Going to a supermarket or a restaurant in our beautiful part of Spain is cheap, by comparison to the UK, Holland, and Belgium and certainly Scandinavia, where prices can be eye wateringly high. But… and an important ‘but’, the biggest difference in the cost of living between northern Europe and southern eastern Spain, is property. Buying, renting, renovating, and maintaining are all, so much cheaper here, than back home in the northern wastelands.
I was in a bar last week and got chatting to John from Humberside who sold up his semi outside Hull for £155,000 and bought a town house in beautiful Velez-Blanco. His new house, he told me, has uninterrupted views of the castle from his front window, a lovely patio garden and three bedrooms. He paid 42,000 € for this property which he assures me, is in pretty good nick and came fully furnished which saved him £3,000 on removal costs. Council tax, known as IBI in Spain, sets him back 46 € a year!
Everything he needs is within walking distance and he says he only uses the car once or twice a week. The only way back to Hull would be in a box, he told me emphatically. John’s next project is to renovate a house he’s just bought from down the street for 24,000 € which he will rent out to supplement his pension.
John’s story is quite typical and it’s hard to disagree with him when he says that his quality of life has gone through the roof since he moved from Humberside to Spain. So, let’s move on, to talk more about cheap property in this part of Spain.
The Property Market
There is an almost infinite number of properties ready for renovation in many parts of Spain! The market here in Almeria would hardly be more different than the property market in the UK and most other northern European countries. Why? Essentially there are three reasons:
- Firstly, depopulation in rural areas has led to an excess of supply over demand. Over the last 50 years or so, jobs in rural areas have disappeared and young people have deserted the small towns in favour of the cities.
- Secondly, inheritance laws have created blockages in the system. In Spain, it is not uncommon for property to have a dozen owners or more. Property is passed down and often, left to rot as it can be almost impossible to untangle the complications of ownership. The simple truth is, the family can’t agree how to deal with a property, so they do the only other thing they can i.e. nothing at all!
Furthermore, any debt, which in the UK would belongs to the property owner, is attached to the property here in Spain, so many new owners really want nothing to do with the property they’ve inherited, in case, it lands them with an unwanted debt. - And, thirdly, land is plentiful in Spain so demand and supply dictates property is very often worth very little, certainly in comparison to the overcrowded areas of northern Europe.
So, what does this mean? It means rich picking for the relatively wealthy northern European. Brexit has been something of a spanner in the works but if you can overcome this obstacle the opportunity for a better life beckons in Spain. It largely boils down to the price and the running costs of property.
My experience is based largely on inland Almeria, a stunningly beautiful part of Spain with more sunshine that anywhere else on the peninsular. It’s a part of Spain that beggar’s belief sometimes; you must pinch yourself as a reminder that you’ve managed to escape the shores of dreary and expensive Britain for a better and cheaper life. And it can be done.
For more information about moving to this beautiful part of Spain, register with us and we’ll send you our free buyers guide. Alternatively call us or out of hours leave us a massage on 00 34 950 784 926.