Brit pensioners quitting Never-Never Land

Thousands of Over-50s and pensioners are in despair over their futures as they note the daily pronouncements of the ruling McBroons and wannabe Cameroons on how to fix the fiscal mess in which the UK wallows.

Likewise the decline in public service standards and a real threat to day to day living as deep budget cuts strangle services are major concerns.

Whatever the outcome of the General Election, living in Britain is going to be tough, specially for those on fixed incomes thinking about retirement. Neither McBroon, who started off by selling our gold reserves for a quarter of today’s price and has gone steadily downhill since, nor Cameroon hold a magic wand to divert us all from their Never-Never land of national debt and family hardships.

So shall we go or shall we stay is going to be the big debate?

While what happens in the UK over the next decade of paying down the McBroon borrowed billions is unknown, there is a place with a lot of “knowns” that is tempting many over 50 and retirement couples to emigrate.

Spain offers a lifestyle that attracts tourists and property owners like no other place on earth:

 Year round warm weather even during the often balmy winter months.
 Excellent sporting facilities including the favourite pastimes of golf and water sports.
 A stable and caring Spanish society that welcomes and respects others, especially the elderly and very young.
 Excellent infrastructure of roads, railways, modern free health facilities for EU citizens.
 Two-hour flights from nearly 20 UK airports to mainland Spain, a bit longer to the Balearics and Canary Islands.
 Superb local food with the Mediterranean diet becoming so popular as a healthy diet with ingredients that are fresh and plentiful.
 Very few problems for non-Spanish speakers as English is now the second language of Spain.

The above benefits are fixed and not subject to market fluctuations nor the vagaries of McBroon that have deleted the “Great” from Great Britain and messed up the lives of millions of its citizens.

Spain’s biggest mistake was allowing over capacity in its important property sector and that means a bigger choice of genuine bargains from hard-pressed developers and Spanish banks with many repossession bargains to offer Brits and other north European buyers.

Many of these villas and apartments are ideal for fulltime living or as 50-50 homes for couples wanting to avoid drab UK winters and the inevitable depressing economic climate in the dark years ahead.

McBroon blunders boost Spanish homes

Countries with the euro are now out of the recession, while the country with the pound remains mired in McBroon fiscal clay and still no sign of recovery.

Blundering McBroon is to blame as he’s agreed to pay more billions in membership fees to the EU and his copy-cat car scrappage scheme gave £400 million to German and French manufacturers. He struts around European events like they should be grateful for his helping hand, but doesn’t get it when they ignore his save the planet schemes. Europeans know how to prioritise, know how to boost their currency, look after their citizens, know how to spell and get each other’s names right.

They are happy to see the McBroons bring Britain to it’s knees and happier still when EU laws allow EU banks to snap up the profitable bits of British banks, leaving the British taxpayer with trillions of bad bank debts.

It was McBroon who allowed the banks to become bloated, offer bloated bonuses and almost wreck what’s left of the Great British Economy. His mistakes will still be being repaid for the next decade or so and it’s the Over-50s who will bear the brunt and consequences.

Moving to Spain is a good option because the banks are safe and secure, the cost of living is lower and the sun shines more often. There are still many bargain properties to be snapped up and years of improved lifestyle to be enjoyed for those thinking about retirement.

So don’t delay, thinking that the Pound will recover its value against the Euro as it won’t; that your UK house value will return to its previous level as seems very unlikely; or that house prices in Spain will continue to drop – they are bottoming out right now.

That McBroon leaves a busted Britain is no reason for sensible citizens to stay and suffer the consequences of life on the breadline. Spain has long been our favourite destination, it’s now looking like it’ll be our favourite home from home from next year…

Offplan property deposits legal successes

The offplan boom that fuelled the Spanish real estate market for nearly a decade may have ended with the arrival of the recession, but the consequences for some unsuspecting buyers lingers on in ongoing disputes.

Currently, savvy buyers are favouring the key ready bargains from hard-pressed developers and Spanish bank repossessions where even bigger discounts are available. Conversely, 100s of buyers from the Offplan Years are still waiting for delivery of their long promised homes or the return of hard earned deposits they handed over in pursuit of their Life in the Sun Dreams.

One of the worst developer offenders was Aifos Promociones, who were recently wound up by the Spanish Courts, and whose directors were jailed for corruption. They seemingly bribed local mayors to get their hands on prime sites in Andalucia, drew up plans for exotic resorts and sold these concepts to unsuspecting buyers, who handed over hefty deposits on the promise a “Manana building licence”.

Agents like specialist PropertyInSpain.Net were recruited to the cause and deposits rolled in from across Europe, enabling the Aifos directors to enjoy a playboy lifestyle and produce a glossy lifestyle magazine to report on their “successes”.

But as few building licences emerged PropertyInSpain.Net because suspicious and asked Spanish lawyer, Javier de Juan to confront Aifos at their Malaga HQ and attempt to obtain licences or regain client deposits. After numerous meetings he was successful in regaining all deposits paid over on disputed developments, despite the fact the developer claimed they were so big they didn’t need to have bank guarantees in place to protect buyers deposits.

Buyers were delighted to get their money back, the website was able to protect its good reputation, but had to forego the retained commissions for the collapsed sales.

Now, in another campaigning website, Eyeonspain.com another couple pursuing the sunshine property dream, detail how they were successful in regaining their “lost deposits” when the legally required bank guarantees were in place. They too put their success down to the efforts of a tenacious Spanish lawyer, in this case, Mario del Castro, daughter of a leading planning legal specialist.

It’s a good example of how to use the cumbersome Spanish legal system to beat developers who think they are above the law and this tale should encourage others. The article also includes warnings on not what to do when buying a property in Spain.

McBroon’s fiscal porridge

The Spanish property market appears to have reached a watershed moment in time with reports that the collapse in prices might be bottoming out, based on sales of more than 500,000 properties in the last 12 months, and British buyers finally having to realise the once mighty Pound now only buys one now mighty Euro.

Despite the world recession property sales have dipped by only 20% thanks to heavy discounting by developers, Spanish bank repossessions and British vendors taking reverse advantage of the 30% exchange rate decline.

It’s been a buyers’ market for many months and 10,000 deals a week across Spain provide strong evidence that the more realistic prices and extra low interest rates have attracted the bargain hunters, but with many hesitating Brits hoping for further falls.

If September 2009 proves to be the watershed, then they will have missed out on the real bargains like 2-bed apartments for EUR 74,000 and 3-bed villas from EUR 140,000. While continuing to “look before they leap” 1,000s of British couples intending to buy a property in Spain, have suffered a double whammy as Sterling has plunged and is now unlikely to get better than parity for years.

The decline in the Pound is a direct result of McBroon’s fiscal porridge, that has brought Britain within a caber-toss of bankruptcy with savage budget cuts admitted for the first time by this patently dishonest bunch of incompetents…

It seems the Swiss, who know better than anyone how to manage the economy, are forecasting the continuing decline of Sterling as big corporations quit the sinking ship, now driven onto the rocks with the bungling McBroons at the wheel. They also point at the 800 billion pounds worth of borrowing to bale out the banks and the mismanaged British economy and pose the question: “Who would lend more money to this UK Government”?

Buyers who haven’t yet taken a view trip to Spain to select the last of the real bargains are unlikely to see house prices drop further, but extremely likely to see their buying pound shrink in their pockets. Over-50s need to move fast to secure a Spanish property investment.

The other half of their Hobson’s Choice is to stick with the McBroons fiscal porridge and watch as Spain follows Germany and France into better economic state, house prices recover from their 30% dip and life returns to normal with generous dollops of Med lifestyle and sunshine.

Easier to buy bargain property in Spain

While mortgages is the UK are still hard to find, buyers of property in Spain have had it much easier to fund their purchase in the sun, with some recent sales going through on 80% loan to value deals.

The difference can be put down to McBroon himself, both as chancellor of the exchequer and, latterly as prime minister. His was the “light touch” on the banking tiller that allowed the Mad Men to take on toxic assets and venture into hitherto uncharted banking waters. This brought about the taxpayer emergency funding to keep the banks in business and much face saving for the McBroons.

There’s been none of this in Spain, where a single authority, the Bank of Spain regulates with an iron fist, laying down strong lending rules and no venturing into fringe activities. Result, just a single bank bailout of a minor caja in Castilla La Mancha.

As in the UK, the resultant recession has brought about many repossessions, with an estimate 74,000 properties being taken back by the Spanish banks (about 4.7% of total assets). Recent estimates put the value of property repossessed and unsold developer stock being swapped for debt by Spanish banks at about €16bn (£14bn).

Despite that, the Bank of Spain, in a further boost of confidence in the Spanish property market, has relaxed provisioning rules for lenders in a move that could help some banks avoid losses next year and allow others to strengthen their capital ratios.

The Bank of Spain told all banks that they would no longer have to set aside the full value of high-risk mortgage loans - those for more than 80 per cent of a property's value - after two years of arrears.

Instead, they would only have to provision for the difference between the value of the loan and that of 70 per cent of the mortgaged property. In the case of a mortgage for the total cost of a new home, for example, banks would provision for 30 per cent of the property's value.

The central bank also warned banks to "update" their Spanish property valuations, which means the current sales of repossessions will keep prices down for bargain hunting Brits and other north Europeans for about another year.

Banks and their specialist brokers are offering new or newly homes priced at 15% to 50% below current realistic valuations and registering buyers from across Europe and North America on a daily basis. Sometimes there are five bargain hunters chasing the same property – not surprising with such discounts and generous mortgages built-in.

Why Brits are still quitting Britain

While Brits living in France and Spain are feeling the pinch because of the decline in the Pound, many others are still planning to move away from the declining state of once Great Britian.

An American correspondent in yesterday’s New York Times, commenting on Brit emigration, spoke for many over-50s when he wrote: “I can well understand why folks want to abandon Britain, where a person can’t smoke or own a gun or derogate a religion (even in private conversation), or spank one's child, or avert one's face from any of that country's 10 million CCTV cameras.

“I always thought Orwell's book (1984) represented a dystopia, but now the Brits have accepted it as their constitution.”

He didn’t mention the poor healthcare, inadequate education, ruined pension industry, unwanted currency, gun-toting teens, criminal under-class, corrupt politicians, open borders, nor an unelected leader deciding what the now angry populous wants.

But just as stoic, ex-pat Brits will sit out the currency and financial crisis affecting their lifestyles in continental Europe, those still to leave will go-ahead with their plans and take advantage of the downturn in house prices, that more than compensates for the currency losses.

In Spain they will find excellent value villas and apartments in established residential areas at prices 25% to 50% below valuation, buying direct from banks who have not had Government bail-outs because of mismanaged growth efforts.

Over-50s will notice that three ailing British banking institutions are going to carry the Santander name and be integrated in a 14,000 branch network across 40 countries. The boss of Santander was the only top banker not required to offer an apology to the Parliamentary committee investigating the banking collapse as no client money went into dodgy banking scams.

By contrast, Brit rivals have been bailed-out by the UK Government who failed to supervise their more dubious actives as they strove for world domination...

Along with sunshine, siestas and relaxed lifestyle, Spain offers stability, sound banking and good healthcare. What more could the over-50s or pensioners want for?

Their property search starts here, with specialist over-50s active life resorts, developments with guaranteed rentals, or heavily discounted repossession bargains from Spanish banks and and hard-pressed developers.

Take a tax break in Spain...

The anger of the British public bubbled over when Housing Minister, Margaret Becket tried to defend herself, fellow ministers and MPs on television over the expenses scandal and again hours later when new figures showed housing repossessions were up 50% and mortgage arrears up 62% - despite the “help” provided the McBroon Government.

Yet another McBroon failed initiative as 1,000 families a week are turfed out of their homes as a result of banker greed and sheer incompetence of the McBroon Government. MPs handed millions for kitting out their second homes, while British families struggle to pay the mortgage in a recession caused by the McBroons.

British over-50s are thinking it’s time to get out as they realise they will be paying in increased taxes until Retirement Day. Also thinking of quitting are many of the wealth generators after the punishment handed out to them in the latest McBroon Budget:

• New top rate of income tax at 50% for those earning over £150,000;
• Loss of personal allowances for those earning over £100,000;
• Levying a basic rate only relief on pension contributions over £150,000.

Former Labour Party contributor Tim Waterstone, described the 50p tax as a “spiteful political move” and heralded it as a “disincentive to entrepreneurs”. There are already reports of entrepreneurs announcing their plans to relocate to Switzerland, Monaco and the Isle of Man.

The international lawyer, Mark Wilkins has suggested Brit high earners might consider an even better lifestyle in Spain –“A country where the tax regime does not seem to be fuelled by the politics of envy. A country that is some three hours from office desk to home office, has exceptional road, transport and health infrastructure, some of the best golf courses on the planet, as much beach as you and your kids can dream of, schooling that sits head and shoulders above many of its UK Ofsted counterparts…”

He also points to an average of 325 days of sun a year and an average summer coastal temperature of 36 degrees, a current property market offering real value for money and an EU recognised initiative to ensure that previous planning uncertainties are a thing of the past.

Mark Wilkins outlines the tax position. “Spain has as its highest income tax rate – a 43% ceiling, applicable to earnings in excess of €53,407.

“Wealth tax has been effectively abolished in Spain and the personal allowances for all resident earners – regardless of earnings - vary from €8,551 for a joint declaration to a cumulative child allowance that rises with the 4th child to €4,182. Consequently, in addition to a saving on income tax of 7%, it seems in cash terms earning £150,000 and electing Spain as your tax residency may well leave you, under the current Spanish regime, materially better off."

If that is a lifestyle decision you want to investigate, start with Libertad, a tax break purchase method that helps keep family money in the family. The Sun newspaper reviewed Libertad in detail and the latest Spanish property bargains can be found online.

Gov. boost for property in Spain

As the McBroons shed their crocodile tears over being found out on dodgy expenses and go on the telly waving repayment cheques to reconnect with the voters - so they are not X-outed at the next election - it’s clear that the head of the bandit clan himself is to blame for the fiasco.

McBroon was in charge of the economy for ten years and so-called in charge of the country for two years and the unspeakable Mick Martin was in charge of the House of Commons for this current Parliament allowing the buying spree of MPs. Brit taxpayers are suffering from the antics of this useless pair.

Another catalogue of fiscal failures to heap upon the many that have blighted Britain and surely to be followed by McBroon failure at future elections, starting with the European and local elections next month.

Unlike McBroon, who has failed to say “Sorry” for his ministerial failures, his equivalent, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero admitted that his government had erred in managing the country’s deepening recession. “It is obvious that the government made mistakes in its forecasts,” the socialist premier said during the annual parliamentary debate on the state of the nation.

Wow, words we have yet to hear on these shores?

But then Snr Zapatero, revealed, among a list of new economic stimuli, the removal of tax breaks on mortgages as a way of future control of the housing market, but effectively a great incentive for folks to rush out and buy now - before the threat becomes real in 2011.

Like McBroon, the Spaniard faces the electorate on 07 June with the EU elections and, as in the UK, serious consequences are likely. His other incentives included tax cuts to small and medium-size companies which maintained or increased employment, incentives to car purchases, measures to stimulate the property market, and cutting government spending by a billion euros.

Those measures can be helpful to over-50s British buyers of property in Spain, using the Libertad tax break and co-ownership deals on offer from leading specialists in the market and Spanish banks.

IMF report boosts Spanish property

The IMF’s latest verdict on the Spanish economy, which is overall better than the one it presented on the state of the UK, suggests there will be recovery in 2010 after a decline of three percent in GDP this year.

That’s good news, as is the information that housing starts are down 20 percent, and that many of the empty, newly completed homes could well finish up in the rental sector because the Spanish Government is offering young couples a useful rent subsidy.

Take away the housing surplus, and demand – more than 300,000 sales a year currently - should begin to drive up prices again to the benefit of existing owners and those planning to purchase a property in Spain this year. Current prices are 30-40 percent below the peak and are unlikely to fall much further because sales are getting brisker at the present level.

Would-be buyers, hanging on in the hope of cheaper prices, may just be a mite disappointed. “Cheap” means “cheap” and rarely reflects the premium aspects of a property which are location, location, location. “Cheap” away from amenities like beaches, decent restaurants, good access to transport, remains just “cheap”.

Conversely “good value” would be a price paid for a property that was well-built and came with all the attributes that would benefit the new owner and help them to sell it when necessary. “Buy to sell” is the mantra of US realtors, and they are the best in the world.

It is currently possible to marry “good value” with a “good deal” in the Spanish real estate sector, as developers come under the cosh from their development funding banks. They are being innovative in their new beefed-up marketing activities.

One of the leading established property sources in Spain has offers that include “try before you buy”, 90 percent mortgages, 3-year rental guarantees, 40 percent discounts, purchase in sterling, view trip cashback vouchers, legal security paperwork etc.

Unlike many in the property boom years, these deals are often underwritten by the very bank putting the pressure on the builder/developer to generate the cash to finance their loan.

Working together in that way adds a lot of credibility to the offers and an incentive to book one of the summer flight bargains from Ryanair or Easyjet and for buyers to see for themselves what great value for money they can bag for themselves in the New Spanish Property Market.

They might find, as the IMF did, that life's looking a lot better in sunny Spain.

Brits missing out on Spanish house bargains

Spain's property market, completing a year-long readjustment that has seen house prices fall progressively to, typically, 30% below their previous value, is now offering amazing bargains for the savvy investor.

Sales are becoming brisker and one Costa Blanca agent hit the jackpot with a five-a-day sales record. Banking giant Santander, who had swapped developer debt for developer finished property, sold 350 of the key ready homes to its staff in no time at all and some developers concluded useful discounted sales runs by increasing prices of the next offerings.

That’s cheeky, but who knows what price levels will be like two years down the line. This level of confidence, with sales now running at 1,000 homes a day, has not yet been seen in the UK and other European markets so far.

Spanish property has suffered along with many other western European sectors, and has seen a fall off in the number British buyers looking for homes after a drop in the value of the pound. Now surviving developers and their banking partners are gearing for the return of Brit buyers.

However, property experts believe that UK residents are missing out on excellent property investment opportunities while investors from Russia, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries are snapping up incredible property deals. Some Spanish property firms have seen a massive increase in enquiries from UK investors since February. It is mainly from investor groups, who appear to be the only ones with funds available for multiple units.

But Brits, seeking a holiday home or future place for fulltime living, can bag their own bargains if they work with a reputable property firm offering genuine, fully legal bargains from partner banks who are happy to provide up to 90% LTV mortgages.

Not all of these repossessed and must sell properties are “cheap” because that does not allow for prime location, condition and access to airports, beaches, leisure and other amenities such as bars, restaurants and shops. They are definately the best value, specifically the brand-new, key ready apartments and villas, being sold at huge discounts by developers being pressured on their development loans by the Spanish banks.

UK buyers may decided that a good tan and relaxed lifestyle in Spain is better than being Browned-off” by the McBroon fiscal chaos and ratched-up taxation needed to remedy Britain’s economy over the next decade or so?

Expert who may have got property figures right...

Governments and so-called experts have opinions and hunches but often are proved wrong within a short space of time – as shown by the fantasy budget produced by the McBroon Government in the UK and trashed by latest GDP figures, clever economists and the IMF concerns on the UK economy.

That got many Brits thinking about the dark years promised under the McBroons and the decades of high taxes to balance the books. Many of them made the obvious ontrast with living in a sunnier place with a brighter future, such as Spain. This, despite UK media reports on Brit pensioners stretched on their UK pensions paid in Spain.

Strangely the coverage didn’t include any criticism of the McBroon’s financial mismanagement and wrecking the once-strong sterling exchange rate and devaluing the pension by 45 percent or a net 16 percent allowing for lower living costs in Spain and the mortgage repayments that are now effectively lower. Mortgage interest in Spain has gone from rates of 6.25% in September to 3.25% today.

Gonzalo Bernardos, a professor of economics at the University of Barcelona believes that demand for property is tempered by the cost of mortgage borrowing. With interest rates declining, the clever prof. expects sales to pick up.

'There is a fundamental variable. People buy homes in response to mortgage costs, which have gone from rates of 6.25% in September to 3.25% today. We are talking, in general terms, of a fall in mortgage repayments of 40%,' he explained.

Likewise, property values have fallen by up 40% and the savvy buyer can find plenty of good bargains in prime locations. We are not talking “cheap”, but good value homes that can be expected to grow in value over three to five years of happy family holidays, rental income or fulltime living for the buyer.

So 40% lower price property, funded by 40% lower mortgage repayments, located in a country with 30% lower living costs is a formula that many McBrooned-off Brits will applying to their own finances and family aspirations.

Professor Bernardos believes that there will be more property sales in 2009 than there were in 2008. He lists five reasons why this is likely:

Lower interest rates, property prices now at 2003 levels, Spanish banks lending more, the return of property investors attracted by the bargains, and many people who were thinking of renting deciding to buy instead using the low mortgage rates.

However, the window of opportunity is short as “Sales will start to rise in 2009, whilst prices will stop falling in most places in Spain by the end of 2010,' he said.

Spain, land of plenty for Over-50s

After the worse week yet for the ruling McBroons, they have gone back to Scotland for a gathering of the clan and to reconstitute the government’s credibility amid growing concerns from the public about their futures in what used to be the land of plenty…

Henchmen spin masters have been forced from the scene after leaks of their planned smear campaign against Tory politicians and the leaks from the Home office were not worthy of the prosecution of the mole and Tory mole master. The schoolmarm, turned minister at the Home Office stonewalls her way out of a corner that can only lead to her final demise and McBroon himself still hasn’t said sorry for the sorry mess he has led the country into.

The country’s Over-50s will find this all vaguely familiar and reminiscent of previous failed governments that promised much and delivered so little of benefit. They now have a new figure to focus on, £175 billion – the amount of dosh borrowed by the McBroons to get us out of the mess they have caused in 10 years of mis-rule.

Over-50s and pensioners now realise that their grandkids will still be paying of this monster debt and wonder if there is another way of softening the blow – like having a base in Spain, Europe’s last land of plenty of sunshine, friendly natives, relaxed lifestyle and a cost of living much less than in Rip-off Britain.

Spanish house sales are still running at 1,000 a day, as bargain hunters take advantage of the over-supply and recessional Spanish bank repossessions and distressed situations. There are generous bank mortgages and genuine developers, Spanish solicitors and agents who will provide help and advice for Brit buyers.

Avoid the get rich quick schemes like those of the failed Fast Track outfit in the UK that are emerging in the wake of the current bargains situation. Why hand over thousands to buy through these dodgy operations and give away some of the savings that go with bargain homes in Spain.

Remember it’s all about location, quality and price – not just cheapness. This leading website provides a free buyer’s guide and a good selection of genuine bargains

USA leadership and UK credibility

The contrast between the Obamas running the USA and the McBroons running the UK was evident to citizens of both countries today when one leader came clean about the recession and produced a credible progress report while the other played dirty politics and refused to come clean when caught in the act…

The head of the McBroon clan “regretted” the poisoned emails his caber-tossing henchman sent off to a New Labour website propagandist, but apparently he wasn’t sorry the digital dirt was slagging-off some Tory party officials.

McBroon skulked in his Downing Street lair after ordering his spin-mongers onto the airwaves, further denting their party’s credibility with pathetic performances that fooled no-one. For the UK’s Over-50s it brought back painful memories of Labour’s final months in office decades ago, when the country was bust and being bailed out by the IMF.

Life then was a bit third world and many Over-50s are wondering if history will indeed repeat itself for them as this time around the McBroon version of Labour has nicked all but their own pensions, emptied the national coffers of fiscal reserves and workplaces of what could soon be three million jobs.

President Obama blamed greedy and uncontrolled banks for the current recession and said he’d make sure it didn’t happen again. McBroon stayed silent because the same greedy banks also went uncontrolled in the UK where he himself had set-up the FSA to regulate their activities.

Also today, housing figures improved in both countries, but the UK’s remain a lot short of the 1,000 a day sales being attained in Spain, where the banks were totally under the control of the Bank of Spain. No toxic debt, no busted banks and plenty of mortgages for Brits who are thinking their favourite overseas destination might provide a more secure future for their property investment and lifestyle aspirations.

Spain’s recession has resulted in plenty of bargain Spanish bank repossessions because of the greedy developers and local mayors that can be grabbed for up to 50% less than current valuations. The banks will provide generous mortgages at low interest and tourism figures are good enough to keep Spain in the top spot, so providing the best rental prospects for Costa property owners.

Average fares from London to Alicante are less than those from London to the McBroon capital of Edinburgh and Spain’s cost of living remains 30% less than rip-off Britain…

Life with the McBroons and the dark decade of pay-back for their misgovernment or the sunny, healthy Spanish lifestyle as a property owning extended holiday-maker or active living fulltime resident?

Fed-up Brits look to Costas property

Property prices in Spain have never been so low for half a decade and it’s safe to say that now is the time to buy because it won’t be long before the property prices start to climb back up.
Russian, north European and, lately British buyers, are taking a new look at the many bargains from Spanish bank repossessions and distressed sellers and sales are running at 1,000 homes a day.

Brits and Russians are fed-up of the way things are going domestically with their Governments helpless to stop the job and pension losses and decline in standards of living. Many people have had enough and are looking for that traditional antidote of Spanish sun, sand and sangria with a fresh tonic of legal property bargains.

As the UK fills up with immigrants (legal and otherwise), many of whom are looking for that free house and hand-outs from our over-generous, afraid-to-upset-anyone Government… some Brits are desperately trying to get out. They have seen the Government-generated debts being clocked up on Sky News screens at a terrifying rate of £150 million a day and the IMF warning of a total of £140 billion needed to be repaid at some stage in the future.

UK property values are down nearly two percent a month, year on year which is reflected in shrinking spending power and savings of your average British family. Pensions, funded by shares values, have plummeted by half and the McBroon Government state pension increase this week is “like spitting in the wind”, said one poor pensioner. Where’s the interest on savings from the useless banks that probably caused the recession in the first place?

Anyone with equity in their UK property or people with a decent amount of savings should be looking at the option of buying property elsewhere. Spain at the moment is starting to become the favourite once again!

So if you are unsure about you future in the UK, start looking for Spanish property - now is the time to buy, don’t wait too long before you visit this website for some great bargains.

Blue movies corruption or Spanish blue skies

The daily wearing down of the McBroon Government credibility has reached a critical point for the over-50s and pensioners as they absorb revelations about ministers putting their digital TV subscriptions on their expenses paid by taxpayers.

The Prime Minister gets his football for free and the Home Secretary get bills for blue movies (and the kitchen sink) paid for, according to the latest media revelations.

At the time Scotland’s biggest building society collapsed, alongside those of the other local banks adding to the loss of the long-held reputation of the Scots for fiscal prudence.

The McBroons seem to be heading for further loss of street cred when the G20 bandwagon arrives in London, amid demonstrations and anticipated refusal of some European countries to throw away more tax payers cash on the banking and government follies that are at the root of the current recession.

They know the McBroons are living beyond their means, having already brought the UK to its worst fiscal state and now wanting to save their own skins by sharing out the blame on Germany, France and Spain - who are faring light years better.

Best of the bunch is Spain, where todate, just one minor bank has been bailed out by the Bank of Spain causing the first big drop in banking share prices. But because the country has more financial controls than any other, the banks there are not exposed to the toxic debts prevalent in so many other countries with inferior fiscal governance.

Their shares may have dipped but their credibility remains high. There are still generous mortgages to help Brits, other north Europeans and Russians snap-up the amazing property bargains and it is likely that Spain’s property market will recover soonest as a result.

In the longer term the country offers greater governance credibility, lower cost of living and UK pensions can be collected from the local bank on the way back from the beach or a round of golf.

So over 50s may consider that buying a bargain property while they are available as a smart move that offers a blue skies climate, laid-back lifestyle and culture that are going to be good for fulltime living.

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…

Spain beckons as Britain banks on Lord Sleaze

When Governments throw taxpayers' billions into a bubbling toxic economic cauldron in the hope of rectifying their mistakes and then find their elixir provides no respite for their hard-pressed citizens, which way next is an obvious question.

America will have its answer on November 05, the first day of a new president and elected senators who can correct the fiscal fiasco of President Bush. That’s fine for the US, but Britain seems likely to go bust before a solution to 11 years of McBroon mismanagement of the economy can be implemented.

While America is to have a clear-out, Britain is told the financial rescue will be led by The Prince of Darkness, Lord of Sleaze and sworn enemy of the current Custodian of Empty Coffers. Having upset dozens of countries while exiled in Brussels, Peter Mandelson, minces back into Downing Street, £600,000 better off for his cosy Euro Trade Commission’s stint.

He lost the bra wars with China and failed to reform world trade, good credentials for getting McBroon’s Britain back on its feet. An unelected Custodian of the Empty Coffers hires an unelected, discredited financial manipulator so that “Britain can lead the world out of the credit crunch,” proclaims the desparate McBroon.

Faced with that unrealistic prospect many Brits will be deciding to take their futures elsewhere and, as always, that sunny, friendly place called Spain beckons.

There are enough Spain-bound planes each day to make the Berlin Airlift pale into insignificance and as removal van men have no work in Britain because nobody’s buying, they will be happy to have a few days along the Med shuttling Brits’ chattels into very affordable modern homes.

Amazing how the sound of gentle waves lapping upon a golden beach can blot out the harsh sounds of Britain hitting rock bottom, how lunchtime can be relaxing and life unhurried, how the strong euro can buy so much more. And occasional checks on life and death back in Blighty can be made reading the Daily Mail or The Sun over morning coffee – both papers have enough readers in Spain to print locally.

Take your chances with McBroon and Lord Sleaze shuffling the deckchairs or relax on your very own lounger round the pool in a country that manages its economy better and with transparency and honesty?