March 2009
Hot Property News Letter – March 2009
1: WINTER WEATHER IN
SPAIN
Not to point too fine a point in it, the weather in the
UK over January & February has been poor, even by the average
UK standards.
Here in the North of the Costa Blanca, there has been some rain, some wind and a lot of sunshine. But what have we not had? We have NOT HAD snow, frost, ice, or any below-freezing temperatures.
The average daily temperature in January & February was in the low 60ºF (17ºc) and one day reached 22ºc.
At night may be as low as 4ºc in the higher inland areas. Not bad considering the poor weather in the rest of
Europe.
We have not had to close schools, or businesses - the roads and railways have run on time, so family and commercial life has not been disrupted.
The higher inland regions do have show in the winter, which is great for skiers and snow boarders and ski resorts can be reached from our area in 2-3 hours. Due to good organization and being better prepared the snow fall does not cause serious problems, and is welcomed on the slopes. –
Spain, what a wonderful place to live!
2:BUYING TO LET
Is a term that has fallen into disrepute, particularly in the UK where the buy to rent market originally went through the roof, but has now collapsed as rents are not keeping up with repayments and many landlords, having felt the credit squeeze, can no longer afford to pay the vast mortgages they signed up to.
So why are we talking about buy to rent? The answer is that we, at Hot Property, have access to some excellent bargains, particularly smaller properties that are ideal for holiday rental income. Or just to enjoy with your family. The market will, in the long term, pick up again and to buy now will turn out to be a very shrewd investment.
With good marketing, it is possible to buy a holiday home to enjoy at times of your choosing, and to have the rental income pay all the running costs.
With the interest rate in the
UK at 1% and 2% in the Euro Zone, property is still the best long term investment.
3:BRINGING YOUR PET TO
SPAIN
We have been asked for advice on bringing a pet into
Spain, so in this first article we go through what sounds like a lengthy legal process, but in fact when travelling between EU Member States, is a fairly simple process, as long as the owners use an experienced qualified veterinarian.
The movement of animals is regulated by National Health requirements of all EU member states whose borders are crossed during transit. This is to both protect the animal and that of the general population. None compliance of these requirements will lead to an unpleasant outcome for both the owner and the animal, with the immobilization of the pet in quarantine facilities or returning the animal to the country of origin, which may also mean quarantine.
Important things that you should be aware of.
Only animals over three months old can be imported without extra authorization and must be transported with the animal’s birth mother.
If the number of pets being transported by either the owner or the owner’s representative, is greater than five, it will be considered a commercial enterprise and additional import requirements will be applied.
Pet animals are dogs, cats, and ferrets traveling in the same means of transport as their owner or owner’s representative, i.e. car, coach, plane, ship.
Electronic identification is required for every animal. The microchip must comply with the ISO 11784 standards or annex A of the ISO 11785 standards. If not the owner or the owner’s representative, must ensure the facilities are available for the reading of the microchip.
Anti-rabies vaccination is to be carried out with an inactive vaccine of at least one antigenic unit per dose (OMS requirements)
Neutralizing antibody titration (which, in Spain, is a laboratory authorised by the Laboratorio Central de Veterinaria de Santa Fe de Granda Tel 958 440400 for a list) The test is done from a sample of serum taken by a qualified veterinarian, at least thirty days after the vaccination and three months before the movement. Satisfactory level of protection is a minimum of 0.5 Ul/ml.
Please note that, when moving the animal to the
UK, it is required that the sample be obtained six months prior to the animal’s departure . However neutralizing antibody titration is only required when transporting to the
UK,
Ireland,
Malta, and
Sweden, but not between other EU states, including
Gibraltar.
Treatment against echinococcus (tapeworm) is required for transporting animals to the
Finland,
Ireland,
Malta,
Sweden, and the
UK.
Treatment against Ticks is required for transporting animals to
Finland,
Ireland,
Malta, and the
UK.
Vaccination against distemper & leptospirosis (for dogs only) is required for transporting animals to
Sweden.
Passport an official document established for pet animals of EU origin is required and can be issued by an authorised veterinarian.
Travel conditions for animals, are that they should be properly carried in cages or containers which, where necessary, can be obtained from airlines and must be clearly labelled with the owner’s address and telephone number. Inform your airline well in advance that you are planning to travel with a pet animal.
In addition to the EU, the following are classified as within the geographical region and the same requirements apply;
Andorra,
Gibraltar,
Iceland,
Liechtenstein,
Monaco,
Norway,
San Marino,
Switzerland and the
Vatican.
Other countries
USA,
Russia,
Canada,
Japan and
Australia and the importation from any other country not mentioned above, also requires a certificate of conformance with the established model (Commission Decision 204/824/EC) that must be signed by an official veterinarian authorised by the competent authority of the country of origin.
The requirements for pet birds are as follows.
A maximum of five birds can be transported.
When coming form a non EU country , the bird must be accompanied by a health certificate and a statement by the owner or representative in accordance with the models established in Commission Decision 207/25/ec.
1: WINTER WEATHER IN
Not to point too fine a point in it, the weather in the
Here in the North of the Costa Blanca, there has been some rain, some wind and a lot of sunshine. But what have we not had? We have NOT HAD snow, frost, ice, or any below-freezing temperatures.
The average daily temperature in January & February was in the low 60ºF (17ºc) and one day reached 22ºc.
At night may be as low as 4ºc in the higher inland areas. Not bad considering the poor weather in the rest of
We have not had to close schools, or businesses - the roads and railways have run on time, so family and commercial life has not been disrupted.
The higher inland regions do have show in the winter, which is great for skiers and snow boarders and ski resorts can be reached from our area in 2-3 hours. Due to good organization and being better prepared the snow fall does not cause serious problems, and is welcomed on the slopes. –
So why are we talking about buy to rent? The answer is that we, at Hot Property, have access to some excellent bargains, particularly smaller properties that are ideal for holiday rental income. Or just to enjoy with your family. The market will, in the long term, pick up again and to buy now will turn out to be a very shrewd investment.
With good marketing, it is possible to buy a holiday home to enjoy at times of your choosing, and to have the rental income pay all the running costs.
With the interest rate in the
The movement of animals is regulated by National Health requirements of all EU member states whose borders are crossed during transit. This is to both protect the animal and that of the general population. None compliance of these requirements will lead to an unpleasant outcome for both the owner and the animal, with the immobilization of the pet in quarantine facilities or returning the animal to the country of origin, which may also mean quarantine.
Important things that you should be aware of.
Only animals over three months old can be imported without extra authorization and must be transported with the animal’s birth mother.
If the number of pets being transported by either the owner or the owner’s representative, is greater than five, it will be considered a commercial enterprise and additional import requirements will be applied.
Pet animals are dogs, cats, and ferrets traveling in the same means of transport as their owner or owner’s representative, i.e. car, coach, plane, ship.
Electronic identification is required for every animal. The microchip must comply with the ISO 11784 standards or annex A of the ISO 11785 standards. If not the owner or the owner’s representative, must ensure the facilities are available for the reading of the microchip.
Anti-rabies vaccination is to be carried out with an inactive vaccine of at least one antigenic unit per dose (OMS requirements)
Neutralizing antibody titration (which, in Spain, is a laboratory authorised by the Laboratorio Central de Veterinaria de Santa Fe de Granda Tel 958 440400 for a list) The test is done from a sample of serum taken by a qualified veterinarian, at least thirty days after the vaccination and three months before the movement. Satisfactory level of protection is a minimum of 0.5 Ul/ml.
Please note that, when moving the animal to the
Treatment against echinococcus (tapeworm) is required for transporting animals to the
Treatment against Ticks is required for transporting animals to
Vaccination against distemper & leptospirosis (for dogs only) is required for transporting animals to
Passport an official document established for pet animals of EU origin is required and can be issued by an authorised veterinarian.
Travel conditions for animals, are that they should be properly carried in cages or containers which, where necessary, can be obtained from airlines and must be clearly labelled with the owner’s address and telephone number. Inform your airline well in advance that you are planning to travel with a pet animal.
In addition to the EU, the following are classified as within the geographical region and the same requirements apply;
Other countries
The requirements for pet birds are as follows.
A maximum of five birds can be transported.
When coming form a non EU country , the bird must be accompanied by a health certificate and a statement by the owner or representative in accordance with the models established in Commission Decision 207/25/ec.