The Spanish property dream revisited!!

Sorry to go on about Brits buying residential properties in Spain. I get twitchy about what do the words "escritura" and "mancomunidad" mean. Then, there is sometimes the lack of land register and the lack of transparency over prices. However, a few years ago with the peseta at 240 to the pound you could sell up in Blighty buy a better property and still have cash over. I remember a few years ago visiting the Costa Brava and being knocked by the coast's beauty. Who would not want to live there?

I am assured that the lunacy on the Spanish roads has got better and the UK health system has gone backwards in comparison with Spain. The UK has funded quite a few of the Spanish infrastructure improvements via European Union transfers. Spain is still a net beneficiary of Community funds but this should change with the increased investment in Eastern Europe.

Spain is a magical place but people should be aware of the problems. The country was always going to struggle with the euro. Inflation is at 4.7 pct and the current account deficit is over 10 pct of GDP. It is likely that Spanish housing and banking sectors will have to take quite a bit of the adjustment. Una cerveza anyone?

Don't get sucked in buying distressed properties, because they will just get more distressed. New buyers should try and rent and then make a measured decision. The possible increase in Eurozone interest rates by the ECB will strengthen the euro but the Spanish and Italian governments are already screaming at the central bank.
www.searchaccountant.co.uk

Spanish property bust hits Brits looking for dolce vita.

I have been reading about the Spanish property bust hitting Brits looking for the
dolce vita (I know it is an Italian phrase). They have been hit by the pound falling against the euro, rising interest rates, illegal building practices and overbuilding.
The Brits have found their main market of selling to other Brits has fallen. The Costa developers have been running on high octane fuel during the last few years.
In the good times there has never been much of a second hand market in the coastal regions since it was quite easy to build new properties.
I saw a mate of mine who lives in Tenerife and he was telling me how cheap his water bills were. I said this situation was unsustainable. Higher water bills are needed to conserve water and I suppose the Sotogrande complex will be
rich enough to water its golf courses. However, I will doubt this will be true
for the rest of the south. I am surprised that the water shortage has not been priced in with the cost of houses and flats.
www.searchaccountant.co.uk
Unfortunately, a lot of people in Spain have been gorging themselves making money from unsuspecting Brits. They have been sold properties without proper planning permission. Then, you have regional governments such as Valencia changing the planning rules retrospectively by getting property owners to pay for infrastructure projects such as roads.
Quite a bit of residential property could be pulled down due to the Coastal Law (Ley de Costas), which is also going to affect quite a few
Spaniards.
www.searchco.co.uk