What a fantastic October we have had. Dave and I, and a group of friends, some from the UK who I mentioned last month, spent a great day on the beach at Bolnuevo with PALS BBQ on the beach and we even went in the sea! It was crystal clear and lovely and warm. Spanish tourism has seen a huge increase in the first part of 2011. According to statistics produced for the Institute for Tourism Studies, it has been reported that, Spain received almost 40 million international tourists in the first eight months of the year, a 7.8% increase compared to the same time last year. Spain beat an all-time record with 7.64 million international tourists in August. It is the highest number of international tourists since statistics were first compiled in 1995. The Spanish economy hasn’t seen much good news of late, but an increase in tourism can only be a good thing and should have a positive effect on the future of the housing market in Spain. People often ask me about “bank repossessions” and are they a good deal. There can be some great deals about, but you need to do your homework. There is a property on Mazarrón Country Club with a well known local savings bank and the price fluctuates from 98,000€ to 68,000€ to a whopping 112,000€ depending on “what day of the week it is!!” The interest rates also vary wildly, even with the same bank, and I have seen 3 quotations for mortgages in one week (same bank), all with differing terms and differing interest rate, so if you are going down the bank repossession route – do your homework. Don’t forget that Purchase Tax on new build (key ready) properties remains at 4% until the end of 2011 – saving 3% can furnish your new home. It was also announced this month that wealth tax, (patrimonio in Spanish), which was eliminated in 2008, bringing Spain in line with the rest of Europe, may be resurrected (by the same Government who abolished it!) to help Spain back on its feet – don’t panic – it will be paid on net assets above 700,000€ with a main-home allowance of 300,000€ - it’s not relevant to holiday-homes – so watch this space. If you have any doubts if it comes in, speak to your financial advisor. (Source of article: Spanish Property Insight) This month also saw the headlines of - Spain: Get ready for Paramount themed park in 2015 - This was widely reported on October 4 and we wait the next instalment. We are always looking for properties on Mazarrón Country Club and Puerto de Mazarrón, so if you have a property to sell, please contact us. For more information on buying or selling property contact Jennie or Sue at Best of Spanish Email info@bestofspanish.com or telephone (0034) 635 434 651 or 646 692 471 In association with <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com Page 22 John Kemp, after years of rescuing and homing dogs in this region of Spain has made videos of all the dogs he has available for re-homing. Rather than seeing just one photo of a dog in a magazine or newspaper, you can now go to youtube.co.uk and just search for johnkempdogs. Most of John’s dogs now are adult, between 1 to 3 years old, so why not visit his page there and check out all the dogs for yourself. Visit John Kemp at his stall every Sunday morning at the car boot sale at Cañadas del Romero near El Pareton. If you see a dog you are interested, please contact John on 646737230. You can also try fostering a dog for a while if you prefer to see how it goes. More great news is that John Kemp’s dogs are all fully inoculated and up to date with all their treatments. They are all housetrained and also will have been spayed or castrated, so the next time you are looking for that special someone to share your life with, look no further than Johnkempdogs at youtube.co.uk. Please tell our customers where you saw their advertisement in the <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida <strong>Chronicle</strong> To place an advertisement with us please see page 5 or contact Teresa 619 199 407 www.costacalidachronicle.com email: costacalidachronicle@gmail.com
Please tell our customers where you saw their advertisement in the <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida <strong>Chronicle</strong> To place an advertisement with us please see page 5 or contact Teresa 619 199 407 www.costacalidachronicle.com email: costacalidachronicle@gmail.com Page 23 In association with <strong>Costa</strong> Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com