Renting Property in Spain

Renting Property in Spain

What to look for in your real estate/management agency

Rental Process:

Costa Del Sol Property Group have all the answers

Every real estate in Spain offers a tenant finding service that usually costs one month’s rent unless you negotiate for a different deal.

Many agents will feel that this is all they need to do but there are others who go much further and provide:

·        A fully legal Spanish contract

·        A full inventory of everything in the house

·        A condition report about the property including any marks, dents, broken items etc.

·        Ensuring any clients are referenced including an employer reference, a previous landlord reference, accountant reference, solicitor reference and so on. They will also confirm that these references are coming from the right people.

Damage deposit

·        It’s recommended to ask for a damage deposit of two months

o   Let’s say you rent your property to Mr Winson. He gives you one month deposit and, one month before he is supposed to leave, he tells you that he won’t pay the rent and you can just use the deposit as rent money. One week later you’re left with an electricity bill without any money from the tenant to pay for it.

·        If you take two month’s deposit then even if the scenario above happens to you then you’ve still got a month’s worth of money to pay for any bills or damage left behind

Management

·        Good agents will also offer you a Complete Rental Management Service for rental tenancy, though they will charge for this

·        Agents collect rent each month for you and ensure that the bills get paid. They also check the property on a regular basis and let you know if any problems arise such as if a boiler breaks or the electricity goes down

·        When you deal with a good agent you can get back the agency management fee through the savings you make from them. You can make savings by reducing the cost of the electricity, working with the town hall, and using different third party companies

·        One of the best aspects of the management service is that rental tenancy is managed. It’s a simple matter but an effective one. They monitor the property and manage it so that tenants know they are helping

The right management agents work hard to make rental tenancy as hassle free for both the tenant and the property owner.

Where to Live in Spain; Malaga and the Costal del Sol

Where to Live in Spain; Malaga and the Costal del Sol

If you’re thinking about moving to Spain then you might be considering the Málaga, area. If so then you should be aware that there’s far more to Malaga, than just the Costa del Sol.

There are so many fantastic places to live in the Costa del Sol

If you don’t know a lot about the area that you’re considering a move to then you need to do your research about it, especially if you’re taking children with you. That’s when we come in to help. We’re not going to be trying to sell the dream of living in the areas for you. Instead we’ll be telling you what the residents of Malaga, told us so you know what it’s really like on the inside.

Málaga is found on the southern coast of Spain, in the Autonomous community of Andalusia. Málaga is bordered by the provinces of Cádiz, Sevilla, Córdoba and Granada and to the south you’ll find the Mediterranean Sea.

The province is then divided up into the comaracas of Atequera, Axarquia, Malaga, Guadalhorce Valley, Serriana of Ronda and the Costa del Sol. There are 101 municipalities between all of these comarcas. A comarca is basically a “-shire” but without the administrative role.

Most of the population of the area could be found in the fishing villages and the “white” villages in the mountains that run down to the coast. The area has been developed quite a bit since the 50s to accommodate international tourism and has become a popular spot for foreign tourists as well as people looking to buy a new place in the sun.

The Costa del Sol (the coastal area of the Málaga, province) is between two other Costas that are a little less-known. They are the Costa de la Luz and the Costa Tropical. Costa del Sol encompasses the coastal towns and communities that fill up the Mediterranean coastline of the Málaga province. It stretches from the cliffs at Maro in the East to the Punto Chullera in the west.

The Costa del Sol Occidental is made up of the municipalities of Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Estepona, Manilva and Casares on the west and Rincon de la Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Nerja, Frigiliana and Torrox to the east.

The Costa del Sol is where most foreigners who move to Malaga, find themselves. It offers an incredibly rich variety. The Costa del Sol has just about everything from luxury marinas and top quality villas to rural inland village houses and rustic fincas. There is also ample opportunity to rent and buy holiday properties in the region.

How to Recover Lost Deposits on Spanish Property Investments

How to Recover Lost Deposits on Spanish Property Investments

Roughly 20,000 Irish investors could be able to claim a refund from an unfinished property development following the Spanish Supreme court ruling that banks are liable to repay these missing deposits.

The court chose on December 21, 2015 to uphold an earlier finding that investors who put money in unfinished off-plan developments were entitled to have their money protected through a Spanish bank guarantee. As such it was decided by the judges that it was up to the developers and financial institutions to return the lost investments.

Investors are able to make use of this guarantee even if they didn’t ask for one or the developer didn’t provide one. If they had an agreement in writing that was never finished then they could also be entitled to interest on their reimbursement. Spanish financial institutions attempted to overturn the ruling but failed.

It’s estimated that thousands of people could demand these reimbursements on lost investments so you need to contact Costa Del Sol Property Group today. 

The Supreme Court ruled that banks had a duty of care when the investments were made and that they should have issued guarantees at the time.

The court said that when people put money into an account with a bank they expect the bank to protect the money. The money wasn’t supposed to be accessed unless the developer provided customers with a deed of sale to sign ownership of the property over. Instead banks failed to do both of those things and they failed to ensure people got these.

Buyers in Spain usually pay a deposit of up to 50% of the value of the property. For a buyer to take a case they have to have a legal document that proves the funds were transferred between themselves and the developer. Investments made in the past 15 years are covered by this court ruling and it’s expected that a case could take up to 18 months to end.

If you’re interested in taking on such a case then count on us to provide Spanish legal representation for you. Our Spanish lawyers will accept a splitting arrangement with you where you pay them a percentage of the money you recover rather than paying a fee no matter the outcome of the case on a NO WIN NO FEE basis.

Three Films You Need to See Before Moving to Spain

Three Films You Need to See Before Moving to Spain

Are you thinking about moving to Spain? These three movies will definitely get you in the mood.

It can feel like moving anywhere, even to Spain, is a laundry list of chores that never seems to end and just leaves what should be an incredibly exciting time the most stressful time.

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Filling in all those forms and applications, all the legal and financial paperwork, doing all the packing and tying up all those loose ends…it’s easy to see how it can be overwhelming. It’s still important to take some time to remind yourself of why you chose to move Spain in the first place. These three movies are definitely a great way to do that.

Here are the three films you need to see before moving to Spain.

1.      Al Sur de Grande

“Al sur de Grande” means “South from Granada” in English. This 2003 movie is about a lost and demobilised soldier from England who makes his home in rural Andalucía for a year. It’s a great movie that will also prepare you for some of the big culture shocks waiting in Spain.

The backdrop of the movie is beautiful thanks to the Alpujarra hills nestled into the background. The dry humour and the excellent performances make this movie great by itself. But if you’re about to live in Spain yourself you’ll definitely connect to the Englishman as he does what you’re about to do. From the initial language barriers and small misunderstandings to the wide world of love the narrative of the movie could very well sync up with your own experiences.

2.      The Business

The Business is a 2005 movie filmed in and around Pureto Banús. The movie, released at the height of the gangster movie period, fits that theme quite well. It follows 80s wannabe wideboy Danny Dyer as he falls in love with the fast lifestyle and easy money of the Costa del Sol before feeling that his own personal morals don’t really match up with what he and his friends are doing. He finds himself knocked from his perch and in need of a new identity.

While many Brits won’t really see themselves in the characters in the movie the film still does a great job of capturing the “anything goes” essence of Puerto Banús that, while it’s not as prevalent as it used to be, is still there in places. There’s also plenty of glitz and glamour left so the movie still shows what you can expect from Puerto Banús as a whole.

3.      Spanglish

Believe it or not a US comedy from Adam Sandler set in L.A can actually prepare you for life in Spain. The movie centres around the ignorance of the Spanish felt by the Anglo-Saxons and showcases Sandler as he attempts to understand the language, passion, and soul of his Hispanic housemaid, played brilliantly by Sevillian Paz Vega.

Sandler’s wife, portrayed by Téa Leoni, showcases the complete opposite; she displays complete indifference and ignorance to her Mexican servants and enjoys her superiority over them. While Brits and Spaniards are much more respectful and honest than this the movie still contains important messages about cultural sensitivity, tact, and humility that will serve any Brit heading to Spain well.

Catalonia to Push for Secession Without Approval from Madrid

Catalonia to Push for Secession Without Approval from Madrid

Catalonia have been pushing for independence

for a long time

Many Catalans have been eager to get their independence but it looks like they’ve been held back at every turn, especially from a political standpoint.

The government of Catalonia has said that they will continue their attempts to break away from Spain even if they can’t secure the approval of the Spanish government.

The debates are becoming as heated as ever as is evidenced by Catalonia defying the Spanish constitutional court by talking about their own sovereignty in this manner. The parliament of Catalan put together a resolution to become an independent state nine months ago but their requests were never answered by those in Madrid.

Raül Romeva, the Catalonian minster of foreign affairs, has said that the Spanish state has left Catalonians feeling like they don’t have an alternative anymore. Their goal was to try and do what Scotland did when they sought independence; they wished to negotiate with the Spanish government and hold a democratic referendum. They are trying to talk to Madrid but they hear nothing in response.

Madrid would like to avoid seeing Spain break up and are even more apprehsensive following the recent Brexit decision and the idea that Scotland will once again call for a referendum for independence from the UK; a referendum that may very well pass this time.

Romeva has almost given Madrid an ultimatum, saying that the Spanish national government can continue to deny reality and believe that they can use their courts and legal processes to stop it, or they can accept reality and prepare for the inevitable Catalan independence.

A recent poll suggests that many Catalonian voters support the idea of an independent Catalonia and the current incumbent Catalonian government has already drawn up plans to come up with workable departments for collecting taxes, social security apparatus and a foreign affairs department ready for when they gain independence and need such things.

Romera believes that the independence referendum will be called within a year and believes that Madrid must accept what the Catalonian people want.

The stance of Madrid is really quite simple to understand; as Catalonia is not currently a nation any referendum they hold will not be legally binding in a Spanish or EU court. This is an impasse that Catalonia is determined to get past.

Romeva said that Catalonia would obviously be an ally ofSpain because of markets and infrastructure and other cultural and linguistic reasons. He also believes that Europe wouldn’t want to lose the socially and economically dynamic reality. As such any claim that an independent Catalonia would have no place in the EU is false.

Spanish Property Prices Increase at Double the Eurozone Average

Spanish Property Prices Increase at Double the Eurozone Average

Spanish property for sale gives investors a whole lot for their money and the Spanish market as a whole is becoming more stable and attractive each day.

Regardless of Brexit the future is bright the future is Spain

Now the latest data from EU statistics agency Eurostat has shown that property prices across all of the Eurozone have increased on average by around 3% in the last 12 months. Spanish property prices, however, have risen by over double that.

The data from Eurostat shows that the average value of Spanish homes has increased by 6.3% in the year up to the end of the first quarter of 2016. This increase is higher than the increase in almost every other country in the Eurozone.

The Eurostat data would also confirm that property prices have increased now for 8 quarters in a row, with this latest spike of 6.3% being the sharpest rise since the third quarter of 2007. It’s also the biggest average property price increase since 2008 for the entirety of the Eurozone.

The price of property in Spain is still around 32% less than it was during 2008 according to the data. So even though property prices are on the rise, and have been for two years, asking prices are still much lower than they were at the peak of eight years ago.

Many experts are happy with how things look which would suggest that the market is going to slowly correct itself and return to its once former glory through both foreign and domestic demand, banks being sensible about lending, and support from the recovering Spanish economy.

Staying in Eurozone it was Austria who saw the largest increase in property prices in the same amount of time. Property in Austria rose by an average of 13.4% while prices were down 1.2% in Italy and Cyprus.

Surge in Spanish Wine Expected for 2016

Surge in Spanish Wine Expected for 2016

While Spanish wine can be found on most tables in the world a lot of Spanish wine ends up bottled and labelled as being from Italy or France.

Spain's wine regions are some of the best in the world

https://costadelsolpropertygroup.com/Climate-spain.phpIf Spain wasn’t already thought of as a heaven on Earth with their superb beaches, wonderful climate, healthy Mediterranean diet and stunning cities and landscapes then throwing in that Spain is the largest producer of wine in the world will definitely seal the deal.

Data released this week shows that Spain is set for one of their biggest years for wine production with Spain set to make over 50 million hectolitres of wine this year. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what a hectolitre is. To put it simply one hectolitre is the same as 100 litres.

So that makes 50 million hectolitres a heck of a lot of wine.

But why is Spain producing so much wine? It’s believed by the associates and bodies of grape growers and wineries in Spain that the September harvest will be a particularly bountiful one. It’s even being suggested that there could be enough grapes harvested to surpass the old 52.5 million hectolitre record set a few years ago in 2013.

The relatively mild and wet winter and spring, followed by the intense heat of the summer, has led to a great crop this year. There has also been very little crop disease in Spain this year outside of a few incidents of mildew and other problems in Huelva, Galicia and Jerez. The majority of the wine will be coming from the hinterlands of Castilla-La Mancha however and the conditions there are said to be great for wine.

The Castilla-La Mancha isn’t the only place expecting a bumper crop though. Extremadura, Valencia, Ribera del Duero and La Rioja are also expecting great crop numbers.

The boost has also been helped by an increase in how many grapes are being grown overall. The demand for Spanish wine is on the up and wineries are responding by growing more grapes. While the domestic demand for Spanish wine is around 10 million hectolitres there’s little doubt that the increase in foreign demand could see well over 50 million hectolitres produced this year.

Another reason for the increase in Spanish production is that around half of all the wine Spain produces goes to wineries in France and Italy. The wine is then mixed with the wine in these countries and labelled as wine from there to sate the demands of people who still insist that the best wine is French and Italian; not even realising they’re purchasing Spanish!

Spain is still happy with this though because it means that almost all the wine made in Spain gets sold even if it isn’t labelled as Spanish wine. Even though Spain can’t officially take the credit for it everyone the world over is enjoying some of the best wine in the country; whether they realise it or not.