Painting. Avoid bright colours, neutrals are ideal.

Damp. Repair the damp areas and repaint. (The damp must be repaired from the root or could otherwise be a “latent defect”.)

Doors and windows. All locks should open and close quietly and easily.

Lighting. All lights must work, replace any blown bulbs.

Bathrooms and kitchen. Fix any leaks and make sure that sink fittings are free of limescale.

Furniture and decorative items. Remove all unnecessary furniture that reduces the space and try not to have too many decorative objects on show.

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But moreover the figure of Norwegian visitors, which concerns our Southwest area especially, have registered an amazing boost of 58,39% in June (highly welcome!).

Several times I’ve heard, from Senior business people having experienced other crisis episodes, that the Canary Islands are historically one of the first regions to take off after a recession time, so I trust this is a good omen also for the total Spanish economy (after the most important one that was winning the World Cup!).

In any case, at least regionally this is real growth figures so this may be THE right moment to buy a property in Gran Canaria.

Here is the full article at maspalomasahora

(Photo: Leonor on the left and Lucy on the right)

Although the fiestas here in Arguineguin started last weekend we all got a little carried away with the world cup and forgot to inform you all of the program of events!

The Romeria (offering to the Virgin Carmen) was held on Saturday; thousands dressed in their Canarian costumes and joined in the fun including Lonnie, Leonor and myself.  The Pilgrimage floats set off from the market square at roughly 7pm passing through the streets to the church square where the offerings were made.

Here is the program for the rest of the fiestas that will finish on Sunday.

Wednesday the 14^th of July

21:00 h: Children’s Theatre company “Barullo” presents Pinocchio
Location: Plaza de las Marañuelas

21:30 h: Scala en Hifi for adults
Location: Plaza de Las Maranuelas

Thursday the 15^th of July

19:00 h: Traditional Children’s Games and Typical Canarian Food Contest
Location: Playa de las Marañuelas

21:30 h: Tribute to Expedito Oliva Segura, photographer of the Municipal followed by popular music from the group “Encanatadores”.
Location: Plaza de las Marañuelas
23:30 h: Open-air dance with “Güira Latina”
Location: Plaza del Mercadillo (market square)

Friday 16th July – Dia de Nuestra Senora del Carmen (Bank holiday in Mogán municipal)

11:00 – 14:00 h: Ludo Children’s Park
Location: Plaza de las Maranuelas

12:30 h: Tribute to the elderly of 75 years +
Location: Club 3ª Edad La Jaca

19:00 h: Mass and Procession accompanied by “Banda Barrial”

23:00 h: “El Carmen 2010″ Concert – “Salvapantallas”, “Foncho” and “DJ Promaster”
Location: Chiringuito Zone

00:30 h: Open-air dance with “Caracter Latino”
Location: Plaza del Mercadillo (market square)

Saturday 17th July

18:00 h: Bajada de la Rama (water fight) with the bands Gran Canaria and Barrial
Leaves from: Plaza de Pino Seco

23:00 h: Open-air late night dance with Orchestra “Banda Joven” and “Primera Linea”
Location: Plaza del Mercadillo (market square)

00:00 h: Fireworks Display

Sunday 18th July

10:30 h: Eucharist followed by the Virgin del Carmen Maritime Procession where the Virgin is taken to Puerto de Mogán by boat.
20:00 h: Theater presented by the “Taller de teatro Los Pescadores de Arguineguin” followed by the rope dance with the folklore group “Los Parranderos del Sur”
Location: Plaza de las Marañuelas

At approximately 9.20 pm yesterday evening Spain once again made history by winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in a 1-0 win against Holland.

Spain are the Champions simply because they are the best!  This unique generation of players have played with a style only worthy of Champions, they have been united since the first moment and most importantly they have played with dignity and respect.

Congratulations to the whole team and every single fan for making this a truly magical month of football.

Let the party continue!!!!!!

Whilst we are all going crazy over the Spanish football team after reaching the finals in the World cup we also want to congratulate Rafa Nadal on taking the Wimbeldon championship title this year.  Wimbeldon is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the tennis world and it is every players dream to win this grand slam.

Rafa reached the final after beating Andy Murray and went on to overcome Tomas Berdych in straight sets on the centre court adding another grand slam title to the seven he already has and equalling the amount of titles won by legends such as Fred Perry, Andre Aggasi and Jimmy Connors.  Let’s hope that his form continues at the upcoming US open in August.

Rafa is also a crazy football fan and can often be seen cheering on his favourite team Real Madrid in the football stands. He is in contact with many of the Spanish team players and is hoping that the next trophy lifted will be that of the Spanish team in the world cup final on Sunday.

I was watching the game hidden away in my house in Arguineguin as I promised not to embarrass my daughter with my shouting throughout the game.  The streets were deserted whilst the game was on which was probably the case in every other village, town and city in Spain. After the goal and the final whistle the streets came alive with the sounds of car horns, fireworks and shouts of celebrations including those of Leonor who I work with, she lives just down the road from me and is today suffering from a very husky voice!

Also well worth a mention is Paul the octopus who is becoming a well know celebrity and much loved creature for all us Spanish supporters.  Paul correctly predicted that Spain would beat Germany in the semi-final.  For those who have yet to hear about him he is an octopus who lives in an aquarium in Germany, his keepers put 2 feeding boxes in his tank one with the German flag and the other with the rival flag, Paul then chooses the winners box which this time happened to be Spain and keeps his success rate at 100% in this years world cup.

Not only are the Spanish footballers our hero’s but Paul the octopus too!

Cárdenas er på utkikk etter en skandinavisk talende EIENDOMSKONSULENT. Det er store utsikter for det skandinaviske markedet for neste sesong, og vi må være forberedt … CV og søknader velkommen!

info@cardenas-grancanaria.com – www.cardenas-grancanaria.com/no

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“1. How large of a percentage of your customers are Scandinavians, and how interesting is the Scandinavian market to you?

2. In what way has the financial crisis affected the real estate market on Gran Canaria?

3. What preferences does an average Scandinavian have when they are buying a house/apartment in the south?

4. What is the price per square meter that a Scandinavian buyer in Gran Canaria should expect to pay to fulfil their dreams of a second home in the south?

5. Can financing be obtained in Spanish banks, or must it be arranged from your home country?

Cardenas Real Estate Company was established exactly 30 years ago by Carolina’s parents, Antonio G. Cardenas and Rolande Chagrin. After a long career in the hotel industry and a vast knowledge of languages they both had a desire to provide a high quality, honest and respectful working manner to the visitors to Gran Canaria, considering that in those days the legal security that customers have today did not exist.  As a result of superb testimonials the clientele increased very fast.

Today their daughter Carolina works together with her husband Ramón and her brother Daniel who is a lawyer.  She describes the family business as young and dynamic and is proud to announce that they speak Norwegian, Scandinavian, German, French, Italian, English, Hungarian, Russian and Spanish in their offices. At present, Cardenas has offices in Puerto Rico and Playa de Mogán, with a total of 15 employees. Carolina adds that despite the company’s growth, new technological investments and generation change, they take pride in having maintained their principal quality, professional service and honesty with their clients.

1.  A total of 50% of the properties that we sold last year were purchased by Scandinavians, especially Norwegians. It is therefore considered to be our main market, and we are pleased that the financial crisis has not damaged Norway to the same extent as in many other countries. We do also feel that the market is gaining strength.

2. The financial crisis has affected the prices in a negative way, which gives a negative impact to those who sell and a positive for those who buy. The national market is limited because the banks have large loan restrictions. This leaves us a group of buyers with a strong capital, mostly foreigners. The offers of apartments have increased, because people here are unable to pay their loans, and must therefore sell. In addition, a number of tourist complexes are closing and changing into private complexes, as tourists want to stay in modern hotels or apartments with more facilities. All this has contributed to an over supply in the market that opens up for large price reductions which benefits the buyers.

3. The main criteria’s for our Scandinavian clients are a large terrace with plenty of sun exposure and a nice sea view. It also has great significance that the residence is located in a quiet area with close access to the beach and various local amenities.

4. At present the approximate price per square meter is 3000 Euros in Arguineguin and approximately 2000 Euros in Puerto Rico.

5. Most of our Scandinavian customers organize self-financing in their respective homelands. It is also possible to obtain financing in Spain, but only 60% of the purchase price. To obtain a loan in Spain as a foreigner it requires a relatively large amount of documentation, which makes it easier for most people to arrange a loan from their homeland. Also in Spain to obtain financing from the bank there are costs of approx. 3% (taxes, government fees, etc) which as I understand are not as high in other countries.”

Article by Dag & Natt, translation by Natalia Ballester & Lucy Evans