Hello everyone.

If you could afford a nice vaction/retirement house? Where would you buy a property at in S :p pain. Looking for ideas or suggestions?

My personal choice would be Basque Country, on the north coast, because it never gets too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter. You have more options as to when you want to be there.

Also, the prices can be fairly reasonable if you're looking for country living.

Wolf (Who, as most of you well read members know, will have part of his ashes spread over a hill top in Basque Country when he dies. But I ain't in no rush to get that done!!! )

I agree with Wolf. The Basque country is Beautiful. I have a little fishing village all picked out (Not for my ashes but where I want to retire)
Lagun

I've been researching this topic for three years (not for retirement but for vacation, so beach is really important to me). If you give us a bit of info on what types of things you're looking for, we can narrow it down. I have tons of websites I can recommend. Are you looking for coastal/inland? Mountains, rural? Under or over, for example, 400,000 euros? There are certain areas where prices are considerably cheaper, it all depends. Also, how much land were you hoping to have, under or over 1000m2 for a plot or are you looking for a much larger "terreno"?
This will help as there are so many choices! Spain is loaded with lovely locations!

Lagun,

It wouldn't be Ea, would it? That's mine!

Wolf

New York.... you must spend some time looking on site.. It would seem prudent to make at least 3-5 trips to the locales you are interested in(and make those trips at different times of the year)... I have recently committed myself/wife to Andalucia because of our "interests"... we are one- hour from Cordoba or Granada or the Beach and two hours from Sevilla... we prefer warm weather and low rainfall... price is a function of location to major population centers(compared to NY you will find that property in Spain is very affordable!!! Basque country is beautiful, especially in the country but as warm as I would like in the winter when I don't want to be in Idaho... what ever you decide spend a lot of time finding the right lawyer to help you with the purchase it will be well worth the few hundred dollars to avoid problems....

jlawson, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't have an issue with financing, right? I remember reading about your purchase some time ago. I have a question for anyone out there and it's on the complicated side (sorry, MM, a bit off topic). In two years I'll be ready to purchase a home in Spain and I'm not sure where I can get a loan (I'll have enough for a down payment and fees). My husband does not work and my paycheck is from the U.S. Gov and is issued out of Washington and I also pay U.S. Federal taxes (lucky me, I know). I checked with 3 banks in the U.S. and they don't give loans for properties in foreign countries. Does anyone know of a Spanish bank that I should check with or even the rules in this situation? I know it would be a lot easier if we had a Spanish income but it will be two years before my husband is planning on working. If anyone can lead me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

When it comes to the mortgage deparment, following spanish law, the bank will own the property pretty fast if you fail to pay the installments. So they will be more flexible on mortgages than on providing other kinds of credit (Provided that the property value assessed by the bank is reasonable compared to the price you'been asked.)

You can try with bankinter online, they claim they've opened a new banking area for non-resident and the page has an english version ( www.ebankinter.es ).

Having just bought a house in the charming town of Ronda, I know all too well how difficult it is to get a mortgage. Spanish banks are quite conservative in giving mortgages. I went to about 15 banks with mountains of paperwork and all said no, because my source of income wasn't straightforward, even though i earned enough to make the monthly payments. They tend to distrust foreign sources of income particularly. The problem was finally solved in he traditional Spanish fashion of using an enchufe – a friend of a friend of a friend who happened to be a bank manager. The most flexible banks tend to be the smaller, newer ones such as la Kutxa, which are trying to break into the mortgage market. Having a large down payment will obviously help.
The happy ending is that I now have a little 17th century house in the old part of Ronda with a garden. It cost 130,000 euros, but needs a lot of work. but that's half the fun, isn't it? Renovation starts soon - if anyone's in the area, free labour is more than welcome in return for free accomodation in spartan, but atmospheric conditions!

New York (a pretentious name to say the least) writes: First things first: As a native New Yorker (are you?) I claim the right to say that your Message Board nom de plume is a bit pretentious.

I might buy such a property on the Atlantic coast or the north coast (Asturias or Cantabria) but not on the Mediterranean (Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Costa Dorada or Costa Blanca). Prices are overly inflated and the 'Med' is becoming more polluted each year (it's an enclosed ecosystem). My preference would be Pontevedra (Galicia) or Cantabria; but even the latter is becoming overly crowded with European tourists.

RE: Mortgages

The larger your equity in the property the easier it is to get financing... Given that you have decent credit & income a 50% mortgage is quite easy.. 75% if you have not such good qualifications... the local ads(around Andalucia) for 100% financing are come-ons for buyers with jobs/credit history in Spain. I have investigated mortgages in Spain extensively and found that it can be done. I am currently negotiation a second property for speculation and the mortgage is 75-15-10; that is 75% from the bank, 15% 2nd from the seller, and my 10%cash down. BEWARE that the banks will ONLY lend on their appraisals which tend to be very conservative(at least 10-20% less than you paid for the property)so your cash down will be a higher percentage than you anticipated; don't forget that it is going to cost about 6-12% in fees over and above purchase price... Be CERTAIN to use a competent lawyer.... FYI my real estate contacts tell me that prices in southern Spain are going up about 2%/MONTH the market is very hot especially in the urban areas... the country properties lag behing but wish they could go higher too!!!

Thank you for the information. It is quite helpful and it gives me an idea of what to expect and how to go about planning.

Barry, quick question/comment. You mentioned that foreign sources of income can be a problem. We are Spanish residents so would that help or were you assuming that anyway?

jlawson, thanks for the percentages. It will help once we decide how much we're going to spend; I keep wavering.

We do have two "enchufes" in Madrid but neither one works directly with mortgages. Does that matter? We've asked them before but they hadn't really investigated much. How far before we would like to look/purchase should we enquire about mortgages? Would you start with the "enchufes"?

Hi!

I agree with Wolf and "Lagun" ("Friend" in the Basque Country's language). The south of Spain is too hot for me so I would prefer to live in the North of Spain (Basque Country / Cantabria / Asturias) and, sometimes, I would visit southern towns and beaches. The south of Navarra (Baztan's valley) is also a very beautiful and green land.

Bye!.

Egunon denoi! (Good morning you all!, Euskara) Kaixo! (If you prefer)

Basque Country is green and lush. Of course that means more rain than the central part of Spain, but like Hombre, CaliBasco, and Lagun, I'll take the rain, so I can enjoy the beauty of the area.

It's like stepping out of your door each day into a sweet smelling garden, and the twinkling sunlight off the grass makes everything seem so fresh, and clean.

The small baserris (farms) on the hillsides offer a touch of yesterday, and the promise they won't be spoiled by tomorrow. It's like a step back in time, and it's all for the better.

If you're fortunate enough to be invited out to an evening of enjoyment at a txioki (kind of a private club with cooking facilities, etc. Some are very old, and I probably spelled it wrong. One I was in was nearly 1,000 years old, built with stone and mortar. It was fantastic! Often used to entertain, since homes usually aren't large enough to handle large crowds.), you'll be in your glory. I know I was, and till today, it's still one of the greatest things I've ever experienced. Heaping trays of freshly prepared shrimp (The best I've ever tasted.), bread, and a salad so lush and green it would be the envy of any restaurant's salad chef. It's a five star culinary delight.

Well, I've exhausted just about all the Euskara (Basque language) I know. But I haven't exhausted how I feel about the area. I think that's where the Garden of Eden may have really been.

Agur! (Bye!)

Otso (Wolf, in Euskara, if you didn't guess - )

Thanks to all for the information on purchasing property in Spain.

Wolf:
Of course it is the Garden of Eden. I'm sure you have heard that Euskara is the language of Adam and Eve.
Also, I also like Ea but have never stayed there. I want to retire to Lekeitio. I stayed there last summer and had the best week of my life.
Lagun

Hey Lagun!

You were in Lekeitio but ... did you see their best and more famous fiesta?. The day is called "Gooses' Day" and if I can recall well is on September the 5th. I met once a boy from Lekeitio and he was just in love with their gooses' day.
I'm not going to say what is the main entertainmet that day because maybe, it can be too hard for animal lovers. At least nowadays gooses are dead when they are hang up from the rope.

I love the goose game!! I only saw it on TV last year but this year I will be sure to go there in person. It looks like it hurts, getting thrown around like that. I don´t know if the Basque country is for everyone. I think that you would have to see if it appeals to you more than the somewhat generic resort-town areas. Also, if the house was only going to be used in the summer, I don´t think that the basque country would be so bad. If it were going to be used in the winter.... that is a different story. I love this place but am sick of the sirimiri.

Roe

To those not familiar with sirimiri, it refers to a drizzling rain. It can be annoying at times, but it really doesn't become too much of a problem, unless you let it. They also keep everything clean and fresh.

I remember a friend of mine saying, "You know what I hate most about Hawaii?"

We were on the phone talking. He'd been living there for over six years at that point, and hadn't returned to visit the mainland yet.

"What?" I asked.

"It seems to rain every afternoon about 2:00 PM."

I just laughed. He should have been in Northern Wisconsin about that time. It was snowing so hard we ended up with drifts nearly 6 ft. high, the wind was whipping through our home (even though it was less than a year old, and well insulated), and the temperature was 20 degrees below zero. It would have taken a hell of a lot of sirimiris to make me believe they were worse than the weather we were getting -

Lush grass, the greenest trees and hillsides you've ever seen = rain. It's just that simple. But like Roe says, there's nothing perfect, not even in paradise.

Wolf (Who's never let a few raindrops falling on his parade bug him too much.)

It seems that everyone on this site wants to buy a house in Spain. Have any of you people read either of the two books that were recommended on an earlier thread on this site? One is Buying a House in Spain. The other is Living and Working in Spain. I bought them both but haven't finished the home one or even started the Living one. They are written by an English author and money is in pounds. Which adds more confusion to the process. (I think) Have any of you home buyers used this book? I am lucky, I can retire and live in Spain and not worry about a job. I want my house on the side of a hill in the Basque Country. Lots of people on this site have the right idea about the best place in Spain.
Sabalagirl

Okay, a little sirimiri compared to a winter in Wisconson doesn´t sound so bad. Coming from California though, I´m not used to the weather.