It’s carnival season again in Tenerife! If you’re coming over, make sure you pack a fancy frock because this year’s theme is fashion! We have lots of interesting news for you this month. Palm Mar steals the headlines, with prices set to accelerate and one of the jewels of the area is just reaching roof level. How convenient is that? There’s news from Amarilla Golf and its rapidly improving infrastructure as well as the results of the poll many of you helped us with last month. If you didn’t have time to fill it in, you’ll find it on our website. So why not have a go now? www.tenerifepropertyshop.com

And we bring you the best of the properties new to the market, the biggest bargains and unique scoops. We have added lots of new properties onto the website this month, so why not take a spin around to see what tickles your fancy!

This month we have a salutary tale of a couple who moved over to Tenerife and, through lack of good advice, found their dream unattainable. Patrick and Mary had been dreaming and planning their move to Tenerife for three years, their hearts set on the good life in their own home in the sun. Although Irish in origin, they were living in Manchester until just before Christmas 2005. Like so many people, they could sense that they were not living life to the full. They couldn’t put their finger on the exact reason for their discontent, perhaps it was just a combination of long working hours, high taxes, long commutes, depressing winters… reading this short list, you will probably already have added on another few bugbears of your own. Nevertheless, they were both hard working. Through their efforts, they had built up a nest egg over the years and it was this, not inconsiderable sum, which was to launch their new life.

So just before Christmas, Patrick and Mary quit their jobs and made their move to this sunny island. They had been to Tenerife several times before. In the most recent couple of trips, they had even with talked to a few estate agents and visited a few homes, as well as looked at a couple of businesses. After much strategising between themselves, they had decided on their plan. They were intending to rent an apartment for six months, while they got established and found jobs, then they planned to get a mortgage and buy a home. Good in theory.

In fact it took a little longer to settle into Tenerife. Mary found a job quite quickly. As an experienced hairdresser, she found her talents easily adapted. Patrick, having spent all his life working in the local council, eventually found a self employed niche, after some trial and error. At last, the couple seemed to be on track, just under a year later, and the time had come to buy a home.

If only those estate agents they had talked to, when they were at the research stage, had given them the right advice. Or rather; if only they had talked to the right estate agents. The couple started home hunting in January of this year. Within a week they had realised that their cause, at least for the moment, was futile. The problem was the mortgage lenders. Despite emblazoning adverts offering residents huge mortgages, the small print meant that Patrick and Mary just didn’t qualify. As in the UK, the banks needed two years tax returns and accounts. Because Patrick’s self employment was not entirely paid above board and because Mary’s income was partially commission… it meant that they would have to rethink the jobs they were now happily settled in, if their income was ever to justify a sufficiently high mortgage, even two years later. Their home owning dreams were shattered.

It should come as no surprise that the horse needs to be placed before the cart. If you are considering the big move, you must buy your property before you make your move. Like Patrick and Mary, you may want to rent while you ‘get established’ first. You may want to buy a business first. But if you are intending to buy a property with a mortgage, justifying your income while you are still employed in the UK is the only way to do it. After you move to the island, this previous income and financial history becomes irrelevant. When you move, you start again from scratch, so you will be assessed on what you are earning and declaring to the taxman here. You’ll have to prove at least two year’s tax returns. You’ll have to be declaring enough money to the taxman to justify the amount you borrow. Or just like Patrick and Mary, your dreams will have to spend a few more agonising years on hold.

Really, everybody’s situation is different. Regardless of whether you are a Patrick and Mary, a John and Shirley or a Tim and Tracy, the key to your success is getting the right advice from the right people. Choose your estate agent intelligently. Keep your common sense about you. Look for Professional Indemnity Insurance: advice that’s insured says something about its quality. Good agents are not made by mission statements, fanciful promises and banal testimonials. The best advice will come from long established companies with decades of experience and independent, qualified recognition. There are more pitfalls than you imagine, so make sure you tread carefully.

It’s carnival season again in Tenerife! If you’re coming over, make sure you pack a fancy frock because this year’s theme is fashion! We have lots of interesting news for you this month. Palm Mar steals the headlines, with prices set to accelerate and one of the jewels of the area is just reaching roof level. How convenient is that? There’s news from Amarilla Golf and its rapidly improving infrastructure as well as the results of the poll many of you helped us with last month. If you didn’t have time to fill it in, you’ll find it on our website. So why not have a go now? http://www.tenerifepropertyshop.com

And we bring you the best of the properties new to the market, the biggest bargains and unique scoops. We have added lots of new properties onto the website this month, so why not take a spin around to see what tickles your fancy!

News has just been released that a new beach is to be created in Palm Mar. Already dubbed as the ‘trendiest area’ to live in Tenerife, this announcement is undoubtedly going to increase the level of demand in the area. For those of you who don’t know much about Palm Mar, it is a small area on the coast, nestled between the nature reserve of Malpais de Rasca and Montaña de Guaza. These two natural barriers limit the size of the small town, ensuring that it will never suffer the blight of expansion endemic elsewhere on the island. The town enjoys its own microclimate, benefiting from more daily sunshine than anywhere else in Tenerife, another natural factor that combines to make this area unique. But it’s not only nature that makes this a particularly sought after spot. In contrast to other towns on the island whose organic and unplanned growth have overtaken their infrastructural capacity, creating problems with basic facilities such as drainage, electricity supply, sewage, telephones (to name but a few), Palm Mar has been carefully planned from the outset. Television booster stations, mobile phone antennae, cleverly concealed sanitation stations, roads, parks and green areas are already in place. For once we see town planning as it is supposed to be. A 13,000m sports centre is also due to be constructed and there are five golf courses in the vicinity. It will come as no surprise to learn that Manuel Barrios, the planner from Arona’s town hall, sees this as a very “exclusive residential area”.

The conclusion to all this, as one of our local newspapers put it, “…Palm Mar is about to take wing and for anybody buying in the area, now is the time to act, before prices soar.”

If Palm Mar is Tenerife’s trendiest, then Las Olas has got to be the chicest address! Clad in Gaudiesque mosaics (that look great and require no maintenance), Las Olas is rising to roof level and those fantastic penthouses are starting to appear. These are luxurious apartments. Built over two levels with large roof terraces boasting their own private plunge pools… what a perfect place to have a party and impress your guests! With 2 bedrooms, great big windows to let in the light, air acclimatisation to keep the temperature just right and all the modern whistles and bells you could want (designer kitchen, computerised control system, a key to your lift…), this is THE place to live. It’s not cheap… but you wouldn’t expect it to be.

If the penthouses are out of your price range, then you’ll see that the 2 bedroom apartments are probably not. They share the same slick features as their neighbours above, but (sorry) no private roof pool! Instead, there’s a huge 1200m pool in the centre of the complex plus a health & fitness centre, all set within palms and tropical gardens. With prices from only €230,000 at the moment, these are a unique buy in a booming area.

In the last edition of our Newsletter we conducted a poll, and we were amazed by the response! Thanks to all of you who replied. As promised, here’s what we discovered:

Half of you are interested in purchasing property in Tenerife with a view to emigrate and work here, with the next most popular reason as a retirement home. Over half of our respondents were aged between 50 and 60 years old, so although many of you are approaching retirement age, you are still intending to continue work when you get here. Holiday home purchase has slipped down the rankings from its high place a few years ago, with just under 15% of you buying for that reason. This is in line with the many other surveys conducted in the UK. The vast majority of respondents have definitely decided that Tenerife is the place for them, only a few of you are considering other locations. The main reason? Quality of life was the reason most of you cited. Surprisingly, the weather and lower taxes were roughly equivalent in terms of importance in choosing Tenerife.

We’re going to try to use this information to make the newsletter more relevant and interesting for you. We’ll try to bring you more information relevant to living here in Tenerife… and especially about the quality of life. Even as you read this, one of our Directors, Bruce Grindley, is conducting detailed personal research so that he can bring you a guide to the best wines available! Hopefully we’ll be able to publish his results in the not too distant future.

New roads are being built, making it so much easier to get into Amarilla Golf from Golf del Sur. At the moment the main new route between the two is beside Aguamarina, which comes down near the harbour. A further road has now been completed which starts near the beginning of the Golf del Sur ring road, opposite The Palms, and passes Palm Ridge. Although completed, we are still waiting for the builders to remove a few bricks blocking the road. If you are used to approaching Amarilla Golf from the old Las Chafiras road, it will certainly be an eye opener to see just how close it is to Golf del Sur!

Mount Teide has its annual cloak of snow, and it looks absolutely gorgeous! Probably the nicest place to admire the mountain (apart from actually sitting on top of it!) is from Amarilla Golf. Due to the unique topography, the snowy peak appears to rise from the end of the rich green fairways in a dramatic spectacle. Those who own property in the area are to be envied!




Carnival season is with us again! Many of you will be coming out to the island to enjoy the hedonistic atmosphere. The fun lasts all month and this year’s theme is Fashion. So if you’re flying over in February, make sure you pack your most ostentatious outfits! Er… and pack a spare one for your husband! You Can find out more on www.carnavaltenerife.es



Entertainment and shopping are familiar combinations in the UK, but here in Tenerife the first shopping centre to incorporate a state of the art multiplex cinema facility is to open in May of this year. Located in Torviscas, just on the other side of the TF-1 motorway from Playa de Las Americas, it’s another addition to the variety of things to do that the South of Tenerife has to offer.