To Let or not to Let, that is the Question.....

I have a small but perfectly formed apartment to rent. It is in a very pretty seaside town in the centre of the Costa Brava. Until now, it has been let on a long-term basis, but following a disastrous tenant family, I have decided to let it only to holidaymakers for short term stays, so this is new to me.

I realise that letting it this way involves a considerable amount of extra work for me – or for those who do not live nearby their properties, for a managing agent. I have just spent the weekend carefully writing an advertisement to put on line with one of the holiday rental sites. The advert needs to be catchy but accurate and then there is the question of rates, how much to charge for each season or part thereof. Do you only want to let for a week at a time, or also for weekends? There is a good market these days for short-break lets, but of course, they demand even more work for changeovers, cleaning, etc. I have decided to offer stays of a minimum of 3 nights, except in July and August, when the minimum stay is one week.

Unlike with long-term lets, you need to provide plenty of bed linen, towels, dishcloths and kitchen towels. The kitchen should be fully equipped even though most people on holiday tend to go out to restaurants or take picnics. These days, travellers demand high standards and rightly so, but this puts an extra burden onto the property owner to ensure that everything is in excellent order and functioning. Fortunately, I am generally on hand to oversee all this, but most of you will need to employ someone to do this for you and, as with everything that one does from a distance, it is vital to find a reliable managing agent/cleaning agency. In my area, there are several English people who take care of properties throughout the year, or just in the summer season. Some require an annual payment - say of 500€ - to look after everything for the owner, others charge per visit to the property and for call outs. They will arrange for the pool to be maintained, the grass to be mowed, the house to be cleaned, repairs to be made and even, in some cases, for taxis to meet guests at airports or stations. One of my friends runs his own taxi service as well as a property management business and is also a licensed estate agent! It is extremely hard work, requiring long hours and good management skills, but financially rewarding.

The previous Catalan government was about to bring in a law requiring property owners to obtain a licence from the local town hall (ajuntament) to let their property, but following last year's elections, the new regime has not, it appears, followed this up, at least for now.

I suppose one of the main questions you must ask yourself is “do I want strangers in my (2nd) home?” If you can live with that, there is a reasonable income to be gained, though you must declare this to whichever tax authority you are registered with either in the UK or in Spain. There are expenses which can be offset against tax, such as repairs and maintenance. Most owners' incomes fall below the VAT threshold, but those with multiple properties are often classed as “businesses” and so must be registered as such.

I have a few more “tweaks” to do at my apartment before the first visitors arrive, just to make it feel more like a home, less like a hotel. In fact, it was my home originally, and so I have always looked upon it as such and I hope that the various people who stay there from now on will enjoy it as much as I did and treat it with respect.

Sally

The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Spainbuyingguide.com

BARÇA – the joys and tears

Football is not really my sport. However, having lived in the UK, France and now in Spain, I cannot really avoid it, even if I wanted to. Football it seems, is far more than a game with 22 players, a round ball, 2 goal posts and lines and semicircles marked on a pitch. Rather it gives people a great sense of belonging, of pride, of joy or of sorrow. Nowhere is this more true than in Catalunya where the “only” team is affectionately known as BARÇA:

I expect many of you watched the Barcelona – Arsenal match last week. My little town of Palafrugell was like a ghost town that evening, with practically all of the citizens lodged in bars (no longer smoky!) or with friends at home glued to the TV screens. Every pass, every step, every near miss, every off-side, every yellow card – and indeed the red card – was scrutinised and marked with a clap or a groan. I did not watch the game, I did not need to, as I could hear the cheers and grunts of my many neighbours and so I knew precisely how well, or not, Barça was doing.

It must be said that Barcelona Football Club is unique to the sport. Two-thirds of their players are “home grown”, chosen at a very young age to join the academy and nurtured by the club until they reach the supreme standard required to join the Premier team. When Spain won the World Cup, 7 of the team players came from Barça and the winning goal was indeed scored by Iniesta, so the Catalans joked that Catalunya had won, rather than Spain. The celebrations in the streets that night were memorable, very noisy and extremely good-natured.

Even some Spaniards, i.e. non-Catalans, are prepared to admit that Barça is currently possibly the finest football team ever in the history of the La Liga and that Lionel Messi (along with Christiano Romnaldo) is the best football player. This is praise indeed as there is an historic, cultural, political and fervent rivalry between 2 football clubs in particular, Barça and Real Madrid (Royal Madrid), Ronaldo's team, the former founded in 1899, Real Madrid in 1902.

Barça is also unique in other ways. Its supporters are effectively shareholders and the club is donating 1.5 million Euros to Unicef and proudly wear its logo on their shirts. Tourists and football supporters can visit the Club ground, Camp Nou in Barcelona easily, as one of the main tourist buses takes you to the stadium where you can disembark, enjoy the newly refurbished museum to learn more about the history of this ambassador for Catalunya and wander through the official Club Shop.

Arsenal supporters were no doubt disappointed by last week's result in Barça's favour, but as my neighbour told me, they did not have a shot at goal during the entire match. He did think, though, that the red card for Robin Van Persie was “estúpido”. On 17th April, Barça will play Real Madrid, so once again I will learn about who is winning and who is loosing by the vocal exclamations of my neighbours while I attempt to listen to music or watch a TV programme that isn't showing the match!

Sally
The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.spainbuyingguide.com/

Sea Urchins, Salt Cod and Anchovies...

The majority of people who buy property in Spain want to be close to the sea. With its long coastline, Spain offers a variety of beaches, small coves, rocky inlets and miles of sand. Enjoyable though the beach may be, it is the fruit of the sea which is the real treasure.....wonderful fish, shellfish, rock fish and not least the sea urchin (erizo de mar or garoina in Catalan).

Between mid January and mid March, there are culinary festivals celebrating this jewel of the sea. In Catalunya the better restaurants offer special menus with sea urchins as the stars. A typical menu at 40€ per person more or less, would be a dozen sea urchins (garoinas) as a starter, “fideus” which are a local speciality of noodles (pasta) and a desert, all served with the best local wines. In other parts of Spain different local offerings are served up with the sea urchins. Some hotels offer “sea urchin weekends” - for about 110€ per person you can stay in a good hotel with breakfast included as well as a sea urchin dinner and a cultural visits to places of local interest. Each year the festival includes more interesting excursions and even sea urchin meals at sea!

Of course, at other times of the year, different jewels of the sea become a speciality. Gambas de Palamòs (Palamòs prawns), for example, are a worldwide speciality to be found even as far afield as Los Angles in America in the best hotels and restaurants. These prawns cost a fortune, possibly 140€ a kilo for the largest, but having tasted them (very very occasionally), I have to say they do have a special taste of their own which is totally delicious and different from the normal prawns we consume. They are truffles as opposed to wild mushrooms.

All along the coasts of Spain you can find wonderful fresh fish and seafood. In Cadiz, Andalucia, the speciality is “urta a la roteña" which is bream cooked with tonatoes and peppers. A fish stew packed with the best fish of the area known as "abaja de pescado", is a must when visiting. Galicia, on the Atlantic coast, claims to offer 80 types of seafood, crabs and lobsters in particular. Mussels, squid and a massive variety of clams, cockles and prawns are abundant here, usually cooked in garlic, parsley and lemon and as you walk through the streets the wonderful aroma invades all your senses. In Extramadura fish is the king of “pintxos” or tapas, often spiced up with strong parprika. Another popular speciality in Spain and also south-western France and Portugal is salted cod, or “bacalao”. In times gone by it was necessary to keep the fish in salt to preserve it as of course, fridges did not exist and summer temperatures soared. This tradition is continued with passion today, and you can enjoy the most wonderful dishes of bacalao which do not in any way tatse “salty”.


About 30 minutes' drive from my town is a delightful restaurant that has 17 different bacalao dishes on the menu! This hidden-away centre of culinary excellence is called “L'Hort del Rector” (literally, the Rector's allotment or vegetable garden) and is situated on the edge of the delightful medieval stone village of Monells. The chef is Catalan and his charming wife, Canadian. They have a “menù del dia” Mondays to Fridays where you can enjoy a very good lunchtime meal for around 12€, but it is their à la carte which is so interesting, with the variety of dishes prepared with “bacalao”. My favourite is the one cooked with peppers, chili and white beans..it is truly delicious, at least for those who like spicy food. Another is salt cod with creamed potatoes, an altogether different taste sensation but equally tasty. Elsewhere, you can find yet more ways of cooking bacalao, each region having its own ideas and presentation.

Cod, though, is just one exciting speciality. Anchovies are a big thing in Spain as well. In the north of Catalunya is the seaside town of L'Escala, renouned for its anchovies and considered to be the best on the Catalunyan coast. In season, they are served fresh, for the rest of the year they are usually preserved in glass jars with olive oil and/or vinegar. They are plump and white and wonderful to eat. L'Escala boasts a museum dedicated to the anchovy and they hold a festival each year in honour of these tiny fishes.

Wherever you are near the coasts of Spain, you will have many an opportunity to discover the jewels of the sea, served as tapas or main meals. Each season brings its own delight, each region its own cuisine. Living here, I am indeed fortunate as I can go out and enjoy what the sea provides, knowing it is fresh and recently harvested, nicely presented and to be accompanied by a good local wine...but of that, another time, another blog.

Sally

The Overseas Guides Company

http://www.spainbuyingguide.com/

Carnival and burying the sardine...

The end of February into March is Carnival (Carnaval) Season in Spain. Time to celebrate the coming of spring, longer evenings and warmer days. Time to put aside for a short while the fact that it may still be quite chilly and most evenings are spent indoors, time to go out onto the streets and have fun before the rigours of Lent.

During the Franco dictatorship, Carnaval was banned, so after his death people once again took to the streets to carry on a centuries-old tradition, each region adding its own mark to the celebrations. Interestingly, the Carnaval in both Madrid and Barcelona is quite restrained compared to cities like Sitges and Cadiz. The theory about the origin of Carnaval is that it literally means “farewell to the flesh” (Carne = meat and valle = farewell) which in more religious times was the case as people observed Lent rigorously. Nowadays schools are closed for the event and it is a “fiesta” for all to enjoy, some, it must be said, rather too much as anything goes during Carnaval. A “cohete” (rocket) signals the start of the festival in some towns, in others it could be the deafening sound of a blunderbuss, made louder by the narrowness of the streets and the sound bouncing off the buildings. Whichever method is used, you will not be allowed to sleep late that morning and will be awakened by brass bands and loud bangs quite early, usually around 8.00 am.

Later in the day, there will be a wonderful procession of floats, dancers, musicians and people dressed in impressive and colourful costumes, each group representing a theme. Last year, the most outstanding group were “the flies” whose costumes were truly amazing, we also had “Elvis”, Aztecs, gangsters and molls among a host of other creative ideas. A lot of time and immense effort go into the making of each costume and the decoration of the floats. Everyone, from elderly grandparents to their grandchildren, even in prams, can take part and it is amusing to see how the babies are dressed according to which theme their parents belong. One of the best a few years' ago were red Indians and all the children, including tiny babies were dressed accordingly, with feathers and war paint.

Noise is a vital element in the Carnaval, as are bright colours and dancing. I am fortunate in that I can watch the procession from my terrace, so the full spectacle passes by and the sound volume is slightly reduced. I usually invite friends to join me and we watch with wine flowing and tapas which I have learned to make since moving to Spain. If it is cold, we can “pop”inside for a few minutes to warm up and then return to watch the next float. Yes, it is loud and brash, but also tremendous fun, so if you are thinking of a trip to Spain, it is a good time to visit.

The floats and procession visit different towns within a vicinity over 3 days, so you can catch the show again if you missed part of it the first time. It usually starts after dark on the first night, but on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon there is an earlier parade for small children to enjoy.

On Shrove Tuesday festivities come to an end with a peculiar ceremony – the burying of the sardine ( le entierro de la sardine). One of the stories relating to its origin is that in the 17th Century, King Charles III of Spain decided to celebrate the end of Carnival with his people, commoners. A picnic in the country was arranged and sardines and wine were to offered to everyone. It was unusually hot that day and eventually the sardines began to smell extremely unpleasant. The only way to get rid of the smell was to bury the sardines! The people apparently wept as now there was no free food and ahead of them were the lean days of Lent. In towns near the sea, the sardine is buried, or cremated and its ashes taken out to be scattered over the water. Elsewhere it is burned. It is a strange tradition but so are many customs we still practise in whichever country we may live. Afterwards, you can eat sardines barbecued on large grills set up in squares and may be offered a free chocolate drink to sweeten the start of Lent.

Sally

The Overseas Guides Company

http://www.spainbuyingguide.com/