Anyone own a property abroad?

riffraff said:
Last time I was in Funchal there was the worst rain they’d ever had. Half the mountain came down through Funchal. Flights cancelled to allow military reinforcements to arrive. President arrived which is when you know it’s bad....there’s votes in it. Declared a national emergency etc. We got an extra three days ower there and had to fly back via Porto.
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Would be one of the few alternative places in world i would choose to live ...i recall an amazing fish market in funchal with a viewing gallery where you could watch the huge tuna arrive and get cut up.....great parks,.the island has some amazing flowers and scenery..very jealous marra!
 


Wicksy said:
Its a seaside suburb of Cape Town called Big Bay - we holiday there every year so it makes sense - and like you we intend staying there for longer as we get nearer retirement - hope all goes well for you m8
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how did it go for you today mate? hope it went ok.

we completed today at dinnertime so now me and mrs humbug now have our own little place in the algarve.
i'm chuffed to fuckerada, celebrating with a can of full fat vimto :D:D
 
humbug said:
how did it go for you today mate? hope it went ok.

we completed today at dinnertime so now me and mrs humbug now have our own little place in the algarve.
i'm chuffed to fuckerada, celebrating with a can of full fat vimto :D:D
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Ours went through on Friday without a hitch.
Can't wait to get over there in May after furnishings etc are sorted - exciting times - enjoy m8 and lets hope we have done the right thing and make lerds of money
 
Oldies have one in the canaries in Puerto Rico on gran can, they spend the winter months there with all the scandis and other oldies. Fuckers are perma tanned now:lol:
Cheap as fuck being over there for the winter months for them and keeps the old mans arthritis at bay
 
looked into it loads of times. Nearly bought near Cala D'or on Mallorca about 15 years and also had a good look around Javea anc north Costa Blanca

Problem is I like going to lots of different places and if you have a place somewhere you would feel a bit obliged to use it. also unless you get beach front or great great location you can struggle to rent them out for naythign decent as there is just too much supply.

I keep thinking If I was to do it now I'd buy in the mountains for skiing. Easier to rent out and can still be great in the summer.

even get somewhere a few milkes down the road nd drive to the slopes
 
Speaking to a guy who had a place in Spain a little while ago.
It's all about location.
His idea was to take the pension pot, buy a big place, live in it and then sell for a profit when old age /health forced him out.

Problem is that in the 10 years he's had the place, they keep building new places and the newer stuff is up the coast now
and a few locals have bought the places for themselves now.

His choices are to stick it out until he physically cant carry on or sell for a loss and buy a sheltered flat in the UK.
 
Typhoonftm said:
Where did you go for?


Javea is lovely.
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We bought a 3 bed 2 bathroom in a functioning fishing village called Villaricos . We are 50 yards from the marina and 200 yards from a sandy beach . It's taken us 3 years, but I'm fairly confident we've done well because of the location. We will not be resident over there just gan when we want to .
 
DisillusionedOldGit said:
We bought a 3 bed 2 bathroom in a functioning fishing village called Villaricos . We are 50 yards from the marina and 200 yards from a sandy beach . It's taken us 3 years, but I'm fairly confident we've done well because of the location. We will not be resident over there just gan when we want to .
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Get it rented out to the SMB marra - what could possibly go wrong?
 
Epping said:
looked into it loads of times. Nearly bought near Cala D'or on Mallorca about 15 years and also had a good look around Javea anc north Costa Blanca

Problem is I like going to lots of different places and if you have a place somewhere you would feel a bit obliged to use it. also unless you get beach front or great great location you can struggle to rent them out for naythign decent as there is just too much supply.

I keep thinking If I was to do it now I'd buy in the mountains for skiing. Easier to rent out and can still be great in the summer.

even get somewhere a few milkes down the road nd drive to the slopes
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I love Empuriabrava, actually possible to go there n have a few beach days n drive for skiing others (hour each way iirc).
Trouble is its about the only uneffected place in spain n most places big enough for us are £1m+ :oops:
 
a1970man said:
Speaking to a guy who had a place in Spain a little while ago.
It's all about location.
His idea was to take the pension pot, buy a big place, live in it and then sell for a profit when old age /health forced him out.

Problem is that in the 10 years he's had the place, they keep building new places and the newer stuff is up the coast now
and a few locals have bought the places for themselves now.

His choices are to stick it out until he physically cant carry on or sell for a loss and buy a sheltered flat in the UK.
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My experience is that very few make anything other than a loss when they decide to go back. There is over supply of mid range to low cost places throughout Spain so unless you've somewhere with a real wow factor you won't see much capital gain. It is a very different market to back in the UK. My advice to anyone is to not rush into anything , be aware that there is and will likely always be an over supply certainly in the next decade and factor that in. If you can, try and keep a place back home. Nonetheless for lifestyle and affordability it's wonderful. One other aspect is, particularly for retirees, is that the Spanish health service varies wildly depending on which of the autonomous regions you end up in.
If I was starting again, (I bought 15 years ago and have lived here permanently for the last 4) I would move over here and rent for the first few years. House selling and purchasing is a very different experience here and newcomers, particularly those without a basic command of English can be fleeced-often by ex pat con-artists - and until you live here you aren´t aware of some of the amazing opportunities that lurk behind agents commission led patter.
Having said all that I´m very happy here and have no current plans to go back nor can I see any circumstance that may change that (other than some maybe brexit nonsense down the line, the big fear for many being that in the event of hard brexit there may be a change in reciprocal health arrangements).
Good luck though.
 
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