Hi Everyone -- Looking for some advice from the wise folks on this board. DH and I moved to Portugal a few months ago, and love it. We found an apartment to rent that is pretty nice, but not up to the standards we have grown accustomed to in the US. For instance, there are some on-going maintenance issues that have led to a couple of very smelly guys coming over and making a giant mess and spending the whole day here with us. This has happened a couple of times, and I fear the issues will take more of these sessions to resolve. The kitchen and bathrooms are not as modern and attractive as would be ideal. We've had some drain issues, which also requried a very smelly man to spend several hours with us. Also, the kitchen stove is underpowered. I tried stir-frying the other day, and ended up with more of a stir-steam situation. There is a dog that likes to bark right outside one of our windows (the guest room, luckily). But there are lots of positives to the place -- great location, nice view, big rooms, good neighbors. Our bedroom is quiet. The rent is $1700 per month.
We just took a look at a unit for sale down the block that is nicer than this place in many ways. It is almost twice the size, with a floor plan that works for us. It seems to be very well built, and is located in a well-kept condo community with a swimming pool (we both like to lap swim). I think we would enjoy living there more than here, but I'm struggling with the decision of whether it makes sense to spend the money on it. The cost is likely to be $625,000 once all the fees and taxes are taken into account. The monthly HOA and real estate taxes will be around $400. I think Portugal, like many places, is experiencing a real estate bubble. Professionals earn, maybe, $40,000 per year, so how do people afford these homes? Mortgage interest rates are very low here (like 1.25%), so I guess that is the secret. I imagine that rates will go up eventually, and prices will go down.
I think purchasing property here is probably not a good investment. But in a market full of bad investment options, this unit is by far the best I've seen. If we want to purchase one of these over-priced Portugal properties, we probably should buy this unit. Maybe it is better to live more modestly and save the money. But what am I saving it for? We have reached our FIRE goals, and my husband continues to work (he actually likes it). If this were a Suze Ormann "can I afford it" session, she would say that I can indeed afford it. I've spent so much time trying to save money and make smart investment decisions, that the idea of buying something that will probably lose value just rubs me the wrong way -- even if I can afford to lose the money and would get a lot of enjoyment out of the place.
So much waffling... Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate any thoughts.
We just took a look at a unit for sale down the block that is nicer than this place in many ways. It is almost twice the size, with a floor plan that works for us. It seems to be very well built, and is located in a well-kept condo community with a swimming pool (we both like to lap swim). I think we would enjoy living there more than here, but I'm struggling with the decision of whether it makes sense to spend the money on it. The cost is likely to be $625,000 once all the fees and taxes are taken into account. The monthly HOA and real estate taxes will be around $400. I think Portugal, like many places, is experiencing a real estate bubble. Professionals earn, maybe, $40,000 per year, so how do people afford these homes? Mortgage interest rates are very low here (like 1.25%), so I guess that is the secret. I imagine that rates will go up eventually, and prices will go down.
I think purchasing property here is probably not a good investment. But in a market full of bad investment options, this unit is by far the best I've seen. If we want to purchase one of these over-priced Portugal properties, we probably should buy this unit. Maybe it is better to live more modestly and save the money. But what am I saving it for? We have reached our FIRE goals, and my husband continues to work (he actually likes it). If this were a Suze Ormann "can I afford it" session, she would say that I can indeed afford it. I've spent so much time trying to save money and make smart investment decisions, that the idea of buying something that will probably lose value just rubs me the wrong way -- even if I can afford to lose the money and would get a lot of enjoyment out of the place.
So much waffling... Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate any thoughts.