Here´s a great opportunity for somebody looking for a simple low-cost, high quality property in Spain.

Jardines del Albaicin is a lovely development of apartments and penthouses, located within walking distance of the exceptional Ritz Carlton Villa Padierna & Spa (that´s the hotel that Michelle Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy recently stayed in…..though not together we hasten to add!), and the Los Flamingos Golf Resort. The project is also just a 5 minute drive from the beach and a 10 minute hop into Puerto Banus. Continue reading »

Just when we thought that 100% mortgages in Spain were a thing of the past, along come 3 opportunities in Marbella offering full-price finance. Last week we highlighted the key ready Marbella developments of Santa Maria Green Hills and Los Lagos de Santa Maria Golf, and now we can add the development of El Vicario to the list. El Vicario comprises a selection of 2 and 3 bed apartments and penthouses, set in the hills of Elviria.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Elviria is one of the most popular areas of he Costa del Sol, and properties in Elviria are always in high demand. The home of the 5 star Don Carlos Hotel and the famous Nikki Beach Club, Elviria also boasts fine sandy beaches, an impressive 18 hole golf course, and an array of amenities that include shops, bars and restaurants. Continue reading »

It seems that in these cash-strapped recessionary times, banks are becoming even more reluctant to lend to Spanish property buyers. Normally, non-residents of Spain can expect to borrow up to 70% of the price of their property in Spain, and that´s only on the basis that they have an outstanding credit rating and all their paperwork stacks up. In other words, what little money the banks have to play with is only available for the pick of mortgage customers – i.e. those with a hefty deposit and those with the ability to repay their debt!

However…..we are delighted to let you know that there are one or two 100% finance deals in the Costa del Sol, meaning that buyers will only need to find their purchase fees and taxes (normally around 11%-12% of the property price). Continue reading »

Can anybody accurately predict where Sterling may be heading against the Euro? We have recently seen the pound fall to a 5 month low and at this point in time we are seeing the Interbank rate under 1.14.  According to Currencies Direct, “This is not down to Euro strength but more to do with uncertainty relating to the UK economy. On the last vote of the Monetary Policy Committee one of the members actually voted to increase the Quantitative Easing measures (quaintly shortened to QE2), and this of course saw the pound start to tumble. Continue reading »

We have just been offered the opportunity of working with one of the leading Spanish high street banks, who want us to help shift their large stock of repossessed Spanish properties.

We´ve been given access to a very smart computerised database in which we can find Spanish properties for sale in a variety of regions. We can see an overview of the details of each property with measurements, a picture, a bank valuation, and importantly the current sales price that the bank is after. Continue reading »

Sterling has risen to a nineteen month high against the euro. The euro sterling exchange rate passed through the critical barrier of 1.20 earlier today, the highest point it has reached since the gloomy days of December 2008 when sterling was at near-parity to the euro, trading at a rate of 1.02 Continue reading »

The Spanish parliament has approved a €15 billion austerity bill, designed to protect the Spanish economy from a Greek-style meltdown and to reduce the GDP deficit from 11% to a targeted 6% in 2011. Continue reading »

The Spanish government recently announced new measures designed to combat the huge national debt crisis in Spain that is in danger of overwhelming the country in much the same way as Greece.

Public sector workers will see their wages slashed by 5% this year, while their pay will be frozen in 2011. The baby bonus of €2,500 given to new mothers will also be abolished. Continue reading »

If you are thinking of designing and building your own villa in Spain, you may be interested to know if Spanish mortgages are available for the project.

In the good old days when banks were actually inclined to lend money to people(!), it was common practice for Spanish banks to lend up to 50% of the value of a plot of land. So for instance, if you were interested in buying a plot of land in Spain for €350,000, you could expect to be able to borrow €175,000 – subject to status of course. Continue reading »

I was involved in a bizarre situation last week. A client of mine, let´s call her Mrs. Smith, responded to a property advertisement on the internet for a 3 bed property for sale in Marbella, priced at €195,000. Another Costa del Sol property agent had advised me that he was dealing directly (and exclusively) with a local bank that had repossessed the property and that he had been asked by the bank to find a buyer within an agreed timescale of 3 weeks, of which there were 7 days remaining when my client took a look at the property. Continue reading »