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Original poster

Would we be making a really stupid financial decision buying a house in Spain?

70 replies

Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 09:55

Apologies in advance if my wording isn’t quite right, I am not the most articulate person.

I really need an outsiders opinion.

Me and my husband (30 & 34 & 2 children) have been offered the chance to buy a house in Spain it’s 35,000 euros about £30000 give or take.

This house is absolutely amazing and would be a once in lifetime opportunity for the price and location. I doubt we ever find something like this ever again. Buying in Spain is a long held dream that we thought we wouldn’t be able to achieve to lot later down the road. This house is in area that is becoming more popular and I have no doubt that the property value would increase over the years.

We have about 80k equity in our house and owe £96k on our mortgage. No other debts other then a car payment.

We have £15k in savings, our savings were a lot higher pre COVID but my husband had time off work as I was pregnant,so we used our savings to live off. This is steadily building back up and we are saving around a £1k per month.

We would be able to put down £10k and we are thinking of remortgaging and taking £20k of equity and putting it on the house in Spain.

If we buy this house it would effectively wipe out our savings, as we would have to pay tax, lawyer fees etc. which would total about £5k

My heart is saying buy it, as it would just be fantastic for our children and we would never get such a beautiful place again for the price. What has happened this year has really changed my perspective of life and I am trying to live more of a full life rather then “well we will do that when we retire” who the hell knows what’s going to happen next week and you can always earn more money.

But my head is saying no. It’s stupid, a pie in the sky idea and something that could be a financial drain.

From an outsiders perspective would it be a bad financial decision?

OP posts:
Tal45 · 21/05/2021 10:15

Don't forget that once you own it you will have to pay local taxes, water, electricity and possibly phone/internet, you may need to pay someone to look after any garden. Sorting things out in Spain is also a big hassle and we have been badly ripped off by our lawyer who we had to give POA to due to covid. You also need to consider how much time you will realistically be out there - and having been through the inheritance process you should definitely look into that.

Personally in your situation I wouldn't do it. I would use that savings to pay off a chunk of your home mortgage as your interest rates are bound to be higher on that then what the money is making in the bank. It's easy to stay in a lovely place in Spain for a couple of weeks a year - I've found some amazing places on airbnb so I'd stick with that.

SwedishEdith · 21/05/2021 10:20

Do either of you have EU citizenship as, without that, there will (at the moment) be limits on how long you can stay out there.

Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 10:27

We wouldn’t be planning on spending longer then 180 days per year currently.

OP posts:
Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 10:33

Thanks for your reply.

I have worked out the costings of running which wouldn’t be that high and would be easily affordable along with the tax. My parents lived in Spain along with brother and grandfather and my uncle currently lives out there, so we have third hand experience of costs and legalities.

We live close to an airport and the airport in Spain is about 30 mins away so we would be hoping to use it for long weekends as well as the school holidays.

Thank you again, definitely food for thought.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 21/05/2021 10:36

Is it cheap because it's in an area where that's the typical price, or is there something 'wrong' with it? Many people have overpaid for Spanish property because it looks cheap compared with the UK, without really researching what is a sensible local price. If you're only paying £30k, you might think it can't be worth less than that, but there are some areas of Spain where you can buy a house for a euro - albeit in poor condition, but even so.

What do you plan to do with the house when you're not there - keeping it secure etc? Squatting in unoccupied houses and apartments in some areas of Spain is a real problem - many will have been empty for the last year or so because foreign owners and holidaymakers haven't been able to visit so this has allowed squatters to move in undetected.

What are the running costs - local taxes, maintenance etc. You'll pay these whether you use the house or not. Is it in an area where you can rent it out to tourists, cover some of the costs and have it occupied?

ginghamstarfish · 21/05/2021 10:37

I too would keep the savings and use it to pay for holidays instead, unless you are thinking you might want to live there permanently.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/05/2021 10:39

Missed your update. Sounds possible, but the other thing to consider is how hot it is there in the summer, especially if it's in the south. It's really not pleasant, especially if you're not used to it. Too hot to do much except laze around in the shade and you'd have to adjust to Spanish hours to make the most of it. We went to a Flamenco event in Andalucia one August that didn't start until 1 am and we had to leave at 3 am before the main act came on because the friends we went with had work the next day.

Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 10:45

It’s cheap because it’s a not a typical ex pat area of Spain and it’s a friend of my uncle who is selling because his wife is ill. He wants a quick sale, doesn’t really need the money or the hassle and has offered it to us first. Hence a once in a lifetime opportunity!

It’s kind of like a terrace house with expat neighbours next door so I feel it would be secure when it wasn’t in use. Plus my parents would be flying over quite regularly I should think. But thank you for bringing this up as I hadn’t thought of that.

We could rent it out but with tax since brexit I don’t think it would be worth it.

Thanks very much for your reply.

OP posts:
Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 10:46

That would eventually be the goal in 20+ time.

OP posts:
hemhem · 21/05/2021 10:52

I thought you could only go to Spain for max 90 days per year, now we're outside the EU. Do you have Spanish residency or an EU passport already?

Personally for 90 days per year it seems like a terrible investment to me. Who would look after it while youre away the other 9 months of the year? Would it sit empty or be let out? What about when you want to travel to other places and then perhaps feel obliged to go there instead of somewhere new? My PIL had a house in Spain but sold it because it was a millstone in the end, they felt tied down and worried about security all the time they were away from it

Frenchfancy · 21/05/2021 10:52

Financially it isn't a good decision, there are too many unknown costs, flights might go up in price, taxes for non residents might go up, resale could be a big hassle (otherwise why would it be being offered to you rather than being put on the market).

I wouldn't recommend it.

Branleuse · 21/05/2021 10:54

How old are your kids? Is there much to do in the area for kids on holiday? This sort of thing changes as they grow up too.
Is it a winter sun part of spain in the south?

Take into account, unless your children will be home educated and you both work from home then you will probably get to use it a fair bit less in reality than you think.
You may well find that you want to go to other places on holiday sometimes too.

I think holiday homes are often better for retired people who can actually go and spend long periods.

minipie · 21/05/2021 11:01

How often would you be able to go there? If you are both working and limited to annual leave then it may not be worth it. Especially if you wanted to go other places occasionally for a change.

Sallycinnamum · 21/05/2021 11:01

My parents bough a property in Majorca several years ago and it's been the best thing they've ever done.

Granted they are retired so spend lots of time out there (pre covid) and buying it wasn't too complicated although there were quite a few hoops to jump through of course.

It has been amazing for us as a family holiday would cost close to £3k but we only have to buy flights so it allows us to visit several times a year.

The only thing I would say is they bought the apartment in a very popular tourist destination so it would be easy to sell if they had to. Just worth bearing in mind. And they also have someone who looks after it when they're not there.

Good luck!

Ratatattatpat · 21/05/2021 11:08

Let one of the locals buy it. Its bad enough people buying so much property to be used as second homes in places like Cornwall without doing it in other countries as well. It pushes property prices up for locals, leaves properties empty for most of the year, means schools and businesses end up closing down as the second home owners aren't using them and the local young people can't afford to live in the area. Also, flight prices could go up as the climate gets more and more screwed. Even if you think it is fine to be flying back and forth for long weekends it may become unaffordable.

Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 11:21

We are talking about a rural area of Spain where you can pick up a house for 14,000 euros. Lots of housing for locals. It incomparable to Cornwall.

But thanks for your opinion.

OP posts:
Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 11:25

Luckily we are both self employed which gives a degree of flexibility. My children are not in school yet but will be next year. The school they are attending is pretty progressive and they both will be flexi schooled which gives us access to long weekends.

I do wonder once the “excitement” wore off would we get bored? I’m not sure. Thanks for your reply.

OP posts:
Frenchfancy · 21/05/2021 11:33

Ask yourself the question "would I take out a mortgage to go on holiday every year to rural Spain?" and you might get the answer.

Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 11:33

It’s a 180 days over a year but the longest block would be 90 days.

OP posts:
Original poster
Morgandetoi · 21/05/2021 11:37

Haha. Good question, when I say rural, it’s 30 mins from Granada and sits on a beach lake. So for this house yes I would! Ooooo I think I might have my answer!

OP posts:
Branleuse · 21/05/2021 11:47

Could you work over there and send kids to spanish school? Do you have eu passports?

Anyonebut · 21/05/2021 11:50

A lovely house in Spain for 35000EUR? Are you sure?

OhamIreally · 21/05/2021 15:26

Hi OP I wouldn't do it. I used to have a place in Spain it had really been my dream but actually each time you go there's stuff to sort out - you end up cooking and cleaning and it's not much of a holiday. Agee with others that unless you're retired the dream is much better than the reality.

Bumzoo · 21/05/2021 17:26

Fuck it. I don't like mainland Spain but if it was elsewhere I would buy it.

VanCleefArpels · 21/05/2021 17:37

On your long weekends you will spend at least half the time cleaning, doing small maintenance, making and stripping beds, food shopping etc. This was our experience having a holiday home in the UK. It was a monumental pain, you never felt there was enough time just to “be”: it was all about opening up and then closing up again. Add to that a 3 hour flight, time in airports and queues for hire cars. Such fun!

And when your kids start school and you get into the cycle of sports / dance / whatever activities and birthday parties they will not thank you for all the schlepping around.

We sold our holiday home - we probably spent a total of about 5 weeks in it over the 4 years we owned it. We were lucky and made some money on it so as an investment it worked. But as a lifestyle enhancing idyll - absolutely not.