Spanish property winter warmers

While Britain feels the chill in every sector, including the weather that has knocked more billions out of the economy, Spain is now being widely seen as the best place for bargain properties among hard-pressed Brits.

With uncertain futures thanks to the McBroons blunders and little sign of recovery, many UK residents plan to vote with their feet and many of them before the next general election that might finally sweep away the McBroon legacy.

The Spanish economy is regarded by commentators as in a better state than that of the UK, the weather offers 300 days of sunshine every year and property bargains are up to 50 percent down on the peak and now at the level of 2003. Even factoring in the sterling exchange losses, that’s still enough of a bargain to go for.

Having a property asset in the world’s strongest currency can be beneficial and for savers being offered a paltry 0.75% by some UK savings organisations, the thought of a juicy 6 percent interest from stronger Spanish banks is already tempting some Brits. The first of these deals, from La Caixa, is about to become over subscribed.

Brit and other north European property buyers are doing their research carefully on the specialist online sources of Spanish bank repossessions and must sell property in Spain and cannot quite believe they can buy a modern apartment within walking distance of the sea for EUR 35,000 and have a panoramic view of the sparkling Med if they opt for another bargain at EUR 55,000.

Three bedroom villas with swimming pools on golf resorts start at EUR 190,000 as hard-pressed owners and developers join the dash for cash.

These are many other bargains can be found at the highly rated website http://www.propertyinspain.net/ where buyers are provided with honest answers and immediate access to Spanish partner banks willing and able to provide generous mortgages to Brits with an eye for these Spanish property winter warmers…

Can property buyers bank on Spanish galleon?

With all front pages of the national press covered in “international banking crisis” stories and wall to wall coverage on the TV news, would-be property buyers thinking of a house move in the UK or even a place in the sun to get away from it all, may be as puzzled as the rest of us?

“Unsinkable” Lehman  Brothers sank at Titanic speed because of their own greediness – the boss’s pay topped 22 million – and forays in derivatives uncharted waters without a life raft. Other banks doing business with them could go down with similar Titanic timing, while others can pick up the juiciest remains. Regulators in the US and UK seemingly failed to stop what was going on and merely moved the deck-chairs around…

Not in Spain though, where it appears their banking galleons are in smoother waters . This is because the central Bank of Spain cracks down on uncharted and risky speculative investment, so Spanish banks have minimal exposure – in fact “practically non-existent” - to Lehman Brothers. Spain's banking system also has some of the world's strictest reserve requirements.

While Spanish banks remain in a fairly healthy state, the worsening global financial market conditions will have an impact on Spain's economy and smaller Spanish banks could be forced to seek fresh capital if the crisis drags on and bankruptcies continue to soar in the property markets.

Bank of Spain Director General of Research Studies, Jose Luis Malo de Molina said: "The direct impact of the Lehman bankruptcy for Spanish banks will be minimal, given their exposure is practically non-existent. The Spanish banking system is facing the international crisis from a healthy position, with good levels of solvency and profitability,"

 "However, it is necessary to recognise this episode signals an intensification of the serious international financial crisis, that also has consequences for the Spanish economy," Malo de Molina added. Spain was the only one of the euro zone's four biggest economies not to contract in the second quarter after the government drew on its budget surplus to launch a 38 billion euro economic stimulus package.

The Bank’s proactive statement contrasts with the wall of silence from the British Government – busy scrambling for the political lifeboats - and from the Bank of England that reported high inflation, but failed to change course again.

Buy a property in Britain? Only if you really need to and can get a half decent mortgage. Buy a property in Spain?  Plenty of bargains, good mortgages, a better managed economy, oh, and the sun shines for 300 days a year along the Costas.