Cartagena lighthouse

What is the truth about selling houses in Spain?

You hear so many conflicting stories. House prices are up, house prices are down, they are selling, they are stagnating. You don’t know who to believe.

So we’ve done a little research of our own and came up with some statistics that we think do tell the real story.

To see these for yourself:

abacoadvisers.com

Treat yourself to a new kitchen

Do you like your kitchen in Spain? Is it something to be proud of or a room that you avoid taking people into?

Whether you are a culinary genius or not, having the right kitchen can make all the difference to your enjoyment of your property here. It’s also vitally important when it comes to you selling or renting your house.

But where can you find one that won’t cost an arm and a leg or cause weeks of major disruption?

The good news is that EasySpain have introduced a new option into their suite of services. You can now purchase a kitchen through them that is extremely good value as well as being good quality. 

The kitchens come direct from the Spanish manufacturer and because of this they are 30% to 40% cheaper than their usual market value. 

For €1,299 you can have a brand new fitted kitchen with everything included;  the labour, transport, assembly and IVA (VAT). So, if you want to brighten up your house or if you are preparing a property to rent or to sell take a good look at Easy Spain – we’ve not seen an offer quite like it. 

To see the different kitchen options:

easyspain.com

What does your kitchen say about you?

Best beaches

It’s the beach time of year and we’re pleased to say that the first aiders and lifeguards are at the ready.

In case you missed it when it was originally published we give some advice about beach and water safety in this Ábaco article:

abacoadvisers.com

We’ve all got our favourite Spanish beaches but we have to admit there are some other pretty decent beaches elsewhere in Europe too. Lonely Planet have come up with their selection. Cala Macarella in Menorca is in Spanish territory.

Take a look at the other beaches they’ve selected, they are not all where you might imagine:

lonelyplanet.com

Crowdfunding changes lives

Crowdfunding is another form of charity collection that can be done over the internet without the need for collection tins.

When a cause captures the public imagination it can raise huge sums of money and change lives.

For example, in the case of enabling children with paraplegia to walk and carry out many of the normal activities that their friends do.

Find out more about the exoskeleton and the efforts to bring it to the children who need it most:

onthepulse.es

Welcome back to Presseurop

In 2013 the website Presseurop decided to call it a day. This was a pity as it had been a lively and interesting presentation of articles in English from Europe’s media.

Now Voxeurop has taken its place. It has the same principles as Presseurop of sharing stories across Europe and hopefully its team of volunteers will feel able to continue to stock it.

Voxeurop

Spain’s most charming undiscovered towns

One of the most exciting aspects of Spain is that wherever you might be you can half expect to find a traditional square or a pretty village round the next corner.

Spain does not broadcast all its gems either so there is no doubt that our readers will have their own favourites that they’ve discovered.

To see the Local’s collection:

thelocal.es

It does beg the question – will they still stay charming now they have been ‘discovered’?

Your dream home?

Many of us enjoy looking at property sites not because we want to buy but to let our imaginations play a little with the selection of properties shown there. We think it’s unlikely that many of our readers have the capital on hand to buy this €15 million castle, but you never know.

And if you can’t quite afford this property, you might just enjoy having a little speculative glance and wondering what if...

thelocal.es

Or how about a haunted house?:

onthepulse.es

Hot summer nights

On hot summer nights it can be very difficult to get to sleep.

This blog from Eye on Spain 'How to sleep through a night of stifling heat...' has one or two suggestions that you might consider adopting, or perhaps already do. The fridge still seems an attractive option:

eyeonspain.com

Weird, wonderful and rather rude phrases

The Spanish language contains lots of interesting phrases that at face value make very little sense. You might be surprised at some of these, we don’t recommend you add these to your Spanish dictionary just yet:

elpais.com