Global demographics dictate that the largest market in the next twenty years will be for the baby-boomers who will be retiring. In the UK/Europe and USA these citizens are 42 to 58 years old now. The bulk of the wealth is in the middle classes, in the middle ages requiring middle market homes for retirement. These are not “retirement homes” per se, rather homes that are suitable for active 58 to say 75 year olds. They are likely to be in the hotter, drier and sunnier areas of a country, at the coast, near picturesque towns or in the centre of cities.

The bulk of a country’s retiring population is likely to stay in their base country with general migration south to sunnier climates, and/or to coastal areas. Very few retirees will leave their region because of the necessity to be close to family and friends, not least in case they get ill, but more immediately because they will want to spend much of their spare time socialising with family and friends.

So if you are looking for capital value increases in future, it might be best to try and capture part of this market, or at least expose yourself to part of it.

The full version of this article first appeared on Propertyinvesting.net

Despite the recent property crisis in Spain, Tenerife’s property sales are still rising. Reports that the housing bubble in Spain has burst have led to an increase in property sales elsewhere around the mainland. Tenerife, fortunate to have all year round perfect weather, is well placed to cater for the large number of people from the UK wishing to purchase somewhere in the sun. Tenerife must be viewed as a ‘micro-market’, operating within the larger Spanish economy but independent to factors affecting a crash from the Spanish market.

The property boom in the Costas looks to slow due to an over supply of property, corruption scandals and land grab issues, diminishing the confidence of the buyer.

In 2001 the Tenerife government voted a moratorium on new touristic building, limiting the supply of new homes thus preventing over building. Despite the restricted supply, with no artificial media frenzy similar to that incited on the Costas, price rises were more moderate.

To read this article in full, click here.

In Tenerife, where Britons come to feel at home, talks about artist impersonators, ex-pats who own and have named the various pubs and that “The ghosts of old television shows haunt the casual observer. It’s as if Only Fools and Horses and Rising Damp never came off the air.”

You can understand how it comes about, when time stood still for most expats who have been here for years. Precious few learn Spanish or take on any new culture. Partly, because running their “dream” British bar does not afford them time, opportunity or motivation to do so.

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Always wanted to get married abroad on a Carribean Island with beautiful beaches, palm trees swaying and beautiful views but it seems a dream, not anymore!

Fuerteventura, the 2nd largest Canary Island just off the coast of Africa has Carribean style beaches and a hot climate all year round. It is increasingly becoming a top destination for tourists with its varied scenery from sand dunes, forests and mountainous views. It has something to offer everyone. It is the least commercialised but that makes it a perfect destination for your Wedding or Celebration and you will be glad to know it wont break your bank balance.

We offer :

* Civil Wedding Ceremony
* Marriage Blessings (civil ceremony taking place in your own country)
* Renew of Vowels
* Celebration Parties - Wedding Anniversaries, Birthdays or a special occasion

If you would like further information in getting married in Fuerteventura, or any of the other Canary islands, please click here.

The Blue Flag was born in France in 1985 where the first French coastal municipalities were awarded the Blue Flag on the basis of criteria covering sewage treatment and bathing water quality

The award of a Blue Flag beach is based on compliance with 29 criteria covering the aspects of:

1) Environmental Education and Information

2) Water Quality

3) Environmental Management

4) Safety and Services

All Blue Flags are only awarded for one season at a time.

If some of the imperative criteria are not fulfilled during the season or the conditions change, the Blue Flag will be withdrawn.

Check out which Beaches in the Canary Islands currently hold Blue Flag Awards by clicking here.

Read More About The Blue Flag Organisation

Did you know – if you book a package holiday here with a tour operator, they are responsible for what happens to you, not the hotelier, not the manager of the apartment complex or anyone else, it is the tour operator who looks after you and ensure you get the holiday that you paid for.

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Thousands of Euros in overpaid Spanish Capital Gains Tax could be recovered by former owners in “no win, no fee” cases

A leading Costa Blanca lawyer with many years experience has announced he is confident that he can recover large sums of Capital Gains Tax that have been over-paid to the Spanish tax authorities prior to 1st January 2007. Most of the overpaid tax will have come from the sale of property by non-resident British, Irish and other Northern Europeans.

Liz is the brains behind Cloud Nine, a Nail and Beauty Salon based in Los Cristianos, Tenerife. She has been here for 13 years and came over with her husband to give them and their children a better life.

Of the increasing number of people coming to live in the Canary Islands, many want to start their own business. Members of EU countries have an automatic right to run a business in Spain, often with no more required than a foreigner’s personal identification number (NIE). But this should not be taken to imply that it is easy to set up – or achieve success in – a business in the sun: running your own business, anywhere, will be hard work, day in and day out, and should not be undertaken until you are absolutely certain that it is exactly what you want to do, and that you have done everything you can to make the best possible start.

For example, did you know (and can you believe?!) that 85% of people who are thinking seriously about starting a business do not have an accountant; only 3% fewer do not have a lawyer; more worrying, 80% do not have a business plan; and 75% have not arranged finance! Start off in the right way, and you will be streets ahead of the so-called competition!

The Cloud Nine phenomenon was born many years ago when Liz was staying in America and had her nails done by an Iranian, “It was the first time that I had ever seen Sculpted Nails and they were incredible, so when I got back to the U.K., I searched the whole of Liverpool until I found one girl who could do them”.

“When we decided to come over to Tenerife I knew that no-one would be able to help me out nail-wise and luckily her sister was able to train me to do my nails myself. All those years ago you couldn’t even buy a decent deodorant or English bread, so I was lucky that I could at least do my own nails.”

Initially Liz and her family moved to a Villa in Amarilla Golf, where a neighbour saw her nails and was desperate to have them herself. This led to friend after friend requesting her nail treatment and within a very short space of time Liz was doing the nails of most of the residents of Amarilla Golf. It was then that she decided that proper qualifications were required so attended a recognized nail course back in the U.K. and went mobile as a nail technician.

Any business you establish will need to be registered both locally – with the town hall, which will provide an operating licence – and regionally – with the Hacienda, or tax office, with which you will need to file your tax returns. As Liz was a mobile nail technician, she needed all her paperwork for both Arona and Adeje allowing her to trade legally in both areas.

“At first it was me in my little black Panda that I pushed more than I drove! But after a very short while I had more clients than I could manage and so hired a table in the salon Aromazone, in The Patch in Las Americas, so that clients could come to me.”

It was then that everything started to fall into place as the owner of Aromazone decided to sell the business, Liz bought it and Cloud Nine was born
.
“The first time I became aware of the brand Creative Nails was when a client came in for a small repair, I had never seen such beautiful nails and explained that although I could do the repair, it would not look as good as the initial work. So the next obvious step for me was to train as a Creative Nails Technician. I have never looked back, “

“As there were no other Creative Nail Technicians on the Island, I looked ahead at the next twenty years, looking at the bigger picture and decided to go on to train as an Educator. It took 2 years of study before I was fully qualified and am now able to call myself an Educational Ambassador. I love it when other girls come to me for training, I set the standards very high both in training and in my salon, and that’s the way it will stay.”

As a fully qualified Educator, Liz was also able to get a Distributors Licence, so all Creative Nails products are available to qualified technicians on the Island. Cloud Nine is the sole distributor in the Canary Islands province covering Tenerife, El Hiero, Gomera and La Palma.

Liz moved Cloud Nine to its present location above Supermarcado Carolina in Los Cristianos to make it more accessible to her clients, and she has also recently re-opened the original salon in The Patch, in Las Americas, and is looking at new premises in Santa Cruz with a view to opening a college to train in Hairdressing, using Paul Mitchell products, Beauty Therapy as well as the Creative Nail Academy.

Legally when your business is growing at a rate similar to Cloud Nine, you need to decide whether to operate as a sole trader or a limited company - this is the S.L. suffix after a business´ name – though there is also the option to operate as a PLC – this is the S.A. suffix. You must be aware that your business can be inspected at any time, and you will need to be able to provide any paperwork requested (and for up to the previous seven years!) – So shortcuts simply cannot be taken.

You will, of course, need to pay taxes – here, as anywhere else! – But you may be able to opt into a modular system, whereby you pay a set quarterly amount of tax on a regular basis. You will also need to keep up-to-date books, and to submit paperwork to your gestor (accountant) every month. A further requirement is monthly social security payments, for yourself and any staff you employ – and note that if your employees have not previously worked in Spain, you will need to obtain copies of their passports and forward them to your gestor with their contracts of employment in your business. These fiscal and contributory payments will, in all likelihood, be made from a business-only bank account, and these account’s statements will need to be included in any paperwork sent to your gestor – and he or she will take care of the numerous forms and allowances that apply to your business activities.

“The best advice I can give anyone thinking of starting a business over here is to realize what it will cost you financially, family wise and socially. The fees are not cheap and what you make and what you see in your till are not necessarily the same thing. Having said all that, I would definitely do it all again, I have loved every minute of it, starting mobile and going right up to distribution, it has all been brilliant.”

Initial Course 4 day Foundation €550.00 including your kit for gel or liquid & powder.

Master Classes covering problem nails, decoration, custom blended manicure & pedicure from €100.00.

Also available are courses for Eyelash Tinting, Eyebrow Shaping, Eyelash Perming and Eyelash Extensions.

Salons:
General Franco 8, C.C. Cosmos, Local 12, Los Cristianos, 38760. Tel/Fax 922 753286.
creativenailstenerife@hotmail.com

For more information about Creative Nail Design and Cloud Nine, please click here

We have all seen the programmes on T.V. encouraging us all to quit the rat race and emigrate to sunnier climes and “Live The Dream”.
Sadly, not all of us are able to quit working for a living and need to find gainful employment in order to eat. Any number of people think that running a bar is the answer to their dreams, whilst others crave a “proper” job.
So, an office job should fit the last requirement to a “T”. You may think that you have a pleasant phone manner, good people skills and are a good team player. However, sometimes it can take a hell of a lot more than that to get on in the property game.

One hapless individual, who shall remain nameless, had to answer an email that landed on her desk from a Mr. White who was looking for a property to buy. He had left a work telephone number so the agent called him. The telephone was answered by a bright cheerful voice, so Mr. White was requested. Lesson Number One. ALWAYS listen to what the person answering the telephone actually says. Agent was then transferred to what she thought would be the client. Lesson Number 2, never assume. Anything. Upon speaking to a second lady, the agent assumed that this was a secretary, highly trained not to let anybody through to the obviously Very Important Mr. White.

After asking several questions of the type, “Who are you and why do you want to speak to Mr. White”? Agent then informs Miss Efficiency 2007 that Mr. White had sent an email enquiring about buying a property in Tenerife. The secretary then went very quiet. She then asked if the agent knew where she was telephoning. The agent admitted that she thought perhaps it was Mr. White’s work number. The secretary gently informed the agent that “no” this was a Secure Mental Hospital and that Mr. White was in fact a patient and highly unlikely to be in the market to buy property as he was never, ever to be released. Moral of this story; listen to the voice when it answers your telephone call.

Answering the telephone can lead to all sorts of surprises, even if you speak the lingo. In a busy international estate agency some of your calls will be direct, straightforward queries. Some will not.

Some will make you question your own sanity. Katie, who works in our administration office in Palm Mar was lucky enough to answer the telephone on a warm afternoon. The dulcet tones of an Irish Man greeted her and politely enquired after her day and the weather. He then asked if it would be possible to have some more information about a villa he had seen on Horizon’s Website.

Katie asked for some further information, which Island the villa was on and if he had a reference number. She was then told that the villa was on Lanzarote, but he appeared to have mislaid the reference number. He then helpfully added that it was easily identifiable, it was a lovely white villa, with a fountain in front of it. One major problem with this information, all the villas in Lanzarote are white. End of conversation with lovely, polite Irish gentleman.

It always serves you well to recognize the possible limitations of your clients when you first meet them. If they are of a certain age, they may not be able to match you step for step up hills for instance. And, in this case, size does matter.

“Amber” recognizes that clients will always be in a slight panic about buying a new property and knows that they will want to see absolutely everything in one day. Of course, in our climate, this is possible, but you have to make sure you take plenty of rests and take things as slowly as humanly possible.

So on a hot summer’s day, as arranged, she collected her clients from their hotel and had planned lots of refreshment breaks during the day. Towards the end of the day, everyone was feeling tired and hot and sweaty. They had one more apartment to view, and it was a good one, she had saved the best ‘til last.

The viewing was going spectacularly well; the whole family appeared to have fallen in love with it, planning where they were going to put their furniture etc.

Having been all over the ground floor, it was time to show them the high spot of the property, the roof terrace. All they had to do was navigate the spiral staircase and the views across the sea would be revealed.

One problem, the female client was of the large variety and got stuck halfway up the stairs. Wriggling inadequately, she just made the situation worse. Twenty minutes of struggle, with Amber wondering how on earth she could explain the absence of the staircase to the owner after the fire brigade had dismantled it, the client made things even trickier by fainting. So, no fire brigade, but an ambulance was dispatched to rescue her. Eventually she was freed, taken to hospital and subsequently released after a full check up.

No, they didn’t go on to buy the property. Lesson number three, of your client won’t fit into a property. Don’t take them!

You have been warned, Sometimes, Living the dream ain’t all it is cracked up to be!!

All names in this article have been changed to protect the guilty.

Buying an “Off Plan” Property is becoming more and more popular as investors seek to maximize their returns. This method of buying has seen spectacular profits for purchasers over the past few years, particularly in the Canary Island and Cape Verde.

Buying “Off Plan” means that you reserve a property on a new development before construction is completed, or even before it has started. Prices are low as you are being offered the chance to purchase an empty plot of land which will eventually become a property. At pre-construction the developer is eager to sell as many units as possible as this lessens his risk. Therefore the plots are priced accordingly. You will be expected to pay out a deposit and then arrange stage payments as your property advances throughout construction. You will be able to get a mortgage on the completed property.

Buying off plan affords you chance to cherry pick the prime plots on the development, with apartment blocks generally the first to go are the penthouses, corner apartments and ground floor with gardens.

As the construction develops, the prices will increase as other prospective buyers are able to see what is on offer. Purchasers are often more willing to buy a property that has been completed and has pretty gardens and functioning swimming pools. This is often the prime time to sell on your investment. However, if you sell on your property before construction is finished, prior to taking the title deeds; there is 6.5% Capital Gains tax to be paid on whatever payments you have made to the developer. Normal Capital Gains tax in the Canary Islands is currently 18%.

Buying off plan is a prudent investment for those who don’t mind waiting before taking possession of their new home and those investors looking for a substantial gain on their property purchase.

Example of stage payments:

Prices start from 130,000 euros for a 1 bedroom and 195,000 euros for a 2 bedroom Easy stage payment terms and with mortgages of 80% available to non-residents.
Payment terms
• 20% On signature of contract
• 80% at completion 16-18 months after 1st payment
IGIC Tax of 5% and legal fees of 3% will be become payable at completion