Valencia Land Grab Link to SIPPs Warning
The leading residential firms in the Valencian Developers Association have been warned that British buyers, who currently account for one property sale in three in the Spanish province, have already established a clear link between the ?land grab? controversy that required EU edicts to resolve earlier this year and the forthcoming SIPPs property pensions expected in April 2006, following UK taxation changes.
While strong EU intervention has outlawed ?land grab? planning in Valencia, forcing the provincial government to change the laws and provide compensation, the British public remains wary of buying in some parts of the Costa Blanca, the upcoming Costa Azahar and along Costa Valencia itself where the Americas Cup is being staged.
This was the message brought by UK delegates to the extensive four day Feria Valencia Urbe Desarrollo 2005, at which scores of residential builders staged displays and attended the VIP luncheon of the Valencian Developers Association. Top table guest, Terry Walker of leading online specialists PropertyInSpain.Net said the so-called Valencian land grab activities remained firmly in the minds of many UK buyers and a strong link with the new SIPPs (self invested personal pensions) had been established in many cases.
He told the property chiefs: ?Buyers using their pensions require maximum safeguards on the provenance of the properties they are being offered. They also have institutional trustees responsible for looking after SIPPs trusts who will be ultra careful with all investments.
?They and buyers know about the land grab scandal and are already making a link to possible purchase using the new freedoms brought about by SIPPs. Buyers need new legal assurances and to be welcomed into Valencia and its many property opportunities.?
Jose Luis Miguel Belanguer, President of Feria Valencia and director of Valencia-based developers, Grupo Onfre Miguel, said: ?We know about the extensive land grab coverage in the UK media and wish to provide full legal assurance to new British buyers. We will invite them to come and live in Valencia and share the many benefits of being part of our community.?
Some leading Valencia developers are already marketing their new homes for offplan purchase using the Independent Legal Surety pioneered by PropertyInSpain.Net in which Anglo-Spanish legal firms check the developer and planning status of each new phase before it is tagged with a ?Legal Surety? and displayed on the firm?s top ranked website.
This is provided free to buyers and can be reinforced if they optionally contract with the legal firm to act for them in any resultant purchase. The solicitors are also members of the British Law Society and carry the require professional indemnity. Any dispute can then be resolved more easily in the UK, especially important for SIPPs pension buying.
One major Valencian developer, Blauverd-Habitat released their biggest yet development, Cerezos de Finestrat, for the Feria Valencia, with the first 400 apartments, townhouses and villas already gaining the Legal Security tag. Their UK director, Jose Ivars said:? We are happy to provide all assurances on the legality of our properties, but it took some weeks to be able to comply with this Legal Surety. We have changed our sales contract to make it more acceptable to SIPPs buyers and we are launching in the UK as a special SIPPs-friendly development.
?PropertyInSpain.Net have taken many pre-launch reservations from British buyers with some of them wanting to switch their contracts into a SIPPs purchase when this is possible. We have added a new section in our brochures outlining the Legal Surety and it is being adopted by other developers,? he added.
Spanish Property News
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
This article is written by Kevin Barnett. a specialist commentator on the Spanish real estate market, whose news and information is read on a wide range of property web portals. You can read his most recent articles at www.propertyinspain.net/news