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.
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.
– 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
Whilst we cannot vouch for all their advice or practises, Blevins Franks, have a long and respected reputation for financial advice, tax, BREXIT and the Spanish legal maze.
They offer books, videos and free basic guides to paying taxes in Spain. They often advertise free seminars in the area where you can meet and quiz their experts in relaxed surroundings.
Use the link below to find an array of published guides (PDFs) and books. e.g. Franks & Blevin, AIPP, etc
Hondon Villas (an AIPP member) have already helped 100’s of people buy their DREAM HOME in the Hondon area. You will find that we are passionate about your property needs… Buy or sell your villas in the Hondón Valley.
NO PRESSURE! – We listen, offer expert advice BUT let you choose… please take your time, after all it’s a BIG life changing decision so we want you to find the right property in the right location.
EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE: No other local agent comes close… 30+ years in the industry and trained to corporate standards and 13 years in the area!
2 STAFFED OFFICES: Yes real people in real offices with real desks in the main central plazas of Frailes & Nieves
TRANSPORT: Airport taxis, car-hire and temporary accommodation
Buying or Selling, you need to know more about the Spanish Property Paperwork you should have or consider? The Kyero quick guide can help…
Before signing anything there are some important pieces of paper you and your lawyer should have a look at the following paperwork and requirments.
1) The Escritura Publica and Nota Simple: The Escritura Publica is the registered title deed of the property. It is entered in the ‘Registro de la Propiedad’, the Property Registry, and is the only guarantee of title in Spain. It contains a description of the property, the details of the owner and any mortgages or legal claims that exist against the property. This document is important because it tells you if the seller is the owner of the property being sold. A nota simple contains further details of any mortgages or charges against the property and is also available from the Registry.
2) The IBI receipt: Before purchasing a resale (not new) Spanish property check out the ‘lmpuesto sobre Bienes lnmuebles’, or IBI, which is the municipal property tax. Ideally, you’ll be able to see the IBI receipts for the last five years because that is the limit of liability for unpaid back taxes and is attached to the property, not the owner. A new property bought from a developer will not have an IBI receipt (because it has never been ‘owned’) so it will be your responsibility to register the property for this tax.
3) The Referencia Catastral: Every property sale must quote the ‘Referencia Catastral’ of the property in question. The Catastro is another system of property registration in Spain, concentrating on the location, physical description and boundaries of the property. While the Property Registry focuses almost exclusively on ownership and title, the Catastro is concerned with property valuation.
These two systems do not communicate with each other, and it is common to find that the catastral description of a property differs greatly from the one in the Property Registry. It is a good idea to request the actual certificate from the Catastro with a full description of the property. The certificate is in two parts, one being a description of the property and the other being either a plan or an aerial photograph.
4) Community fees, statutes and minutes of the AGM: This only applies if you are buying a property in an urbanisation or where there are some ‘communal’ resources, shared amongst a number of properties. These are the fees charged by the ‘Comunidad de Propietarios’, the Community of Property Owners, a legal body that controls all the elements held in common; the lift, gardens and pool for example. Each owner is assigned a quota, or percentage of the expenses which, by law, must be paid.
5) Utility bills: These assure you that the bills are paid and also provide an idea of what the running costs of the property will be.
6) EPC (Energy Performance Certificate): The EPC (energy performance certificate) is a report that describes how efficient a home is in terms of energy consumption and also gives recommendations on how to save money and make your home more efficient. It assigns an energy rating to each home on a scale which ranges from “A” (the most efficient) to “G” (the less efficient). The EPC law is approved and it came into force on the 1st of June, 2013. It is obligatory for all sellers and lessors who are advertising their property for sale or rent. At the completion of the sale The Notary will ask to see the original EPC. When buying a home you should get the EPC for that property and it’s rating. If you are selling you should obtain one.
7) Misc: If you are buying a property in an urbanisation, make sure that it is legal and registered by asking to see the approved ‘plan parcial’ at the town hall. If the property is on the beach, make sure the development is also approved by the Jefatura de Costas. For a new property, make sure that it has been declared for IBI and that the developer has made the ‘declaracion de obra nueva’. Also ensure that the escritura mentions the house you are purchasing as well as the plot of land on which it stands. As an additional safeguard, it is wise to examine the town planning maps for the area around the property, called the Plan General de Ordenacion Urbana, or PGOU.
As much as it hurts, in the current market, property sellers still have to be realistic about the price they want for their property in Spain. Most people in the Hondon area have too great an expectation of their property value.
In general houses for sale in the Hondon area have sold for well below their original sale price if they were bought in the boom/pre-2008 (the crash). Very few sellers achieve their initial asking price. And it’s a fact that whilst Hondon Property Sales are definitely on the up in 2017 / 2018, figures such as 30% or 40% below pre-crash values are now common.
It’s a buyer’s market right now.
Not great news if you are selling! And supply is larger than demand in many areas of the Spanish Costas, pushing prices down even further. Thankfully, most expert reports think this has trend has now bottomed and a slow recovery is now happening. We’d echo that in the Hondon Valley area. as 2017 was a record year and we have already smashed our own target for 2018 (Aug now).
The property portal Kyero keeps tabs on many of the official property indicators and housing data on their blog. They have just reported the news that house prices on the whole are fairly stable now. Read their page as often they do contradict but it might help you when valuing your own house. And do comparisons with similar property in your area. Remember, though that these reports usually talk in averages. > SEE HERE> KYERO “Spanish House Prices Have Fallen by 41.4% Since 2007” ARTICLE
The hard truth though is that the property market usually dictates the average exchange so what we want for a house is not always what we get.
So, please, do your property research or call / visit us for a free no-obligation valuation and an experienced chat.
We are Hondon Villas in Frailes & Nieves, the most experienced agents in the area. AIPP accredited and extremely helpful.
: TEL 965 075 357 property @ hondonvillas.net
Hondon Villas are proud to be a member (5 years running) of the AIPP, an established organisation aiming to improve the standards of Real Estate services across the globe.
Our service is based on the AIPP’s code of conduct for Realtors.
In fact we believe we always aim to go beyond every other agent’s service standard! Maureen Cook, the director of Hondon Villas is passionate about making buyers and sellers happy WITH NO PRESSURE and her amiable and honest approach to real estate services. (Read the testimonials here)
Buyers & property owners using an AIPP trade member benefit from unique assurances not available through non-AIPP members or far too many car-only based agents.
AIPP is registered at UK Companies House No. 5677417
AIPP is a bona-fida trade non-profit members organisation of over 350 global paying members, including A Place In the Sun & Right Move Overseas. The membership fee ensures proper accountability and systems are used and scrutinised by its members. The AIPP membership agree, publish and oversee professional standards in the international property market.
Members include estate agents, property developers, lawyers, financial services, media & others. All have signed-up to the AIPP code of conduct and clients of Business Members are covered by the leading UK Property Ombudsman service.
Based in London since 2006, AIPP has over 350 company members in 30+ countries. Find your AIPP property professional by searching members on the AIPP website via the link at the bottom of this page.
> https://www.aipp.org.uk/
We take your data privacy very seriously. And so should you. In May 2018 the E.U. passed new privacy and data laws : collectively known as the General Data Protection Regulation.
It affects us all and it is in your own interest to understand how your data is harvested and used across the Internet. Importantly, also what you can do about it. The policies and information below should help you. There are other resources online by regional Governments also.
» You can read our updated GDPR Privacy & Cookie Policy on our main website. Be assured we NEVER SPAM or distribute your personal data without consent. We need and only use your data to service your business with us, namely to buy or sell Spanish property.
Once we have completed our relationship we periodically delete your details. Be careful, we know of other agents that are very flimsy with your data and have never had a privacy or cookie policy (which is unlawful since 2011). Ask if you need further clarification but our online policy should answer any fears.
DMCA-CASE#93487 COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PUBLISHED DATE: MARCH 2017 IMPORTANT: The information below was believed to be correct at the time of writing. If anything is disputed by Rudi Slabbinck then he should contact us and explain when we will gladly open dialogue.
ACTION: TO TAKE DOWN COPYCAT WEBSITES DUE TO BREACH OF COPYRIGHT / NON PERMITTED USE OF LOGO / BRAND / CONTENT PERPETRATOR:Rudi Slabbinck (resides in Aspe, Spain) COMPANY NAME: Costa Blanca Villas AOF (Belgium)
ALLEGED MISDEMEANOURS: 1) The deliberate purchase and copycat use of “hondon villas” as Top Level domain names similar to ours and to use them maliciously and fraudulently 2) Creating and promoting a “copycat website” using the Hondon Villas brand name, font style and colours of the long established good name of “Hondon Villas” ( .net based in Frailes) including the name, logo and similar colours which was established before 2010 3) Deliberately copying and using original and copyright website content, key phrases and other general items without Hondon Villas (.net) express permission.
COMPLAINT BY: Hondon Villas (.net) / Maureen Cook Hondon de los Frailes Original domain HONDONVILLAS.NET
GENERAL PRE-FACTS: www.hondonvillas.net is a registered domain (since 2010). It is officially and currently registered by Mr. Derek Cook on behalf of Hondon Villas ( based in Hondon de los Frailes, Spain). We have applied for national registration of this company name. This domain hosts the main Hondon Villas (.net) website for property sales (inmobiliaria) and has done since 2010.
Further Hondon Villas (.net) use many other on-line portals, sister websites and collaborators branded or under the group name “Hondon Villas”.
ADDRESS: Hondon Villas (.net) are a bona fida real state agent in the Hondon Valley area of Spain. Hondon Villas (.net) have legal offices and employ paid staff in the central plaza Hondon de los Frailes. (Calle Juan Carlos #24)
The official and main Hondon Villas (.net) website has been in use since 2010 to publish and sell local property in and around the Hondon Valley area. Our clients are both local sellers and international buyers (English, Dutch, Belgium, French, etc). Hondon Villas are an established business and well known to the are. The main office is a real bricks & mortar dwelling in the high street which has and still is open 5 days per week for about five years.
A typical view of the Hondon Villas logo and brand colours.
Our main branding and logo (a distinctive green and dark blue) adorn our office windows, office stationery, off-line and on-line advertising, business cards and on-line publicity such as social media. The green/blue Hondon Villas logo and brand was designed in 2010. We have used it every since.
THE MAIN COMPLAINT: Another person “Rudi Slabbinck” recently registered two domains: hondonvillas.be and hondonvillas.eu (in late Feb 2017) as confirmed by the domain registers.
Rudi Slabbinck has hosted and publish content on both these websites. Hondon Villas believe is a deliberate attempt to use or simulate the original brand and colours and could deceive or confuse the general public by using our Company name “Hondon Villas”. The use of a very similar logo to the original brand colours (green / navy blue) and font style is a deliberate act.
Plus, Rudi Slabbinck has in the past copied verbatim some of Hondon Villas (.net) original and copyright material, search keywords and the general layout of our web site design. Rudi Slabbinck has done this on these two new sites, including similar footers, email address and layout. Sites (we know of) that use similar or copyright material without permission. (at the time of writing this)
costablanca-villas.immo (his main website) hondonvillas.be huizeninspanje.info housesinspain.info aspevillas.com hondon-propertyagent.com
BACKGROUND: Rudi Slabbinck is well aware of our brand and websites. Indeed he has met Maureen of Hondon Villas (.net) many times. Maureen sold him and his wife a house in Albatera in 2014. He has visited the Hondon Villas (.net) office in Frailes in the past. Indeed, he and his wife attended the Hondon Villas Office inauguration four years ago (we have a picture). He has communicated with the office staff and in general well knows our brand, logo and has experienced our real estate services first hand. He would know 100% of our brand and logo.
Rudi Slabbinck has a history of both copying and copyright infringement to include textual content, images and “search engine optimisation” from other websites. This is includes recently
falsely claiming and displaying the AIPP member’s badge on all his websites (he was found out and asked to remove them) …
and used original images from a Portugal based real estate agent called IRG Property without their permission.
Rudi Slabbinck’s website has boasted (in the footer and other places) that he has traded since 2006, however he only came to Spain in 2013 and was previously, we believe was a seller of ceramic tiles in Belgium before that.
They turned their house in Albatera into a Bed and Breakfast. He ran this with his wife illegally (not registered) and did not pay any tax on rental income (Rudi admits this many times).
Rudi, nor his partner Conney, have any previous Real Estate experience. He did some translations from English to Dutch for Hondon Villas. That is our association with him but we found that he was poaching business from other agents in the area. We agreed amicably that he had become disloyal, and so we no longer had a working relationship with him.
The Bed and Breakfast “La Huerta” in Albatera failed in 2015 so and he and his wife returned to Belgium. They had to sell the B&B.
RudiSlabbinck and his partnerhave returned to Spain (about August 2016). They live and trade from their home in Aspe. Costa Blanca Villas. www.costablanca-villas.immo Calle Aitana 21, 03680 Aspe, Inland Alicante Costa Blanca Spain
Currently his websites claim his company is CEPI-CEI (EU Real Estate Organisation) member but he cannot be found on their register and is now being investigated by CEPI for potential mus-representing an organisation’s membership. Hondon Villas (.net) have on several occasions asked Rudi to remove our copyright material, logos and copyright content from his websites. We have repeatedly asked him in the past to stop using our material but continues to use our original material and design ideas. He has compiled in most instances but with every new site he build he feels he can copy our material without permission again.
NO PERMISSION GIVEN To BE CLEAR Hondon Villas rarely give permission to other agents to use our original logo, material, articles or images. We 100% never gave Rudi Slabbinck permission to use any Hondon Villas material or branding on any of his websites and we certainly do not tolerate copycat websites.
These two new sites were registered by Rudi Slabbinck and have gone direct live within two days. We strongly believe Rudi Slabbdinck (the domain register and competitor agent) uses our copy, content, images and SEO keywords to bolster his web presence. In our opinion, Rudi Slabbinck’s actions are a deliberate case of Copycat tactics.
We believe (at time of writing) Rudi’s sites infringe on our brand, logo and content. Hondon Villas would strongly argue that these new sites (.eu and .be) are a deliberate attempt to copy, confuse and disrupt our SEO Ranking and in particular our customer base and to the untrained eye is easly comparable in form and brand to our own www.hondonvillas.net website. This could, we beleive, result in loss of business, bad feeling, buyer confusion and set a precedent for similar unprofessional behaviour from other agents.
Original website : http://www.hondonvillas.net (since 2010) Copycat website 1: http://www.hondonvillas.be (since Feb 2017) Copycat website 2: http://www.hondonvillas.eu (since Feb 2017)
ITEMISED NOTES OF COMPLAINT
The following are examples of possible copyright infringement. Screen prints are taken during the last week in February 2017 / first week March 2017 unless other wise stated. The reader can judge for themselves the possible misdemeanours here or their similarity between the original or copycat.
Hondon Villas Logo & Slogan The original Hondon Villas logo was designed in 2009. The colours used are a mid green, dark blue and white. Depending on the page background these colours are sometimes inter-mixed. So on a dark background the logo may have white writing. The font is a “sans-serif” Calibri font typeface (c/o Microsoft). Both the logos below use the same font and similar colours. The “strapline” slogan is again similar. Hondon Villas have consistently used “Buy, Sell or Rent”. You can see that the copycat logo uses “Buy, Build or Sell”.
Website Header, Email, Contact and Social Media Icons Integral to the real Hondon Villas website is our contact details in the top-right corner. The copycat site is using a similar layout, font and style. Even the email address is similar.
USE OF “HONDON VILLAS” in CAPITALS The copycat sites extensively use the term “Hondon Villas” usually in green text to suggest the word is an entity and a company. The copycat sites refer to the “Hondon Villas Team” or say “Hondon Villas” is part of a large Grupo company.
INFERRING “HONDON VILLAS” IS IN A GRUPO The copycat website infers that “Hondon Villas” (.be) is in a bigger group (grupo). It is not – In fact this serves to confuse (or deceive) the reader! To be clear Rudi Slabbinck is a one-man band running at least 7 websites with different names and domains. He operates from a bedroom office and a car in Aspe. There is no Grupo to our knowledge. Rudi Slabbinck is a Belgium autonomo (self-employed).
EXPERIENCE? TRADING FOR MANY YEARS? The real Hondon Villas (.net) was started by Maureen & Derek Cook in 2007 as a free property portal. In 2010 they registered the .NET domain name to make an official business after Maureen changed jobs. Maureen is and has been an Estate Agent for about 35 years, trained in the UK and Spain in the last 12 years. She was trained and worked for some of the biggest Real Estate companies in the UK and Medsea PLC in Spain.
The copycat sites claim copyright and trading for many years, since 2006. As Rudi Slabbinck only arrived in Spain about 2013, failed a B&B so left to go back to Belgium in 2015 and returned August 2016. It simply is not possible fro Rudi to claim trading since 2006, certainly not in Spain. Nor did Rudi have previous Real Estate experience. He stated that he sold ceramic tiles in Belgium (although we have not traced that fact).
MISUSE OF AIPP MEMBER’s LOGO Reported and taken down
MISUSE OF CEPI-CEI MEMBERS LOGO Badge in Footer
MISUSE OF OTHER’s IMAGES Portugal IRG
Hola! thank you for your visit.
If you are looking to buy or sell property in the Hondón Valley area, please consider Hondón Villas, a local family business for 15 years. We are passionate about property and can advise & hold your hand throughout the process. Our office is in the main Frailes plaza, open Mon-Fri 10.00-17-00 and by appointment at evenings and weekends, WEBSITE : WWW.HONDONVILLAS.NET
The Hondón Villas team
Buying or Selling, you need to know more about the Spanish Property Paperwork you should have or consider? The 
