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One of the most important and special times in Spain, without a doubt, has arrived this week. It is Easter Week, known in Spain as Semana Santa. The celebrations began last Sunday, on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) and the festivities will continue until Easter Monday, Lunes de Pascua.
The Spanish treat Easter as a celebration of life itself, and it is amazing to see how the whole country comes alive, with festivities, parties, and a real passion for this cherished time of year. As a very Catholic country, Spain takes its Easter celebrations very seriously; this is a time for family, spirituality, remembrance and togetherness.
Holy Week in Seville, Spain. The procession is seen here crossing the Bridge of Triana.
Across the country, cities and towns have their own ways of celebrating Easter, as you can imagine the main cities of Spain have festivities of massive proportions (seen above in Seville) with processions, music, dance and enormous celebrations of life and culture. They are full of colour, vibrancy, religion.
Religious icons and symbols of faith are carried through the streets; the processions are extremely emotive and moving. These processions can go on for miles, beginning in the afternoon and ending in the early hours of the next day, and will take place almost each night of Easter week.
A passionate country…
If you are in Spain during Easter week, you must really take the opportunity to witness these processions and celebrations. Although be sure to plan in good time, most book almost a year in advance to be in the cities to witness the festivities!
Happy Easter to all, enjoy the festivities and celebrate like the Spanish, wherever you are.
Joanne, Your Place in Spain
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Hola! The weekend has arrived, and it has been another very busy week at Your Place in Spain. The beginning of the week started off with sunshine and Spring was definitely in the air here in Manchester…unfortunately that didn’t last for long and the rain has just started to pour. If there is one thing that that has you dreaming of Spain, it’s rain, and especially when it is raining at the weekend!
How nice it would be to sit with the sun shining down on us now. You don’t have to just dream about it though, you can make it a reality…Which brings us to the top properties of the week, take a look and see if anything takes your fancy, but be quick, they are selling, and FAST. Just click on the images to find out more…….
Southern Costa Blanca Selection –
Apartment in Los Altos, Southern Costa Blanca
1. A very well presented 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom south facing first floor apartment located in Los Altos and within easy reach of all the local amenities, shops, restaurants, golf courses and beaches.
€70,500 / £51, 500
Apartment in Los Dolses, Southern Costa Blanca
2. This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom ground floor corner apartment is located in Los Dolses and within easy walking distance to all the local amenities, shops and restaurants.
€110,000 / £80,350
Villamartin, Southern Costa Blanca
3. This totally reformed 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom ground floor apartment is located in Villamartin and within easy walking distance to all the local amenities, shops and restaurants.
€117,500 / £85,800
Pinar de Campoverde, Southern Costa Blanca
4. A 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom detached villa in Pinar de Campoverde. The property has a large covered entrance porch, a lounge/diner with a log burner, a separate kitchen, two double bedrooms, a bathroom and a large conservatory to the ground floor.
€169,000 / £123,400
Northern Costa Blanca Selection –
Villa in Parcent, Northern Costa Blanca
5. This 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Detached and very private Villa, is located on a flat plot and is just a short walk to the pretty village of Parcent, in the beautiful Jalon Valley.
€215,000 / £157,000
Villa in Jalon Valley, Northern Costa Blanca
6. This 4 bedroom 3 bathroom Detached and very private Villa, is located on a flat plot in the heart of the beautiful Jalon Valley.
€345,000 / £251,920
Costa Almeria Selection –
Duplex in Vera, Costa Almeria
7. This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom duplex is located on a beautiful golf community just on the edge of the traditional Spanish village of Vera and only 10 minutes drives to the beaches of Mojacar and Garrucha.
€99,000 / £72,300
Townhouse in Mojacar, Almeria
8. This spacious 2 storey townhouse is located on a small quiet community just a stone’s throw away from the beautiful beaches of Mojacar.
€109,995 / £80,320
Villa in Arboleas, Almeria
9. Located on the highest plot in the development this detached family villa is in a superb position to make the most from the terrific views overlooking the local Mountain of Limaria and down the valley.
€172,000 / £125,600
Costa Calida / Murcia Selection –
Apartment, Condado de Alhama, Murcia
10. First floor apartment with spacious top floor solarium – great for sunbathing at any time of day, and located directly opposite the communal pool.
€65,000 / £47,500
Villa in Playa Paraiso, Murcia
11. This is a lovely semi detached Villa located in the highly desirable beach resort of Playa Paraiso on the edge of the beautiful Mar Menor Sea.
€155,000 / £113,200
Villa on Mar Menor Golf Resort, Murcia
12. A beautiful detached four bedroom villa on a spacious corner plot situated just a short walk from the intercontinental hotel and facilities.
€365,000 / £266,600
If you would like further information on any of the properties above, or if you would like us to put together a personal property portfolio for you, then don’t hesitate to let us know.
Send us an e-mail or give us a call on 0161 870 2276 with your property requirements & we’ll get to work on helping you find that perfect property in Spain.
*All properties are subject to availability and plus purchase costs. These sterling prices have been worked out at today’s exchange rate of 1.3695 (28/3/15) this can fluctuate.*
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Hola Sábado! This time last week, A Place in the Sun Live was well underway at Manchester Central, and what a weekend it was. We met so many great prospective property hunters looking for their dream property in the sun. This week, figures released from A Place in the Sun revealed that there were 6,742 visitors, with Saturday bringing in the most visitors to an A Place in the Sun exhibition since before 2007…things are looking fantastic for the property market.
The Your Place in Spain stand was a hive of activity, as visitors took time to chat to us about what they were looking for, and take a look at the properties we had on show. We featured a snapshot of some of our recommendations and current hot properties from both the Southern and Northern Costa Blanca, Costa Calida, Murcia Golf resorts and Almeria.
The Your Place in Spain Ltd stand at A Place in the Sun Live
It was also great to see the celebrity presenters from the show too, with Jonnie Irwin, Jasmine Harman, Amanda Lamb and Laura Hamilton all making appearances and being interviewed at ‘The Hub.’ They gave the crowds their expert advice and opinions on buying property in Spain and other overseas countries. It was great to see such a good reception from the audience, with questions being asked and even screen tests for the next series of A Place in the Sun! I wouldn’t mind taking part myself…
Amanda Lamb & Jonnie Irwin at The Hub
The Hub…all quiet before the doors opened.
The three days passed in a whirlwind, and it was a fantastic experience. Here at Your Place in Spain, we absolutely love A Place in the Sun exhibitions, and it is great news that there are two more this year, and Manchester is being booked in again for next year too.
Our feedback made it on to the A Place in the Sun newletter about the show
These exhibitions are a very enjoyable and informative experience for property hunters, there are seminars taking place all day with advice from property professionals that are great to listen to. It’s good to stroll from stand to stand, taking in advice and looking into locations and properties available.
The Hub was a hive of activity.
Another great bonus for us was that this exhibition was in our very lovely home city of Manchester, with so many clients living locally and eager to come and see us in our showroom. We’re looking forward to some great meetings, and helping many local clients realise the dream of owning a property in Spain.
As always, we carried with us our message of buying safely, and that house hunters should be aware of what property they want to view and what is available to them, prior to any trip. Arriving in Spain to view your ideal properties but then only being shown property that somebody wants to sell, is completely wrong, and must be avoided.
Furthermore, the importance of using an independent solicitor is both invaluable and a real comfort to customers as they begin their search for a property. When making a significant investment in a foreign country, it is essential to have the correct answers to all questions and queries.
Rob & Joanne on the Stand.
It was a pleasure to exhibit, as always, and fantastic to meet so many great people. Take a look at some of our top properties from across our portfolio, as featured at the show….
Southern Costa Blanca –
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/townhouseforsaleinvillamartin-13/
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/townhouseforsaleinplayaflamenca-10/
Northern Costa Blanca –
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/villadetachedforsaleinorba-4/
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/villadetachedforsaleinalcalali-2/
Murcia –
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/lo-santiago-villa-murcia/
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/traditional-finca-la-aljorra/
Almeria –
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/apartmentforsaleinvera-6/
https://www.yourplaceinspain.com/property/villaforsaleinarboleas-9/
All properties are subject to availability, and plus purchase costs. If you would like further information on any of the properties or locations, or advice on properties & talking to an independent solicitor, then just click here.
We’ll see you at the next show, and we can’t wait!
Joanne, Your Place in Spain Ltd
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You might wonder why we talk about the exchange rate on our social media pages almost every day here at Your Place in Spain, but the importance of this is absolutely crucial to making sure that we can help our clients get the best property that they can for their money.
This week the exchange rate has been at its highest since 2008, as it reached highs of 1.39. Can we possibly dream of a rate of 1.40?
We can’t predict what the exchange rate is going to do, but what we can do is look at some issues that could possibly affect the rate. By doing this, it helps us to advise our clients when we think the rate could be good, and when we think the rate could possibly take a dip.
One of those issues that could possibly affect the exchange rate is the UK General Election, coming up in May. Political situations bring some uncertainty to the market, and previous rates and history show that around uncertain times also comes a dip in the exchange rate.
With the rate currently being so high, sitting at 1.38, and yesterday (Friday 6th March 15) the exchange rate very briefly reaching 1.39, it could be time to start thinking about fixing a rate, particularly if your plans for purchasing a property are in the coming months. We can help you to do this, and tell you what it is that you need to do in order to get the best rate that you can.
Did you read our previous blog about how the exchange rate affects the purchase price of your dream property in Spain? Take a look.
There really hasn’t been a better time to buy since 2007. With our buy safely process, great prices for both re-sale and new build properties and the exchange rate very much in the buyers favour, be savvy and speak to us today.
