- This topic has 27 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 12 months ago by
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With Sterling only buying around 1.16 Euros for major purchases in Spain in comparison to the heady days when you could buy at 1.64 (a drop of over 25%) for the same purchases, what effect is this having on residents and pensioners who don’t work? I believe you can only achieve this rate on large transactions, or do pensions also get converted at this rate? 😕 General cost of living is up everywhere but in Spain are Brits cutting back due to these points? 🙄
Presumably, a tourist rate of around 1.13 is only short term and can be factored in more easily for a week or two and less of a problem 🙄
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@angie: I do not have a slant as we all know the it cost more to live, more to buy & the pension is worth less and changes from point x to the date that you wish to establish the position would be marginal.
You can read the past posting and take the exchange rate of the time. Work out the movement of increase/decrease in the exchange rate and factor that in..Simples
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@ shakeel ‘I do not have a slant’ 😆 You live in London I believe and own a property on the CDS, I was asking residents and pensioners who may rely on state pension etc, not you who may derive income from UK or elsewhere.
What is your slant when you several times raise the Bahia de la Plata when you know full well you can phone those agents or visit the site as you have done, what was your slant when you asked to meet me at a property exhibition in London, didn’t your parents tell you not to go off with strange men? 🙄 😯 😆
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The falling pound made a big difference to us. The last year we were in Spain we transferred over £6,000 more than the year before despite eating out less. Not just the poor exchange rate, when you become a resident and pay tax on worldwide income you will pay more tax than in the UK. The positive is if you sell a house in Spain and change euro to pound then it does a lot to offset losses. (providing you bought when the pound was high!)
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Exactly katy, it must affect those who are there and I can see how anyone selling could benefit if they return to UK 😀 Rates do change which is why I asked the question of those living there and time has passed so it could be impacting more now, I might ask the question again shakeel in another year’s time, rates could be worse or better
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@Angie: my response in block capital. Please note that I am not shouting at you.
@ You live in London I believe and own a property on the CDS,
AND YOUR POINT IS ?I was asking residents and pensioners who may rely on state pension etc,
IRRESPECTIVE IF ONE LIVES THERE OR NOT. EVEN GOING HOLIDAYS SERVICING MORTGAGE PAYING UTILITIES AFFECTS PEOPLE. HENCE MY RESPONSE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH WHAT WAS IT THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO FIND OUT/SEE/OBSERVE.
not you who may derive income from UK or elsewhere.
I DONT SEE THE SIGNIFICANCE.
What is your slant when you several times raise the Bahia de la Plata
I WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE FORUM USERS FELT AS ONE GETS A DIFFERENT RESPONSE FROM THE AGENTS.WE HAVE VERY WELL INFORMED PEOPLE ON THE FORUM & THEIR OPINIONS & REMARKS I VALUE.
when you know full well you can phone those agents or visit the site as you have done,
ON MY LAST TWO VISITS THERE WAS NO ONE ON SITE. NOT ALL AGENTS ARE DEALING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SO RINGING AROUND IS A HIT & MISS. THE BANK DO NOT RESPOND TO CONTACTS.
what was your slant when you asked to meet me at a property exhibition in London,
THERE WAS NO SLANT & I HAD MENTIONED TO BEFORE. I RECALL THAT YOU WERE GOING TO THE EXHIBITION & AS BOTH OF US ARE SENIOR MEMBER. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A TINTO TOGETHER AND EXCHANGE OUT THOUGHTS OF THE PROPERTY MARKET IN SPAIN ETC. IF YOU THOUGHT THERE WAS ANY SINISTER PLANS. I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.
didn’t your parents tell you not to go off with strange men?
MY PARENTS WERE NOT CYNICAL ENOUGH. BESIDES I AM GROWN UP AND CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.
MEETING AT THE EXHIBITION IN AMONG HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE IS HARDLY GOING OFF WITH STRANGE MEN -
@shakeel the topic was to see ‘what other forum users felt ……, we have very well informed people on here etc etc’ you’ve said it all, that’s why I posted it, not a ‘SLANT’ as you say. You referring me to previous debates on this was not at all helpful because neither you posted those links, nor I doubt they are current situations, what was your point, it didn’t answer my questions, do you understand this or shall I put it in CAPITALS for you? 🙄
So far katy has posted her experiences, she is one of those ‘very well informed people on here’ your’s was a wind-up methinks 😯
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I convert to euros via my local bank using a UK cheque. Rate is 0.1 less than the business rate and finances available within 7 days for bills and 30 days for cash withdrawals.
Inflation increasing prices of utilities and petrol + drop in rate of 6 years ago has caused minor hiccups but still able to maintain lifestyle.
On the plus side many non food items have reduced or are on permenant offer.
So swings and roundabouts. -
Spain, realises its position in the world and lives within. The Brits are in an illusion of being a superpower & sucks up to the USA to fulfil this illusion in return for doing the dirty for them in Europe or middle East.
It is well accepted that without the American help Britain could not have liberated the Falkland Islands.
Syria, is going through a civil war & in a war people get killed civil war or not. I am sure deep inside Cameron is
thankful for the voting.The issue to me is who sold the chemical weapons, irrespective of who is using them. Did they not think at the point of sale who will it be used against ?. I am no supporting of Asad or his late father.
I recall the war in Bosnia. The Bosnians were not allowed to acquire arms as the reasoning was that buy equipping them it will escalate the war. As a result thousands were slaughtered against a well equipped Serb forces who had access to arms from the defunct Yugoslav army, which at the time was the fourth largest army in the West.
The reality behind the situation is the involvement of the Saudi’Arabia & Israel.
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Yeah, I can just see Israel getting involved with those rag and tag bunch of terrorist rebels, many of them Muslims who have left the UK to fight 🙄 We are correct in not getting involved, look what’s happened to everywhere else, all turned to radical islam. Let them fight each other, they are stuck in the middle ages with their tribal and religious wars. Why all the fuss about chemical weapons…makes no difference if kids die through a home made bomb or are gassed both are bad.
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shakeel, have you now lost the plot? You posted a reply to Melosine about nothing to do with Stg/Euro exchange rate, even I’m getting confused now but can understand why katy responded to you.
You said ‘Spain realises it’s position in the world and lives within it’ and then you berate Britain where you live, btw Shakeel you can seem extreme sometimes. Correct me if I’m wrong but Shakeel is a Pakistani name? What a load of cobblers, so that’s why they want to start a Gibraltar fuss to cover their Political crooks and ignore their outposts in Morocco 👿
Now shakeel post something on exchange rate please on this topic 😡
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I remember 270 Pesetas to the pound, and 1.70 Euros to the pound, prosperous times for expats in Spain. I remember parity around six years ago, a dreadful time.
It’s 1.18 today, probably a sensible level. On the wider question of house prices, Spain is returning to work after the long summer break and it’s difficult to forecast the winter months ahead.
There are encouraging financial numbers all round for Spain, but with unemployment still at ridiculous levels Spanish people are not buying. But plenty foreigners are and if the Euro declines there may be a flood of foreign buyers.
It could happen, and soon, the German Eurosceptics hold the key to the value of the Euro at this time.
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1.1570 locally today in UK. Recently rising . UK State pensions have been rising more than Spanish so I think nobody really is much worse off unless have extravagant lifestyle ! (Obviously if you came to Spain when was 1.64 you notice the difference but you pension has been going up more in UK. Tax on worldwide Income means a higher marginal rate from lower base but IBI usually much less than UK Council Tax(unless you live in a toff area!) and no TV licence to pay Also think pensions only taxed at 8% including personal pensions that attract 20% in UK. Maybe good time to sell up in UK when £ high but not to do it without very thorough research whether you are moving permanently or for just 182 days maximum. Why do I write a lot ? I have an asset in Spanish lands and I have an interest in property doing well !
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Quote Ptr ‘I have an asset in Spanish lands and I have an interest in property doing well’ Ah, so that would explain things more 😮
Should please you that UK house prices are rising fast in many areas (compared to Spain’s), in which case some Brits may want to snap up the huge oversupply of Spanish property using their increased equity, but then again many won’t wish to get burnt again 🙁
UK pensions so far as I know haven’t been going up enough to make Brits move to Spain, what with the exchange rate 25% less (no small figure) than before, people still have to buy day to day things out of less income 🙄
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@Ptr wrote:
Also think pensions only taxed at 8% including personal pensions that attract 20% in UK.
Where did you get that from 😆 (see below) Also when you cash in your PP you will have to pay around 23% on the lump sum…nada in the UK.
Personal pension plans.
If you have purchased an annuity from a personally contributed pension plan (as opposed to an employers scheme) then you will get significant tax advantages. The amount of the payment is reduced by a percentage dependant on the age that you first took payments from the annuity.
If you first took payments at age :-39 or less – 40%
40 to 49 – 35%
50 to 59 – 28%
60 to 65 – 24%
66 to 69 – 20%
Over 69 – 8%.Taking the example of a pensioner couple both over 65 with an income of €20000 the tax works out like this:-
Income 20000
Personal allowance -5151
Family allowance -3400
Over 65 age allowance (2x 918) -1836
General allowance -2652
Taxable income 6961
Tax at 24% of 6961 = 1671Taken from Andalucía.com
A couple with that income taxed individually would not pay tax in the UK
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Message to Ptr: as a pensioner fiscally domiciled in Spain, I’m very interested in the 8% tax rate that you quote. Please provide a link to the source of your information, as I am currently paying more. In fact, I think I’m paying about 50% more direct income tax than I would pay were I resident in France or the UK. Am I doing something wrong?!
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I am most grateful to Katy for her excellent detail . Indeed without looking this up the figures for private pensions are correct and you only get that very low rate if you have cashed your fund in at age 69 or later -and the tax on the cash suggests you don’t move to Spain before you are 69 or stay No Residente until then. But think answers your question to me Clifford !I took mine at age 60 so nothing there for me ! But certainly Katy I would like to ask you your source. I understand current personal allowance to be 6060 for single person -is it less for a couple but they get two allowances married or unmarried living together. Is family allowance applied to a couple without children ? I know Spain gives advantages if aged parents live with you. Otherwise for a single person I thought there to be no other allowances than the basic allowance but the figure I have may be including the Age Allowance for single pensioner I have not found before Age Allowance and General Allowance -now that I have never seen and makes a big difference-unless you are in paid employment when the basic allowance about 9000 euros .One loss in moving to Spain is Tax free ISA that you are fully taxed on even though you can let them run in UK to maturity I think there is a basic relief of the first 1500 euro on dividends.I have not ben able to get up to date info on Blevins Franks website unless they have recently updated it.. (Really this belongs to a new thread but maybe not yet !)
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I thought you knew I had a pied a terre in Spain Ange -in Canaries. What I find there is a lot of things cheaper in basic living costs because of abundance of local foodstuffs . Fish surprisingly is not and the frozen fish from Morocco not cheap either due to collapse of EU fishing treaty with Spain. Someone told me you can get it cheaper if you go down to the port early in the morning from the fishermen direct but I am not early riser. Fishing line takes some patience !! Wine can be as cheap as 1.35 ok for everyday use -nicer bottles as you find them can go up similar prices to corresponding UK -but a Rioja around 3. Petrol cheaper in Canaries. Cigarettes from 1 euro -criminally cheap -that’s where the tax should be-far too many young smokers ! Bus fares very cheap with one of the Discount cards and like coaches. Eating out can be expensive but I know a Chinese Buffet -eat as you like 4.95 plus glass of wine and tax 8.06. Had a few sea bathes recently off Kent Coast but apart from yesterday autumn here and looking forward to flying off in early November.
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Can’t dispute certain items are much cheaper in Spain, for instance wine, eating out, but general cost of living bearing in mind the 20-25% fall in sterling probably negates much of that. For UK heating read Spanish air-con for example. 🙄
Kent/Sussex and south coast has had a marvellous Summer, even for sea-bathing, but Ptr if you still own property in Kent, at least you will be in a current rising market with much lower transaction costs if and when.
I posted once on here that we have just 2 solar hot water panels with a pink fluid that absorbs heat fast on our roof, from April to end September completely heats hot water from daylight and sun, each time cylinder reaches max heat, it lasts 2-3 days before cooling down. From October to end March, still heats to about 30c so gas takes over for 15 mins to heat the rest to 60c. It’s brilliant and being an eco code 3 build, our combined gas/electricity worked out at £38 per month for the year, so EDF paid us money back from our direct debit. We are talking UK here, not sunny Spain and including the last awful Winter and Spring. The best system and warmest house we’ve lived in with lowest energy bills ever 😉
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Good to read about your solar panels. A sore point in Spain due to some rubbish policies of Rahoy Government ! But solar electric panels would solve the air conditioning problem in the areas where excess heat is a problem. Needs to be thought of when buying to be near the sea or in hilly position which is well ventilated.! I suspect the UK housing boom is phoney Ange and there will be a correction at some point. Also whilst you read of £400,000 2 bed flats in SW London suburbs sadly not if you go beyond the M25 and there are parts of East Kent and East Sussex to lesser extent where things are still dirt cheap. and probably safe buys. Much to be said for keeping your options as flexible as you can as long as you can and to avoid closing doors you may not be able to re-open if you want to or need to at another date -I would strongly agree with you there !
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There is still good value in UK, even in the South and South East, no dirt cheap decent properties in decent areas though, different market altogether in Spain. Show me what you consider ‘dirt cheap’ in a good area in South, some properties are 30-60k sterling but I wouldn’t want one and not a good investment unless for the very long term 🙄
Whilst the UK housing market is contrived to a great extent, it is unlikely any correction will be like Spain’s due to supply and demand, and it is rising in many areas with low transaction costs 😛
Back to exchange rates, at least in UK, people’s bills are in sterling, my topic point was how it affects day to day living for expats from UK, one day Sterling will rise no doubt.
This might explain the percentages/maths better, (although a pension advert) but plenty of similar links saying the same:
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Interesting Ange the way you see it . But with depreciation recently of many currencies and the inflation of recent years in UK while we have had QE and high commodity prices I think means the £ is very fully valued and some exporters suffering Enormously complicated whether you see the £ previously overvalued by 25% on incorrect economic policy -ie relying on property to drive the economy with lax monetary and fiscal policy or the other productive sectors to provide the earnings for people to save to borrow homes and not borrow so much. Using the banks and building societies to lend loosely for domestic housing instead of like the Germans funding industry through the Mittelstand banks. On my thinking the £ dropped to parity with the Euro and has since partially rebounded and may do more so on the back of the domestic housing reflation. Meanwhile there has been internal deflation in Spain and this has made its exports competitive again except for taxes due to Government revenue deficiencies. But if Spain waits for Brits to blow this excess liquidity again as before they will end up deeper in the ditch when the unsustainable boom runs out of steam and caves in ! think that is what Vince Cable is thinking too! We are doing this on very low interest rates for savers while the Government is priming the market with ‘funding for lending’ . What we need is more Funding Circle backed by the Government to get middle sized businesses up from small ones -then people can work and save more and have an uninflated homes market that keeps the country competitive. .If Merkel loses next week and the Euro is allowed to depreciate then sterling could depreciate more safely too.if its not the best way.. East Kent always trails the rest of the S/SE east of the A2 there are some nice spots and tempting prices but there are one or two bigger towns -one in particular I would avoid . I think we can help a lot on boards like this if we can try to solve some of the problems with Spain and we need the help of lawyers and parliamentary deputies in Spain . Brits generally buy cheaper property in Spain under 100 K but we would be doing Spain a great favour if we took a few more of f them and the Spanish need to get buying them too–could take years !!Una beso.
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In conjunction with the topic from following link:
http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=30777
Recently Sterling has been rising against the Euro so some relief there, however I think a rate of 1.25-1.30 would be a goodish benchmark for expats living in Spain, more tourists, and those thinking of home-buying 😉
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Yes Angie in the High St. the cash rate for notes exceeded 1.16 this week but slipped back a cent after the Fed announcement this week affected the cross rates to 1.15 just over 1.15. If the rate were to reach 1.25-1.30 it would be good for buyers and o f course its good for holidaymakers. We get the advantage of the ECB screwing down inflation whereas Bank of England has been screwing it up. But I am not sure the BOE will let it go that high as it cripples our UK exporters. Its no good as you mentioned if sterling rises if you sell in Spain unless you are brave or don’t need the cash and keep it in Euro and pray for a sea change -it does happen . I have read of people who hedged the currency when sterling was very low down near to parity when they bought property so they stood to benefit on a recovery -not without risks! I notice the Germans now have an Anti -Euro party -it will be interesting if they get over the 5% threshold for representation in the parliament. If so it might strengthen Angela Merkel in not being too generous with the indebted countries .Much that it is painful I am sure the way of restraint to correct is best in the long term rather than running inflation making a bigger mess later on. I find a premium of 15% very useful on my sterling as if you shop around you live economically.Since I have been there in winter it has varied between 1.09 and about 1.22. Sometimes I have got a better rate by buying Santander or Telefonica shares in sterling and selling them a bit higher in euro and my broker gives me a free transfer to my Spanish bank account.where I take it out in notes at the branch.
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