Are these the three coolest Property places to buy and stay in Spain? Stiff www.theolivepress.es
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March 2018
Issue 19
upper lip
Find out in this month’s Property magazine
March 15th Mallorca - March 28th 9 - Living 2018 Inspiration
We give your dreams a home
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Tel. +34 971 23 85 84 www.engelvoelkers.com /mallorca
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Brits refuse to stop investing in Spanish despite Brexit fallout and uncertainty homes
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RITISH demand for properties in Spain has remained strong despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit. The last quarter of 2017 showed a 7.6% increase in prices and a huge 19.8% increase in sales.
Meanwhile foreign year on year sales rose by 20.4% to 15,266 purchases. Foreign sales in last three months of 2017 were led by the British with 2,384 sales, followed by French and German nationals with 1,242 and 1,198 purchases respectively. This rise in British engage-
ment was also a quarter-on- period were encouraged by Alquarter increase of 0.9%. fonso Dastis’ (Spain’s Foreign UK nationals now account for Minister) pledge in October 16% of the overseas property that British expats living in the market share in Spain, which country is an 8% lead on French na- ruption” would face “no dispost-Brexit, amongst tionals who account for the other positive comments sursecond highest number of for- rounding pensions and Euroeign homeowners. pean Experts at A Place in the Sun (EHIC) Health Insurance Card benefits at the time.” said: “Although Brexit has It added that it saw 55% and understandably stalled deci- 28% increases in Spanish sions for some, many British property searches and propnationals continue to proceed erty with their property purchases tively.enquiries by Brits respecin their number one overseas destination. “It could be suggested that See Mark Stucklin analysis British nationals during this overleaf
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17 Propert Hot y Shops Costa Sol ondelMallorc water
hotel has three months
NEWS
December 6th - December 19th
a ‘He deserves it’ Not enough stars
to We give your dreams fight decision a home SOME 14 fire bosses have been arrested for allegedly embezzling €7 million in public funds. The Policia Nacional found that the Consortium of Bomberos Cadiz took out mass early retirement insur-
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breached rules by being over 700 square meters bigger
than permitted. Although the town hall and developer maintain this excess was later corrected, the judge ruled that the rectification would have taken place after the granting of the licence, so does not count. The building has 61 apartments and 46 parking spaces. The original building was granted planning permis-
sion by then mayor Enrique Bolin in 2001.
SMUGGLERS’ WALL We’re currently offering a mouth-watering 3-course lunch deal that includes a drink on the house and free parking* for just €18.50. Full speed ahead! FRUIT growers in the Axarquia are facing a 60% reduction in water use from the La Vinuela reservoir with no solution in sight. The Junta has decided to limit its use as the reservoir is already at 22.7% capacity and could drop even lower if the dry weather keeps up.
expat paper in Spain
DOOMED: Costa hotel
POLICE officers have formed a human wall along a beach in La Linea to ensure construction of a beach wall went that the The wall, between the church ahead. of Nuestra Senora del Carmen and the perimeter wall of the fishing port of La Atunara, hopes to
2017
From Page 1
Tel. +34 971 23 85 84 Probing www.en gelvoelkers.com /mallor ca
BEST
FLIGHTS
A HOTEL is to be knocked
down for not having enough ance policies. class! But when their employees Benalmadena’s Hotel Vista retired early, chiefs siphoned de Rey must be demolished off the money from the paywithin three months, a court outs. has ruled, Authorities also found disAndalucia’s Superior Court crepancies in the consortium’s training courses. of Justice ruled that the hoLarge sums were paid to a tel falls short of its four-star company to provide training requirement. courses, but no evidence has been found that these courses took place. It began probing the three Meanwhile, irregularities were also found in grants and star hotel and apartment subsidies, which cops believe block in 2011 after it was dewere used to pay for private nounced over planning rules trips. which set aside the plot for a The irregularities date back four star hotel only. to 2008 and cops believe at According to the PGOU town least €7 million has been stoplan an apartment block was len by those at the top. not permitted and it also
Voted
per person from
before it is demolished
deter drug smugglers from using the beach as a drop off zone. A combined police presence of Guardia Civil, local and national officers were fears grew that drug smugglers present as would try and disrupt the work.
He even got himself a financial known radio station, through whichadvice slot on a well he snared unsuspecting victims. However, a comprehensive Olive Press investigation exposed his scams that involved stamps, coins and gold. We also revealed how he and his close pal Barry Nathan wined and dined up to a dozen criminals, anonymously, through the food column. He eventually fled the country but we soon tracked him down to following our expose, changed his name by deed poll andthe UK, where he had was selling coins and antiques on eBay from a small Berkshire cottage. He was quickly found guilty under English law of conning people and given a suspended prison sentence only due to health reasons. “And because he promised to go back to his online cons,” one never of the British victim explained. But this is apparently not the case two victims claiming he is still with using eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ coins and stamps from his unpaid flat in Brighton, using the names ‘gqtrading’ and ‘gqtrading2’. “We are pretty sure he has broken his bail conditions and will have to finally go back to prison,” said one victim. “The nerve of this man is unbelievable.” His landlord last night insisted something was up from the start. he should have known “When we met to sign the contracts slippery, I went to pay for my coffee I thought he was a bit tell me he had left without paying only for the barista to his bill.” He continued: “He paid for the first couple of months but then just stopped. He told us his account had been frozen due to a money laundering investigation, which is probably true. “He then told us to stop contacting him and accused us of harrassment. “Now he is claiming he is seriously ill and can’t work to make payments. “We’ll see him in court.” Opinion Page 6
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Vol. 1 Issue 24
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Photo by: El Periódico
Outpouring of grief for millions as body of Gabriel Ruiz, 8, is found strangled, allegedly by his expat stepmother By Laurence Dollimore
IT’S the murder that has shocked a nation. An eight-year-old boy strangled to death and thrown down a well - with his evil expat stepmother now admitting to his murder. This week thousands of mourners queued up for hours to pay tribute to the coffin of the small boy Gabriel Cruz - nicknamed Pescaito,
EVIL: Ana Quezada or ‘Little fish’ after his love of the film Finding Nemo. They braved howling winds and rain in Almeria to join Junta boss Susana Diaz and Home Secretary Juan Ignacio Zoido in offering Untitled-1.pdf
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Goodbye little fish
condolences to his devastated parents Angel Cruz and Patricia Ramirez. The vast majority filed out in tears after seeing the heartbreaking images of his small
16/06/2017
It was February 27, when Gabriel had last been seen leaving his grandmother’s home in the tiny hamlet of in sleepy Cabo de Gata, to play with his cousins just 100m away.
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white coffin bedecked with his favourite toys. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy summed it up when he said he shared ‘with all Spaniards the pain for the loss of Gabriel’.
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RIP: Gabriel and (above) his parents
His grandmother and Dominican stepmother Ana Julia Quezada were the last to see him alive, leading to a two-week search involving over 700 local volunteers. Extending over a 70km radius, the story had soon gone viral on social media and made the front pages of most national newspapers. But few could have imagined the drama when this Sunday police suddenly ambushed the car of Ana Julia, to find his body in the boot.
for Spanish residents www.globelink.co.uk 96 626 5000 +44 (0) 1353 699082
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It emerged they had been watching her actions over the last week, since she suspiciously found his T-shirt, while out searching for him last week. She is expected to be charged this week with the evidence overwhelmingly stacked against her. And, even more intriguingly, she is now being probed over the death of another small child, 4, that of a former boyfriend in Burgos, who fell from a seventh floor apartment in 1996. Her involvement in Gabriel’s death became clear, when police saw her drive to a finca eight kilometres from her home this Sunday and pick a bundle of blankets out of a well. They then followed her car 74 kilometres to the small town of Vicar, near Almeria Continues on Page 2
24/11/2017 11:18