Bank of Scotland International - Case Study Colin Day
Colin Day (58) – is not a typical expat. In fact Colin went to great lengths to completely avoid the traditional British expat experience in Spain. This was the driving factor in his decision to move-on from the location he first purchased property in on the Costa Blanca in 2004. As Colin says; “What’s the point in coming all the way out to Spain to then live in a primarily British environment?”
The original golf villa in Villa Martins was in a location that Colin considered to be far too ‘expat’ and concrete in its composition, so he decided to look West until he struck upon Andalucia, just North of the mountains, where there is a more bearable continental as opposed to mediterranean temperature. This was a far more suitable location for both Colin and his wife, whose ailing health was the key reason for quitting the UK in the first instance to seek a better quality of life. Unfortunately Colin’s wife passed away in 2007, but Colin has remained and has no intentions of leaving in the near future. Colin is definite in his feelings about the UK – saying that he misses ‘home’ “not one tiny bit”,
Colin’s current property is a detached 130 square metre villa on a plot (parcello) of land 1,300 square metres in size. It has 3 double bedrooms, and a large family bathroom. There’s an en suite in the double used as a guest room; the smaller double is used as an office, the remaining double is Colin’s bedroom, and a lounge/diner and separate kitchen.
Having retired from his role as a software developer in 2004 at the age of 54 Colin currently lives in what he characterises as a small urbanisation, working part time doing the accounts and admin for 44 houses. There are only six Britons there so by far the majority are Spanish, who, according to Colin, have always been helpful and hugely appreciate it if you embrace the language. This is a key piece of advice that Colin would offer to any other retiree considering a move to Spain; “be willing to speak the language. Don’t have the attitude that everyone has to speak English just because you do.”
His second piece of advice is that you have to be adaptable and accept that things are done differently in Spain. “You have to do jobs yourself – and if you can’t do it yourself then expect delays. You can't ring up Telefonica and say ‘my phone isn’t working, come now’; they’ll come when they’ve got time.” Colin also points out that the responsibility for services stops at the boundary of any land that you may own. “The electric company will take responsibility up to the meter and not after that.” So Colin has had to fix a lot of problems himself.
Colin is also as switched on in terms of managing his finances as he is in keeping things running at his property. He splits his finances equally between euro and sterling accounts for example, hedging his exposure to fluctuations in either currency and also recommends opening an offshore bank account. Colin has an instant access account with Bank of Scotland International, recommending from his perspective as a software developer, the internet banking service and from his perspective as a canny saver, the gross interest he receives on his savings. And as Spain is his tax domicile, it’s easier to manage his own tax situation “than having tax deducted at source and then having to deal with the HMRC to claim it back.”
Colin also mentions the flexibility that an offshore account provides – if he was to leave Spain and move on somewhere else then only his domestic banking situation would change; and he could successfully maintain contact with his UK bank wherever he chooses to live.
In fact when it comes to moving to a new place, Spain or elsewhere, Colin is keen to stress the importance of applying the same property-buying rules as you would in the UK. Colin also advises not buying the first place that you see and not allowing estate agents to pressurise you, if they do “just walk out the door."
