When asked where they would most like to live overseas, Britons ranked America and Australia in the top spot with nine per cent and Spain topped the European destinations with six per cent of people wanting to move there.
Banco Halifax Hispania is continuing to report an increase in demand for property in Spain and will increase its number of branches from 14 to 20 by the end of 2006.
Ian Smith, Head of European Operations at Halifax, said: “Over recent years we have seen a huge increase in the number of UK residents wanting to buy a property in Spain. Banco Halifax Hispania aims to take the worry out of the Spanish house buying process by supporting customers at every stage in the purchase.”
Dealing with customers in English, Banco Halifax Hispania guides them through the house purchase process by providing them with information from the General Land Register, including the current situation with the property and its owners, as well as any pending charges.
With an approved panel of qualified solicitors and surveyors in the popular Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca regions, they can also advise and arrange all the external reports covering the chosen property and its market price.
Smith said: “Our mortgage products are designed with British residents in mind. We certainly understand the type of mortgage products that British customers require, based on our vast experience in the UK and our knowledge of British attitudes and culture.”
Working alongside the branches in Spain is a UK based operations team. This combination provides customers with the choice of arranging their Spanish mortgage whilst still in the UK or from their local Spanish office.
Smith said: “There are certainly slight procedural differences and different jargon, such as elevators rather than surveyors.”
“However, as long as care is taken over the choice of bank and some initial checks carried out, such as the banks’ ability to deal with British residents in England, all these differences are capable of being explained.”
