According to pisos.com, that figure for what a vendor would like to receive and what a purchaser would like to pay is now at 42,367€. This is considered quite substantial and needs to reduce. It seems it is falling, with the 2011 figure 4,500€ higher.
The Bank of Spain has finally proposed that valuers are independent from Banks and separate from the lending institution. This has been a long time in the coming and considered a contributing element in creating the property bubble. It is common that Spanish banks own a percentage of the valuation company carrying out their appraisals.
In a report issued to the banks and their valuers, they also suggest, very sensibly, that
loans should not be over 80%
that banks use more than one valuation company
They should view any previous valuation before making a lending decision
The banks also states it doesn’t not believe in massive, desktop valuations and that the valuer should always visit the property, including an internal inspection.
As well as my personal sitew, you can find us on Linkedin at:
James Preston, a Spanish resident, and UK citizen has lost his appeal to allow British ex-pats to vote after 15 years of absence from the UK.
it is estimated that the ruling will disenfranchise up to 5 million British ex-pats.
British ex-pats continue to fight the 15-year voting rule
Ironically, this is occurring while the EU is trying to force the UK government to allow the prison population to have the vote.
It seems rather short-sighted of the government to reject this generally conservative voting group.
The government argues that ex-pats are out of touch with the UK. However, in our view that it is likely to have the reverse effect, making ex-pats more proactive and involved with British events and issues.
to sign the online petition to support this cause please go to:
http://votes-for-expat-brits-blog.com/category/voting-rights/james-preston-case/
It appears there is light at the end of the tunnel for the thousands of mortgage holders with a ground clause.
This clause basically sets out minimum and maximum levels of interest payments. A typical clause might state a 4% minimum payment and a 15% maximum.
Various court cases, including recent judgements in Sevilla and Mallorca, consider this clause illegal. the key seems not to be its existence, but the be the disproportionate distance between the ground and ceiling levels.
At present most standard mortgage rates are calculated using Euribor average over 12 months plus a percentage of perhaps 0.75% or 1%.
The Eurobor is at about 0.60% so if the bank charges 1% on top of that, the rate is 1.6%.
With interest levels at such a low level, the interest payments differential might be 2.4% in this case. Over a 30-year mortgage, that might make a difference of about 250€ per month. Quite a significant difference.
if you are affected by this clause and for more information on these judgments you should contact you local citizen advice office. You can also try the association of bank and building society users ADICAE
a memo release issued by a Spanish corporation regarding the improper use of swear words….
It’s been brought to our attention by several officials visiting our headquarters that the Spanish staff commonly uses offensive language. Such behaviour, in addition to violating our group’s policy, is highly unprofessional and offensive to both visitors and the staff itself.
Therefore it is requested to our Spanish staff to adhere immediately to the following rules:
1. Foreign colleagues or visitors should not be referred to as “ese guiri de mierda”.
2. Words like “coño”, “hostia”, and other such expressions will not be used for emphasis, no matter how heated the discussion is.
3. You will not say “la ha cagao” when someone makes a mistake, or “la está cagando” if you see somebody being reprimanded, or “¡qué cagada!” when major mistake has been made. All direct or derived forms of the verb “cagar” are inappropriate in our environment.
4. No Project Manager, Section Supervisor or Head of Administration Chief, will be referred to, under any circumstances, as “el hijo de la gran puta”, or “el muy cabrón” or even “el comemierda”.
5. Lack of determination will not be referred as to “falta de huevos” or “mariconería” nor will persons with a lack of initiative be ever referred to as “capullo” or “acojonado”.
6. Unusual and/or creative ideas shall not be referred to as “pajas mentales” in particular when they stem from your manager.
7. You will not say “cómo me jode” if a person is persistent, or “está jodido” or “se lo van a follar” if a colleague is going through a difficult situation. Furthermore, when matters become complicated the words “qué jodienda” should not be used.
8. When asking someone to leave you alone, you must not say “vete a tomar por culo”, nor should you ever substitute the most educated “may I help you?” with “¿que coño quieres ahora?”
9. If things get tough, an acceptable expression such as we are going through a difficult time should be used rather than “esto esta jodido” or “nos van a follar a todos”. Additionally, if you make a mistake, just say so and do not say “que putada” or any expressions composed with the root “puta”.
10. No salary increase shall ever be referred to as “subida de mierda”.
11. Last, but not least, after reading this note please do not say “me voy a limpiar el culo con ella” or “me la paso por el forro de los cojones”.
Just keep it clean and odorless and dispose of it properly.
B. regards
J.W. Adamson
A demonstration has taken place in Palma de Mallorca in order to show solidarity to people who, they claim, are victims of the “banking and estate agency violence”. The demonstration was organized after it made front page news that a man in Granada had committed suicide on Thursday hours before he was due for eviction. The organising group says this suicide was not a “one-off” and that many hundreds of lives are being broken by abusive banking legislation.
We were instructed to visit a property in a well-respected area of SW Mallorca and asked to look at an entrance lobby, which appeared to be leaning.
Once within the property, we noted repairs had been carried out to the original property and permission to investigate further was obtained from the owner.
This involved taking up a few tiles and exposing a few filled cracks. It also involved a more detailed study of the house and ground.
Further research was carried out on the history of the property including going back to study the original plans and documents.
The information provided did not specify exactly where the soil tests were carried out on the plot or surrounding area.
Our research found that the architectural recommendations at the time of the report include the use of a slab or rigid foundation as the land contains aggressive sulphates and gypsum limestone and that caves and mines are known to have existed in the area. this hadn’t occurred.
Furthermore, heavy rains or extended droughts can bring on cover collapse. Each weakens the soil over a grike (natural pothole), either by saturating the soil with water or robbing it of cohesion.
Near buildings, downspouts and leaking utility pipes can accelerate the process. Eroded soil falls into the grike and water moves the soil to an underlying cave, forming a cavity in the mantling soil. In high-flow events, water in the cave may back flood into the overlying soil. As the water recedes, the cave and grike drain faster than the soil, which means that saturated soil spans the void in the grike. The overloaded soil arch falls into the soil cavity and the cover collapses.
The resulting research coincided with further movement cracks opening up in the land and building.
We, therefore, advised the owners of our findings and shortly after the property had to be vacated as imminent collapse was likely.
The owner of this 4m€ property is now left with a condemned house on a plot that is likely to disappear down a big hole.
They had bought a house that had serious problems covered up and disguised at the time of the purchase and the whole situation could probably have been avoided if he has had a survey at the time of purchase.
Deia is renowned for its wealthy and artistic residents and visitors, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bob Geldolf, Lynn Franks, Pierce Brosnan…
Historically it is known as the home of Robert Graves. It is possible to visit his house.
It is a small village with a resident population of approx. 1,000 and with a municipal area of approx. 15km.
However, in spite of its size, there are many essential facilities and amenities in the village, such as a primary school, restaurants, banks and a small supermarket. More amenities and facilities are available in nearby Sóller (7km) or Palma (30km), the island’s capital.
The countryside and geography of the area are outstanding. The 1,000m high mountain range of La Tramuntana forms a dramatic backdrop to the village and falls steeply to the sea.
This area forms part of the Tramuntana Protected Area of Natural Beauty (ARIP), and has recently been categorized as a world heritage site. The surrounding land is mainly un-spoilt ancient terraces that slope naturally and steeply towards the sea. These hillsides are stocked with pine, olive, orange and lemon trees.
There is an interesting archeological museum in Deia, set up in honour of William Waldron.
The town has a very attractive pebble beach known as Cala Deia, with an excellent restaurant. It can get busy in the summer though, so best visited in the morning.
A “nota simple” is a summary report from the Property Registry that describes the property in the deeds, known as the “Escritura”.
It should be noted that a nota simple is only informative and is not valid in front of a court. A registry certificate is needed for the courts.
Judicial information is brief, and usually covers outstanding debts (mortgages or unpaid taxes), the current owners, the boundaries, the total square meters of the land and of the house.
It also describes the type of land, any rights that others may have on the property, such as public paths/roads, water or sewage lines, etc.