Rent or Buy

Look at the maths. You should be able to rent long term for 500 a month that is 6000 a year.
For 15 years thats 90,000 the same as a reasonable purchase. Take off the taxes and expenses over the 15 years and hey presto a real bargain. Plus no worries about maintenance or painting or other expenses. To me thats a no brainer. Plus there is always the option to go elsewhere without the ties of having to sell.

More or less what I’m thinking.
Thanks
BrianC

We came to Spain with the idea of renting for at least a year to make sure we had made the correct decision by moving to Spain and had also chosen the right area. We had done plenty of research about the general area so that wasn't a problem but when renting in Benimar we discovered that lovely as it is it was wrong for us. We are older, I was suffering from arthritis in hips and knees (which by the way after 5 years of living here has almost disappeared) so needed somewhere less hilly. We have now bought in San Luis which gives us access to the Torrevieja bus service so able to get into town, no worries about parking, we can both have a drink if we like and if we want to stay out after the last bus home a taxi is around 13€.

As far as renting versus buying we started out on a community in Benimar and our home now is independent. As other have said there are restrictions when living on a community such as decorating or extending your property, you may be very lucky and get on well with all the other the other residents but then again you may find there are people who cause problems. On the other hand some people find the idea of the support of being part of a community more comfortable when living outside their native country. I think this is probably even more applicable to people who use their properties as holiday homes rather than those who are permanent residents.

We would do exactly the same again. We had the advantage of living on a community for our first year and although the residents were all nice it was the restrictions about what we would be able to do with a property which convinced us both to buy and to buy off a community.

Hope this helps.

Jill

You did not saw whether you plan to live in Spain fulltime or come when the notion takes you. When you rent a property, it isn’t yours and you are not allowed to drill holes into the walls to hang mirrors and pictures. In fact, unless you are very fortunate in finding a beautiful place to rent, it will never feel like yours.
Sometimes when the weather is bad,we enjoy doing a little d.i.y or low maintainance which you probably would not do in a rental....it whiles the hours away!
Certainly rent for a while until you are certain where and what type of home you really want and can afford. If buying, check that you can heat the place easily in the winter as the evenings and nights can be very cold and you will need a fire/ aircon/ radiators and better still a door to close to stop all your heat vanishing up the stairs.. Look for an area where you can store a bike or two and somewhere to put a good clothes line up. Check that you can park a vehicle outside freely. Make a dream list of what you need eg somewhere to bbq outside, will there be space for loungers so that you can enjoy lying in the sun in the winter months. Remember, if this is where you plan to reside, it must be exactly what you need and want. Do not make the mistake of looking at a couple of glamorous bedrooms and fall in love with the idea that this is just what you want. If possible,look for 2 toilets or space to put one/ shower in later on. So, if you plan to live in Spain,you either rent for a while during the searching period or do your research now and buy before the Scandinavians buy everything.....the prices are going up so think fast and good luck.

Some very good tips there, thanks for the information.
BrianC

cheflady wrote:Hi we rented in Quesada first then bought a cottage opposite orange&lemon groves only one other English couple and we love it neighbours are friendly and we communicate through very funny charades!! Bought a few strange things in shops though when charades have gone wrong but it's brill. Good luck

l

Like chelady we bought in a small Spanish community of approx 24 houses and love it. Being the only English our communication is by miming, dictionary and very poor Spanish, the neighbours English us coming on a treat. My OH is always chatting to somebody usually about gardening. Rural living has many benefits, we are a 5-6 minute drive from small market town with all amenities, about 15 minutes from an urbanisation with bars, restaurants, entertainment and other people speaking English. In our Kate 70s we are loving every minute.