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Vol. 11 Issue 257 www.theolivepress.es January 18th - January 31st 2017
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They’re all in our new Property magazine out this week
Removing the floor
January 18th -
January 31st 2017
January 18th -
January 31st 2017 13 Spain Property Guides
Don’t get caught out when buying in Spain
Issue 12
A VICTORY for mortgage owners has been awarded by the European Court of Justice. The court has ruled that two million mortgage holders in Spain are entitled to additional refunds from the banks because they paid It came due to too much interest. clauses’ that saw the so-called ‘floor fail to lower their most Spanish banks rowers to match interest rates to borthe base rate set the European Central by The court ruled that Bank. it was unfair and that repayments entire life of the should cover the time that interestmortgage during the rates were low and continue to be. When the central bank base rate was lowered to stimulate economy some years the eurozone ago, mortgage repayments should 1.5% to 2%, howeverhave tracked it to many borrowers continued to pay 3.5% and more. The surprise ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Around two million now be set to receiveborrowers should timated to be worth repayments, esbillions of euros.
G
Little slice of home
BRITISH expats are on a buy-to-let spree in London and the south east of England. According to mortgage lender Skipton International there cant rise in expat has been a signifiinvestment over recent years. New figures reveal to-lets are in the UK40% of expats’ buycapital, while 25% are in the pricey south east. “Prices in London have increased significantly in the past ing that capital gainsfew years, meanhave been very attractive for investors,” said Skipton mortgage director “Expats have manyNigel Pascoe. ing and long term reasons for investinvestment is usually the most important.” The trend has occurred come easier to secure as it has bepats, who previously lending for exstruggled with credit checks and recent credit history. Some 35% of expats vestment as their cited long term ining, while another main reason for buy19% of their pension plan. said it was part
New Year, new house?
ET your hands on one of the first new properties of the year - right on the beach! This stunning villa with wonderful contemporary heated infinity pool sea views and market this week. has gone on the Just a few steps from one of Marbella’s loveliest stretches of sand, the four bedroom and cinema could home with a gym be yours for a cool €7.9m. The chic new addition to Bahia Marbella, just east of the town, includes the latest technology, installed sound system, with a preand underfloor heating. solar panels The property, marketed by Panorama Properties, sits in a gated community with 24-hour security.
NEW PROPERTY:
Stunning Bahia villa
on the shores of
Marbella
AND THE KING OF RENOVATION JOBSALL
MALAGA province’s €2 million project second biggest castle will finally be La Estrella castle failed to take off almost a decade ago.renovated after a being used duringis spread over 25,000 square metres Spanish TV series the filming of ‘Douglas, el Guardian and is currently which features the A project to give the battle of Teba, wherede Historia’ – a onset of the global structure a face lift was abandoned the castle lies. financial crisis. in 2008 at the It now back on, and will improve accessibility, investigation, consolidate undertake archeological the walls and generally structure. improve the existing
PAGE 13
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Bracing for Brexit
THERESA May has vowed Britain won’t accept a ‘half in, half out’ Brexit in a landmark speech that is likely to have long-lasting effects on Gibraltar and all expats in Spain. The Prime Minister issued a 12-point plan to take Britain out of the EU, with Downing Street looking to scrap EU single market and current customs union access. In the biggest speech of her sixmonth tenure, she said: “To be clear, what I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market.” She added Britain would no longer give ‘huge sums’ to the EU, however she conceded that Parliament will have the final vote on the deal. Maintaining the common travel area between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland is also a priority during the Brexit negotiations. However, the border of Gibraltar with Spain was not mentioned.
Control
“We want to control our immigration from the EU,” said May. “We also recognise the importance of the brightest and the best coming here. We recognise the contribution they have made.” May is believed to favour a workpermit system as she looks to trigger Article 50 by March. It comes as the House of Lords published data showing a border closure with Spain would put 40% of jobs at risk in Gibraltar. The 32 page-report, based on Gibraltar government evidence, estimates 10,500 of the Rock’s 26,000 workers crossed the border daily. “A frontier which lacked the necessary fluidity would therefore put directly at risk the jobs of 40% of the Gibraltar workforce,” said a spokesman. May’s speech was cheered by Leave campaigners, who are pushing for a ‘hard’ Brexit. She said:“We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave,” said May. “The British people voted for change. And it is the government’s job to deliver it.” Opinion Page 6
Slaughter Exclusive By Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead and Laurence Dollimore
A BRITISH expat has called in police after finding five of her dogs executed in a late-night massacre. The Guardia Civil are now investigating the horrific attack that also left one of Illona Mitchell’s horses with its eye gouged out. The detectives from the environment section Seprona told Mitchell, 48, that it was one of the worst attacks they had seen and were visibly shocked by it. They have put on extra patrols to keep an eye on the estate at weekends and at night. “I am sickened as to why someone would carry out such a cruel and barbaric attack on innocent, defenceless animals,” she told the Olive Press this
Expat’s rescue animals mercilessly killed over ‘hunting row’
week. The mother-of-one, above, who bought her estate in mountains near Granada
in 2004, found the five rescue dogs shot in their pens on January 6, the night of the Reyes (Three Kings). Her beloved seven-year-old Dizzy, ‘one of the friendliest dogs you will ever meet’ and a puppy called Maisie were shot dead at the gates of their pens. Meanwhile Coco and Domingo, were shot in their beds, with Mitchell believing they had cowered in their kennels before being killed in cold blood. Coco, two, had been shot at point-blank range between the eyes, while threeyear-old Domingo was shot through the side of his face. They later found Jack, a six-year-old German Shepherd, having convulsions under a nearby tree, but despite being
rushed to the vets he died 30 minutes later. An X-ray showed he also had a bullet shot through the roof of his mouth. Meanwhile, one of Mitchell’s 12 horses was also attacked, so savagely that its eye may have to be removed. Vets have been struggling to treat the four-year-old, named Rocco, because he has become too nervous and skittish. Deeply traumatised by the attack - that thankfully was not seen by her daughter Ella, 11 - Mitchell continued: “I am so angry that someone would do something as disgusting as this to innocent animals.” Mitchell, from Chester, believes the attack is linked to her recent decision to ban hunters from her huge 173-hectare estate that sits in stunning scenery in the Sierra de Baza. Continues on Page 4
Opinion Page 6 Est 1984
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18 January