20 May 2012 18:07:

Robmacm, so sorry to hear about your experiences, which sadly are also those of countless others. Very honest and noble of you, however, to blame yourself, despite the fact that you were clearly an innocent victim. Whilst I do believe that everyone must accept at least some responsibility for their own actions, I have no doubt that the big agents mentioned sucked in huge numbers of people with their slick marketing and bold promises, people who never thought they would fall victim to such things, that it couldn't happen to them.
I think Maria has made it clear from her last post that the question should have been worded differently - what she meant to ask was what role did these big agencies play in persuading British & Irish people to purchase in Spain, thereby unwittingly becoming part of the bubble. I think it's fairly evident that they played a pretty significant role.
Nevertheless, I'm fairly sure Spain would be in pretty much the same mess it's in now even if these agents and their buyers had been completely absent during the boom. They were merely a symptom, but by no means the cause.



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19 May 2012 18:57:

I am actually very puzzled as to why Maria even asked the original question; perhaps I'd rather remain so.
:-(


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19 May 2012 17:12:

I thnik GuyT has it right. Foreign buyers were buying almost exclusively on the Costas, and to suggest that the bubble existed only in these areas is a bit naiive perhaps. Some of the foreign owned companies mentioned may have been guilty of dodgy, even fraudulent practices, but I think this came about purely because the opportunity for such activities was presented to them, and the same people have probably moved on to the next opportunity now. After all, who was it who was making millions (billions?) out of granting illegal planning permissions? Whilst dear old Mr.MacAnthony may be up in court for failing to supply furniture packs to the value of €400,000, countless town mayors have been hauled in front of judges on charges relating to figures that make this look paltry in comparison. He's chairman of Peterborough FC, not Atletico Madrid after all! No, I think foreign businesses and buyers only played what role the Spanish authorities and banks allowed them, even encouraged them, to. I really don't think any of them held a gun to the bankers' and mayor's heads and forced them to give easy credit and illegal planning consent. They merely took advantage of the conditions that developed, but probably no more than their Spanish counterparts.

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10 May 2012 22:55:

http://www.cafmalaga.es/listado_colegiados.html
You can select your town from the drop down menu and hit buscar, but please be advised: "professional administrator" is an oxymoron.
Good luck


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29 Apr 2012 13:57:

Karen says she (Tigress) doesn't want to be resident in Spain because that's what she clearly said herself, although technically she is whether she likes it or not. She probably doesn't "want" to register as a resident because she doesn't want to lose her UK health entitlement, which she will, if she applies in the proper way for full cover in Spain as a resident EU pensioner. Although in her circumstances one would think it's a reasonable thing to expect in our united states of Europe, to be able to visit a doctor for non-urgent consultations anywhere in the EU, it's not (technically) possible, as you only get this service in your country of residence, and you can only be (officially) resident in one country. The solution in this case I guess is to either wing it and try to get a health card here without going through the correct procedure of obtaining an S1 from Newcastle, and hope to get away with it (although plans to clamp down on this type of thing have just been announced) or go private.

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