Eastern European Property

And, to continue the possibility of one's dream turning into a nightmare... back in 1986 I had a beautiful house built on a lakeside plot in Land O'Lakes, north of Tampa, Florida. The idea was that my aged mother would retire there in due course. We spent the easiest day ever in connection with property, seeing the lot (plot to us), choosing it, selecting the house style, floor plan, building materials, and so on. The whole thing got built to plan, very professionally, and well on schedule. So, what could go wrong? :brows:

1) My mother decided she wouldn't retire to the States, being concerned about the cost of Medicare. Okay - the house could rent.

2) It was difficult to rent the house, though it did eventually get tenanted briefly, because most Floridians want to buy HOUSES, though they'll rent apartments in cities. Okay - the house can be sold.

3) It was impossible to get the build price for the house, because in the year it rented, there was a huge amount of building in the area. Contrary to what happens in the UK, this drove DOWN the cost of the new homes. Buyers could also be really picky about houses, as they could choose exactly what they wanted - many want an absolutely brand-new home.

4) As an incentive to buy the new homes, the builders also now paid the closing costs of new buyers - around $10,000 per home. (They didn't offer this bargain when I bought mine!)

5) The house was now re-marketed at some $10,000 less than original value, and with closing costs to be paid by me - a further $10,000 off the original construction cost.

6) During 1986-87, having taken out a recommended 'balloon' mortgage, the value of the dollar to the pound went from around $1.00 = £1 to $1.91 = £1. By the time the house actually sold, I owed a final balloon payment of virtually double the $43,000 agreed, due to the continuing unfavourable exchange rates.

All in all, a financial nightmare, which caused me a lot of anxiety and lost me a hell of a lot of money. That's why I urge anyone buying even a bamboo hut in Thailand to look into all the nooks and crannies of how local business gets done, so hopefully you aren't!
 
"Yes I am very aware its not an eastern block country but was highlighting how cheap they are in SWEDEN too..........."


Shouldn't that read, "but was highlighting how expensive they are in the UK..........."
 
my wife and her brother own together a small farm with about 25 acres in western hungary.
it ought to be former farmland of their grandparents, which was socialised in the communism after the second world war and was given back to the (then already in Austria living) family in the course of the re-privatisation in the early 1990ies.

because the beaurocracysaid there were no more of the original documents in the archives, they did in fact not get back their original land, but only a local area with the same amount of land (this does not matter, in the whole region the land has about the same worth).

as in the stock market, price driving forces are not facts but anticipations. so the real boom in property prices in Hungary and adjacent states already begann in the middle of the nineties, when it got clear, that sooner or later they would join the EU.

if you are now investing there you have to be very selective because mostly there are high future earnings priced in, when no such high expectations are justified. This leads to a private market which is not very dynamic. only state owned properties are still comparable cheap for investores to create work places.

we ourselves do not know what to do with our small farm. the land is rented out for a joke of aprice, but in general we must be glad that it is worked at.

it is too far away from our home to go there more than two or three times a year. we just look after the the substandard house (nobody living in) with no WC and central heating. etc.

so if someone is interested please make an offer



:D
 
Brian, you are most likely correct but in the back of my mind there's something in what I say. Maybe I am thinking about registering a UK car in Spain. It might be that you have to register it in Spain after a certain period of time and you need residencia to do that.
 
Krizon, what a horrendous story. Several times my boyfriend and I have contemplated purchasing a house in another country and as my sister lives in the USA, we had considered this a couple of years ago. I can only imagine the angst and stress having this house caused you, and really does highlight alot of the problems that can be encountered.

I do occasionally watch the TV programmes about purchasing properties in Spain, France or even Slovakia, but would need to do some serious homework beforehand as it is not always easy if you do not know the local laws & regulations. Deep down I think my dream location for another "home" will always be Ireland with the view to retiring there one day - failing that somewhere in a very horsey part of the USA would also suffice.
 
Originally posted by BrianH@Feb 10 2005, 01:04 AM
terry, you can drive on a European driving licence - the British one with your photo on is fine
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Ha!!!!!!!!!!!! LordH is wrong!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

Well, kind of wrong - you can drive on a UK licence for a limited amount of time only, and not in a Spanish plated car unless it is a hire car. Terry is right, if you own a Spanish car you must apply for a Spanish driving licence, the UK ones are invalid for this & you will get fined, or worse - one of the favourite tricks of the Guardia is to impound cars. A good friend of mine has been fined a couple of times but she has not applied for a Spanish licence as she is unsure whether you have to re-take your driving test & she doesn't speak Spanish. You don't need a residencia to register a car in your own name but you must have an NIE number (it's like an NI number) which isn't the easiest to obtain any more, due to the massive influx of Brits to Spain. You must have a legit Spanish address, with paperwork to prove you have a legit tenants agreement (if renting) or papers that state you own the property. You should apply for residencia though if you are planning to stay more than 3 months, which if you are buying a car you probably are! Terry, you are also right in that many, many Brits live in Spain without residencia (particularly in this area) & they also have UK plated cars that they do not re-register on Spanish plates. It's not the best idea really as although many get away with it, it really is not worth upsetting the Guardia as they have so much power & they seem to act differently depending on what mood they are in! A lot of them in this part of Spain are very much anti British too due to a lot of the wrangling over the Rock. I'm not 100% sure about needing residencia to change UK plates but I'm sure you'd have to as I believe it is around 3 months you are allowed to keep UK plates & if you are staying more than 3 months you must get residencia anyway.

Incidentally, if you drive a Gib plated car you must have a Gib card (residents card) or the Guardia will simply impound your car & give you a big fine. As you drive through the border they can (& do) ask to see your Gib card, if you don't have it you're in trouble! I know people who have had their cars impounded for not having Gib cards & as well as the fine being large, the costs of impounding it are astronomical.

Suny - I'm in Gibraltar, UK ex-pat I'm afraid! :shy:
 
"Ha!!!!!!!!!!!! LordH is wrong!!!!!!!!!!!"
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Ha! No he isn't - he just didn't go into enough detail.

Firstly, if you have a driving licence from any other EU country, it is automatically valid in Spain.

If you are Resident in Spain you have to either change your driving licence or put an inscription on your EU licence at your nearest 'Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico'. To obtain this residents need to produce a copy of their residencia, their EU driving licence and a signed form. Non-residents have to have a copy of their NIE certificate, a copy of their passport and justification of address (cert Empadronamiento / proof of residence of min. 6 months).

While it could be a bit of an administrative hassle it is infinitely better than the cost in terms of both time and money of taking a Spanish test.

Glad to have been of help to your friend, Shadow Leader - she can buy me a pint the next time I'm out there...
 
I did quantify it underneath by saying kind of!

Are you sure that you can put an inscription on your licence anywhere in Spain? I had a long discussion about this last summer with a bunch of friends as one of them has been fined twice, & told twice by the Guardia that she must apply for a Spanish licence as her UK one is invalid. No mention was made of being able to have an inscription put on her current licence, and two of my other friends (both whom have lived & worked in Spain for over ten years) participating in the discussion said that yes, you definitely have to get a Spanish licence. I was questioning it on the basis that as a British licence is a EU licence it should be valid everywhere in the EU, so effectively the Spanish are making up their own rules. Of course it may wel have been yet another case of the Guardia making up rules as they go along, which isn't unheard of here....
 
Btw, I'm not doubting you, I'm just asking!! I'm not sure where she got stopped, it was more than likely in Cadiz province, but her residencia was issued in Malaga province as she was living there at the time.
 
Too right Griff, how the hell did property values get so out of kilter with salaries ?

There is a 'blue tit box' opposite me just gone on the market @ £ 195K so, how much does a young couple have to earn to be able to afford it ? and if they eventually managed it would they be able to afford to have a child ?
 
Originally posted by Griff.@Feb 10 2005, 02:05 AM
"Yes I am very aware its not an eastern block country but was highlighting how cheap they are in SWEDEN too..........."


Shouldn't that read, "but was highlighting how expensive they are in the UK..........."
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Certainly I agree GRIFF its gone way out of proportion with regards wages how are youngsters who are hoping to have a family going to do it as stated by someone else on here its totally horrendous and will only add to the stress levels of a couple and therefore increase the divorce rates further 80% of rows are over money 20%over sex/love .............. :o :P :D


RAY love your discription of these new houses BLUE TIT BOX !!!(dont tell gearoid he may think if he buys an house the lady comes with it?)........ :D :D
 
blue tit box John, meaning that you cannot swing anything round in them and when you turn over in the night, you are likely to hit your head on two adjacent walls.

goodness knows what would happen if you had an ecstactic convulsion !

and only £195K !
 
It's a nonsense to compare property prices in Sweden with those in Great Britain and then hint that the cause of the differential is some sort of fault in the British system.

Sweden has a population of 8.8 million.

Sweden has an area of 449,964 square kilometres.

Great Britain has a population of 57.9 million*

Great Britain has an area of 228, 938 square kilometres*

So, Sweden has 19.56 people per square kilometre while GB has 253 people per square kilometre.

The first law of economics is supply and demand...



*Excludes Northern Ireland
 
Originally posted by BrianH@Feb 10 2005, 04:10 PM
So, Sweden has 19.56 people per square metre while GB has 253 people per square metre.
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Is there something I'm missing here Brian. How come we (as well as the Swedes) aren't one on top of the other?
 
Ray yes I was very aware as to what you were implying, I have seen these boxes down here, but I live in a 70 year old house built of bricks and mortar not plaster board walls and seen my property treble in 12 yrs :o .................. but its all paid for............... :rolleyes:
 
Dammit, Brian, will you leave things alone? I was scoring pretty heavily with a handsome six-footer for a while... :angry:
 
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