Tag Archives: Mallorca

Brexit 2019

A report about how Brexit will affect the Balearic property Market by John Kinloch for Sotheby’s Mallorca here

Balearic government aims to phase out Green house emissions by 2050

A bold move by the Balearic islands’ government to phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is being considered in a new green manifesto, which includes banning diesel cars and changing all street lighting to LEDs.

Other plans include

  • buildings with roof spans of more than 1,000 square metres – car parks, hospitals, supermarkets and sports stadiums will host electricity-generating solar panels.
  • Coal plants will be phased out by 2035,
  • All car hire fleets on the islands will be electrified.

Francina Armengol, the president of the Balearics’ socialist-green government, said  “It has to be this way if the law is to be more than a mere statement of intent.”

Joan Groizard, the islands’ director-general for climate change said the move put them on a path to confrontation with Madrid, and his government was studying the legal implications very carefully. There is a live debate about what regions can and can’t do, and this requires careful consideration.

He states “We can’t ratify the Paris agreement on our own but we can take a decision to adhere to it. Climate change is already having a big impact on our islands and hopefully, our actions can have a knock-on effect elsewhere.”

The Balearics government says that if its climate plan is blocked, it will refuse to upgrade its Alcúdia coal plant in Majorca in time to meet a 2020 deadline for new EU emissions limits.

“If we sit on our hands and do nothing then on 1 January 2020, the plant will not be able to work, because it will be in breach of the EU legislation,” he said. “We are hoping it won’t go that far. But we do have pockets of sovereignty – or power – that we’re planning to use if we need to.”

Palma – the best city in the world to live 2015…

According to the Sunday Times, Palma is the best city to live in the world 2015. Below is an extract from the article.

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“Our winner is Palma. We believe it has everything” said the newspaper. Although not explaining the exact criteria when making its choice, it does highlight some of the elements that make Ciutat de Mallorca attractive to the British, including the climate, the beauty of the old town , gastronomy and beaches.

“It ‘s a pocket-sized city that has it all on a beautiful island “

Another argument is that the city is easily accessible for a Brit who wants to live abroad. The short distances across the island are a plus to living in Mallorca emphasizing that Palma is a ten-minute drive from the airport and throughout the year there are cheap flights.

Apart from Palma , Sunday includes three other Spanish cities in their top 50: Barcelona, Ojén north of Marbella, and Zahara on the coast of Cadiz.

In the list of the 50 best cities to live in, the Mallorquin capital has also been located ahead of destinations such as Berlin, Honolulu, Miami, Rome, Florence, Paris, Vienna, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.

Between a rock and hard place.

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Uk divorce valuations and Spanish Property

We can help minimize difficulties following the breakup of a marriage or relationship by providing a market valuation of your Spanish property.


Although always a difficult situation, we can help identify the value of your asset, hopefully, before it goes to court. If this is not possible, we can act as an expert witness if required by providing a valid UK court valuation of your Spanish property.

We offer a competitive Nationwide service throughout Mallorca, Ibiza and mainland Spain.

Balearics could produce 100% of its energy needs with photovoltaics on 2% of non protected rustic land.

The Baleares could generate 100% of its electricity demand through renewable energy if it installs solar panels in 2% of nonprotected rural land. This is the main conclusion of the Renewable Energy Plan presented yesterday by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. The aim is to encourage the installation of solar power plants,  an activity that generates economy, according to Minister Joaquín García.

By 2020, The Baleares hope to have 20 % renewable energy providing its power supply.

Currently, it only produces approximately 2%. Furthermore, it is the community, along with the Canaries, who pays the most for electricity in Spain.

The energy plan also comments on the fact that by installing photovoltaic panels on the roofs of buildings in urban land, it could generate up to 57 % of the electricity demand required by islands.

The objective of the Government is to remove a number of barriers to investment;  technical, administrative and economic including a special financial and tax status for investors in this sector.

Bank of Spain proposes valuers are independent from banks

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.

 

 

Gathering in Palma de Mallorca to raise awareness of the consequences of bank eviction.

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.

What is a nota simple?

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.

 

The Bad Bank – coming to Spain soon.

The Spanish government is creating a “Bad Bank”, or “Banco Malo”, in which to put all the toxic property assets.

The idea is to progress from the current building crisis by drawing a line under the current woes in the construction sector.

Basically, the Government of Spain issues debt and buys from Spanish banks all their bad investments, which are accumulated in a “bad bank”.

Presumably, the acquisition takes place at a significant discount relative to the actual value, so that in the long-term, taxpayers could even win when the assets are re-sold.

At Property Works, we beleive that this measure, although not without its risks, could be of some help to help the Spanish economy overcome the deflation of its recent property bubble.

Time will tell…