message boards, because you will find great discussions on ALL the subjects that interest you - pets, cars, healthcare etc. etc. Naturally, you will find differing views (!!!), but the more info and opnions you can digest the better. It's up to you then what to take on board and what to discard.

Pitby, did you see Piers Morgan in Dubai last week? Can't wait for his documentary on Thursday - by his account, it sounds like we should all quit Spain / UK and head over there!

 Keep it going guys and gals dont let them ruin this thread

Just Dan

 Quote Roberto:

"Pitby, did you see Piers Morgan in Dubai last week? Can't wait for his documentary on Thursday - by his account, it sounds like we should all quit Spain / UK and head over there!"

People could be forgiven that should the likes of Norman ever do become ex-pats here in Spain that they may well just do that!

In fact, one might think that should such an instance occur one should look even further afield, for instance the Moon or indeed Mars, as some people would lead you to believe that THIS is the new property frontier and that we should all be investing in properties 'Off-World'.

In order to bring this back on-topic AGAIN, we have given the UK the fingers up as everyone knows, and no matter what anyone else would say, we are better off for doing so!

I could 'lock horns' with the likes of Norman on a daily basis, however as he is obviously so heavily biased about anything that is Spain, due to his unfrourtunate experience with rather unscruplous property developers here in Spain, I feel that my, and others words fall on deaf ears.
 

Hi Technoape

Congrats on your showing the other day, some very interesting points.  Just checked Brittany Ferries but could you tell us how far it is to drive from the ferry to Duquesa please.

Jojan

Him and a couple of others.

100 % correct regarding you post now lets move on

Just Dan

Lets hope the next post is not Dear All

Dear all,

.....only joking!

I got (unintentionally) drawn into a bit of "horn locking" with another member who had a bad "Spain experience" and consequently only seemed to want to post negative reports. Not really worth it. We both seem to have mellowed a bit since, and I'm happy to say that we have even found some common ground lately! It's inevitable that a discussion such as this will draw widely conflicting opinions, and for someone looking for answers to the questions going through their minds, any and all such opinions and experiences and ideas can be useful in some way. I suppose we should all try to present our personal opinions in a friendly manner, whilst respecting others' opinions too.

That said, I do wonder if perhaps someone (?) should start a new thread titled "we're giving Spain the fingers up!"

Jojan, there are plenty of interesting threads about travelling to / from Spain, ferries, driving distances etc. Search around a bit for them.

Sorry Roberto did not mean to interupt but we were just responding to what Technoape was saying yesterday on this thread and we were interested as he had recently done that journey, so pardon me.

Jojan

Hey, no problem! I only meant to let you know that there have been discussions about the various alternative routes etc. that you may find interesting. It just takes a bit of time to search around for them. I think you can drive straight through from north to south in about 12 hours if you feel so inclined. Techno stopped overnight for a doggy break, I think!