British Handymen shortages ??? - General Albox discussion - Albox forum - Costa de Almería forum in the Almeria province of Spain
Have Tools Will Travel
ASSSA Insurance
UK DIRECT REMOVALS
Grupo Platinum Estates
Mini Digger Almera

Join the Albox forum

Join the Albox forumMy name's Alex and this is my website all about Albox in Spain. Register now for free to talk about General Albox discussion and much more!

British Handymen shortages ???

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:41pm
9 replies472 views4 members subscribed
Gazza1

Posts: 21

6 helpful points

Location: Albox

Joined: 12 Apr 2020

Hi even though I'm looking to rent  a small bar /cafe   I am a general handyman by trade Gardening Decorating Jetwashing etc Do you guys think they would be a demand for this type of work for the Ex pats 

Before I get bombarded with yes you need this you need to register for NIE and register for self employed I would just like to have an idea  

Gazza1

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:52pm

Gazza1

Original Poster

Posts: 21

6 helpful points

Location: Albox

Joined: 12 Apr 2020

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 6:52pm

This post that was quoted has been deleted.

Cheers mate I just think maybe it would be a good time after this is over to look at things because it makes you realise life's too short I've lost a couple of friends through the virus 

And I'm not wasting any more time

Matthew

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:43am

Matthew

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 2237

3339 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 16 May 2018

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 9:43am

Gazza, I recommend you listen to Derek. Spain will eat you up and without salt.

DarioMartin

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:37am

DarioMartin

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 5342

6309 helpful points

Location: Vera

Joined: 16 Aug 2017

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:37am

We run a wellness centre; along with bars, cafes and restaurants, we will be one of the last to be allowed to resume trading.  Best case scenario for us is end of May / beginning of June, but that is being optimistic.

After the quarantine ends, one thing is for certain - there will be some businesses up for sale .... however, the question you need ask is if the established places take all the customers, or will a “new” place do well? Who knows? 

Still, if you are determined to do it, then Carpe Diem.  HOWEVER .... make sure you have a tidy sum put aside for various contingencies not included in the sale of a place 1) Residencia.  You want to open a place, you’ll be here longer than 3 months.  Residencia is mandatory, end of story. 2) along with Residencia then you’ll need health cover.  Now if you’re buying a business, that means registering with Seguridad Social and paying Autónomo.... pay autónomo, that gives you access to Spanish healthy system ... and health cover is mandatory for Residencia. 3) we don’t have a high turnover - we’ve been established just over a year.  Our first trimester tax bill this year was over 1.000€.  Make sure you have money to cover that. 4) hire yourself a BLOODY good asesor / asesora - someone who knows the ins and outs, can help you through the Residencia process then also do your quarterly tax returns. 5) if you don’t buy an established business, and start from scratch, as well as the outfitting cost, make sure you have enough for a fire inspection and an opening licence.  You can not operate a business without an opening licence.

Now probably a few who read this will scoff and say (quietly) that you don’t need all that, don’t need Residencia, don’t need autónomo, just operate cash and looaaaadsofmoney. Yeah. Right. Spain’s economy is .... hurting ..... it’s paying out MILLIONS to self-employed (autónomos) and is also waiving payment of Autónomo to qualifying self-employed.

You better believe, they are going to want that back and I’ll guarantee both Seguridad Social and tax office are going to be coming down hard on non-payment with a vigour that will leave you breathless.

By all means, look for something but PLEASE don’t jump at the first “too-good-to-be-true” offer that comes along, because there will be other people out there ALSO wanting to make back some money, and if you’re the poor mark that gets taken ..... it’s not fair, it’s not nice, but for the love of the gods don’t take anyone at their word, get books inspected (yeah, and the “second” set that may be around ...) *sigh* ... follow your dream, seize the day - Carpe Diem - but do your due diligence. Then do it again. Then hire someone to double check .... you really will appreciate that investment.

Buena suerte

Gazza1

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:51am

Gazza1

Original Poster

Posts: 21

6 helpful points

Location: Albox

Joined: 12 Apr 2020

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:51am

DarioMartin wrote on Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:37am:

We run a wellness centre; along with bars, cafes and restaurants, we will be one of the last to be allowed to resume trading.  Best case scenario for us is end of May / beginning of June, but that is being optimistic.

After the quarantine ends, one thing is for certain - there will be some businesses up for sale .... however, the question you need ask is if the established places take all the customers, or will a “new” place do well? Who knows? 
...

...

Still, if you are determined to do it, then Carpe Diem.  HOWEVER .... make sure you have a tidy sum put aside for various contingencies not included in the sale of a place 1) Residencia.  You want to open a place, you’ll be here longer than 3 months.  Residencia is mandatory, end of story. 2) along with Residencia then you’ll need health cover.  Now if you’re buying a business, that means registering with Seguridad Social and paying Autónomo.... pay autónomo, that gives you access to Spanish healthy system ... and health cover is mandatory for Residencia. 3) we don’t have a high turnover - we’ve been established just over a year.  Our first trimester tax bill this year was over 1.000€.  Make sure you have money to cover that. 4) hire yourself a BLOODY good asesor / asesora - someone who knows the ins and outs, can help you through the Residencia process then also do your quarterly tax returns. 5) if you don’t buy an established business, and start from scratch, as well as the outfitting cost, make sure you have enough for a fire inspection and an opening licence.  You can not operate a business without an opening licence.

Now probably a few who read this will scoff and say (quietly) that you don’t need all that, don’t need Residencia, don’t need autónomo, just operate cash and looaaaadsofmoney. Yeah. Right. Spain’s economy is .... hurting ..... it’s paying out MILLIONS to self-employed (autónomos) and is also waiving payment of Autónomo to qualifying self-employed.

You better believe, they are going to want that back and I’ll guarantee both Seguridad Social and tax office are going to be coming down hard on non-payment with a vigour that will leave you breathless.

By all means, look for something but PLEASE don’t jump at the first “too-good-to-be-true” offer that comes along, because there will be other people out there ALSO wanting to make back some money, and if you’re the poor mark that gets taken ..... it’s not fair, it’s not nice, but for the love of the gods don’t take anyone at their word, get books inspected (yeah, and the “second” set that may be around ...) *sigh* ... follow your dream, seize the day - Carpe Diem - but do your due diligence. Then do it again. Then hire someone to double check .... you really will appreciate that investment.

Buena suerte

Thank you all for your advice

Advertisement - posts continue below

DarioMartin

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:48am

DarioMartin

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 5342

6309 helpful points

Location: Vera

Joined: 16 Aug 2017

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:48am

Gazza1 wrote on Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:51am:

Thank you all for your advice

Oh - and until you’ve visited, don’t get hung up on one particular area.  Albox has ... a few ... Expats (read: it’s more difficult to find Spanish spoken there, than English) but you may decide you prefer the coast to inland.  In this area, Mojácar is the place where there is the most concentration of English speakers, followed by Turre, only about 8 or so km inland.  With Mojácar, please remember that it is seasonal as it is tourist oriented, although this year? Who knows.  I also know that in Turre, quite a few head back to UK for summer as the summer here is too hot;  Albox, other than being Expat central, I have no idea of its movements.

A final thing - I guess that you are looking to move to an English area because you don’t speak Spanish?  As a business owner, you’d be advised to learn Spanish to at least a basic conversational level - if you move to a heavily expat-dominated area, most of your customers may speak English, but the same cannot be said for the Ayuntamiento, and Seguridad Social who you will need to deal with and any tradesmen you may need to bring in.

Matthew

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:57am

Matthew

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 2237

3339 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 16 May 2018

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:57am

DarioMartin wrote on Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:37am:

We run a wellness centre; along with bars, cafes and restaurants, we will be one of the last to be allowed to resume trading.  Best case scenario for us is end of May / beginning of June, but that is being optimistic.

After the quarantine ends, one thing is for certain - there will be some businesses up for sale .... however, the question you need ask is if the established places take all the customers, or will a “new” place do well? Who knows? 
...

...

Still, if you are determined to do it, then Carpe Diem.  HOWEVER .... make sure you have a tidy sum put aside for various contingencies not included in the sale of a place 1) Residencia.  You want to open a place, you’ll be here longer than 3 months.  Residencia is mandatory, end of story. 2) along with Residencia then you’ll need health cover.  Now if you’re buying a business, that means registering with Seguridad Social and paying Autónomo.... pay autónomo, that gives you access to Spanish healthy system ... and health cover is mandatory for Residencia. 3) we don’t have a high turnover - we’ve been established just over a year.  Our first trimester tax bill this year was over 1.000€.  Make sure you have money to cover that. 4) hire yourself a BLOODY good asesor / asesora - someone who knows the ins and outs, can help you through the Residencia process then also do your quarterly tax returns. 5) if you don’t buy an established business, and start from scratch, as well as the outfitting cost, make sure you have enough for a fire inspection and an opening licence.  You can not operate a business without an opening licence.

Now probably a few who read this will scoff and say (quietly) that you don’t need all that, don’t need Residencia, don’t need autónomo, just operate cash and looaaaadsofmoney. Yeah. Right. Spain’s economy is .... hurting ..... it’s paying out MILLIONS to self-employed (autónomos) and is also waiving payment of Autónomo to qualifying self-employed.

You better believe, they are going to want that back and I’ll guarantee both Seguridad Social and tax office are going to be coming down hard on non-payment with a vigour that will leave you breathless.

By all means, look for something but PLEASE don’t jump at the first “too-good-to-be-true” offer that comes along, because there will be other people out there ALSO wanting to make back some money, and if you’re the poor mark that gets taken ..... it’s not fair, it’s not nice, but for the love of the gods don’t take anyone at their word, get books inspected (yeah, and the “second” set that may be around ...) *sigh* ... follow your dream, seize the day - Carpe Diem - but do your due diligence. Then do it again. Then hire someone to double check .... you really will appreciate that investment.

Buena suerte

I cashed in my chips a couple of years ago and retired. I use Spain for Rest & Recreation only. The only work I ever see myself doing in future is sweeping the terrace or using the hoover if I'm that bit too lazy. 

Coming towards retirement I looked into leasing a bar/restaurant in Spain. Some of the businessmen with which I dealt were outright chancers who themselves were victims of other chancers. It was like entering a pyramid of underhand dealings of which I would be at the bottom and all I saw ahead was my guaranteed pension dwindling and I'd be lucky to scrape a mere existence. You can hire a gestor to act for you. This is not cheap and you'll get a bill for every telephone call and minute that he represented you. You hope that even he is acting above board. Spain does red tape like no other country (and before somebody says  it, Ireland is not far behind). Eventually, you arrive at Start-Up. Can you trust your staff? Can you trust your customers? Can you trust your suppliers? Can you stay the course? Everybody is competing for the same euro - forget this at your peril. 

. . . and then I accepted that I had run the course; it was time to hold back, forget about the rat-race (you can't have a rat-race without rats) and put my legs up and watch life passing by. You know what? Retirement is not a bad thing and spending a few months in Spain is not bad and you know what ? -The weather is better.

Matthew

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:40am

Matthew

Legendary helpful member

Posts: 2237

3339 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 16 May 2018

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:40am

Gazza, I fear that I might have frightened you off trying to be a business success in Spain. Don't worry about that, I'd rather put the facts in front of you rather than lies. 

Don't discount the obvious. You are a Handyman, bottom line.

Here's a project for you (guaranteed not to lose - where did you hear that before?). Many in Mojacar Playa took a chance years ago and bought off plan and fair play many of them now have property worth far more than they ever envisaged (fact). Many of these properties have been rented out over the years and were profitable investments (fact). 

Some like me have become grey haired and wish to cash in their chips and put their legs up. Their "investment" properties need upgrading, updating and upscaling. Most likely they need a new kitchen, a little rewiring, some new water pipes and some furniture and most important painting. Make it wheelchair friendly. You are a handyman and if you buy one such property and put in some work and TLC in the off season (when work in the UK is at its lowest) your labour costs are almost nil and there will always be a  market for good updated property in Mojacar Playa. A simple case of Buy and Sell and I reckon it won't cost you too much initially.

Gazza1

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:56am

Gazza1

Original Poster

Posts: 21

6 helpful points

Location: Albox

Joined: 12 Apr 2020

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:56am

Matthew wrote on Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:40am:

Gazza, I fear that I might have frightened you off trying to be a business success in Spain. Don't worry about that, I'd rather put the facts in front of you rather than lies. 

Don't discount the obvious. You are a Handyman, bottom line.

Here's a project for you (guaranteed not to lose - where did you hear that before?). Many in Mojacar Playa took a chance years ago and bought off plan and fair play many of them now have property worth far more than they ever envisaged (fact). Many of these properties have been rented out over the years and were profitable investments (fact). 

Some like me have become grey haired and wish to cash in their chips and put their legs up. Their "investment" properties need upgrading, updating and upscaling. Most likely they need a new kitchen, a little rewiring, some new water pipes and some furniture and most important painting. Make it wheelchair friendly. You are a handyman and if you buy one such property and put in some work and TLC in the off season (when work in the UK is at its lowest) your labour costs are almost nil and there will always be a  market for good updated property in Mojacar Playa. A simple case of Buy and Sell and I reckon it won't cost you too much initially.

Once again thank you everybody for ypur posts keep them coming  in glad to hear from all sides

Gazza1

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:31pm

Gazza1

Original Poster

Posts: 21

6 helpful points

Location: Albox

Joined: 12 Apr 2020

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:31pm

This post that was quoted has been deleted.

I am blessed to have had some sound advice I think I 'll just go with an holiday retreat for now 

Sign up for free or login to reply to this topic

Want to reply to this topic? Login or register for free to post your message:

Find more General discussion topics from a particular area:


Register for free!

Login to your account

Have Tools Will Travel
ASSSA Insurance
UK DIRECT REMOVALS
Grupo Platinum Estates
Mini Digger Almera
Advertise your business here
Advertise your property
Help with my computer