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Hondón Website, 2 Million and counting….

Thank you to our 800 Facebook followers and 2 million website visitors.
We appreciate all your support for local businesses and welcome your Likes, Shares and Comments on our online channels such as Facebook, Twitter and this Blog.

Please continue to share and recommend Hondón Villas, Buy or Sell in the Hondón Valley. Real Estate Agents, Spain.

Learn more about Hondón Villas…
We are into our 5th year as a member of the AIPP which sets out professional conduct and ethics for Real Estate agents globally.

We are the only Hondón agent to win the Business of the Year for the whole of the Costa Blanca.

We have ta local office in the main village plaza of Hondón Frailes in the Hondón Valley. We are local and employ local people who know the area well.

We list and sell more houses than any other Hondón agent in the area. We lead and they try to follow.

Maureen Cook, the owner and director, has more professional experience in Real Estate and financial services than any other agent for miles. She is trained and been rewarded for sales targets and competency at a corporate level for over 30 years. She prides herself on being honest, fair and giving personal service. She lives and breathes property!

VISIT the Hondon Villas WEBSITE and CONTACTS:

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The scores are in! Populous for Hondón Nieves

As real estate agents for the area we like to know the general trends and demographics of the Hondon Valley area. Well, the Spanish Institute of National Statistics (INE) and the Alicante government publishes annual figures on the population (births, deaths, marriages, migration, etc) of it’s towns and cities. E.G. this page is for Hondon de las Nieves published 29 Jan 2019.

http://documentacion.diputacionalicante.es/4hogares.asp?codigo=03077 or you can do your own reports on the www.ine.es website <

Figures here are based* on the Padron registrations, however experience suggests that the figures will not be wholly accurate (lower) as many of the foreign influx do not register or forget to re-register on the Padron, particularly when changing address.

Hondon Nieves Ayuntimiento
The Town Hall, Nieves Plaza

So using the Hondón de las Nieves figures (rounded up/down for ease) as an example for 2018 we can see that Nieves village had nearly 2,500 people on their Padron. The Padron register suggests that the overall population has decreased a few % over the last 3 years but again is that due to inertia of signing the Padron, deaths or some migration away or maybe less influx of foreigners / Brexit? There are some clues in the figures but no reasons given.

Age Span: It may come as no surprise that over 50% of these Hondon residents are over 50 years of age. Nieves has 5 people over 95 but less that 200 are under age 19.

Sex Span: The spilt of male (1,256) and female (1,218) is slightly in favour of men for this Hondon village.

Nationality and Birth: Nearly 1,600 people were born in Spain. Nieves has a 98% European population with about 900 as Extranjeros (foreigners). That number is down on other years. Why?

The figures of country split I looked at seem to omit the Dutch and Belguique. However, some working out would suggest that the Brits, Dutch and Belguique make up most of the foreign population in Nieves. But there are also a few German, French, Italians from the EU but about 40 Russian, Asian and South Americans amongst the population.

So Hondon de las Nieves is about 36% foreigners according to these recent stats. Which seems lower than most people would guess. What do you think?

Historically, the European influx was strongest after the 2008 crash! 2012/2013 shows the highest EU populas to number about 1,420. However that is a total but per year. e.g. in 2007 235 foreigners arrived but 2017 (ten years later) that was down to 79. It would appear we lost about 500 foreigners between then and 2018? From a real estate view point that would suggest there is lees of the property pie to serve which contrasts with our sales records over the last 5 years! We’ll try to puzzle that one out later.

Well now we know at least some basic population facts for Hondon de las Nieves… we’ll look at the Frailes figures soon. It’ll be interesting to compare Frailes with Nieves. Thank you for reading.

Hondon Real Estate for Property and Home in the Hondon Valley
AIPP MEMBER : We look after you.

*NOTES: Any figures here are interpreted from the official INE stat’s and only for general interest, rounded up and not for re-publication or official in any way. it’s also worth noting that most of us regard the area as the Hondon Valley which includes many small towns and villages as a population so the Nieves stats cannot reflect the true picture of the valley or does it?

Regards from
The Hondon Villas team (c2019)

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Hondón Villas on YouTube

Hondon Valley Property Agent

Well seems that the Hondón area is getting better known and it’s residents are keen to show you what they are doing and what is going on here in the Hondón Valley…. many people have uploaded their videos of local fiestas, events, concerts, markets, bars and restaurants.

If you search HONDÓN on YouTube there’s quite a lot of videos to see (of varying quality and interest). Look out for the ones about the local fiestas in the local villages of Hondon de las Nieves, Hondon de los Frailes, La Canalosa, La Romana and Aspe.

Visit YouTube (Hondon Property Videos)

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Tranquilo – Introducing the Hondon Valley

Video by Hondon Villas c2017
Enjoy the sunshine, the views and chill. This video is a short introduction to the glorious Hondon Valley inland to the Alicante Region, Costa Blanca South, Spain.

INTERESTED? CONTACT:
Email: property @ hondonvillas.net
Tel: OFFICE: (0034) 965 075 357

The Hondón Valley is a peaceful, friendly, warm place surrounded by mountainous scenic beauty

The main two villages of Hondon de las Nieves and Hondon de los Frailes nest in the beautiful Hondon Valley. The relatively newly built Urbansation of La Montanosa is sandwiched between these two Hondón villages.

For decades they have grown an abundance of agricultural delights such as Grapes, Almonds and Olives (the main economy).

Hondon is surrounded by an expanse of stunning mountain views and traditional arid Spanish countryside. These excellent vistas are a delight in all seasons! Take a walk or drive through the country roads and you will just marvel at the changing light, shadows and picturesque skies.

The Hondon Valley is well known for its mild climate and pleasant summer breezes, which is very welcoming in those hot summer months when temperatures rarely fall below 30 degrees. The region enjoys sunshine in excess of 310 days per year, where the air is very clean and the pace of life slow. Hondon offers a very peaceful and stress free life.

Come take a look at the Valley of the Vines, drink the local wine under the bluest of skies and feel the warmth of the Spanish sun on your face … and you’re hooked! We were! We love it!

WEBSITES & SOCIAL MEDIA:
UK Site: http://www.hondonvillas.net
NL/BE: http://www.hondonvillas.nl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hondonvillas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hondonagent
Blog: http://www.villasinhondon.net/

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Cien, One Hundred, Honderd, Cent

The Hondón Villas website has always been ahead of our local Real Estate competitors in design and speed. We regularly update, validate and code check the technical site of our sites and try to ensure it works for you and follows the latest and proper coding techniques such as HTML 5 and the European GDPR privacy rules. Our in-house expert (25+ years experience) codes and changes the site for best practises, security, privacy and in particular to make our site friendly for our mobile phone users.

So it’s great that we get regular feedback from Google Insights that our site is often graded 100/100 in terms of it’s speed, usability and 85/100 for it’s mobile friendly approach. Great! Hondon Villas were the first to offer a small screen alternative of our website for mobile and tablet users, which is around 60% of our visitors now. Our main competitor locally scores 5/100 for their mobile site. As far as we can ascertain no other website in our locality gets near 100/100. Proud!

It’s important because independent stat’s and research shows that most Internet users expect web sites to be fast, usable and mobile friendly or they simply move on … a lost chance to sell or inform.

So it is in our interest to get it right for our sellers and buyers marketing opportunities. We know we have had over 1.5 million site visits to our main hondonvillas.net site alone + 10,000’s more through property portals, sister websites and social media. WOW! (and you thought Hondon was a secret!)

W3C Validated Hondon Real Estate Site

Having had a Google Page#1 search position for 10 years or more is no accident. We have earned it through investing in technology, good W3C standards coding and regular content! But we cannot be complacent as Google does what Google wants and does de-rank sites for poor design or slow sites! So all websites owners like us are playing a cat & mouse game with Google to stay at the top. How you do that is no secret actually but it’s a constant process and takes up a lot or resources and time.

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“We” are local Hondon Agents!

We are Hondon Villas. Hondon Villas have been a “WE” for at least 10 years in Spain starting with Maureen and her IT experienced husband. Maureen was professionlay trained in the UK as a mortgage broker and estate agent by the Halifax Building Society and has 30+ years in the business. Since then we have opened and staffed various offices in the two main Hondon Valley villages. So when we say WE, we mean WE.

Welcome to the NEW Hondon Villas office!

It’s been our observation that far too many sole agents in the area pretend to be “WE” but in reality work from a car or home office. Their posters, marketing and social media make out they are more than one. Why? For sure many of them, like us are diligent and work hard in a competitive market. And also we work with sole agents that give a great service. But it grates that they say “WE” a lot when they mean “I”. Just be honest!

As of Jan’ 2019 we have 7 full time & local employees over two offices and work with carefully chosen partners. If we don’t work with them it’s because they do not match our standards of work ethic or trust. period! And we truly believe that is why we continue to be successful and the top choice of agent in the Hondon Valley area.

WE have TWO real estate offices: one in the Frailes High Street and another in the Nieves Plaza. Above all, WE are local and experienced people.

We have excellent local ties with the Town Halls. We insist you get 100% local independent legal advice, we know bespoke builders and architects, know the best tradesmen, bars, restaurants and shops. One client said we are the 4th emergency service in Hondon !!

So be careful of other so called “we” agents – check if they really are a “we” – Importantly ask where they when they were trained, what they did before or how they got here, are they local? Often they are really an “I” or simply collaborate with other many 3rd party agents. Many agents operating in the Hondon Valley don’t even live anywhere near here or know the Hondon Valley at all.

Q. So ask yourself,  can they advise you on a niche area like Hondon? – Answer is they often fall short of knowledge and experience! Some have never been trained and have just hopped on the Estate Agents Job Bus without a proper ticket!

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BREXIT? What to do next?

We recently attended and made notes at a local meeting in Hondón de los Frailes about BREXIT.  This was organised by the British Consulate, Alicante division. Our notes are below which may help some of you.

BREXIT for Expats in Spain

Yes, the situation as we write (Nov’ 2018) is still very fluid and subject to change and as yet there is no deal/ a deal is agreed between the UK and EU.

However, with time running out Brits abroad are worrying what they should do!

Of course Hondon Villas are no experts on what actually will happen, nor are we privy to any more information than anyone else. But we try to keep an eye on what could happen to protect our business and help new and existing clients.

With that in mind here are the things we picked out from the talk…

AIM of the Talk: For British citizens living in Spain to be ready for Brexit.

Citizens rights:
Brits that are over living here ‘legally’ can continue to do so as normal.
To be ‘legal’ you must hold a residencia. You can have lived here for less than 5 years but you still need a residencia.

Health Care:
If you have health care already in Spain via a S1 (pensioners) then you can continue to do so. If you have healthcare in Spain through any other means i.e S I P card then this continues also. The European health card ( EHIC) should not be used if you are living here permanently.

Time frames:
To achieve legal status (residencia) before December 2020 (if a deal is reached). To achieve legal status (residencia) before March 31st (if a deal is not reached).

Part time residents:
Maybe difficult for them to do 6 months Spain/UK. This group may have to choose which country they want to be resident in! Nothing has been agreed in the negotiations so far but may mean that if you are not resident legally in Spain there could be restrictions on the period of time they can reside per year.

Driving License:
Should not be driving on a UK driving license if living in Spain. You need a Spanish Driving license.

False info/scaremongering:
Anything written on any platform other than the Gov.UK site is not true.

Voting rights:
This was not included in the Brexit negotiations. However Spain and the British consulate are in discussions so hopefully Brits legally living in Spain will be able to vote in the local Spanish elections soon.

Spain/difficulties in registering:
This can be described as a bureaucratic country with regards getting your documents especially your residencia. However, this in the long term is good thing as it gives you a good footprint in Spain.

Gestores:
Due to the difficult nature/red tape of some of the paperwork needed to obtain some documents, the Spanish tend to use a Gestor who can, for a cost, sort out everything that is needed. Recommended, especially if yout Spanish is poor.

Other info
– Facebook page ‘Brits in Spain’

– Citizens Advice Spain – a voluntary website to help foreigners in Spain.

– Brexpats– Formed to assist the Brits during Brexit. Not for/against Brexit just works with the consulate to help get info out to Brits in Spain. Brexpats is a legal and regulated association in Spain with 5,500 members to date. They also work with international lawyers and are hopeful that they can achieve the voters rights for Brits in Spain to vote in local elections.
Join : More members needed to increase their voice!

The message clearly was to make sure you are a legal British citizen in Spain before Brexit….the only way to achieve this is to have all your documentation but most importantly your residencia.

As we do not know as yet whether there is going to be a deal…I guess it would be sensible to recommend that we all get our paperwork sorted before March 31st 2019.

I hope this is helpful to you. Please consult official channels and not the local bar-room chitter. You can share your experiences on the Hondon Villas Facebook page…

Thank you

The Hondón Villas team
Office Numbers: +34 622 314 244
OFFICE: Central Plaza, Hondon de los Frailes

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Recommended Agents in Hondón

After being in Hondon de los Frailes for just over a year now we would like to thank Mo and all the staff at Hondon Villas for their continued help settling into our new home and life in Spain. From the very beginning in March 2014 we found Mo to be very professional but she went beyond just being an agent and we now feel that all at Hondon Villas are friends and do not hesitate to call into the office just to say hello and we always feel welcome. We would certainly recommend them to anyone with confidence. : Janet & Mac Head

Hondon Valley Estate Agent

“We would like to thank Maureen of Hondon Villas for her friendly and professional approach …  At no time did we feel any pressure to buy and she gave us time to think. : Lindsey Stockdale

Dean and I would like to thank you for everything you did for us. Not only in the search and purchasing of our wonderful home, but all the help and advice you gave us even though Dean was here in Malaysia and I was ill in the UK, you kept us informed and virtually held our hand from the other side of the world.

It is always a nerve wrecking time when you are waiting to exchange contracts, but Maureen had the tricky task of juggling paperwork and emails between continents and 3 time zones.

All this was carried out with such amazing care and professional ism and we are so very grateful to you.

We had viewed dozens of houses with lots of agents in the Alicante region, but no one really listened to what we actually wanted or the fact that we definitely only had X amount of money to spend.

Hondon Villas were the only one to do so. Thank you for your patience Maureen, when Dean and I were choosing between two houses.

Seriously, without your care, commitment to detail and pure passion from you and your colleagues we would not have our lovely villa. We would also like you to know how much we appreciated your help and guidance in getting the internet connected, places to eat and local events not to miss.
– Sue & Dean Savage.

Your professionalism, passion and dedication for everything you do shines through and gives us your clients a service that is second to none. With 30 years in the industry coupled with your extensive local knowledge we would recommend you to anyone knowing they are in safe hands Moving to another country is one of the biggest decisions you make in your life and it’s comforting to know there are Professionals like you out there to help make the process pain free … your a pleasure to work with. – Charlotte and Billy