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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:
BillieSpain · 23/05/2021 10:41

Oh, and BTW my post was about my home in Spain, where I live, where DD goes to school.

A holiday home would be an absolute nightmare. You will be ripped off and tearing your hair out within 5 minutes.

Have you ever dealt with a Spanish bank?

The story of 'wanting to get rid for a quick sale' is two a penny in any town/village.

FinallyFluid · 23/05/2021 10:57

I truly wouldn't and we are in a position to do so.

OhamIreally · 23/05/2021 11:19

I think foreign holiday homes will become the new "buying a boat". They say there's only two good days for a boat owner: the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

CPsRus · 23/05/2021 11:36

The 90 day limit applies to the whole of Schengen, so any other EU holidays/visits/worktrips would be counted towards that limit.

Gothichouse40 · 23/05/2021 11:48

Unless you can speak Spanish and understand all the legalities, it's a no from me. I think it's one helluva risk. I watched umpteen documentaries a few years ago about people buying houses in Spain, only for something legal wise that went wrong.There were a group of people who were fighting to save their houses, unfortunately I cannot remember which part of Spain. Most British people I know there rent. Perhaps someone in the know can advise better. I personally would never buy a property in another country, unless I could speak the language very well. You need to include the cost of an interpreter.

Dyrne · 24/05/2021 13:40

£30K will buy a hell of a lot of holidays, and that’s not including taxes, bills, maintenance, fees etc.

Also consider this: you may be certain that you’ll love it, but what about your DC? You’re basically tying them in to only ever going on holiday to one place. Also what happens when you want to take advantage of a long weekend but they keep missing birthday parties/clubs etc?

Bunter888 · 29/08/2021 15:03
  1. It isn't an investment. Holiday homes aren't.
SpeakingFranglais · 31/08/2021 19:13

I wouldn’t either, for all the reasons above.

Legalities, maintenance, language barriers, I don’t think it’s cheap for rural Spain or will have a guaranteed increase in value and it could take ages to sell when you do want to.

For context my friend has one nearTorrevieja and her parents lived there too. She had it for a few years, it’s was a bind and she made hardly anything on it even when renting it out. It took ages to sell and her father is now a widower and can’t sell as he is elderly now and wants to come back home. Too many other properties on the market.

I just don’t get it, to me it’s one step up from a timeshare.

FedUpAtHomeTroels · 31/08/2021 19:52

I would if other family member are going to use it too.
Dh and I are close to retirement, so we'd spend a few month long blocks and our adult kids could visit at other times to suit themselves, so would get plenty of use.

Roselilly36 · 31/08/2021 20:06

Entirely your call. We were serious about buying a holiday home in Spain, before COVID, we are totally put off the idea now, however our circumstances are different to yours. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Patapouf · 31/08/2021 20:09

The commute to and from with young children will just be such a pain in the arse I reckon you wouldn't use it nearly as much as you think you would.

But ultimately brexit would mean a big fat no because you are at the mercy of what the eu allows British citizens to do. You won't be allowed to do your self employed work from there either and once your children actually start school you'll find that flexi schooling isn't engineered to allow you to spend time in your holiday home.

gunnersgold · 31/08/2021 20:17

I'd do it but I have that money spare I can afford to lose . You only live once and £30k for a house is super cheap!

rookiemere · 31/08/2021 20:27

This thread was started in May so possibly @Morgandetoi has an update on her decision?

RedDogBlueDog · 24/02/2023 21:54

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns and so we've agreed to take this down.

ProperC00king · 25/02/2023 10:40

It's OK if you are the sort of family who enjoys going on holiday to the same place all the time. I know some people enjoy making friends in the area of their holiday homes.

If you are the sort of family which enjoys holidays in different places, then this is not the investment for you

If you rent it out, you may need to declare to HMRC under income from property abroad under self assessment

Investigate the rules after Brexit

Badwithmoney · 26/02/2023 07:20

Go for it you only live once. We have a house in the EU. Love it. We are planning to retire there when the kids are settled. My children definitely have benefited from being so accustomed to a different culture. We have ski slopes, beaches and big cities all within a 45 minute drive. Financially I have to admit it makes no sense now however we lived there for a few years so it wasn’t intended to be a second home but life’s not just about coffers in the bank so we’ve held onto it. Plus we bought in 2008. We were planning on selling our UK home but then the crash came so we got a buy to let mortgage instead on the UK home and purchased the EU home. Both are mortgage free now. It’s been a struggle sometimes and at these times juggling 2 houses and young kids was very hard but life’s full of struggles only you know your financial situation and attitude to risk. Good luck.

Blondeshavemorefun · 26/02/2023 22:48

I seem to be in the minority

But go for it

Life is for living

It's a fab price

Could you rent it to friends to help pay for it

I would def do it if I was you

Greendoor12 · 26/02/2023 22:52

2021 guys

alwayscheery · 27/02/2023 09:09

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?

@Morgandetoi
Can you update us ? Longing for some sunshine did it work out for you?

YukoandHiro · 27/02/2023 09:15

What did you decide to do OP?

To pay the thread tax, I would say my original answer would have been no as your personal savings were too low. I suspect you've discovered that now with the cost of living etc.

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