Relocations post covid your experience, thoughts and advise

[Will]

Problem is school holidays are all different across Europe. Even with in the various countries. Same thing with all the different national holidays.

[jdeefd]

Thank you for the updates, sounds very positive in normal times. this all helps in my fact finding living the dream plan. What I feel from the UK end, is people love to get to a sunny climate and love there hols come what may. if its available they will come. me included . That is my feel on it. 
roll on better times for us all . fingers crossed. stay safe guys

[Ducks]

Problem is school holidays are all different across Europe. Even with in the various countries. Same thing with all the different national holidays.

True, but UK/ROI have July, August, and Christmas and Easter off always. I think most of the Northern European countries do. Not sure about Italy, though. Half-terms are definitely a moving target, but the two months of summer and Christmas are a guarantee, and have been since I was a kid going to the Canaries on Christmas hols myself! I think this summer will be the first one the islands aren't swarming with Northern European tourists since the 60s.

[Johnrgby]

Problem is school holidays are all different across Europe. Even with in the various countries. Same thing with all the different national holidays.

True, but UK/ROI have July, August, and Christmas and Easter off always. I think most of the Northern European countries do. Not sure about Italy, though. Half-terms are definitely a moving target, but the two months of summer and Christmas are a guarantee, and have been since I was a kid going to the Canaries on Christmas hols myself! I think this summer will be the first one the islands aren't swarming with Northern European tourists since the 60s.

Morning Ducks we came here first in 1979, and swarming is not the word I would use

[Ducks]

Problem is school holidays are all different across Europe. Even with in the various countries. Same thing with all the different national holidays.

True, but UK/ROI have July, August, and Christmas and Easter off always. I think most of the Northern European countries do. Not sure about Italy, though. Half-terms are definitely a moving target, but the two months of summer and Christmas are a guarantee, and have been since I was a kid going to the Canaries on Christmas hols myself! I think this summer will be the first one the islands aren't swarming with Northern European tourists since the 60s.

Morning Ducks we came here first in 1979, and swarming is not the word I would use

Was thinking more of Gran Canaria in the mid-80s. Not quite as busy as today, but probably busier than Fuerte in the off-season! 

[Ducks]

...I am looking to buy a property I can rent out as well as use. I am hoping to either buy a new build or a villa which needs some work. I have a small house in Spain near Alicante, I still enjoy the  house in Spain,  but feel for the future year round sunnier climate is a better option .I find the house in Spain quite hard to rent out, outside summer hols...

Don't think anyone mentioned that holiday rentals need some kind of licence/certificate. We don't rent our place so never researched properly this but it would be wise to look into it. Although, every owner (in Fuerteventura) I know who's renting told me that nobody ever checked if they have the licence or not so they are not worried about the 30K fines.

Very good point, Sam; completely forgot about that! (We don't rent ourselves, so the process is not something we have experience with... But most of our neighbours do, so we are very familiar with occupancy levels, etc.)

I heard it was difficult to get a licence for a while— can anyone comment on that? Seems to have eased recently, though: in the last 6 to 12 months, several properties in our complex began displaying licence plates outside. They had all been renting long before that, so I don't know if they were only able to get licences recently, or they decided to try to finally comply with regulations. One house did change hands, and the new owner got a licence immediately, so perhaps they wanted to be on par with the competition and/or were afraid they couldn't claim ignorance when the house across the road had plates up? In any case, lots of new "official" rentals have sprung up in the last year. 

I have also heard rumours the licences became so difficult to get during the recession because the government wanted to get the tourism industry back on its feet— ie, giving hotels breathing room without the competition from holiday lets, which don't generate as much revenue. (And which are not represented in the same way as big chains and can't apply the same pressure to councils, etc.) Obviously that might be just people talking nonsense after the fact— but if not, the current situation may unfortunately make them harder to obtain again. So maybe that is something to factor in.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

My contribution is to offer the following website as a 'must read' for anyone with queries about what they can and can't do and how to go about it. Janet is  a professional, with many professional contacts, and her information is always spot on. Just substitute Fuerte for Tenerife - The Canaries all operate under the same rules.

https://www.janetanscombe.com/

Good luck if you decide to make the move - it's the best thing we ever did!

[jdeefd]

My contribution is to offer the following website as a 'must read' for anyone with queries about what they can and can't do and how to go about it. Janet is  a professional, with many professional contacts, and her information is always spot on. Just substitute Fuerte for Tenerife - The Canaries all operate under the same rules.

https://www.janetanscombe.com/

Good luck if you decide to make the move - it's the best thing we ever did!

Thank you Tamara

[jdeefd]

...I realise this isn't a great time to discuss relocation, but the dream of starting a new life in the sun is getting me through covid times...

You couldn't pick a better time. You're also not alone, COVID sort of got us seriously considering to move down to Fuerteventura too. I'm sure there's more people in the same boat right now.

I cant wait to get over now and research maybe rent for a while and enjoy the sun .

...I am looking to buy a property I can rent out as well as use. I am hoping to either buy a new build or a villa which needs some work. I have a small house in Spain near Alicante, I still enjoy the  house in Spain,  but feel for the future year round sunnier climate is a better option .I find the house in Spain quite hard to rent out, outside summer hols...

Don't think anyone mentioned that holiday rentals need some kind of licence/certificate. We don't rent our place so never researched properly this but it would be wise to look into it. Although, every owner (in Fuerteventura) I know who's renting told me that nobody ever checked if they have the licence or not so they are not worried about the 30K fines.

big fines, I have heard of this very slow to get in Mainland Spain where I have a small house . 

...I am pretty active 50 odd yr old young...

Fixed that for you.

  Definitely me 

...But I cant be the first person to have such dreams and hopes. I would love to hear how other people got on. good or bad. your favourite enjoyments .What makes it special for you. some success stories would be nice...

More Ketchup than Salsa (Joe Cawley) comes to mind. I quite enjoyed reading the book some years ago.

Thanks for the read, just started this and enjoying it 

Thanks for the post 

EDIT: fixed the multi-quote. There's a tiny button, making it a tad easier. Sam.

[Jason W]

Don't think anyone mentioned that holiday rentals need some kind of licence/certificate. We don't rent our place so never researched properly this but it would be wise to look into it. Although, every owner (in Fuerteventura) I know who's renting told me that nobody ever checked if they have the licence or not so they are not worried about the 30K fines.

big fines, I have heard of this very slow to get in Mainland Spain where I have a small house . 

Wouldn't the lack of a rental licence invalidate the insurance?  What if someone has an accident ? You would be personally liable and seemingly negligent for not having a licence.