Just about to put down a deposit on a villa in Aspe

Sorry, I am not from Aspe, but in my opinion, to buy a villa for occasional visits is only good, if money are not an issue. I would buy maximum a quad in a gated community, ideally a flat with communal swimming pool. Are you planning to rent it out for the times, when you not there, or just leave empty?Are you planning to move there permanently? If you have even a small garden, the nature will show you, who is the boss. Then you will be going for maintenance holidays. Taxes, standing charges for water ... It is a money eating luxury and not as good investment as property in UK. Just make sure, that it is not an impulse purchase.I wish you good luck to make the best decision. 

My only advice as I don't know the area is that we I'll the property be safe whilst you are not there 

Firstly Aspe is more than 15 minutes drive from the coast!

I live nearer the coast and it takes me between 15 and 20 minutes drive.   

As a non-EU citizen you are only allowed to stay for 90 days in a 180 day period.

A couple of websites that may have information of help to you are as follows:

Citizens Advice Bureau Spain for bureaucratic stuff.

N332 for anything to do with driving in Spain and is for English speaking people.   The website, and their Facebook page, is run in conjunction with officers of the  Guardia Civil and has an English version of the Spanish equivalent of the Highway Code on it.

Hello Tony1819, It is only worth doing if you are about to retire and are able to come here to live as a resident. The solicitors fees, risk of unforseeable problems, health, language & legal complications with the authorities can make it terribly expensive and frustrating,,,,,,,,, It can take years to sell, with expensive legal fees, tax etc. You are advised by me to come here with an open mind and rent an apartment for several weeks, but Not July, August or first 2 weeks in September. Learn basic Spanish for shopping. Restaurants are usually cheap. The public transport is cheap and frequent along to Costa Blanca, but I don't know routes in Aspe. Do not allow yourself to be pressurised as it could be a very expensive mistake.  Living here as a permanent resident is very good but you will need close friends for support & translation services occasionally. Best wishes, Peter

Hi Tony and welcome to the forum,

The cost of buying and maintaining property in Spain is expensive.  I expect you already know about property transfer tax ("ITP"), calculated at 10% of the purchase value, but the standing charges for utilities, particularly electricity, can exceed the cost of power consumed.  This is especially noticeable for non-residents who receive electricity bills every month, despite not having visited their property for a period.  You will also have to pay annual Council Tax ("IBI"), Rubbish collection ("Basura"), Water and Non-resident tax.  If you live on a Community of Owners you will also be liable for Community Fees.

If you're buying the property as a holiday home with a view to eventually retiring to Spain, then it could still be worth pursuing, providing that you can meet the requirements of Spain's Non-Lucrative Visa.  If not, I would suggest you do a lot more research and hold off buying until you are fully informed.  The good news is that you've found your way to a forum of over 50,000 predominantly UK citizens who can help with your queries 👍🙂

Kind regards, 

Kim

You have asked a question and you are going to get a hundred different answers.

But only you know the correct answer.

Presumably as you are now concerned over the 90/180 rule you are buying this as a holiday home. You can use the rule anyway you want so it can be 90 days in Schengen 90 days out of Schengen. Or it can be a week in Spain a week in the UK Two weeks in Spain, two weeks in the UK. As long as you don’t spend more than 90 days in the last 180 days in a rolling calendar then you’ll be fine.There are lots of British holiday home owners who don’t even get near to maxing out their days.  You are contemplating buying a holiday home, so you must have plans of how often you plan to use it. Download a Schengen calculator or use the Schengen website, enter some dates in that and will explain better if it works for you.

Location- Aspe? hopefully you will get a response from someone who lives in that town. Aspe is about a 30 minute drive to the coast and is in the mountains. Most of the replies you will get on here will be from people who live much nearer to the coast. Not because we spend all our days at the beach, I’m a resident and to be honest in holiday season wouldn’t go near the beach during the day as it’s way too busy. But my nearest beach is a 5-10 minute drive and it’s handy to take our visitors when they come out on holiday.plus I love the mix of both Spanish and multinational lifestyles. I have a huge choice of bars and restaurants, some Spanish, some not. But honestly there are times when  you just need to do something totally British, so you need a local where you can get a pie and a pint and watch the football . It’s those areas that most people choose to live or have holiday homes.

I always say location is the most important thing when choosing a property and not just because you like the area, if you make the wrong choice then financially you are going to lose a lot of money, with taxes that have to be paid when you buy a property , more taxes when you sell and then the same taxes when you repurchase. So make sure you are 100% happy with location.

The vast majority of house purchases at the moment are from Belgians, Dutch and Scandinavians. Until a few years ago the only languages you heard were Spanish and English, nowadays there are so many different nationalities around, you feel that the area has been invaded by Northern Europeans. Don’t get me wrong it’s absolutely fantastic having friends from so many different countries, it’s just if someone tells you you won’t be able to sell because of Brits not buying properties, the statement is probably correct but so many other nationalities are buying.

You obviously feel that Aspe is the right location for you, but I would check the winter temperatures for the town, you could have some really cold winters  in that area and Spanish homes are not designed to retain heat and central heating is so rare here it’s almost a luxury. Winters are commonly spent  wearing 2 or 3 jumpers and hidden under a blanket whilst watching tv.  I would also check the summer temperatures as inland is much hotter than the coast. Even tomorrow the temperature inland is forecast to be 34C so that’s nothing to what you’ll experience in August. Another plus point for living nearer the coast, you can sit on the beach at 10pm just to cool down - trust me I’ve done it!

Again with a holiday home, you need to ensure that the property is secure, not that crime is a major problem.I guess you’ve chosen Aspe because it’s quiet, so I say the exact opposite of a previous poster and don’t entertain a quad house. The walls are paper thin, you can hear the slightest noise and if you need to make any improvements you have to have the permission of the other 3 owners.

Again apartments, dividing walls are thin and if you’ve got Spanish neighbours you’ll hear every word they say  - oh and beware the Spanish Iove to party usually between midnight and 5 am.

Be prepared for an almost nervous breakdown when buying the property of your dreams. Spain not only love red tape, but they’ll produce a whole rainforest of paperwork in the process. It is very stressful, but once it done it is all so worthwhile.
If  it’s what you want and it feels right, then go for it.

Lynn

Don't wish to sound overly harsh but the fact that you've arrived at the point of handing over a chunk of cash as a deposit without already understanding something as fundamental as the 90/180 day rule suggests that you are in no way ready or prepared for this level of commitment.

Have you even been to Aspe & viewed the property yet? As others have said, it's much further inland than the 15 minutes you've been told.

And a quick note on Spanish property valuations: if you're thinking it'll be like the UK where your house goes up in value automatically over time, forget it. It's a completely different market model so please don't fall into the trap of believing you'll be investing in a nice little earner for the future because you won't be. You may get back what you paid but it'll be subject to 24% Capital Gains Tax on any profits accrued (thanks Brexit) so any nett increase will swallowed up in taxes & fees.

Rent somewhere for a month, take your time & don't rush into anything.

Just make sure that the solicitor is a good one as there are properties in the area that were built ‘illegal’ ie without the proper permissions. When we were searching to purchase properties we were told to stay away from some areas and Aspe was one of them..,

Aspe was my first choice to but the buyer pulled out, it’s a nice town so I ended monforte del cid, 4 miles from Aspe though it’s not as nice. I’m in a flat though, my neighbours are great non speakers of English but that’s what I wanted. As for the length of stay, we’re restricted any location we go. I enjoy my time at my place, yes all the bills are continuous but you’ll get used to it. Go with your gut fee