House prices in spain are predicted to have fallen by approx 20% by the end of 2010 - maybe wait til then to put in offers of 30% below the asking prices or you may not be taken very seriously! Also, you should look at which agents are selling which properties, some actually add their commission on top of the price the vendor is wanting - and the agents commission percentage can vary hugely! So you may find the same property on with several agents at different prices. You also have to pay a lot to buy a place here, around 7% - 10% of the house price - and be very careful that the property has the correct paperwork

As for living expenses, well I'm not finding it much cheaper than the UK, although people on this board would probably argue with me (in fact they have on a previous thread LOL!!!)! But I live here with two children. three dogs, a car and I smoke, dont drink or eat out very much and we spend approx 1,000 euros a month excluding rent and school fees

Jo