GOOD DEALS ON EUROPEAN PROPERTY ATTRACTS BUYERS LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY HOMES

Europe’s largest property markets are attracting large numbers of British buyers looking for bargain properties. Searches in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have increased by 134% this year up until the end of August. It would appear that this is probably due to holiday home buyers trying to take advantage of the economic climate to secure themselves a bargain.
Spanish property searches increased the most by 145.7%, which would seem to indicate that Spain is still a popular country to invest in. Property searches in Portugal (123.9%) were second highest followed by Italy (98.9%), Greece (55.3%) and Ireland (44.1%)
The economic difficulties that these countries have undergone have probably contributed to an increase in searches by British buyers in pursuit of properties in these markets.
At the beginning of the crisis property prices dropped sharply but recently they appear to be holding firm. Maybe it is because of the belief of buyers that the markets are bottoming out that we are seeing an increase of activity from them.
It would look like foreign buyers are supporting prices in the popular markets and will continue doing so.

INCREASE IN SPANISH PROPERTY SALES

According to the latest statistics it would appear that house prices in Spain have fallen more rapidly in recent months. They are down 4.6% over the last 12 months. There has been an increase from -4% in June, to 4.6% in August in price falls. Costal property prices have fallen by 22% since August 2007.
When the rise in VAT on new home sales was introduced in July it was feared that property sales in Spain would plummet. However, the National Institute of Statistics show there were 38,838 home sales in July, which is an increase of 15% on the same time last year and 16% on the previous month.
Year to date cumulative sales up to the end of July are 10.3% up from last year but still down 47% compared to 2007. Sales have increased every month this year on an annualized basis.
Will this trend continue, we will have to wait and see!

RURAL SPANISH PROPERTY

It is a well known fact that the coastal areas in Spain have always been popular with those looking to purchase property and the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are still magnets for the majority of interest. However it is worth noting that many people are deciding to buy property in inland Spain, opting for rural homes instead of coastal homes.

There are various reasons why people opt to buy inland – getting more land and property for their money, cheaper cost of living compared to the coast, quieter rural lifestyle, getting involved in the local community.

There are lots of property options available in inland Spain, some people choose to live in the heart of the countryside in a finca or villa and others prefer to live close to or in the centre of a village, in a townhouse or an apartment.

Also for those looking for an investment, buying a rural property which needs renovation can result in a significant return on investment when it comes to re-selling the property.


If you have any comments or questions regarding living in rural Spain please get in touch.

A GREEK TRAGEDY

As long ago as 2,400 years approximately Plato refused to follow family political tradition, judging the then society and it’s ruling classes as weak, corrupt and decadent, he was also pissed off that his friend Socrates had been sentenced to death. He set himself the task of creating the perfect society (on paper at least) we know it as Utopia, but, like most ideologies do not take into consideration the essence of human nature, i.e., preservation and expansion of territory by force or cunningness in order to improve the quality of life of the few at the expense of the many.

Today the majority of Greek citizens are discovering once again the realities of what having a weak and corrupt government really means. They are staring at an uncertain future, full of hardship, misery and uncertainty some will actually die a violent death as they will try to ask questions of a government with no answers.

A Real Greek Tragedy with the only difference being that the script is written by men in grey suits operating from Wall Street.

Greece today is actually the Trojan horse of Europe; any attempt to bring it on line will cause disastrous economic consequences to the community as a whole.

CASSANDRA

The best golf experience at the Andalucian Open!

On Wednesday the 24th March I was lucky enough to be able to play in the Andalucian Open Pro-Am tournament. I was supposed to play with Miguel Angel Jimenez but when I arrived at the Parador, Miguel Angel told me that I would be playing with Darren Clarke instead. “Was I disappointed” he asked. You can imagine my answer! It turned out to be the best day’s golf of my life. Not so much because of how I played (I was so nervous my driver never came out of the bag until the 18th hole), but who I played with. Mr. Clarke is an absolute gentleman, gregarious, patient and inspirational.
The highlight of the course for me was sinking a 5 meter put on the eighteenth for a net birdie. This got our combined score down to 18 under par, but Darren’s caddie said it was not enough to win the competition. That evening I went to the prize presentation just to take a few photos and rub shoulders with my idols. When Darren Clarke saw me he beckoned me over to the bar and very seriously asked me if I remembered what I did on the eighteenth. A net birdie I replied nervously. He gave me a bear hug and told me that my put had won us the competition by one point. The rest of the evening I spent on cloud nine.

Requiem for Baltasar Garzón

Spanish Judiciary had been leading the way in years of prosecuting those who infringe human and civil rights anywhere. One magistrate (Juez) in particular Baltasar Garzón became world famous for pursuing and demanding extradition from great Britain of General Pinochet of Chile when he was visiting a private clinic in London.

Unfortunately for Mr. Garzón and international justice in general he is now finding out that whilst it was acceptable to chase cases of genocide abroad it was not kosher to investigate Franco’s period in office. During this time hundreds of thousands of citizens were executed just for being Republicans, gays or intellectuals…like the poet Lorca, who epitomized all three things at the one time.
Mr. Garzón is about to be tried by his peers for acting outside his allocated duties and very likely will lose his job and privileges. Someone once said that it takes 100 years to forget a civil war. How right he or she was! As soon as someone started to scratch the surface of this 30 year old Spanish democracy it reveals only hatred and animosity.
I feel sorry for you Baltasar but you should have left this matter alone for another seventy years at least.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Garz%C3%B3n

Juan Martin Seron-Mayor of Alhaurin el Grande.

I have lived, worked and done business in Alhaurin el Grande for over twenty years. During this time I have witnessed firsthand many cases of corruption amongst local politicians and civil servants. Needless to say none of these cases were ever brought in front of a judge. Eight years ago Don Juan Martin Seron came to power by ousting the then socialist mayor, via a vote of no confidence, and he went on to win two further elections. He was never forgiven by the socialists for having taken over a town which was traditionally theirs since democracy was restored to Spain.
Juan Martin Seron is a very difficult and complex person to describe. He is well educated, intelligent, pragmatic and very authoritarian. He does not suffer fools and is implacable against his enemy. He is convinced that he alone knows what is best for Alhaurin el Grande, modesty is definitely not his strong point and the word diplomacy does not appear in his dictionary.

Since coming into power he has worked incessantly to improve the infrastructure of the town which had been totally neglected by his predecessors. In order to do this badly needed work he devised a plan for raising money. The plan was simple and quasi legal. A building company would donate an amount of money to the council in exchange for increased edificablity. (Usually extra attics, on top of the ground plus two, allowed in most urban areas). Another fund raising activity was the ‘certificate of antiquity’ for a building more than four years old that originally had not been properly inscribed in the property registry, which present laws permit and admits. The problem as I see it is not whether these ‘donations’ to the council were legal or not. If we go down this road it will take lawyers and judges a hundred years to come to a decision, if ever.
The crux of the matter is whether the money paid to the council was employed in its totality to improve the town’s infrastructure or not (here one only has to look at what has been done in Alhaurin in the last eight years to realize that it has), or if the Mayor and Councilors actually pocketed these donations in part or all of it. I cannot put my hand on the fire for every member of the Council but I am convinced that Juan Martin Seron is not a crook. What he sees as his reward for having improved the infrastructure of his town beyond expectations comes in the form of street names, squares and public buildings being named after him and the thought of a nice monument at the entrance to the town is what motivates him. If he wanted money he would have stayed managing a bank and doing land deals on the side. Everyone knows he has got the brain and capabilities and ruthlessness to become the best business man this town has ever had, but instead he opted for immortality of a different kind.
For more information (in Spanish) check out these links and please don’t forget to comment and let me know your opinion too.

http://www.cope.es/hemeroteca/2010/03/29/malaga/22-03-10--martin-seron-estoy-seguro-absolutamente-mi-inocencia-porque-nunca-he-birlado-nada-151475-2
http://www.larazon.es/noticia/7796-la-fiscalia-pide-cuatro-anos-de-carcel-para-el-alcalde-de-alhaurin-el-grande
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/red/alcalde/Alhaurin/recibio/642000/euros/sobornos/elpepiesp/20090115elpepinac_16/Tes/

Fruit flies Dream and much about nothing!!

I read an article in a Spanish magazine about the power of the mind. I think it was an interview with Eduardo Punset—but I cannot be sure because the paper has been recycled. In the article there was a reference about scientists being able to determine conclusively that fruit flies dream. When I told my wife about this important discovery she started laughing and has not stopped since. Can someone out there help me corroborate this and wipe the smile of her face! In the same article there was also an anecdote about a neurologist’s conference where one speaker affirmed to the audience that if ears of baby rabbits were cut off at birth in x generations all rabbits would be born with no ears. A Russian scientist in the audience queried this statement by asking the speaker to explain why in Russia all baby girls were born virgins.

Celibacy and the Church

The old choir boys are singing again but this time they are not doing it in unison with their old teachers. They are vocalizing the abuses received by these eminent and learned lechers.
I read today that in Rome they are investigating 3000 cases of abuse by the clergy in Europe, Australia, the U.S.A. and Asia. The problem as I see it is not one of homosexuality which in itself is as old and well-established as Methusalem, practiced by adults of the same sex and tendencies all over the world with great enjoyment and satisfaction. Some of my homosexual friends are horrified reading about these clothed men torturing children in order to satisfy their libido. Who are these people? Certainly not just homosexuals!
I´ll tell you who they are; members of a religious order who, in order to follow their vocation have to take a vow of celibacy( as if legislating celibacy implies the same as removing the need).There are places such as prisons, convents, seminaries and single sex schools that normal sound minded people should avoid at all costs. It breeds unnatural situations, where physical sex manifests itself in the form of sadistic games, bringing out the worst in peoples subconscious.
If the Catholic Church genuinely wants to reduce the number of children abused it should do away with the vow of celibacy right away. The only other alternative is that it should chemically castrate every member of the clergy. The right way is to put it to the vote and accept for the first time in history a democratic decision. Whatever happens we have to stop calling the perpetrators of these terrible acts homosexual, because they are not. At least the vast majority of them are not gay but just perverted sick people who live from guilt to guilt teaching compassion in the name of a God never met nor ever will. The one who are genuinely homosexual usually join the Anglican faith!!

Long live the Costa del Sol

After the wettest winter in Andalucía in living memory the sun looks like it’s appeared again. I took a short walk in the garden admiring beautiful flowers being assailed by colourful butterflies. In the vegetable plot three different type of lettuce are thriving together with a half dozen cauliflower, four cabbages and a row of fennel.
Tomorrow I will play at Lauro Golf with a group called the Frogs. They are a great bunch of people, mainly British, living on the Costa del Sol. My wife is planning to take my seven year old skiing to the Sierra Nevada for the first time. What I am trying to say is that life is beautiful on the Costa del Sol. Despite experiencing the same economic problems as the rest of the world, we live in a privileged environment with wonderful facilities available allowing us to enjoy life to the full. I would not like to live anywhere else.
If anyone out there wants to join us and buy or rent a property in Alhaurin el Grande, Coin or anywhere on the Costa, why not check out our webpage www.propertysearchspain.com

We have lots of bargains at the moment so it is a great time to start looking.

Alba Golf on the Costa del Sol

I just came back from a week long golfing holiday on the Costa del Sol. My friends, eleven of them came from Scotland, so you can imagine how much they looked forward to playing in the sun. However it was not meant to be as we were presented with one of the wettest weeks in history.
Despite the rain and thanks to a truly professional agent called Michael Falvey from Alba Golf Holidays S.L. (who was in contact with our group on a daily basis) we managed to get four good days of golf and golf vouchers valid for a year for the courses we did not manage to play because of the impossible weather.
I cannot recommend Alba Golf enough. Michael Falvey managed to change our itinerary on a daily basis according to which course was available and he did it with such a professional attitude that my Scottish friends and I were very pleasantly surprised and determined to come back next year.
Well done Michael!
Check it out-
http://www.albagolfholidays.com/

Fair Weather Advisors

The discredited U.S. President Richard Nixon is often quoted as saying that he had ‘one hundred economic advisors’. He was convinced that in any given situation one of those advisors were right. The problem was that he did not know which one!
In Spain we have exactly the same situation; the important difference is that Mr. Zapatero knows that none of his economic advisors are right as all of them lack the knowledge and the impartiality necessary to give advice that would benefit the country as a whole. They are usually appointed on the grounds of family ties, favouritism and friendship. So in the present economic climate they are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.

Judgement Day

The incessant rain of the last few weeks which has been afflicting Andalusia like never before has prompted me to start a new project. I am going to build a boat. It will be a big one; it has to be in order to accommodate at least one pair of each animal species on earth. Once all the animals have been accommodated I hope there will be room for me and my wife and of course all our immediate family. If there is room I will also take on board a few friends, those who play golf will be given priority. Looking into the future when the rain subsides and things get back to normal I would like to bring with me a few people who I feel could contribute to a better society in the future. The first name that springs to mind is Tom Waite. Bansky whoever he is would be included, Ferran Adriá (El Bulli) also. If he is not dead already I would like Jonathon Miller on board as well as Nelson Mandela. They could act as the wise old men.

Procreation will be an important factor for the future especially as there won’t be any television so Penelope Cruz, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, Scarlett Johansson and a few well chosen others will be a welcome addition to the crew. The boat will be leaving Malaga sometime in the near future so anyone who is not a priest, politician or pedophile is welcome to apply for passage to I do not know where. Interviews will be strict but fair. Basically you have to prove that you are a good person. The rest who screw up this world can go to hell.

Tax Cuts..to be or not to be?

In order to aid the recuperation of the immensely depressed housing market the Spanish government has announced a number of economic measures which will come into effect from the 1st of March 2010.1-Property transfer tax will be reduced from 7% to 2.5%.2-Vat on new built property sold by promoters will drop to 6% instead of the present 16%3-Capital Gains Tax on the sale of first residences which at present is a 18% will be scrapped whilst second residences will be increased to 25%.4-First time buyers will be able to repay capital only for the first three years of their mortgage as the government will make good the interest to the banks via a national agreement on corporation tax incentives. All the above measures are part of an actual dream I had last night. The rest of the dream consisted of reopening more offices, employing more people, living an active productive life in a beautiful country with a fantastic climate. When I told my wife about this dream she said that if I believe it can happen strongly enough it will happen.

What do you think?

Confessions of a Real Estate Agent!

Until a few years ago I used to assure my clients that in Andalusia at least all properties which were not 100% legal could be legalised with the help of a competent lawyer, efficient Notary, a scrupulous registrar and a sympathetic politician (be it a mayor or a councillor for urban matters). That is how it used to work as recently as 2002. That was the year when the regional government came out of twenty years of voluntary hibernation and realised that the rats had emptied out the larder and indiscriminate building, resembling an overspill from a giant Lego, set had taken place. It is the normal practice of politicians in power to find ways of blaming others for their own mistakes. So The Junta de Andalucia proceeded to shut the stable door( the horse had already bolted), and beat the hell out of everyone left inside by issuing new normatives regulating urban and building matters in such a strange way, that no one can now understand what can legally be built, if anything!

The new normatives basically castrated all local councils whose main source of income was the issuing of building licences and the negotiated agreements with promoters, who would part with vast sums of money in order to see the their cheaply bought rustic land converted into building land.
Honest councils used the money received from these activities to improve the infrastructure of their towns and villages, while other not so honest politicians improved their own and their family’s bank accounts. Nobody in their right mind, with a minimum of social consciousness, likes to see the destruction of the Mediterranean coast or the spoiling of the Andalucian country side. Therefore clear laws, albeit too late, that regulate the building industry in Andalusia would be welcomed if and when they arrive.

What’s not welcome is the Andalucian Government’s current strategy of persecuting individual property owners, by the use of inquisition like tactics (aided and abetted by the notoriously dense and bureaucratic justice system) to the point that anyone who owns a legal property in the country side could be receiving hefty fines and in some cases demolition orders. What this region really needs (apart from a change in government ASAP) is an amnesty for all individual proprietors who possess a legal Escritura for their property, because the majority bought in good faith (advised by lawyers) and paid their transfer taxes, registration and notary fees.

Although personally I think it is a waste of public money, I understand the need to arrest and try corrupt politicians, speculators and promoters, who have made themselves rich by breaking the vague and confusing existing laws. What I cannot understand is that the weight of the judicial system should fall on individuals and families, most of them from northern European countries, who acted in good faith. The Andalucian government is projecting a banana republic image abroad, which will take a generation to forget, as well as damaging the already tenuous economy of the region.