More Brits than ever want to live in Spain.
Mar 4, 2004, 21:38
More Brits than ever before want to live in Spain
As the UK suffers the usual winter Blues, brought on by our dreary and inclement weather system, new research by Halifax, the UK's largest lender, has revealed that Spain is now the most favoured European country for Brits to move to.
This research backs up the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, where Spain has, for the first time in a decade, overtaken France as the country most visited by British travellers. The Halifax research, conducted by NOP World, found that Spain, America and Australia were the places in the world they would most like to have their ideal home (9% each). New Zealand and France were the second most popular places to live (5% each), with Italy the third most popular at 3%. 34% of those interviewed rated the UK as the best place in the world to live and had no desire to live elsewhere.
There is an interesting regional difference in the numbers of people wanting to live in Spain. The research showed that it was those people living outside the south of England that tended to chose Spain as their most popular country to live 15% of people in the North East, 13% of people in the Midlands and 12% in Yorkshire and the North West put Spain as their first choice.
TV Region
Most popular choice
2nd most popular choice
All
Spain, America & Australia (9%)
France & New Zealand (5%)
Tyne Tees
Spain, Australia (15%)
America (13%)
Granada
Spain, America (12%)
Australia (8%)
Yorkshire
Spain (12%)
France (8%)
Central
Spain (13%)
America, Australia (10%)
Anglia
America (14%)
Australia (11%)
Carlton/LWT
Australia (9%)
Spain, America (6%)
Meridian
America (7%)
Spain (6%)
West Country
Australia (10%)
America (8%)
Banco Halifax Hispania (BHH), the overseas division of Halifax dealing with mortgages and savings in Spain, offers a comprehensive service to customers to help dreams become a reality. BHH offers a 'one-stop shop' for prospective Senors and Senoras - from the leading current account giving free telegraphic transfers from the UK to Spain, to a range of very competitively priced mortgage products, right through to the English speaking UK helpline, Banco Halifax Hispania can help its customers through the house buying process.
Demand from UK residents for properties in Spain has seen Banco Halifax Hispania increase its branches from five to ten in the last year. The new branches are located along the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca and are next to the large British expatriate communities.
Those considering buying a property abroad are often anxious about the intricacies of dealing with unfamiliar procedures. Banco Halifax Hispania can offer advice on the importance of:
Making sure you have all necessary up to date documentation.
Ensuring that you have registered your residency status with both the Inland Revenue in the UK and the appropriate authorities in the country you are moving to.
Checking medical arrangements.
Consulting a tax specialist.
Arranging bank accounts in the country you are moving to.
Deciding what you want to do about living accommodation abroad and your home in the UK.
Telling everyone about your change of address, including National Savings just in case your premium bond numbers come up.
Checking your will and make sure it takes into account rules in the country where you will be living and any inheritance tax rules that might apply.
Ian Smith, Head of European Operations at Halifax says:
"Over recent years we have seen a huge increase in the number of UK residents wanting to buy a property in Spain. It is at this time of the year when the British weather is at its worst that people traditionally start to look for properties in the sun. Halifax aims to take the worry out of the Spanish house buying process by supporting customers at every stage in the purchase.
"We offer our customers a specialist customer service team, based in the UK, together with a range of mortgages available from interest rates as low as 3.381%. There has certainly never been a better time to make your Spanish house buying dreams become a reality."
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