Moving to Spain - Page 3

Hi Barrie and welcome to the forum.

Having an EU passport is great, because you can move to Spain as an EU citizen and apply to join the register of foreigners when you've been here 3 months.  Are you moving on your own, or will family be joining you?  If the latter, do they also have Irish passports, or UK?  If the latter, they will need to apply for residency as family members of an EU citizen.  Let me know and I can post the relevant links.

A couple of other things for your own registration application, as an EU citizen you will need to show income or savings of around €7,500.  Property ownership in Spain, especially without a mortgage, will also help your application.  If you're not initially working and making social security contributions, you will need private health insurance.

It's worth noting, for the purposes of timing the sale of your UK property, that the Spanish tax year runs from 1  January to 31 December and you become tax resident in Spain once you've been here for 183 days (6 months and 1 day).  Tax documentation is submitted a year in arrears when you will be required to submit an initial Modelo 720 Declaration of (worldwide) Assets (between January and March) and the annual Modelo 100 Income Tax return (between April and June).  If you do decide to make the permanent move, you should aim to sell your UK property before you move here and ensure that you spend less than 183 days in Spain in the same year.  For example, sell your UK property during the first half of 2025 and move to Spain in the second half of that year but less than 183 days in country, ensuring that you don't become tax resident until 2026.  If you make yourself tax resident in the same year that you sell your UK property, you will potentially be liable for payment of Capital Gains Tax in Spain.

A couple of general points: don't pay any money to an estate agent (especially for the so-called "reservation deposit").  The legally binding deposit of 10% of the purchase price should be paid to your independent lawyer, not one tied to the selling agent.

I've entered your search criteria in Spain's primary property portals, Kyero and Idealista, to give you an idea of property types in your budget:

https://www.kyero.com/es/pinar-de-campoverde-propiedad-en-venta-0l1596?f%5B%5D=pool&g%5B%5D=2&g%5B%5D=3&g%5B%5D=4&max_price=225000&min_beds=3&min_price=150000

https://www.idealista.com/en/venta-viviendas/pilar-de-la-horadada/pinar-de-campoverde/con-precio-hasta_220000,precio-desde_150000,chalets,de-tres-dormitorios,de-cuatro-cinco-habitaciones-o-mas,piscina/?ordenado-por=precios-asc

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim thank you so much for the information you have provided me it’s just the sort information I need to help me through this process, my plan is to sell my property here in the uk which is going to market the end of feb and once sold I’ll then potentially look to perhaps rent a villa for 6mths whilst looking for a permanent home in campoverde or surrounding area that way I’m under no real pressure and I’ll have cleared funds to purchase outright . It’ll be myself and my wife and 26yr old son that will be moving and they both have Italian eu passports as well as the uk passports so effectively we are all eu compliant passport wise.

I’m planning a visit very soon and will probably open a Spanish bank account and apply for an ie number ? I think that’s right , anyway I told I’ll need them for this process and for presenting to the local police for their information. I found it very interesting about making sure I pay the deposit to the lawyer and not the agent as this is sort of thing takes place I’m guessing and i certainly don’t want to fall foul of any fraud etc.

Again thank you for your time and I really do appreciate your honesty and wise words 

Regards Barrie 😄

Hi, when buying any property dont forget the tax and legals which is 10/12% in addition to the agreed purchase price.

I agree. We have a bubble cover on our pool and it really helps keep the pool water warm and also reduce evaporation. They don't look as aesthetically pleasing on the eye as looking at an uncovered pool but for me it's well worth it 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090906759040

Have a look for property rentals in Campoverde 

Thank you I’ll take a look , much appreciated 😀

This reply totally confused me, i'm a wimp for cold pools but can easily us my pool from May to Oct, not bed huh!

Hi good advise about selling your house to advoid tax I would check with a tax adviser may save you thousands. 

If you are thinking of renting before buying. We had a job finding a long term rent took around 6 weeks. 

Be careful with contracts some have strange clauses in them. Often you cant leave within 6 months also you may have to pay a month's rent to the landlord for every year left on a 5 year contract. 

A search on Idealista will give you a good idear what you can get for you money but dont forget you will need to pay10 % or more tax and around 4% for outher stuff on top of your purchase price. 

Hi thank you for the good advice , it really is a minefield isn’t it!