Nicola Venning , telegraph.co.uk

The slopes and the costa are both within striking distance of this ancient town, writes Nicola Venning

If you like to mix café society with your aprés ski and enjoy red runs as much as red wine in a good restaurant, then a home in Granada, southern Spain, could be for you.

With two budget airlines – Ryanair and Monarch – flying regularly to Granada, this astonishing medieval city, which is home to the historic Alhambra palace, has never been more accessible or alluring. "Granada has cachet," says Michael Harding, 55, a property investor who has bought a home in the Santa Clara golf resort three miles outside the city. "It is quality as opposed to cheap sun, Guinness and chips."

Harding paid £140,000 for a three-bedroom house with a handsome 150 square metres of floor space two and a half years ago. He estimates that it is now worth more than £190,000. The development around it has an indoor swimming pool and gold course complete with clubhouse and is only forty minutes from the Pradollano ski resort in the Sierra Nevada in one direction and same distance from the beach on the Costa Tropical in the other. "I have many friends in Malaga who come to Granada every year to ski," says Harding.

If you would like to be closer to the slopes, you might like to consider a home in one of the pretty little villages en route to the ski station, such as Monachil, Pinos Genil or pretty Guejar Sierra, which is about half way between city and resort. Eighteen months ago, Sean Lundy, 35, a civil servant from London, bought a two-bed off-plan apartment from Granada Estates in Guejar which is due to be finished by the end of this year, for £66,000. "We are not yet paying the mortgage and it has already appreciated," says Lundy. "I think it is now worth £76,000.

The village has shops and a school – and is only 20 minutes from Granada and all its nightlife as well as 20 minutes from the skiing." Lundy plans to use the apartment during the school holidays with his wife and son and rent it out the rest of the time. Homes close to the ski resort are few and far between and tend to be old fincas or cortijos (farm houses with land), often not in very good condition with poor access. Paul Martin, managing director of Granada Properties, said: "When houses do become available close to the resort they tend to be very expensive usually selling for between £200,000 to £420,000 for a fairly basic two or three-bed house.

It is almost impossible now to obtain planning permission to build new houses up there". More apartments are available to buy in the ski village itself. The average price for a two-bed apartment is about £100,000. The cheapest would be £30,000. If you are something of a culture vulture and don't mind a 30-minute drive up to the resort each day, you might prefer Granada itself. For sheer atmosphere and charm you cannot beat the alluring old districts or "barrios" of the city. In the ancient arab quarter of Albaycin and gypsy district of Sacromonte, white-washed houses hug winding medieval lanes that wend around the Alhambra.

Unsurprisingly these are some of the most sought-after and expensive homes you can buy in the area. In upper Albaycin – on the top of a hill with fabulous views prices are the highest. A "Carmen" – which is a traditional Andalucian house with wooden floors, beams, a garden and a pool – would cost about £405,000, while a one-bed apartment starts from about £140,000 and could be rented out as a short-stay holiday let for £42 to £60 a night.

Barbara Wood of consultants The Property Finders, said: "You might find the skiing market for rentals in the city a bit hit and miss, unless you are close to the south side and an access point." Happily, access will be improving though, because there are plans to link Granada by gondola to the ski station 13 miles away with proposed stops at the villages of Monachil and Purche.

# The food is good and tapas, which originated in Granada, are served free in local restaurants

# The Moors ruled from Granada for 250 years and it became one of the richest and most beautiful cities in medieval Europe

# The skiing season runs from Nov to May

Find out more about apartments for sale in Granada at golf resort Medina Elvira (pool, shops, 10 mins to city and 30 to ski slopes)


Source: telegraph.co.uk

Fiona Govan, Daily Telegraph

British homeowners who purchased illegally built property on the Spanish costas have been told they have a chance of saving their homes from demolition if they can prove they bought in good faith.

Around 100,000 homes, many owned by Britons, were declared illegal after it emerged they were built with licenses wrongly handed out by corrupt or inefficient planning officials. Last month, Antonio Vercher, the special prosecutor appointed to tackle building fraud and corruption, declared that all such buildings would have to be knocked and that the only recourse for owners was to seek compensation through the courts.

But legal experts have said the authorities will only be able to demolish a development if they have evidence that each individual owner bought in the knowledge that the property breached building regulations. advertisement Manuel Martin, the dean of the College of Registrars for Property in Western Andalusia, said yesterday that homeowners are protected in Spanish law by "the principle of public faith in the registry". "This ensures that those who purchased homes in the belief that the information supplied to them by officials was correct must be allowed to keep ownership," he said.

The Andalusian Supreme Court of Justice confirmed that while it was determined to pursue the demolition of those buildings that had had their licenses annulled it would not send the bulldozers in before taking statements from the owners of the threatened buildings. The news of a line of defence has brought a glimmer of hope to the thousands of Britons who inadvertently found themselves the victims of alleged property frauds.

Gwilym Rhys-Jones, an adviser and investigator at the Costa del Sol Action Group, which helps expatriates in the region to fight fraud, said it was the first piece of good news property owners in Spain had heard for a long time. "It is a straw for the desperate to clasp at," he said. "In effect it means that if one homeowner in a development can prove that they bought the property innocently the whole block can be saved. They can hardly knock down a residential block and leave one apartment standing." One elderly British couple spoke yesterday of their relief at finally hearing something positive. "Only last week we heard that the government had issued a demolition order on our building and we felt totally helpless," said Yvonne Burditt, 83, who lives with her husband Jack, 86, in an apartment at Banana Beach on the outskirts of Marbella. "But now at least we have something to go on.

We have been trying to find out our legal position but it just hasn't been clear, until now." Before paying £170,000 for their beachfront apartment three years ago, the Burditts consulted a local lawyer who assured them in writing that everything was above board. "If it's simply a case of proving our innocence I think we have a chance at saving our home," said Mrs Burditt.

Source: Daily Telegraph Website

Easier.com

An estimated 2.3 million people chose to leave the country last Christmas and New Year to celebrate the festive season.

Furthermore, according to MINTEL research commissioned by overseas property expert Parador Properties, over half a million Britons now live abroad permanently.

Christmas traditions vary hugely throughout the world but some age-old customs, such as hanging stockings to be filled with gifts, are followed by most countries in Europe. So what’s the best way to celebrate Christmas as an ex-Pat? Wise counsel seems to be to transport a few of your favourite customs from home, but embrace local ones too. Here are a few to choose from.

In Spain, the Christmas festival starts with the feast of the Immaculate Conception on the 8th December, in front of the Gothic cathedral in Seville. The ceremony is known as ‘Los Seises’ or the ‘dance of six.’ Ten boys, all in elaborate costumes, conduct the dance. Christmas Eve is known as ‘Nochebuena’ or ‘the Good Night’. Tiny oil lamps are often lit in houses, creating the appearance of stars in the sky. Spanish children receive gifts on the 6th of January from the Three Wise Men. On the previous evening children leave their shoes outside and fill them with straw, barley or carrots then awake in the morning to find the Wise Men’s horses have eaten the contents, which have been replaced with presents.

Similarly, Portuguese traditions include a Christmas Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On Christmas Day, the feast is known as ‘Consoda’, where extra places can be set for the souls of the dead. It is believed that giving food to ancestors’ souls will make them bless the household with good fortune for the forthcoming year. The Portuguese also bury the ‘Cepp de Natal’ or ‘the Christmas Log’ – a piece of oak that burns on the hearth on Christmas day. The 5th January, or ‘Epiphany Eve’, is when children place their shoes along windowsills and doorways, filling them with straw to lure the horses of the Three Wise Men to their home. The Wise Men will then leave gifts and treats for the children to find in the morning.

Although St Nicolas, who is strongly associated with Christmas, was born in Patara around 280 A.D, Christmas is not a hugely celebrated tradition in Turkey. However, an annual festival is yet held in Myra for three days, around the time of St Nicolas’s official death on 6th December. There are many stories surrounding St Nicolas, including how children came to hang stockings to be filled with gifts. It is said that there was a poor man with three daughters who, in order for his daughters to be married, would have to offer perspective suitors a dowry (something of value). The larger the dowry, the more chance that a young woman would gain a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. As he couldn’t afford a dowry, this poor man’s daughters were destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, and on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry. This is one of the legends behind the custom of children leaving out stockings or shoes to be filled with gifts.

In Cyprus, Christmas celebrations are quite different to those in Spain or Portugal. Preparations begin forty days in advance with ‘spring’ cleaning, shopping and fasting. It is a treasured tradition that all the family have new clothes and shoes for Christmas. As Christmas day approaches, festivals take place all over the country. In Paphos, a live recreation of Christ’s birth takes place in the caves near Agia Solomini. On Christmas Eve, housewives bake special bread (Koulouria) and pastries (Kourapiedes) while children go from door to door singing Christmas carols. Christmas Day begins with egg and lemon rice soup for breakfast and the feast continues through the day.

So, you will be able to hang your stockings up without fear of looking strange, but just where can you get Paxo stuffing, and how do you make a Christmas cake in sweltering overseas temperatures?

There are now many websites offering British food deliveries to ex-pat communities, and most large supermarkets will stock British brands, albeit at a premium price. If the thought of baking a Christmas cake in the heat is just too much, you can make it when the weather is cooler and freeze it; Christmas cake, well wrapped, can last for years in the freezer. Or with the availability of low cost flights, family and friends will be keen to visit and can be prevailed upon to bring vital items as gifts. But don’t ask friends to bring Christmas crackers, as even the tiny amount of explosive that makes them go bang won’t be welcome on a plane!

If you want to get more into your host country’s Christmas traditions ditch the English cake and try Turkish Delight in Turkey, Kourambiedes (Greek Cookies) in Cyprus, Turrón and Marzipan in Spain or "Bolo Rei" King’s Cake in Portugal. Go ahead and have a Christmas tree, but be flexible! Spain Portugal, Turkey and Cyprus all have native trees which can be decorated to give your home from home a continental yet festive twist.

Once you have your tree, food and stockings, all you need to know now is how to say Merry Christmas in the local language. Turkish – “Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun”, Spanish – “Feliz Navidad”, Portuguese – “Feliz Natal” and in Cyprus; where Turkish and Greek are spoken, Greek – “Kala Christouyenna!”

So who said you couldn’t have Christmas abroad? Embrace European traditions and merge them with the good old British turkey and who knows – you could be having turkey in Turkey before the year is out: and you may not be alone. MINTEL estimates that well over half a million Spanish homes are owned by UK residents, and the trend is growing.

For more information: Easier.com

Ikea announce Marbella store -following the Malaga store (due to open next year) the furniture giant plans a second store in Marbella, reports typicallyspanish.com.

The "Silver Flight" - 1 in 5 UK pensioners will be living abroad in next 50 years says report.

Free SMS service in Europe - MarbellaGuide.com have launched a free text message service covering most of Europe.

80% Loan to Value Mortgage - the new product, announced by Barclays, is available over 30 years for buyers in Spain.

Chris McCarthy Steps Down - the Viva Estates MD has decided to take a back seat, with plans to relocate to the UK in the near future.