EU citizens helped by Cross-Border Healthcare Directive

March 21, 2011 – 10:03 am

Eu directive may help Brits who travel to Tenerife and Spain.

For second home owners regularly travelling to their property in Europe, obtaining insurance to ensure you’re covered for any accidents that could occur abroad is at best an annoyance, at worst a hefty extra cost. Luckily, if you’re a citizen of the EU or UK travelling to another country within the Eurozone, all that is about to change.

By 2013, all EU citizens will be able to claim back for medical treatments they receive in other European countries, with or without travel insurance. The new Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, ratified in Brussels last month by all Eurozone states, will benefit both short-term travellers encountering those pesky ski accidents, and retirees who divide their time between, say, the UK and a second home in the Mediterranean.

For the latter category, healthcare has been a particular problem previously. As well as not qualifying for free healthcare in the EU, British citizens who spend more than 184 days a year abroad are also discounted from receiving NHS treatments. The new law should simplify the process for this expat category, ensuring they can receive medical care whether they spend the majority of time in France, Spain, the Canary Islands, the UK or anywhere else in Europe.

Despite the EU executive’s estimation that cross-border healthcare will only take up a mere 1% of total health spending, the new laws (which must be implemented by all states within 30 months) have met with some resistance in the UK. “The rules will turn the UK’s NHS into a bureacratic nightmare”, said UKIP leader Nigel Farage. There are also concerns that some countries may be late in doing their part to implement the laws, as Spain, particularly, has been slow to implement many health and insurance-related resolutions from the EU in recent years.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Tenerife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Renting to obtain a passive income

August 28, 2009 – 9:24 pm
Renting for an income in tenerife may not be without pitfalls.

Renting for an income in Tenerife may not be without pitfalls.

Tenants worldwide dream of becoming homeowners, and some homeowners dream of becoming landlords – expanding their real estate ownership while someone else pays the bills. This dream is not hard to realise, but that doesn’t mean it is without pitfalls and easy-to-make mistakes .With hard work (which you’ll have to do yourself unless you use the services of an agency) and knowledge/expertise  being a landlord can be a fast track to passive income and wealth accrual.

A common mistake is that whatever the bank says they’re willing to lend, borrowers typically take their highest offer. While this mistake may not cripple you with your home mortgage, over-leveraging your rental properties is a drastically different story.

With rental properties you have far less control over the associated expenses. For example, if you own five rental properties, and suddenly three of the tenants decide to move – or worse, just stop paying their rent – you will suddenly find yourself with not only your home mortgage, but three additional mortgages to pay. If that isn’t bad enough, you will also be faced with eviction costs, repair and maintenance costs, advertising costs, etc. As a general rule, you want your predictable monthly expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, legal entity fees, ground rents, etc) to be no more than 50% of your collectable rent. This is why many people use a rental agency, it takes away the daily grind of looking after the properties..

Most landlords simply want the perfect tenants to show up, sign a rental agreement, then pay their rent on time all while keeping the rental property in pristine condition, this rarely happens. Most rental applicants aren’t going to follow this route, again another reason for using an agent with experience to “sniff out” a potential bad tenant

Remember that if a tenant call you to voice a concern, you must listen to them, and then address their concerns immediately (even if that means telling them “no”). If they call to request a repair, send a contractor to the property to assess the cost and seriousness of the problem, and then call the tenants immediately to give them a definite answer on whether and when you will address the problem. Again an appointed agent would handle this for you.

Left unheeded, these small problems and disputes can become major damage to your rental property, or a lawsuit that wastes your time and money. If you haven’t got the required discipline to take care of these matters, then appoint an agent as the normal fee of 10% (normally paid by the tenant) is worth it. We have all heard tales of woe from tenants and landlords and Tenerife is not immune to these problems, but with careful consideration, you can accrue wealth from property investment and lettings.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Expat Health in Tenerife

November 17, 2008 – 12:35 pm

This subject recently came up when a group of golfers came over for a golfing break. Sod’s Law dictated that it was the one chap who hadn’t taken out Travel Insurance who fell over and badly twisted his ankle. The exercise cost him several hundred Euros at the local A&E clinic!

European Health Insurance CardTake note that everyone can have the new (from January 1, 2006) European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which allows holders to be treated by Tenerife’s local Health Service as though they are resident here.

For more information on how to apply for the Card, visit Health Care in Tenerife.

By admin | Posted in Health, Tenerife | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)