THE LIFESPAN OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

REBECCA SERWOTKA ‐ “We sell houses!

It’s what we do, it’s ALL we do!” Certified API Associate 00493. Your favourite local re‐sale property expert, of Inmobiliaria Estate Agents in Ciudad Quesada.

Prestige Award WINNER for Real Estate Agency Of The Year 2021/22 & 2022/23. Luxury

Lifestyle Awards WINNER, Ali‐cante Spain 2023.

Your home appliances are among the most af‐fordable items to re‐place and the easiest to repair. While some people may choose to upgrade to newer technology, it’s more financially prudent to use them until the end of their lifespan.

Microwave ovens can typically endure for five to 15 years or more, depending on usage. Ovens can typically last for 10 to 20 years. Gas hobs typically have a longer lifes‐pan compared to electric ones.

Washing machines can last be‐tween an average of 10 to 13 years, but certain brands may produce washing machines that can last even longer than the av‐erage appliance.

Fridge/freezers typically last between 10 to 15 years. However, the lifes‐pan can depend on the model, so age alone should not be the sole determinant of whether it needs to be replaced.

Water heaters usu‐ally have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years before they need replacing.

AFTER years of pain following the 2008 banking crisis, much of Spain has seen a remarkable recovery as far as housing is concerned and in many parts of the country the sight of towering cranes indicates the amount of new accommodations that is being built.

It’s good news for the economy as it creates employ‐ment and also generates income for local councils espe‐cially as many of the buyers, particularly in popular holi‐day areas, are foreigners either purchasing a holiday home or moving to Spain permanently.

Whilst there are fewer British buyers there are large numbers of Germans and other Europeans who don’t need to follow the 90/180 day rule, so the market is cur‐rently very buoyant. There is however a major problem that certainly affects the Costa del Sol and we believe many of the areas where the seven editions of Euro Weekly News are distributed. Basically, the more new builds on previously vacant land, the more traffic and in many cases, the infrastructure is not keeping up with the developments, so that whilst each new urbanisation has brand new roads, they simply lead to existing roads which can no longer cope with the volume of traffic hit‐ting them. In addition, whilst the government is encour‐aging drivers to take public transport, there are whole ar‐eas where there are no trains and buses of course get caught up in the ever‐growing traffic jams.

Spain has a huge amount of EU funding and is invest‐ing left, right and centre, but with pressure to add or in‐crease costs on toll roads, the country will see empty motorways and even more traffic on the free roads.