Like many families, Julia and Callam Walsh were tired of the expensive cost of living in the UK, from record energy bills to high mortgage payments, costly food shops and crippling taxes.
Rising costs were making it increasingly difficult for them to enjoy the quality of life they wanted for their sons, Sam, 18, Milo, 14, and Jacob, 12.
So in 2020, the pair quit their jobs in property management and left Scarborough, their hometown in North Yorkshire, to move to Spain with their three boys in tow.
Now, relaxing by the pool at their four-bedroom villa in the Spanish resort of Javea, in Alicante, Julia and Callam, both 47, are living the dream.
The couple have not looked back since taking the gamble – in part because the cost of living in the historic seaside town on the Costa Blanca is almost half that of Britain.
Julia says: ‘At the time, my husband was asking every day before we moved out, “Are we doing the right thing?” But we held our nerve in the search for a better work-life balance and now could not be happier.’
Javea in Alicante, where Callam and Julia Walsh live now after putting their Scarborough home on the luxury holiday rental market
Their sunshine adventure is a world away from their stretched finances in Britain, they say. A bottle of their favourite merlot wine is just €2 (£1.74) at the supermarket, and a latte in the coffee shop costs €1.60 (£1.40).
The lure of a better climate and a more laidback lifestyle in Spain pushed them to take the plunge.
But the key to their success – and the only way they could afford to make the move – is their family home in Scarborough, Royal Victoria House.
They bought the seven-bedroom Victorian house in 2014, which was crumbling at the time, for £243,000. To buy it they cashed in their savings and took out a £170,000 mortgage with Santander.
Having fallen in love with this dilapidated four-floor property, the couple spent the next six years doing it up in their spare time and ploughed £100,000 into home improvements to transform it.
But rather than sell it to fund their move to Spain, Julia and Callam decided to put it on the luxury holiday rental market.
Today, it generates £90,000 in rental income a year – and it’s that money which has enabled them to unlock their dreams.
Julia says: ‘We have our home in Scarborough to thank for being able to make the move. It has provided the finance and confidence for us to make the leap.’
The secrets to making a holiday let work
To fund their Spanish lifestyle, the couple decided to turn their British family home into a well-run holiday-let business.
As both Julia and Callam work in property management, they already had contacts for reliable tradesmen to carry out their renovations.
They did much of the practical work themselves, such as redecorating and basic building work including ripping out old furnishings.
However, the family also spent £20,000 on a new kitchen, £20,000 on roof repairs, more than £10,000 on bathrooms and £10,000 to turn the paved area outside into an attractive garden.
On top of this, they paid for rewiring, plumbing, replastering, carpeting and new furnishings. Their project to modernise the old home cost more than £100,000 in total.
Callam and Julia Walsh bought their seven-bedroom Scarborough house in 2014 for £243,000 and ploughed £100,000 into home improvements to transform it
The family spent £20,000 on a new kitchen, £20,000 on roof repairs, more than £10,000 on bathrooms and £10,000 to turn the paved area outside into an attractive garden
At first they had planned to live in the renovated house. But their rising living costs and lack of work-life balance became too much and they decided to make the leap and move to Spain. Work to maintain the house continues now they rent it out.
Callam says: ‘Keeping the property in top condition is essential as we need an 80 per cent occupancy rate to make it work as a business venture.
‘For this, it is essential to get positive reviews to attract repeat visitors and new customers. Making sure that visitors are well looked after and the property is kept in great condition is key.’
Callam says they spend at least £5,000 a year on decoration, such as painting, wallpapering and basic repairs, to make sure the accommodation always looks fresh.
A further £1,600 a month goes on cleaning and property management, £350 a month on laundry and £60 on bins.
Up to £1,000 a month is spent on gas and electricity, while the agency Sykes Cottages, through which the couple rents out Royal Victoria House, can take up to 22 pc of any payments, though they have negotiated a discount.
Julia says that good marketing is vital. The couple decided to let their house as a holiday rental rather than a long-term let because of the higher yield.
Large seaside houses with several bedrooms such as theirs are very popular as a holiday let where a couple of families are looking for shared accommodation.
However, the number of local residents looking for such a property on a long-term basis is relatively low, so demand and therefore rental yields are lower.
For example, a six- to nine-bedroom terrace house in Scarborough is on the rental market for £1,250 a month.
Julia and Callam now enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle in Spain
Julia says of Royal Victoria House, which is on the seafront: ‘It was a real mess and had fallen into a state of disrepair. But the place was so grand. The hallway even had a piano.
‘We looked beyond the tired, dated kitchen and falling-down bathrooms that needed ripping out and replumbing – and slowly built up a family home.’
Callam adds: ‘Good management is key – though it means I need to fly out to visit three or four times a year for personal inspections and to keep on top of necessary maintenance.’
The return flights to Leeds Bradford Airport from Valencia Airport cost Callam as little as £30. The pair rent out the house for between £1,200 and £4,300 a week, depending on the season and demand.
It adds up to around £90,000 a year in rental income. The income more than pays for the Scarborough home’s mortgage and helps to supplement the family’s lifestyle in Spain.
The property will help to give them financial security because, once the mortgage is paid off, they will have a bolthole to return to or a retirement nest egg for older age.
Loving a cheaper lifestyle
Callam and Julia had no desire to live on a permanent holiday as expats – and chose to relocate to Javea because they wanted a stunning seaside location that embraced local culture. They were keen to bring up their children speaking Spanish and English.
Since arriving in Spain, Julia has been able to use her property management skills to sell properties in Spain, while Callam also works in property management.
They have purchased a four-bedroom villa with a swimming pool for €425,000 (£371,000). However, their mortgage costs are far lower than in the UK.
Julia says: ‘A five-year fixed mortgage in Spain charges interest of 1.79 per cent while in Britain our five-year fixed mortgage is about five per cent.’
But the family says the biggest saving is in day-to-day cost of living expenses. They say they might spend €250 (£218) a week on grocery shopping for the family – but back home they could end up spending as much as double this amount.
The energy bills have also halved, partly thanks to having solar panels on the roof in the much sunnier climate of Spain, but also milder winters.
Gas and electricity combined is up to £400 a month, which is substantially less than their bills in the UK.
Motoring is also much cheaper. Callam says it costs them €1.25 (£1.09) for a litre of petrol in Spain – while in high-taxed Britain you might pay £1.35.
Callam says: ‘Thanks to the better weather and more relaxed lifestyle, we also now have more time to go out.
‘This is where you really notice the difference – where a slap-up meal with drinks for the family might previously have cost £200, we now expect to spend closer to £100.’
But there are hidden costs. A double-tax agreement between the UK and Spain means they do not pay tax twice on income from their Scarborough home.
But they make sure income does not exceed £90,000 a year to avoid the cost of registering for VAT. Businesses must register for VAT if they have a turnover of more than £90,000.
There is an autonomo personal income tax rate they must pay in Spain, based on level of income – they pay 26 per cent.
After running costs are deducted, the income from the Scarborough property is taxed at the basic rate of 20 per cent in the UK.
But a further six per cent is levied by Spanish authorities as they are residents. They estimate about €500 (£436) a month of their income goes on Spanish income tax, but this gives them access to its Sistema Nacional de Salud national health service.
A ten-year residency permit for the family costs a total of €1,000 (£872). They were only able to apply after completing five years as Spanish residents. When they first moved out, they applied for a temporary residence permit.
