Merry Xmas

Another year over and a new one about to begin so just to say to all of you who come back to the blog on a regular basis and for all of you browsing, have a great Xmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year.

We will be putting up a new post between now and the new year with details of the VP New Year Sales. Lots of houses reduced in price all collated together so that you can start the year off by grabbing a bargain. Keep looking at the site.

Our first Podcast (Sort of)

vpaudio.jellycast.com/

Welcome to what hopefully will work as our first podcast. (In the form of an MP3 file show this time. Just click on it and then listen to it in iTunes. For those of you who know me you can hear my dulcet tones over the airwaves now with the scouse accent a bit modified for easier comprehension. For those of you that don't know me, I always sound like this!

Just a basic introduction to Valencia and the company and some background information. Hope you enjoy it and will subscribe to the Podcast through iTunes so you can listen to the latest episodes as they appear.

Polaris World

Polaris World have various resorts in Murcia which are becoming more and more sucessful. Their Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses, in resort facilities and outstanding design principles are marking them out as the developer of choice in the region for anyone wanting to deal with a serious developer that gets their projects done on time, as described to the same qualities as promised and with all legal documents in place so that there is no doubt as to the building being legalised. Peace of mind and then peaceful holidays, letting or living near to San Javier airport just a couple of hours from the UK.

We are proud to announce that we are now authorised agents for Polaris World and are able to offer all of their developments. Availability changes by the day so the main web page will have general details only. Have a quick look, get back to us and tell us what you want. We can arrange PDF brochures being sent and visits to the area at hugely discounted prices. If you visit there you could come up and see us here in Valencia too.

Have a good look at their properties and get back to us. Prices range from just 120000 Euros and properties overlooking the new Isla del Condado development are just 144000 Euros. Not bad for a second home in Spain.

It's back on

It's the Hokey Cokey America's Cup but instead of in out in out it's on off on off. More to follow in the following days to be sure but at the moment it is back on in Valencia in 2009 probably.

EDIT.
Six days later and still no news. Reports on Radio New Zealand have suggested that Team NZ was cranking up the pressure on Alinghi by demanding 50 million dollars (About 3.50 pounds sterling at current rates!!) if the Cup isn't celebrated in 2009. This report has now disappeared off their website. Rumours and counter rumours abound and meanwhile the team members sit around confused as to their role, do we work hard or is it a waste of time? I will keep you posted.

It's Off

So the huge egos couldn't get their act together on time and now the America's Cup is off for the time being. 2009 it definitely won't be, should give Alinghi time to find a sponsor, 2010 doubtful due to coinciding with the World Cup, sponsorship issues and 2011 looking most likely.- however there are issues to be resolved as regards the extension of the commercial port so whether that is feasible in Valencia is an unknown at the moment. Keep coming back here for more news. I should imagine that Rita and the local govt are none too happy at the moment.

Our Current Position

Welcome once more to the Valencia Property newsletter. (We put it on the blog this time) We only send this out irregularly as it was taken over by the blog you are looking at but today I wanted to indicate to you the latest changes to our site and possibilities.

By now you will have seen that we are here for the long term. Journalists researching stories about Valencia and the Spanish property market come to us. We are considered the authority on this area by many journalists in the national press in the UK and we have also been interviewed on local television here whenever they need a foreign perspective. We have worked with various TV shows in the UK and rejected the chance to work with others because they give a false view of what is available, yes you "A Place in the Sun" stand up.

So now we have started increasing our reach, giving you other opportunities within Spain itself and also internationally. Check out our international property page at this link. It is a work in progress but already there are fantastic investment opportunities here and more will follow. One of the developers that we work with also have investment products that give excellent returns. They are a UK based PLC and supported by one of the most respected lawyers in the UK.

We now work with Polaris World within Spain and very soon all of their properties in Murcia will be available on our website. This is after looking into many different developments around Murcia and Almeria and discarding most because of quality issues, lack of building licences or just a feeling. We will continue to look into what is available but will retain quality control at all times. Our off plan developments within and outside Valencia are ready to put on the site, we are working with Bancaja one of the most respected banks in the country, but we don't have the time to get them there yet so ask us what we have on graham@valencia-property.com

We have a new finance scheme that will allow you to release equity on a property you are selling right now, allow you to buy a property before selling your current place, invest in equity on properties with low leverage, refinance your current property or release equity and bring in a residual income. Ask us how especially if you are currently selling a place and need to get some money in now for whatever reason. We understand each person's situation is different and can respond well to your needs.

We have a rentals page that is vibrant and high quality as we work with companies on finding properties for their executives giving the owner a reliable tenant and the tenant a reliable house.

We will soon have a business opportunity page with projects, requests, business sales and purchase opportunities and other things.

Our sister company Devanio acts as a conduit for exclusive properties and markets clients' properties to over 100 agents and through our PA in India splashes those properties all over the internet in order to increase the exposure given to those properties.

Now I want you to do one thing. If you want news of reduced properties, new properties that come onto the site, business ops or international investment ops then fill in the following and send it back to us at sal@valencia-property.com and as these things happen we will immediately send them out to you.

Name
Primary E-Mail Address
What you are looking for?
Do you want your free ebook?

As things come in that should be interesting to you then we will send them out to you and you will have first access to them before people discover them on the web. (By the way, the free ebook is all about investing in property in Spain, with emphasis on Valencia, and contains more useful information than you will ever find on any website in this region. It was written by myself earlier this year and is very current)

As you can see we are moving forward rapidly. There is nobody better for you to work with when you are buying, renting, working or living in Valencia. Get in touch with your needs and we will work together to find you your perfect opportunity here and get you started in living the Spanish dream or international property dream correctly.

Bye for now.
Graham
www.valencia-property.com
www.valenciacomment.blogspot.com

The America's Cup May Well be Off

Two huge egos, two massive fortunes and an argument of "My dad is bigger than your dad etc..." means that the next America's Cup in Valencia may not be in 2009, may not be in Valencia and may not even happen in normal boats, catamarans being the preferred option of the Oracle team I will keep you informed as things develop but it looks like the only way it will be in Valencia in 2009 is if the American judge rules in favour of the Swiss in a New York court instead of the American challenge. Fat chance maybe but the judge will probably want it sorted before he goes away for Thanksgiving this weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed that Alinghi win but even then it may not happen in 2009 because loose tongues in the Spanish press suggest that they are doing everything possible to delay as they haven't got any sponsors and therefore could not moneterize the event in 2009. 2010 may well be out as they would coincide with a small event called the World Cup. Therefore does 2001 ring anyone's bell?

Accompanying picture is of a boat of course!!!!! Maybe the Oracle team would like to try and fit their team on this!

Formula One Virtual Tour

The Formula One racetrack is now planned and work has started. However if you want to know more or less it is going to go then have a look at this virtual reality tour of the track. Not perfect by any means but it will give you an idea of what the track and venue will look like.

The link can be found here but I have taken it down from here as it takes forever to load.

24 Months

Well it looks like I have been proved right (Not blowing own trumpet just commenting). After two years and 24 months of increasing mortgage costs the Euribor index, that used for mortgages in Spain in general, fell in October to a level below August and September. 4.64% is the latest figure and that is expected to fall to 3.9% by the end of 2008. This is a relief for all those people who were expecting an increase in their mortgage repayments next year and also makes the market more certain for those wanting to buy here.

I have been saying to all of our clients for the last couple of months that the Euribor will not go any higher and will start to fall as European interest rates follow American ones as European exports are becoming uncompetitive. Therefore it is good to see this happening now. Look forward to more reductions in the coming months and then the market will start to pick up more as Spanish wage earners are moved back into the market. Pick up your bargain now.

Valencia in the Autumn

One of the things you are really going to love about Valencia is the climate. At the moment we are well into Autumn and here is an idea of what Autumn means. You get up in the morning, and if you get up early like me then it is still dark until the clocks go back next week. You then decide to get dressed and usually you dress totally inappropriately for the day. Why? Well if yesterday was raining for example and you expect the same you get dressed up nice and warm and by the time 10 or 11 in the morning comes around it is well over 20 degrees and you are starting to lightly perspire. By 2pm it is hot and perspiration has become sweat. The opposite is also true. Yesterday was sunny and hot so you put on a T-Shirt and jeans and spend the rest of the day dodging from balcony overhang to balcony overhang in Valencia and having too many coffees as you wait for the pouring rain to ease off. As I write this it is 10am and sunny. Do I dare risk just a T-Shirt today?

The rest of the year is virtually guaranteed sunshine with the odd cloudy day, over 300 sunny days per year here. But Autumn is different and because it is so, it is a special time in Valencia. The last three years have been worrying because of the ongoing drought but this year has been the sixth wettest since records began in 1857 and there are still two months left.

Website Issues

Our main website www.valencia-property.com is down and also we are not receiving any mail because the server is totally junked. Therefore temporarily if you need to get in touch or you have a mail that you have sent since last night and have not had a reply please resend to valprop@gmail.com
Thanks

Don't Believe The Hype

So we have a client in tomorrow who wants flats around the Port and future Formula One track. If you have a look on our website you will find a good load of flats around there and i think of four immediately that will suit. I phone the first, sold yesterday. I phone the second, sold three days ago. I phone the third, they will get back to me later so I breathe a sigh of relief. I have the keys to the fourth and know it isn't sold. Three hours later i get a phone call and the third was also sold last week.

So property in Spain is not moving eh? Don't believe the hype. Valencia is happening and the Port and beach areas are moving fast.

The photos represent the three sold properties by the way. Prices ranged from 220000 Euros to 238000 Euros.

The America's Cup Building Was Up For Award

This article is taken from the press release by the Royal Institute of British Architects. More fantastic architecture in Valencia being given the recognition it deserves.

Article

The Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) Stirling Prize winner has been announced,. The debate surrounding which building the jury picked to be the 2007 winner is hotting up. The betting odds published by William Hill, had placed British architect David Chipperfield's America's Cup building in Valencia as the favourite, with odds of 3/1 but it lost out to his other entry.

The £20,000 prize, now in its 12th year, is awarded to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year. The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with the Architect's Journal was announced live on Channel 4 on Saturday 6 October at 8pm.

Joint second favourites were a striking concert hall in Portugal, a modern pavilion in Windsor Great Park, and the Museum of Modern Literature in Germany, also by Chipperfield, the one which took the prize. The final two in the running were the reconstruction of London's Young Vic Theatre and the redevelopment of Dresden Station.

The six buildings competing for this year's RIBA Stirling Prize with William Hill's odds were:

America's Cup Building, Valencia, Spain by David Chipperfield Architects (odds:3/1)

Casa da Musica, Porto, Portugal by Office for Metropolitan Architecture with Arup-AFA (odds:7/2)

Dresden Station Redevelopment, Dresden, Germany by Foster + Partners (odds:5/1)

Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach am Neckar, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects (odds:7/2) (This won the prize just in front of the Young Vic Theatre)

The Savill Building, Windsor, by Glenn Howells Architects (odds:7/2)

Young Vic Theatre, London SE1 by Haworth Tompkins (odds:7/1)



The RIBA Stirling Prize jury, which had visited all six shortlisted buildings and met for a final time on the day of the presentation to pick the winner. It comprised architecture specialists and lay judges from the arts. The 2007 judges are Tom Bloxham MBE – chair, Urban Splash; Alain de Botton – author and philosopher; Louisa Hutton – architect; Kieran Long – Editor, The Architects' Journal and Sunand Prasad – architect and RIBA President.

Previous winners include Barajas Airport by Richard Rogers Partnership, The Scottish Parliament by EMBT / RMJM Ltd, 30 St. Mary Axe by Foster + Partners, the Laban Centre by Herzog & de Meuron, Gateshead Millennium Bridge by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, and Peckham Library and Media Centre by Alsop Architects.

Pamela and Skype

Do you use Skype? You should do as it is great for keeping in touch as it is so cheap. Now it just got even better. You can download a call recorder called Pamela. The basic version will record a 15 minute call but the pro version which costs 19.95 Euros will record unlimited conversation and allow you to blog and podcast too if you are so inclined. This is a great tool for rcording online information calls when it is inconvenient to be there for the whole hour or two. I was looking for something like this for recording my weekly calls with a load of friends in the States as they come up with so many good ideas. Get it by clicking on the link above or here. Try it first and then when you like it you can download the professional version.

Meanwhile here in Valencia it is a cloudy and somewhat rainy day. Unusual but the pools are getting cooler now so be careful when taking the plunge.

New Restaurant in Lliria

Get yourself along to the new Caribbean fusion restaurant, Spanish Town, in Lliria. Run by one of our clients from four years ago, we went to the opening tonight which was a huge success. The doors open for good on Tuesday night next week and we want it to be a huge success. Pictured are our glorious cook and head waiter. I say glorious because the Tapas put on tonight were outstanding and just so well presented. Make it a success please by popping in. It is located in Lliria near to the new Spainsburys shop in Cami de Mura 8, Bajo 2. The telephone for reservations is 670732806 and they do party bookings too.

And talking of the new Spainsburys shop. You can find it in their new premises in Lliria at Plaza Jaime Roig 1, Calle Marc Cornelli, Lliria. 46160. Go to their website at Spainsburys and check out what they can offer and also a map that helps you to get there the first time.

The Valencian Summer

The global warming myth? What happened to all of the promises?

Valencia has just experienced its coolest August in the last ten years and if today's weather continues as is then it may be the coolest for a very long time. We were promised a long, hot, sticky summer as June had Valencia's hottest ever day at 38.2ºC but then in August the plot was well and truly lost. Today I saw some people with coats on! If you are due to come over on a house visit any day soon then check out the following websites for the weather in Valencia. (It will probably be hot again very soon.
BBC Hot and sunny for the next five days.
The Weather Channel Which bizarrely claims that Valencia will be foggy for 7 of the next ten days!
Yahoo Weather Which also claims we will be in a pea souper for the net four days.
As I have never ever seen Fog in Valencia I will take these previsions with a huge ton of salt and choose to believe the BBC one.

Of course the accompanying photo shows the view on a foggy day in Valencia town.

More Articles About Valencia

Valencia is getting an excellent press recently all over the World. At the links provided you can see great articles about the city from the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sunday Telegraph. Two ways of looking at the city, the first is an evocative stroll along the Turia riverbed and its history and the second is about property.

Have a look at them and get in touch and we will find your place near this marvellous stroll.

Meanwhile the thermometers are high, the living is easy and the atmosphere is relaxed as the almost empty Valencia siestas away the summer. If you fancy a renovation project in Ruzafa for just 50000 Euros, small but well situated get in touch very quickly because it will not stay here long.

Two Months of the New Website

The new website has been up for two months now and we have had many positive comments. Thankyou. The next stage will happen very soon too as we contract out the uploading of properties to our new PA firm. If you have any ideas of how to improve the site and make it more useful for you then get in touch on graham@valencia-property.com and we will try to incorporate them.

Meanwhile we have received details of a property in Villanueva that could be perfect for somebody with ideas. It is a townhouse and could easily be converted into two seperate dwellings, a small hotel or a large family dwelling. There are seven bedrooms in total and plenty of other available spaces. It is about 35 minutes from Valencia and costs 195000 Euros.

The Mail on Sunday and the Americas Cup.

Another week and another very positive news week for Valencia. We were featured yesterday in the Mail on Sunday as an agency and thank you for the interest shown over the last day or so. Valencia has been named finally as the host for the America's Cup in 2009 and it has been confirmed that the Origin team from the UK will be coming to compete so all of you sailing buffs out there may well be interested in coming to view their attempts to finally win the Cup.

We are now fully up and running again after my break away in Arizona and hopefully the selection of places for sale will increase over the next week or so as I take more photos.

Regards to everyone and look forward to hearing from you.

Valencia in The Sunday Times Again

Thanks to Hugh Pearman for this article. You can see the full version with spectacular pictures at the following link

There is also another article on what to do when you get here at this link



A few years back, I met an impressive middle-aged lady in an office in Valencia. Her name was Rita Barbera, and she was the city’s mayor. Her office was full of the big drawings and models with which ambitious civic leaders like to surround themselves. You find offices like this everywhere, from the American Midwest to the steppes of Kazakhstan, though Barbera’s, in a converted convent, was a lot bigger than most. She told me how she was going to position Valencia to rival Barcelona, and that she was going to do this through the power of architecture and design. I nodded politely. Everyone always says this.

Yet something told me that Barbera had the determination to carry things through. It wasn’t just that she gave the appearance of being everyone’s favourite auntie. The clue came when I decided, late at night, to wander up the road to where a new Norman Foster-designed congress centre was being built. It was due to open the next morning. The builders were hard at work under floodlights. Gardeners were frantically chucking down soil and forking in plants. Again, normal enough. The difference was that the tireless Barbera was there too. This was no press conference, no photo opportunity. It was after midnight. She was marshalling her troops, leading by example. The building was finished in time. How could it not be? And now, gosh, Barbera has been reelected time after time – she has been in power since 1991 – and Valencia is indeed a destination that can hold a candle to Barcelona, with some astonishing new buildings and public spaces to counterbalance its famous historic ones. What’s the trick?

When it comes to civic spirit in any great city, the politics of the mayor play second fiddle to personality. Observe how, in London, Ken Livingstone, who has far less power than a continental mayor such as Barbera, can enjoy enviable levels of public support so long as he strikes an independent attitude, is not seen as a party stooge, is moderately witty and can plausibly claim that everything that goes wrong – the London Underground, say, or the 2012 Olympics – is someone else’s fault. This is why he must surely fear a lovable rogue of a Tory wild-card candidate in the next mayoral election, a Boris Johnson. He could promise a tax on pickled eggs in pubs to pay for plum-coloured three-cornered hats for street sweepers, and he’d get a lot of votes. Who cares which party Johnson belongs to? After a while, however, you have to start doing real, big things in the centre, coupled with lots of real small things out in the suburbs, to keep voters happy. The most successful city mayors across Europe are those with a firm grasp of detail.

In Valencia, Barbera (from the centre-right opposition Partido Popular) does both. The big stuff is what she is famous for, of course. “The city is a live theatre stage for its inhabitants, a place for everyone,” she says. She means it. It also helps to be on the Mediterranean. It helps to be the place that invented paella. It helps to have a wonderful medieval centre that is a World Heritage Site. It may even help that the cathedral has a little ancient stone cup some believe to be the Holy Grail. But plenty of cities have such attractions. Barbera did not start the cultural-buildings extravaganza you see today – that began under the previous socialist administration, with the 1987 Palace of Music concert hall, designed by the postmodernist Ricardo Bofill – but she immediately grasped the possibilities.
Related Links

* Valencia, you must go

She personally signed up Foster for the congress centre, but that is now small beer. The centre of the action is the astonishing, indeed somewhat overpowering, £2bn-estimated City of Arts and Sciences, by the architect Santiago Calatrava. Marching like the bleached bones of dinosaurs down a linear park formed by the 1960s diversion of the flood-prone River Turia, you find a science museum, a planetarium, an opera house and a shady arboretum. The striking opera house, an 1,800-seater designed to stage all the performing arts, rolled out with starry concerts featuring Placido Domingo and Lorin Maazel (now its artistic director) in 2005 and has just finished its first complete season. It has already established itself as world-class.

In person, Calatrava is a small, understated individual of monkish demeanour. Like his hero, the madly creative and equally monkish Catalan architect Gaudi, he sees buildings as organic forms, expressions of nature. The difference is that it’s a lot easier to build mad visions these days – which means it’s a lot easier to go way, way over the top. An architect-engineer who likes to think of himself as an artist and sculptor, Calatrava made his name with some remarkably beautiful bridges, railway stations and airport buildings, but has long since joined the flying circus of international icon-builders. You know you’ve arrived when you’re invited to design the tallest skyscraper in America, and Calatrava has duly provided the giant corkscrew of the 2,000ft Chicago Spire, which is about to be built. He has another famous smaller tower, the “turning torso” in Malmo, Swe-den, based on a spinal column. He is doing another in Man-hattan, plainly inspired by the sculptor Brancusi’s Endless Column, as well as the transportation hub for the World Trade Center site – a sort of giant glass venus flytrap, which is potentially rather good – and much else.

In a sense, none of this matters in Valencia. He is a native of the city, and the fact that Barbera gave him this string of cultural buildings not only recognised his undoubted ability, but helped him to move a big step up in the type of buildings he is now routinely considered for. And the task in hand was clear enough: to cause sufficient fuss, architecturally, to make a significant number of people choose Valencia as a destination, rather than any one of a number of rival olive-belt cities. To judge by the number of budget airlines now flying there, the strategy has worked.

To all this, you must add the other deals Barbera has struck on behalf of her beloved city. The 2007 America’s Cup yachting regatta, a hugely prestigious event, was held there, for instance, after Barbera won the competitive bidding process. In theory, the event should have been hosted by the country of the title-holders, but they were Swiss, which presented a lack-of-sea problem. The Swiss won it again this time, and the chances are that Valencia will hold onto the event. Naturally, there had to be an important new building if Valencia was to host it. So the regatta HQ, a rather fine inverted ziggurat, was designed by Britain’s David Chipperfield.

Barbera hasn’t finished there. She has struck a deal with the svengali of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, to run the European Grand Prix round the city’s harbour for seven years, starting in 2008. No less a luminary than Spain’s own Formula One champion, Fernando Alonso, has expressed bafflement as to why this will be a street race when the city already has a perfectly good motor-racing circuit just outside. He is missing the point, which is that Barbera wants to create a public image to rival that of Monaco. The images of yachts and racing cars will sell her city through television coverage globally. So what’s the point of paying Ecclestone £17.5m to stage each race at a circuit that would give much better racing conditions, but could be anywhere?

Clued-up mayors the world over are wise to tricks like this. Why else was Livingstone so keen to get the Tour de France to start in London? The international audience for these events is huge. That’s why he was there with the flag to wave the cyclists off. We might sniff at such antics – and, from an aesthetic standpoint, Valencia needs a screeching road race about as much as Venice does – but we are in the world of competitive supercities here. Valencia is Spain’s No 3, but it has never forgotten the 15th century, when it was the most important city on the Iberian peninsula.

Building slightly overblown but impressive cultural monuments is all part of the process of clawing back prestige. Valencia isn’t just competing with Barcelona and Monaco, these days it’s battling with Dubai and Abu Dhabi for tourist and trade dollars. If you are a fringe world city, you need someone like Barbera fighting your corner.

Closed for Holidays

We are closed from today until the 26th of this month for holidays. If you urgently need to get in touch, make an offer on a place, arrange visits for after this date then feel free to get in touch on grahunt@gmail.com. There may be a delay in replying but anything urgent will be answered asap. Leave email address and phone number to contact.

America's Cup Update and Valencia Parties.

5-2 to Alinghi. The last race won by one second after dropping their sail. It is now all over in Valencia bar the incessant partying by the New Zealand, sorry Swiss winners. (Did you know that the majority of the Alinghi team are the NZ team that won it some time back?) Anyway, the America's Cup in Valencia is over for the time being and the next one starts tomorrow when the bossman Bertarelli will announce if the 150 million Euro bribe, sorry funding, from the City of Valencia is enough for him to stay as he has another offer.





The link above should take you to the Valencia Tourist Board page and from there they should be able to tell you what is happening but it doesn't. Click here to go there. The party now gets really started as we move into the summer. There is a great two months of events planned in the evenings at the City of Arts and Sciences and the Summer Cinema projections start every night at 12 all over the pueblos surrounding Valencia and in the old riverbed itself. Why sleep when it is too hot seems to be the mantra?

Get Books About Spain

We have added a link to the Amazon.co.uk homepage so that you can follow up your investigation of looking for a house in Spain with getting some reading materials, whether that be history, culture or learning the language. There should always be relevant ads abouve so click through from here even if what you are buying has nothing to do with your property purchase.

Castellon is Different

The following article has been written by my colleague Simon who lives and works around Castellón. Have a look and if you want to know more information then get in touch and we will put you through to Simon, an expert in the area.

ARTICLE
"Seriously Spanish.........

Do you want crowded beaches, identikit apartments, fish and chips, dodgy builders and even dodgier agents as part of your future home in Spain? If so, don't read on! Spain and the property front have been getting bad press recently for a wide number of reasons but I think it is only fair to take up Graham's gauntlet (See http://www.positivespain.blogspot.com) and say something positive and inspiring about Spain. I have been here 17 years and am still under forty (just) so I think I have the authority to share the following views and experiences....



I live in the province of Castellon and although there are some unwelcoming things happening to the north of Oropesa, Marina D'Or comes to mind, fortunately not all is like that and the province is still unscarred by “Benidormitis”. I invite you to go inland where there is outstanding countryside, masias and land to be found and renovated for the same price as a rabbit hutch on the beach. Castellon is the second most mountainous region in Spain and there really are some breathtaking views to be seen and there is a slow trickle of British discovering that now. What is more, there is a style of village life to be found that has long since disappeared in England...



If you take up the following recommendations, you could indeed find that ultimate place in the sun or is that Location, Location???....

Most people buy with such care in England and then get on a plane to Spain and either leave their common sense at Heathrow or the sun addles their brain once they are here...

My advice is the following :

Caution and research!
Use respectable and experienced agents (not someone you meet in a bar looking to make a quick buck!)
Always take legal advice (clear title deeds are essential)
Use local builders or those with lots of experience and great recommendations (they have the know-how and contacts).
Check building regulations
Rent a place in the area for a while to get a feel of the place if needs be, after all, it is a big move!
Make an effort to fit in!!!!!

Rural Spain is a great experience if you use your common sense and the advice above and I can assure you that you will not regret it. Get in touch with me, we can have some wine and you can just ask away. How good does that sound???



For more information on this area, just get in touch with Graham and he will put you through to me"

Simon.

Hopefully you like the article. The accompanying photos are from Vall D'Alba as little town there called Villafames. The last picture I chose because it features a bull run and a Liverpool top!

Positivity

I have had enough of the constant stream of negativity coming out in the press and media about Spain so I have decided to put together a blog with positive news. It will be filled with news about ecology, environment, people stories and general good news that will enable you to be uplifted and get away from the negativity that encompasses our everyday lives. Obviously we are focussing it on Spain and it is called Positive Sp(a)in. Have a look at the link here

If you have any positive news that you would like featured here then do send it to us on devanio66@gmail.com. If you have a website then we will give you a plug too. Read it and smile.

Still Valencia is living the America's Cup, there were over 120000 people at the port over the weekend to follow events, and currently the teams are locked at 1-1. The whole of Valencia still hope Alinghi win so the event stays. They only lost the second race after making a mistake. Hopefully they will not make too many more because it seems that in straight line pace they have the beating of the New Zealanders. (Of course I know little or less about yachting so I am quoting verbatim here from a couple of friends who have been to watch the racing)

Phone Works Now

Well finally the phone is working again so you can now phone me on +34 961662892 or the movile number of +34 657994311. To me it comes into the same phone so it doesn't really make that much difference.

Today I spent the morning mooching around the Notary's office waiting for a bank to turn up. Eventualy we were able to sign and cancel a prior mortgage. Nice offices though.

This weekend will be a busy one a I need to go down to Elche on Sunday and it is family birthday time on Saturday. Meanwhile next week i have been offered three more flats for sale in Ruzafa all at good prices so more photos to come on the site then.

Phone Problems and Pigs

I have moved my office phone number onto my mobile so you can get me at any time even when I am out... that is the theory anyway. The line is down and has been for two days now. Telefonica have cut me off before Vodafone have connected me up. So if you want to get in touch with me on +34 961662892 forget it for the moment and dial direct on +34 657994311.

Hopefully this will be sorted very soon.

Today was a strange day. I went to see a couple of new houses for the site, you will see them in the next couple of days, and one of them was a cats' home. Seven bedrooms of which four were just for cats. Huge house with a couple of pigs in th large gardens too. Now I don't know about you but many years ago I saw the Aussie film Razorback so I was a bit wary of them but they were very friendly and not at all smelly.

Summer is Here

I have still not ventured into the pool but a first visit to the beach now confirms that summer is here. The longest day is next week after all. The mercury is rising and Valencia is preparing itself for the America's Cup Final between Alinghi the hosts and New Zealand the challengers. I am not going to try and drum up too much enthusiasm, after all it is yachting, but the words of Bertorelli, the boss of Alinghi, this week suggest that he thinks he is more important than the rest of the Valencia economy. He said that it is not guaranteed that the next trophy will be in 2009 even if Alinghi wins and then it might not even stay in Valencia, after promising this for a very long time through Bonnefus his acolyte and head of ACM, America's Cup Management. The reason. It is not ideal having a commercial port next to the bases! Obviously not but then again they might have noticed it before. Could it be that they have had an offer they cannot refuse from Dubai? At least he did say that taking it back to New Zealand is commercial suicide. With Ecclestone confirming the formula one racing here for eight years around the port you can be sure that the local politicians will have taken the hint and will do their utmost to try to convince them to stay in whatever way they can but moving the commercial port!!! The route to the World for Valencian ceramics and other products? If they listen they are bigger doormats than they have already proved themselves to be. But then again money talks.

NEW WEBSITE NOW UP

We were experiencing a problem with uploading the new site in the last day or so but now we are up and running. Nothing majorly different but more dynamic with changes happening on a daily basis now. We hope you like it. Keep coming back and bookmark the page www.valencia-property.com in order to keep up to date with what is happening.

Free Book

Hi There

I have decided to give away the book about buying a property in Spain. This was written by myself, Graham, and uses a lot of the experience we have gained over the years through Valencia Property to help you with your property purchase here. If you would like a copy send me a message to graham@valencia-property.com with the message "GIVE ME MY FREE BOOK PLEASE" I wouldn't want you to make any mistakes on buying property in Spain and especially Valencia so the book which is also available on ebay at Devanio Shop if you would prefer to make a payment of 2.99 Euros will help you out. There is more useful information in this book than on any badly put together documentary on ITV!

Regards and Have a Nice Day

Trevor McDonald

Absolutely shocking programme from Trevor Mc this week. Shocking in the sense of badly done, badly researched and badly presented with laughable conclusions.

To cut to the quick, the market has definitely slowed down and those looking to make a quick buck may well be stung as prices off plan don't rise as they were promised by the promotors. Bear in mind that profits from these flips are usually promised in B money so we don't touch them really.

Nevertheless, let's look at the actual situation. If you have bought a legal property from a reputable source in a good area then you really have got not much to worry about apart from learning the language because life is still good in Spain, even if more expensive than a few years back, the sun still shines, the quality of life is unbelievable if you like Menus of the Day at 7-12 Euros, cheap fresh produce in season, fantastic blue flag beaches (Both Malvarrosa and Cabañal in Valencia have just been awarded the accolade this week for the first time, great public transport at cheap prices (You can get to these beaches from outlying towns on the metro in less than an hour for the price of a couple of beers)and a thriving cultural and sporting life, Levante stayed up and Valencia will be in the Champion's League next season. Take the long view, relax with a Sangria and live a much higher quality of life in a much more relaxed atmosphere. If it means that only those who really want to live in Spain will come here through programmes like this then so much the better.

So from Valencia, home of the America´s Cup, a new Grand Prix, the best Millenium Project in the World and the place considered to be the best place i the World to live by the World Health Organisation goodnight and hope to see you soon.

New Site

It has been an extremely busy weekend with an open day by Devanio, photos this morning and uploading properties to the new look VP site. It can be seen here for the latest properties, it is in development phase at the moment so bear with us but the newest properties can be seen there for now so have a look and give us some feedback on graham@valencia-property.com

The new site is taking time to upload but it will eventually get onto www.valencia-property.com and www.valencia-property.es for the site in Spanish. The new database is working well but it will take some time for me to get totally used to it. At the moment the featured properties are on the top row on the home page and the latest properties will appear at the start of the second row.

What are the differences? Well, we now have different price bands which make a lot more sense in today's market, we have a section for off plan which will no longer say coming soon, we have an international and other areas section, the FAQ's have been updated and eventually all other pages will change to reflect the latest realities.

This week is extremely busy with lots of clients visiting and houses to take them to. So if you send a mail and I take time to get back to you, have patience please.

Back on the Market at 135,000 Euros

If a sale falls through after a few months it is a pain for the seller as they have to start the marketing process again. Therefore it is useful to know that things are available again as we can start moving them faster. This sale has fallen through so it has come back onto the market this week. The buyer pulled out as he was worried about his dog not being enclosed. This 5 bedroomed house has scope for improvement but is in excellent condition with a modernisation done in a sleepy village near to Casinos. Look at the pics and buy an absolute bargain as you will not find anything of this quality this cheap for a long time here in Valencia. Water and Electric are from mains. It previously has had a telephone so no problem with getting one. It is set on two floors but you can develop a roof terrace too and it has use of some land opposite although it is not part of the deeds.

An absolutely exquisite house for the price just 35 mins from Valencia and possibly half an hour when the extended motorway links up to Casinos.

More You Tube Videos for you to Enjoy

I decided to put up quite a few video links today as I am uploading to You Tube. Therefore have a look at those placed here and visit our You Tube page to see loads more at www.youtube.com/valenciaproperty
The featured houses here range in price from 237600 Euros to 330000 Euros. Get in touch on graham@valencia-property.com if you like any of them and would like to arrange a visit.
Six in all and all under a minute long meaning you can browse them in peace.

A Very Busy Day

I spent most of today with journalists or answering journalists' questions about Valencia and also Castellón. Hopefully you will see our name as a result in the Sunday Times and Overseas Property magazine in the not too distant future. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours this afternoon at a house we have for sale in Lliria, waiting around while clients looked at it and reading a book overlooking the pool in the shade of the terrace on a steaming hot day.

It is now after midnight and I really need to get to bed.

Tomorrow is looking really full too and I will probably send out a contact mail announcing our next open days over the weekend as we will be having them on the 19th of April in Lliria, the 26th in Villamarchante and 2nd June in Lliria too. All excellent houses and good possibilities hosted by our sister company Devanio.

The picture shown is of the pool area and guesthouse of a place we have the open day on the 19th of May. See more here although the price is now 235000 Euros.

Scare Stories in the Press

The Sunday Times and Sky News spent the weekend making people terrified of buying in Spain as the whole house of cards is going to fall. Look at it from another point of view, it's a great time to be a buyer if you are coming out here to live as you have a large choice and some owners who want to trade up, down or move on altogether are dropping prices.

This week we have had four owners phone us up with price drops making their properties, which we already thought excellent value as we don't take on overpriced properties, now even more worthwhile.

Check out the photos of the house in Olocau at 295,000 Euros here and also look at the video and photos of the house here at 235,000 in Lliria.

Benicassim and Others

The weather is great now so I have been bringing in more properties in the sun for people to look at. Prices range from 200,000 Euros up with the most expensive in the Valencians' playground of Benicassim with a couple of luxury pads up to 2.5 million Euros. Take a look at the blog over the next three days or so as the photos go up and keep checking your mail for updates too.

A final reminder about the competition, see below, only a few all correct answers in at the moment so still time to win a free meal for four at a local restaurant in La Eliana sometime in May.

Remember the book can still be bought on ebay at 2.99 telling you about how to avoid the pitfalls of buying in Spain and saving you thousands. get it here.

PHOTOS
Top Villa in Algar at 265000 Euros
Middle Two villas available in Montroy for 285000 Euros each
Bottom 2.4milion euro Luxury pad in Benicassim.

Off Plan in Murcia.

I was down in Murcia last week to look at some new developments and planned golf resorts and I came back surprised at the quality and value for money available.

Firstly we can offer two bedroomed flats with a shared swimming pool just 15 minutes from Murcia itself, half an hour to San Javier airport and 50 minutes to Alicante from just 105000 Euros. They are small with an open plan living room/kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom but they are walking distance to the shopping centre for the estate and set high so as to enjoy good views around the flatlands around. They will be finished in July at the latest and there are just 9 available.

Secondly and on a longer term project, the second phase of a golf resort 20 minutes from Murcia city inland towards Campos del Rio is now for sale. The first phase is totally sold out without anything currently having being built. The macroproject has now had all of the Earth moved to set the landscaping and show homes have been built. The prices range from 115000Euros for a two bedroomed flat overlooking the golf course up to 400000 Euros for a four bedroomed three bathroom house on the first line of the course. There are four models of houses and one we will not recommend as we believe the kitchen is too small. However all of the others are excellently planned. Nearby there is another development with similar houses which will also have golf ownership shares in the purchase which for the next month only are just 168000 Euros for a three bedroomed villa. The normal price which applies from the 12th of June is 20000o Euros so get in quickly.

We can also currently offer one villa on the first development mentioned for resale. Price totally furnished is 200000 Euros and I have attached some photos here.

For full details of the project get in touch with us on devanio66@gmail.com

Tomorrow's Open Day

Well the weather is set fair, the adverts have gone out and the drinks have been brought in. Tomorrow at 10am until 2pm we have the open day at the house in Olocau with a surprise bonus, the house next door is included too. So come and see two beautiful houses, one at 302000 Euros and the other at 355000 Euros. The address is C/ Blasco Ibañez 63A and 63, Urb La Lloma, Olocau. Browse through the houses at your leisure with help from the family. We are sure you will like the houses.

Remember that we will be having a prize draw at the end for the winner to be able to buy one of the houses discounted by 3000 Euros (Or any agency represented can sell it for 3000 Euros less) So a very quick direction summary;
Go into La Lloma which is signposted between Betera and Olocau. Pass the olive tree and then bear right, bear left, turn right and bear left. Keep the big yellow wall to your left after turning right. Easy!

Hope to see you there and don't be late. Remember to bring your e-mail details to take part in the prize draw.

Open Day

Next Saturday, weather permitting, we will be holding an open day at a house in Olocau in conjunction with our sister company Devanio. The event will start at 10am and go on until 2pm and there will be free drink and snacks while you look around the house which is for sale at 355,000 Euros. If you are interested in attending the event there are two ways to go about it. One is by registering an interest. If you send me an e-mail beforehand to devanioinfo@gmail.com then I will prepare you a folder with CD, house info and printouts. If you just want to turn up on the day then that is fine. Whilst there you will be entered into a draw for a special discount on the property of 3000 Euros. The address of the house is C/ Blasco Ibañez 63A, Urb La Lloma, Olocau. (Between Olocau and Betera)


And talking of competitions, we have not had any correct answers for our competition posted below in our 100th post. There is still a chance to win a meal out at a local restaurant for four people. Have a go if you are going to be around or live around here.

Another reminder about our book. You can find it here on eBay. Have a look because even if you buy in other areas of Spain it will save you thousands.

100th Post and Competition Time

As this is the 100th post placed on the blog of Valencia Property I have decided to run a competition. The prize is a lunch for four people at a local restaurant in May, or when you are here if you are searching for property still and are not here, along with the ebook "The Definitive Guide to Buying Property in Spain" written by me.

The winner will be picked from among the correct answers out of the hat by my nine month old so she can show no favoritism and the video of the draw will be posted on the site to make sure everything is ok and above board. Results will be posted on the blog site and main site too.

So the questions.

1) When was the book finished? (Look on the description on eBay to find out)
2) How many chapters are there in the book? (Ditto)
3) When was Valencia Property SL created?

Answers should be sent to graham@valencia-property.com before the 31st of April. If there are no correct answers, doubtful but you never know, then it will be rolled over into May!