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Expat Property Abroad News
Latest 10 news items tagged Property Abroad
15 May at 6 PM 2013
New Spanish property investment visa draws Chinese and Russians
The Spanish government’s latest scheme to reinvigorate the country’s dying property market is drawing a rush of interest from non- European Union investors. The property investment visa guarantees residency permits to buyers of Spanish homes costing more than half a million euro, and is set to become active from July. Automatic residency is granted to owners of said property, and is also to be extended to spouses and children, although it will only be valid for as long as the property is owned. The finer details of the plan are...
13 May at 6 PM 2013
Brit expats in Spain should think again before fleeing
For many British expats living in Spain, the newly-introduced financial reporting requirements have been the last straw, but taking expert advice may be the answer. According to the Foreign Office, full- and part-time expats in Spain number around 800,000, with permanent resident numbers set between 250,000 and 400,000. Accountancy firms estimate that a high number are seriously considering leaving the country following the introduction of the new tax regime. The law states that any foreigner living in Spain for more than six...
10 May at 6 PM 2013
Lloyds snubs expat customers with sale of Spanish banking network
A new blow to British expats living in Spain came with the news that Lloyds Bank is preparing to sell its 28 Spanish branches to Banco Salvadel, Spain’s fourth largest bank. Concern is rife in the Spanish expat community, as the branches mostly served around 50,000 expat mortgage clients. Formerly under the Halifax banner or as Lloyds branches, the 28 banks will be sold for a £250 million loss due to the drastic fall in the Spanish property market. Expats whose mortgages are held by Lloyds are worried that a bureaucratic...
2 May at 6 PM 2013
Expats fear savings grab after Spain asset declaration deadline
Now that the deadline for overseas residents in Spain to declare their assets has passed, many expats fear a Cyprus-style savings grab will result. The new Spanish tax rules affect an estimated 200,000 Britons with homes and businesses in Spain, many of whom are desperate to leave as rumours of a savings grab continue to circulate. With the Spanish unemployment rate at 26 per cent and property prices still falling, the country’s economy appears to be teetering on the brink. Expat residents have been forced to declare all overseas...
2 May at 6 PM 2013
Fall in French mortgage interest rates attracts British buyers
Fixed mortgage rates on offer to Britons looking for a new life in France are at their lowest since the end of WWII. Now that French property prices are in decline, the temptation of a 20-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.35 per cent or a tracker deal over the same period at 2 per cent may be too good to ignore for those desperate to emigrate. Leading French banks are competing to offer great deals to reliable buyers in an attempt to shore up the property market. A spokesman for a leading estate agency said rates are at their lowest...
1 May at 6 PM 2013
Expats flee Spain as unemployment soars and property prices crash
According to figures issued by Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the total population of the country has fallen for the first time in 150 years. As Spanish unemployment soars to over 26 per cent and the country’s economy staggers, a total of 206,000 residents have given up and left. According to the figures, the entire drop represents foreign residents leaving the country. From the year 2000, Spain experienced a rapid rise in its immigrant population, mostly fuelled by migrants from Spanish-speaking countries in South...
29 Apr at 6 PM 2013
Expat investors hit hard as Harlequin Properties calls in receivers
After several months of uncertainty and a class action or two, beleaguered Harlequin Properties has thrown in the towel and gone into receivership. After failing to keep up with regular contracted payments to their investors and an ongoing investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and Essex Police, the action by the Essex-based overseas property sales company has now put its investors in an even worse position. An interim moratorium is now in place freezing all legal action against it at the present time. Hundreds of...
25 Apr at 6 PM 2013
Increase in expat influx pushes up Swiss property prices
Switzerland’s continuing popularity as an immigration destination is causing a further increase in the country’s already high property rental prices. Real estate agents in the country are reporting further increases over and above the 2.3 per cent 2012 increase in rental charges for apartments. Rents are already another 2 per cent higher than at the end of last year, and are expected to continue to rise. Demand for rental properties and the resultant rent rises are attributed to increased immigration from other EU countries as...
19 Apr at 6 PM 2013
Wealthy Chinese migrants look for unusual immigration destinations
As the present-day Chinese Diaspora gathers momentum fuelled by wealthier business people eager to stash their cash in safe locations, less obvious havens such as Portugal and St Kitts are emerging. Scared by the savings grab in Cyprus, unimpressed with the USA, disallowed in Canada and perhaps not quite rich enough for Australia, wealthy Chinese families are searching out unusual destinations with reliable banking laws. The small island of St Kitts is happily cashing in on demand, especially in the property sector, with shares in one...
18 Apr at 6 PM 2013
