British couple in their fifties were remanded in jail

British couple in their fifties were remanded in jail by a judge in Benidorm yesterday charged with imprudent homicide. They were arrested last Monday after being spotted dragging a badly-injured motorcyclist they had knocked down after a previous accident by licence plate recognition cameras on the outskirts of La Nucia (Aliante). During yesterday's hearing, the man, who was driving, broke down and admitted being aware not only that he had hit something or someone and that, following the impact, he was aware that something or someone had got stuck under his vehicle. In his defence, the man claimed that he thought he had hit a stray dog and said that he failed to stop and investigate because he suffered a panic attack.
The degree of responsibility that should be attributed to the man's wife, who also admits being aware of the impact, remains to be determined. The accident occurred last Friday night on the CV-763 (km 3,4). The couple were driving back to their home on the San Rafael residential estate while the young motorcyclist was heading towards Alfàs del Pi. The victim, who was still alive as he was dragged for 2-3km underneath the British couple's car, died before emergency medics could get him into the ambulance.

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Posted in: La Nucia

Julián Muñoz spending the weekend at his luxurious Marbella mansion.

The disgraced former mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz, is enjoying a long weekend break from Alhaurín de la Torre jail where he is serving time for property-development related corruption.
Muñoz left the prison that has been his home for the last twenty-one months at 7.20am this morning in a top-of-the-range 4x4 all-terrain vehicle driven by the chauffeur of his girlfriend, the singer Isabel Pantoja.
According to a source close to the former mayor, Muñoz was informed that his request for leave had been granted last Thursday. It is believed that he will be spending the weekend at his luxurious Marbella mansion.

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Posted in: Marbella

legal proceedings against staff at the Dr Pascual Clinic in Málaga, who performed liposuction surgery on her

The family of 44 year old Encarnación Salazar have started legal proceedings against staff at the Dr Pascual Clinic in Málaga, who performed liposuction surgery on her on November 7th last year that led to an agonising and slow death at Málaga's Carlos Haya Hospital more than four months later, on March 20th. Encarna's brother Manuel explained how she had been admitted to the clinic "on the Wednesday, expecting to be back home again the following Saturday."
However, the operation went badly wrong, and she required a second operation two days later because "they perforated her intestines, but this operation must have also gone wrong because they had to operate again after a sudden decline in her condition, but she suffered all sorts of complications after that and nearly died. They only left her with 60cm of intestines," Manuel went on to explain.
A few days later "she started passing blood, suffered kidney failure, among other things - a complete disaster. And all the while, the staff at Dr Pascual's clinic were telling us that she would get better," continued Manuel.
Encarnación's body arrived back in her home town of Ceuta yesterday for burial

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Posted in: Dr Pascual Clinic in Málaga

Antonio Banderas wingless in Marbella

Antonio Banderas and his wife Melanie Griffith have had a demolition order served on their luxurious Marbella beach house.But it is only one wing of their home La Gaviota, in Los Monteros, that is in for the chop.Their appeal against an original 2003 ruling to demolish the newer wing, which impinges on public beach land, has been rejected.Now their neighbours are insisting that the sentence of the High Court be carried out. The celebrity pair were accused of encroaching on public land despite having received planning permission for the extension in 1995 from Marbella town hall. At the same time more than 300 residents of Mijas have joined together to fight demolition orders on their homes.The group, who number a few expatriates, has been threatened with fines of up to 180,000 euros.In total some 3000 fines have been issued by Mijas town hall.Some of those affected are old and unaware of the latest demands of urban planning laws in the area. Many have also failed to get their projects signed off by either the Junta or water board.A number, such as one man in the Macorra area, built a small home despite being refused permission by the town hall many times.Juan Antonio Ruiz applied to build a tool shed next to the house his father owned in 1996.But, like many homes, built with this type of licence, it turned into a fully-fledged home.In 2000, he received the first of three official complaint against the home and he has finally been ordered to knock it down, at a cost of 12,000 euros.He is also awaiting confirmation of the fine he will have to pay, but it is likely to be around 65,000 euros.At the same time a large group of illegal houses is to be demolished in the village of La Chorrosquina, near Algeciras.
The 30 houses have been built without proper paperwork on the outskirts of the town.
The moves have come after new rules were agreed at a high level Junta meeting in November.The regional authority is now even beginning to carry out the forced demolition of homes built with permissions from local town halls, which have later been found to be illegally built on protected land. Demolition orders are being served on unwitting home-owners across the region.

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Posted in: Marbella

Viktor Bout lawyer in Thailand, Lak Nitiwatanavichan, said he would fight extradition

Thai police dropped charges Wednesday against a Russian man accused of being one of the world's most prolific black market arms dealers, saying they will proceed with hearings to extradite him to the United States.Viktor Bout, a 41-year-old Russian, faces several counts in the U.S. of "conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization" for allegedly arranging to sell and transport weapons, including portable surface-to-air missiles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.Lt. Gen. Phongphan Chayaphan, chief of the Thai police's Crime Suppression Division, said Bout would remain detained pending extradition hearings, which he estimated would take 60 days.
Bout's lawyer in Thailand, Lak Nitiwatanavichan, said he would fight extradition.
Bout, who has been called the "Merchant of Death," was arrested March 6 at a Bangkok hotel after a sting operation in which undercover U.S. agents pretended to be arms buyers from the Colombian rebels.He could face 15 years in prison on the U.S. charge. Thai authorities had held him on a charge of using the country as a base to negotiate a weapons deal with terrorists, for which he could have been imprisoned for 10 years.Regarded as one of the world's most wanted arms traffickers, Bout's alleged list of customers since the early 1990s includes African dictators and warlords, including former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and both sides of the civil war in Angola. In the process, he has been accused of breaking several U.N. arms embargoes.
Bout, who was purportedly the model for the arms dealer portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the 2005 movie "Lord of War," has denied the current allegations against him and any criminal activities in the past.Bout's lawyer Lak said the U.S. charges were political in nature and did not represent a criminal case because the Colombian government is fighting the FARC rebels over differences of ideology. He also said the conflict in Colombia is outside of U.S. jurisdiction.Extradition treaties between nations generally do not allow turning over suspects in cases of a political nature.Lak said the Thai attorney general's office was awaiting more documents from the United States before officially forwarding the extradition case to court.

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Posted in: Thailand

Mark Longhurst Assets, including an Aston Martin, two Nissan Pathfinders and a Rolex watch,.

Mark Longhurst had links with crime gangs in Holland and Spain, was caught after an 18-month investigation. The 45-year-old, of Chapel House, Newcastle, admitted conspiring to supply cannabis and money laundering. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Longhurst enjoyed exotic holidays, expensive cars and jewellery. As well as a jail term, Longhurst, who was arrested in March last year, was given an eight-year travel restriction order to run from his release from custody. The court also made a confiscation order for almost £923,757 - the biggest ever secured by the Northumbria force. He has six months to repay the proceeds of his crimes or he will have seven years added to his sentence, the hearing heard. Det Insp John Cox, of Northumbria Police, said: "This investigation has not only smashed a national drugs ring, but it has also sent a clear message to those who deal in drugs that the police will leave no stone unturned to catch them. "Longhurst was operating at the very highest level and his involvement in the wholesale distribution of cannabis was making him a lucrative living. "He had a team of conspirators working on his orders, and during the investigation we taped him arranging drug deals and bragging about the fortune he was making from his crimes." In April 2006 police and customs seized £100,000 in euros and sterling that Longhurst was attempting to smuggle out of the country, the hearing heard. Assets, including an Aston Martin, two Nissan Pathfinders and a Rolex watch, were also seized.

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Posted in: Spanish drug gang

Canary Islands and Majorca :U.K.Police are still trying to trace Allan James Foster.£70,440 confiscated

Allan Foster a prime suspect for the murder of David 'Noddy' Rice
Mr Rice, 42, died when he was blasted up to nine times with a semi-automatic handgun as he sat in a car park at Marsden, South Tyneside, in May 2006.Foster, 31, has been named as the gunman and is still being hunted by murder detectives.
It is believed he fled abroad after the killing.McAuley, who lived with Foster, admitted conspiring with him and others to conceal the proceeds of criminal property between June 1 2006 and September 30 2006.mother Marilyn McCauley, 56, admitted possessing criminal property in that she knew or suspected £65,815 in cash found at her home two days after Mr Rice's murder was from the proceeds of crime.
The charges relate to a total of £70,440 found during two separate raids at Mozart Street, South Shields, where McAuley snr lived.The court heard a total of 1,275 euros together with other property was recovered from a separate address McAuley jnr shared with Foster.Prosecutor Caroline Goodwin told Newcastle Crown Court: "This arises out of a disturbing incident on May 24 2006 when David Rice was murdered.
"This led to an investigation into Allan Foster, who is directly linked to that particular offence, and police were able to recover from a number of properties during the course of the investigation a deal of cash.
"The crown's case is this is said to be the proceeds of crime, directly from the drug dealing of Allan Foster."On two separate occasions during the course of the wider investigation into the shooting of Mr Rice there were searches carried out at Mozart Street, the home of Marilyn McAuley."Substantial amounts of money were recovered there on 26 May, two days after the shooting, and in September.
"The Crown say these are part of the proceeds of the criminal activities of Allan Foster."Judge Esmond Faulks ordered the £70,440 be confiscated.The judge adjourned the case until May 2 and ordered pre-sentence reports.
Both women were granted bail in the meantime.But the judge warned; "This does not mean to say I am giving you any promises about sentence, I am not, all options are open and the maximum sentence, as you probably know, for concealing the proceeds of criminal property is many years in prison."Foster sometimes goes under the name Sean Wilkinson and is known to have associates in the Kent area and links to the Canary Islands and Majorca.A Police spokesman said: "We are still trying to trace Allan James Foster.

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Posted in: Canary Islands and Majorca

Top members of the Canary Island Government were implicated in irregularities in the awarding of concessions for the placing of wind farms

El País reports that the corruption was revealed by the sacked General Director of the Siemeca wind company in 2005, who claimed that top members of the Canary Island Government were implicated in irregularities in the awarding of concessions for the placing of wind farms. Now the paper says that the Anti-corruption Prosecutor, Luis del Rio, has established the exchange of privileged information between Celso Perdomo and others, with the details revealed in a series of illegal emails. Perdomo is alleged to have paid 23,000 € into foreign bank accounts at the time. New has been breaking regarding corruption on the Canary Islands linked to the generation of wind power. Recordings made of conversations between the ex General Director for Industry of the Canary Regional Government. Celso Perdomo, and several businessmen have now come to light, following the first indications of corruption dating back to 2004 and 2005.
Now the prosecutor is calling for a six year prison sentence for Perdomo.
Finally Celso Perdomo was sacked from his post, and the Canary Island Supreme Court ruled that the concessions awarded were no longer in place. Now a new tender is being published offering concessions for some 600 projects for wind farms on the islands.

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Posted in: Canary Islands

José Luis Hernández, the President of the Polaris World group linked to perversion of the course of justice Mayor

The Mayor faces charges of perversion of the course of justice and the mis-use of public funds.Daniel García Madrid from the Partido Popular is reported to have exchanged building land with worthless plots in a deal with the Polaris World company
More details on the latest corruption allegations in Torre Pacheco, where the PP Mayor, Daniel Garcia Madrid, has been ordered to prison without bail by instruction judge in San Javier, Salvador Calero. He has replaced the earlier judge in the case, Aránzazu Moreno, who is on maternity leave.
El País reports that the mayor made a plot of land for building available to the Mar Menor Golf Resort, from the Polaris World company, in exchange for other plots of land described as ‘useless’. The difference in worth of the two plots is estimated by the prosecutor to be as much as five or six million €, but Polaris World was only called on to reimburse the public coffers by 455,331 €.Daniel García Madrid is linked to alleged irregularities in both Torre Pacheco and Fuente Álamo and the President of Polaris World is also chaged in the case
The Partido Popular Mayor of Torre Pacheco, Daniel García Madrid, has been arrested this morning in connection with alleged real estate corruption in the town, and also in Fuente Álamo. The arrest follows that of the municipal architect, Ramon Cabrera, who was detained in the same case on March 31, and came at 8,30 this morning when the Mayor was on his way from his home to the Town Hall.
He has now been taken to the courts in San Javier to go before the judge Salavador Calero. Reports indicate he faces charges of carrying out activities not compatible with a public servant, fraud, misuse of public funds, influence peddling, bribery, perversion of the course of justice and revealing secrets,
Another person who is charged in the case is the businessman Facundo Armero, an ex shareholder in Polaris World, who is reported to have received favoured treatment from the Town Halls in Torre Pacheco and Fuente Álamo.
Also facing charges in the case are the town planning councillor, Santiago Meroño, and the councillor for public works, Josefa Marín.José Luis Hernández, the President of the Polaris World group, one of the leading companies in residential tourism, is also charged in the case, as is a second businessman, named only with the initials J.M.F.F.

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Posted in: Torre Pacheco

Polaris World linked in new corruption allegations

The Mayor faces charges of perversion of the course of justice and the mis-use of public funds.
Daniel García Madrid from the Partido Popular is reported to have exchanged building land with worthless plots in a deal with the Polaris World company
More details on the latest corruption allegations in Torre Pacheco, where the PP Mayor, Daniel Garcia Madrid, has been ordered to prison without bail by instruction judge in San Javier, Salvador Calero. He has replaced the earlier judge in the case, Aránzazu Moreno, who is on maternity leave.El País reports that the mayor made a plot of land for building available to the Mar Menor Golf Resort, from the Polaris World company, in exchange for other plots of land described as ‘useless’. The difference in worth of the two plots is estimated by the prosecutor to be as much as five or six million €, but Polaris World was only called on to reimburse the public coffers by 455,331 €.

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Posted in: Polaris World

Ketamine is a veterinary drug, but is hot in the trance/club circuit abroad

The manufacture of ketamine, a hallucinogen, is legal in India. Not classified as a controlled substance, it can be bulk-manufactured Ketamine is a veterinary drug, but is hot in the trance/club circuit abroad International pressure has led India to notify that exporters must get the nod from the Commissioner of Drugs
Legally manufactured in India. Illegally consumed at rave parties from Ibiza to California. That's ketamine hydrochloride—the chemical that induces euphoria, triggers off hallucinations and keeps party animals in a trance through the night. Ironically, in India, it is classified as a veterinary drug primarily used to anaesthetise pets—thus available over the counter. However, ketamine has attracted very little attention in this country since its abuse among Indians is limited largely to Goa's trance and techno music crowd.
Ketamine can be injected, snorted or imbibed orally. The effect of the drug varies from person to person, and can last up to 24 hours. Its use can result in delirium, amnesia and impaired motor function. While the drug was tried by acid gurus like Timothy Leary in the '60s, its popularity is linked to the dance-trance movement taking wings in the '80s. Called 'Special K' by the rave party crowd, it is taken along with other drugs like cocaine and has suddenly become popular as an alternative to LSD. Long-term abuse can lead to loss of memory and eyesight besides nervous and mental disorders. An overdose can be lethal.
In India, ketamine is manufactured legally since it is not classified as a controlled drug. But evidence of it being shipped in bulk to Southeast Asia and the Americas has alerted drug enforcement officials. This year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 53 kg of the drug concealed in export shipments from Tamil Nadu. Earlier, 80 kg of it was found abandoned by a passenger at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. There have also been seizures in Mumbai. Says Rajiv Walia of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): "There has been a lot of concern in Southeast Asian countries. There have been bilateral discussions with India to include the drug on the controlled list here."
Lately, international pressure has led to India taking the first step to check the trafficking of the drug. It has issued a notification that makes it mandatory for exporters of ketamine to obtain a clearance certificate from the office of the commissioner of drugs, Gwalior. "This new notification will prove to be a major impediment to the trafficking of ketamine from India," Dr P. Babu, additional director general, DRI, Chennai, told Outlook. Tamil Nadu has been identified as the hub of the illicit trade in the drug.
Indian authorities are yet to get a fix on how much ketamine is being manufactured in the country. Investigations reveal that much of the drug originates from Maharashtra and Gujarat. According to DRI sources, the directorate has sought information from state governments to get a fix on the leakages that are finding its way into the illicit trade. But going by seizures, it could easily run into several hundreds of kilos being trafficked beyond India's borders annually.
What drives the illegal trade is the easy availability of ketamine and the huge profit margins involved. One kg of the drug costs Rs 35,000 in India but retails at Rs 10 lakh abroad. Little wonder then that India, which bulk-manufactures the drug, is a major source of ketamine.

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Posted in: ketamine

Raymond Nevitt the walking fraud machine believed to be in Puerto Banus

Nevitt, who vanished after a conviction in 2006, is believed to be in Puerto Banus or Marbella in Spain.

International arrest warrants have been issued for Raymond Nevitt, 43, from Manchester, after his conviction at the city's crown court on Thursday.
He was found guilty in his absence of five charges of fraudulent trading worth £3.25m after an 11-week trial. He was first convicted of defrauding the taxpayer in 2006 but was released on bail by a judge before being sentenced. Manchester Crown Court heard Nevitt described as a "slick, brash and forceful" man who once took part in the Gumball Rally. He was featured on television alongside celebrities such as Damon Hill and Vic Reeves during the international road-race.
Nevitt used money from his firm, computer parts company Ravelle, to fund his lavish lifestyle, including exotic trips and fast cars. Greater Manchester Police began investigating the "Ravelle Group" of companies, including PC2GO Ltd and "Just Printers Ltd" in 2001.
As his firms were going under Nevitt forged paperwork so firms would lend him money on the strength of bogus orders. IBM Global Financing lost £1,600,000 whilst Barclays Sales Finance lost £654,857. Other creditors lost about £1,000,000, the court was told. Det Con Julian King, from Greater Manchester Police Commercial Fraud Unit, said: "This was a complex and elaborate fraud that allowed Nevitt to live an opulent and lavish lifestyle. "Several small companies also failed both in the UK and on the Continent as a result of this fraud. "Ray Nevitt has lots of contacts in the north-west, and some areas of Spain, and many people will recognise him. If anyone knows where he is, I urge them to call us."

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Posted in: Puerto Banus

Ten year old boy who was allegedly raped by four classmates allegedly recorded by one of the aggressors on their mobile phone

Ten year old boy who was allegedly raped by four classmates in the Almeria town of Adra, is suffering nightmares and panic attacks according to a psychologists report drawn up at the Mental Health centre at El Ejido. The attack, by four classmates who are all also under age, allegedly took place close to the CEIP Nueva Andalucía school in the town, although not on the premises and outside school hours. The medical report advises a change of school and place of residence for the victim who is also on medication. The victim’s mother, Maria Teresa S.B. has called on the Guardia Civil and under age prosecutor to re-open the case which was initially archived as those accused had not reached the penal age of 14 in Spain. The attack was also allegedly recorded by one of the aggressors on their mobile phone.

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Posted in: Mental Health centre at El Ejido

Robbing the money from the collection box placed where the faithful go to light a candle.

Security cameras at the San Juan Bautista Church in Coín, Málaga, have allowed the Civil Guard to identify who was responsible for robbing the money from the collection box placed where the faithful go to light a candle. Three women, two sisters and another local woman, all of them Spanish, were recorded making off with the collection, estimated at 120 €, and what’s more all three turned round to face directly into the camera. The recording shows how one kept watch while the other two broke the padlock.

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Posted in: Coín,Málaga

Drove from Alicante to Benidorm on the wrong side of the A-70

43 year-old man, who drove from Alicante to Benidorm on the wrong side of the A-70, killing two and seriously injuring two more, has undergone a psychiatric assessment. Dubbed the ‘Kamikaze’ driver in the Spanish press, Pedro DA has been in custody since the collision. The psychiatric report reveals that he suffers schizophrenic-type episodes that can cause hallucinations and delirium. When initially stopped by police, he claimed to have become confused when he joined the motorway and later told a judge he had no idea of what was going through his mind at the time

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Posted in: Alicante to Benidorm

Two men dressed as beggars managed to slip through the door

As the first clients of the day were ushered out of the locked door of a jeweller’s shop in the Madrid suburb of Alcobendas on March 17, two men dressed as beggars managed to slip through the door. Once inside they threatened the owner at gunpoint and gagged him before rifling through the showcases and running off with valuable items. The owner immediately summoned the police but although two patrol cars combed the area, they failed to locate the raiders, confirming suspicions that the men were dressed normally under shabby clothing, which they discarded before mingling with shoppers. This was the twentieth jewel robbery since the beginning of January and latest in a wave of raids in the Madrid area that began at the end of 2007.

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Posted in: Madrid

Labour's Michael Cashman, who has been battling Spain's so-called "landgrab" rules for years,

Spanish laws which have shattered the holiday and retirement home dreams of thousands of Britons must be suspended pending a full EU investigation, a Euro-MP claims.Labour's Michael Cashman, who has been battling Spain's so-called "landgrab" rules for years, said he would pursue the issue to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.He was speaking as expatriates whose Spanish homes have been demolished and land seized without compensation told their tales to a committee of MEPs in Brussels.The problems began in 1994 when Valencia's regional government introduced rules to boost low-cost housing for locals.
But unscrupulous developers have exploited a loophole which allows them to target property and land owned by foreigners to make way for urban housing schemes - with the expatriates forced to pay their share of installing roads, electricity and other services.Thousands of British, German and Dutch citizens have been browbeaten into ceding part of their gardens - or in extreme cases their entire property - and are now fighting for compensation.Mr Cashman said: "People were assured that deeds to their property were legal as advised by local lawyers, developers and officials. Now because of a combination of corruption and interpretation of new property laws, these people are facing ruin."Homes will either be demolished or people are now being asked to pay even more money for water and electricity supplies, which they were assured their property, would receive."
Now MEPs say the European Commission must step in and uphold the rights of citizens.
Mr Cashman said: "We want a moratorium on any more landgrab decisions and a moratorium on any further demolitions of people's houses. The alternative is to go to the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights."

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Posted in: European Commission

Malaga banks held up in the space of five minutes by a man in a blue wig

Malaga banks held up in the space of five minutes by a man in a blue wig last week. Witnesses say an individual burst into a branch of Unicaja in Malaga on Tuesday morning, brandishing a shotgun. He was dressed in sunglasses, a green jacket and a blue wig according to the two customers and three members of staff in the bank at the time. Although the gun appeared to be fake, employees handed over the contents of the till to the intruder, who fled the scene. Just five minutes later police received a call from an office of Banesto on the Calle Frigilana. Two men, one of whom fitted the description of the robber in Unicaja, allegedly threatened staff with a sawn-off shotgun.But the second robbery did not go as planned. They escaped with a grand total of just under 40 euros before making a getaway on a motorbike. Witnesses say the robbers attacked a 30-year-old man who needed medical treatment as a result.

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Posted in: Malaga

Costa del Sol property crash bites hard mass repossessions in Spain

"Many people realise they aren't going to sell their homes in a month of Sundays and are just walking away," .Banks have been incredibly slow to alter their valuation criteria and take account of the crash, but nonetheless, their figures show the kinds of reductions that are now available. A one two-bedroom apartment near Fuengirola, for example, was recently valued at £148,000 and has dropped to £84,000 – that's £64,000 less. Another two-bed property in the same location is listed at £44,000 less than its valuation. One lovely villa in Marbella valued on paper at £570,000 is now on the market at £492,000, a drop of nearly £80,000.

villas and quality apartments in good locations that have dropped by as much as £20,000 to £80,000. Some high-end properties costing over £1m have lost £200,000 off their initial valuations in the past few months. Sellers are also gravitating towards auction houses, where properties can achieve a fast sale at knock-down prices. Inez Rix of Direct Auctions says she has seen a huge increase in business from owners desperately trying to offload property. "Things are getting worse and people are dropping prices drastically where they can."
On Direct Auction's website, properties are being listed as much as 60 per cent below their original valuations.
As property prices dip, Rix has seen an increase in the number of owners falling into negative equity, and the banks are sitting on a growing cache of repossessions. One would expect the institutions to sell them off at rock-bottom prices but this is not happening, because there is no precedent of mass repossessions in Spain.
"The banks are being slow to sell properties to cover their costs but we expect more properties to come on to the market over the next two years." Which means anyone prepared to play a waiting game could bag a real bargain.
Most properties showing big reductions are new-builds, bought by investors hoping to sell before completion and in advance of the mortgage kicking in, a practice known as flipping. However, there are also rural properties and exclusive estates being sold at rock-bottom prices by owners who have simply been caught out by the upheaval.
Derek Blaney stopped selling off-plan several years ago when he saw the market becoming overheated and says more responsible agents are glad that the recent scandals and market forces have made the industry more transparent. "Things had to be cleaned up," he says. "Property was being seen as a sheer commodity, people were buying through greed and with no emotional attachment."
Who can blame buyers when they were being wooed with promises of huge returns that now seem impossible? With the credit crisis biting deep, there may be further room for prices in Spain to fall. For those who bought in Spain a year or two ago, none of this will come as any consolation. But for those looking to buy a place in the sun, it's worth following the selling prices of the nicer properties, and steering well clear of vast developments. At some stage, the outlook will change. It may not boom, but it must at some stage level off. And buyers who get the timing right could be on to a good deal indeed.

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Posted in: Costa del Sol

Costa del Sol villas and quality apartments in good locations are crashing by as much as £20,000 to £80,000.

Sellers are also gravitating towards auction houses, where properties can achieve a fast sale at knock-down prices. Inez Rix of Direct Auctions says she has seen a huge increase in business from owners desperately trying to offload property. "Things are getting worse and people are dropping prices drastically where they can."
On Direct Auction's website, properties are being listed as much as 60 per cent below their original valuations. Banks have been incredibly slow to alter their valuation criteria and take account of the crash, but nonetheless, their figures show the kinds of reductions that are now available. A one two-bedroom apartment near Fuengirola, for example, was recently valued at £148,000 and has dropped to £84,000 – that's £64,000 less. Another two-bed property in the same location is listed at £44,000 less than its valuation. One lovely villa in Marbella valued on paper at £570,000 is now on the market at £492,000, a drop of nearly £80,000.
As property prices dip, Rix has seen an increase in the number of owners falling into negative equity, and the banks are sitting on a growing cache of repossessions. One would expect the institutions to sell them off at rock-bottom prices but this is not happening, because there is no precedent of mass repossessions in Spain.
"Many people realise they aren't going to sell their homes in a month of Sundays and are just walking away," says Rix. "The banks are being slow to sell properties to cover their costs but we expect more properties to come on to the market over the next two years." Which means anyone prepared to play a waiting game could bag a real bargain. Most properties showing big reductions are new-builds, bought by investors hoping to sell before completion and in advance of the mortgage kicking in, a practice known as flipping. However, there are also rural properties and exclusive estates being sold at rock-bottom prices by owners who have simply been caught out by the upheaval.
Derek Blaney stopped selling off-plan several years ago when he saw the market becoming overheated and says more responsible agents are glad that the recent scandals and market forces have made the industry more transparent. "Things had to be cleaned up," he says. "Property was being seen as a sheer commodity, people were buying through greed and with no emotional attachment."
Who can blame buyers when they were being wooed with promises of huge returns that now seem impossible? With the credit crisis biting deep, there may be further room for prices in Spain to fall. For those who bought in Spain a year or two ago, none of this will come as any consolation. But for those looking to buy a place in the sun, it's worth following the selling prices of the nicer properties, and steering well clear of vast developments. At some stage, the outlook will change. It may not boom, but it must at some stage level off. And buyers who get the timing right could be on to a good deal indeed.

Read more »

Posted in: Costa del Sol