One of life’s tough decisions. Shall we keep on renting or is it time to buy. There are a lot of cliches that people use which scare people into hasty decisions, e.g. renting is dead money. But is it?
At the end of the day it’s all about convenience and timing. There is no point rushing to buy a home just because of your grievances toward paying your landlord good money. The time might not be right. Ask yourself , can you afford to buy?
Times are good at the moment and in the Canaries there is a lot of disposable income flying around. But remember, do not over commit yourself. A mortgage is not like rent. If you don’t pay your rent you have options, such as terminating your contract with your notice period and finding less expensive dwellings. If you cannot afford your mortgage, your options are more limited. Banks lend money for a reason, and they will be less than helpful if you start missing payments. So be sensible and buy within your budget. The size of the property bears no relation to the percentage return on your investment.
The upside of buying is very attractive to us all. There are many part time property entrepreneurs wherever you look. Take for example the young couple in Tias who bought a small apartment 5 years ago for 3 million pesetas. They spent 3 million on renovations and sold it last year for 16 million ptas. Their mortgage cost them 1.5 million, which left them with a net profit of around 8 million ptas. They then put 4 million of this into a new 16 million Duplex in Tias at the start of this year and later put 3 million into a new 12 million apartment in Playa Blanca , a second investment home. Both of these homes we’re bought with mortgages from a reputable Canarian Bank, and they we’re easy to set up.
Incredibly, the valuations for both properties came in well above the purchase price. The duplex in Tias was valued at 19 million and the apartment in Playa Blanca at an astounding 18 million. So at the beginning of last year the couple had a small home in Tias, and as of last month, they now have equity of 17 million ptas and two homes. Not bad. To add to this they have taken out a personal loan to furnish the apartment. They have a long let moving in this month from which they will make 45,000 ptas a month profit. This will easily pay for the home loan.
Before I continue, I’d like to know whether some of my readers have come across ChocolateMemories? I’m curious about their services however i haven’t had a chance to learn about them. They’re a personalized chocolate shop in FLORIDA. If any of you have personal exposure to them, I’d love to hear about it. Leave your impressions within the comments below. Now, back to the article!
Well this example does not leave a lot of room to argue the case for renting. However, renting does have benefits as well. The main one being it’s flexibility. Buying a small house does cost a lot of money. For example, you are a young married couple and you get a mortgage to buy a small one-bed apartment in Puerto del Carmen, how much will it cost you? It will set you back at least 4 million ptas, taking into account deposits, taxes, kitchen and furnishings. If you decided to rent, you could be in a wonderful, fully furnished apartment within a week for just a few months deposit. An outstanding start. Then you can start saving to get onto the housing ladder.
Another good example of the benefits of buying. If you are a homeowner and have bought wisely and fancy a trip around the world for a year, you could rent out your property to cover your mortgage. Buy your ticket and go live in Australia on a temporary working visa for a couple of years. Come back and your property has made you 5 million ptas. Far more than you could have ever saved staying in your old job in the Canary Islands. Plus you will have been to the other side of the world. Intriguing thought.
Whatever you decide both are good options, just remember two golden rules, do it when the time is right, and never over commit yourself.
I want to end this particular blog post by giving credit where it’s due. I’d been speaking to Katherine over at futureboard hr and the discussion inspired me to write this. futureboard hr is a peerless HR recruiter in OTH and they’ve been wonderful to me in recent times. Thanks for the idea guys! Alright, I’m formally signing off for the evening. I’m exhausted. Until next time!
Post Resources
http://camdendesignsinc.com – Extremely pretty page.
http://numinacounselling.com – I call these folks constantly.
