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The obvious answer to the above question is ‘pleasure’. Cannes is superb little town, blessed with beautiful beaches, stunning scenery, excellent restaurants, and wonderful weather. Add to this the small matter of an International Film Festival, outstanding shopping and a buzzing night-life and it is easy to see why so many tourists flock to Cannes each and every year.Given its glamorous reputation you could be forgiven for thinking that property investment in Cannes was the preserve of those with more money than sense. While property prices in Cannes are high relative to the rest of France, they are in fact relatively low when compared to capital cities such as London, and if you do posses the capital to buy into Cannes real estate, you will discover that rather than being an expensive luxury your outlay does is in fact represent a shrewd investment.The reason for property investment in Cannes being so lucrative is two-fold. Demand for properties in Cannes is extremely high, while supply is extremely limited with the result being that Cannes properties tend to greatly appreciate in value. Given that French planning restrictions, designed to prevent overdevelopment, are extremely stringent, this is a trend that is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.The second reason for property investment in Cannes being so lucrative is that potential rental yields are extremely high. For the past three years, Cannes has had an average of 9.4 million visitors per year and given the fact that the town has so many annual events it is relatively protected from the kind of fluctuations that can negatively affect less diversified resorts. Furthermore, one in five visitors to Cannes are business people attending the many annual conferences and events. Like the tourists these people need accommodation, but tend to have far greater budgets at their disposal.Cannes is also extremely well connected; it has its own airport (catering for private aircraft) at Mandelieu, and is only a 35 minute drive from Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. As such Cannes is within 3 hours travel of most European capitals, including Berlin and LondonSearching for property for sale in Cannes (France)Before choosing which area you want to search for properties for sale in Cannes, you must first decide whether you want your new home to be exclusively for the use of your family and friends, or whether you plan to make use of your property’s potentially high rental yield.If you are simply looking for private holiday apartments for sale in Cannes, then you would be advised to concentrate your search on the following areas, ‘La Californie’, ‘La Basse Californie’, ‘Super Cannes’ and ‘Le Cannet’. These are all very attractive areas within easy walking distance of the town centre and the beaches. Most residences in this area will have a balcony or terrace, and many will have access to a communal swimming pool.If you are looking for a Cannes apartments for sale, with a view to letting it out on a seasonal basis, then you should concentrate your search on ‘Palm Beach’, ‘Le Suquet’, and ‘La Banane’. These areas are all located within a short walking distance of the ‘Palais de Festivals’ and so are particularly attractive to business clients who wish to rent luxury property in Cannes. Properties in this area tend to be smaller and more expensive, and there is less chance of finding accommodation with a balcony, while swimming pools are even scarcer.If you are looking for a Cannes villa for sale you should concentrate your search on ‘La Californie’, ‘La Basse Califonie’, ‘Super Cannes’ and ‘Le Cannet’. These are all extremely attractive areas and if you are looking for a villa with a super sea view in Cannes, then these areas are your best bets. You should note however, that these are amongst the most expensive properties for sale in Cannes, and indeed the South of France. On the positive side, they also command extremely lucrative rental prices during the long summers.

The main stream media continues to be rich with stories about the struggling real estate market, here in the Sacramento area as well as across the country. They generally revolve around the increasing number of foreclosures, the mortgage crisis and now some of the government programs that may or may not be any help. What I am not seeing is any mention of short sales. In June 2007 I published, “Short Sales: Road to Riches?” to answer some questions I was receiving at the time on my website, www.jalone.com.
Today, the number of short sales in the Sacramento real estate market has increased exponentially and I continue to get calls and emails asking what they are, can we do one, and are they a good way to buy a house?
What is a short sale?
A short sale is when the lender on the property will accept less than the full amount due on their loan when the property is sold. Lenders will accept a lower dollar amount to avoid the expense and time of a foreclosure. Generally a short sale occurs when the loans on a property are greater than what the property can be sold for. The short sale is an alternative for a home owner who no longer can afford to keep their mortgage payments current and desires to avoid foreclosure or even bankruptcy.
Is a short sale a way for me to sell my home?
The easy answer to this question is it depends on your individual situation? Here are the three primary criteria that would constitute eligibility to seek a short sale to avoid foreclosure.
1. The value of your home is less than what you owe. This means if you sold the house you could not get a price high enough to pay off the combined mortgages.
2. You cannot make the mortgage payments and are in default. Generally lenders will not accept a short sale offer if the payments are current.
3. You must be experiencing a financial hardship and be able to provide the lender with documentation that support your inability to make payments or cover the short fall if the property was sold. This means you can’t have assets that could be converted to cash to pay the lender. Some examples of events that lead to financial hardship are loss of a job, divorce, medical situations and death. It can’t be that you have decided to stop making payments because the house is no longer worth what you paid for it.
If your situation matches the above criteria a short sale may be a good option for you to avoid foreclosure and/or bankruptcy but there are other considerations.
Before contacting a realtor to set up a short sale make sure you understand what it may cost you, how it will affect your credit rating and the tax consequences.
Lenders who are willing to accept a short sale offer will insist that the seller, their borrower, not get any proceeds from the sale. A title company will prepare a draft closing statement as part of the short sale presentation to the lender that shows all available proceeds from the sale going to the lender and no cash for the borrower. What this means is that there are likely going to be some selling expenses that will need to be paid for. These may include pest inspections and repair, and other maintenance repairs that need to be completed to satisfy the buyer. Often these can be avoided but now always.
A short sale will negatively impact your credit report. Although there are some industry professionals that say having a short sale on your record is not as bad as a foreclosure they do agree that some creditors looking at your report will not differentiate between the two. Clearly it will leave a large blemish. The good news here is that as more and more borrowers go through foreclosure and short sales the more common it will be on credit reports and the impact less sever.
There may or may not be tax consequences as some lenders will issue you a IRS form 1099 reporting the amount they forgave as income to you. The recently passed Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 may protect you from having to report forgiven mortgage debt as income but it is always best to consult a tax accountant or attorney.
Should we buy a home listed as a short sale?
Don’t be scared off by a short sale property as they may turn out to be a great deal for you. But you should know a few things before deciding to make a short sale purchase.
In a conventional home sale, you generally only need the seller’s acceptance of your offer to go forward with the transaction. With a short sale the lender’s approval is also needed for the sale to close and this can take up to six to eight weeks. Yes, lenders are moving faster today with short sales but there is still a process and most lenders won’t even discuss a short sale until there is an offer to review. What this means is it could be two months before you know if your offer is going to be accepted or worse not accepted.
Pending receipt of a complete short sale package the first thing a lender will do is have the property appraised. They are looking for market value and you cannot expect them to settle for a fire sale price. This is where the listing agent can be a big help for the buyers as it will be their analysis as why the offer is fair in light of current market dynamics that goes to the lender.
Lenders will not approve any requests for repair or provide closing costs to buyers. From their perspective it is an “as is” sale. Often in short sales the sellers, who have been unable to make mortgage payments, have not maintained the property and it may be in need of repair. This may mean a buyers request for repair will be declined by the seller because they do not have the financial resources to comply and are not going to receive any sale proceeds.
Bottom line, be prepared for short sales to take more time and know the purchase will more than likely be “as is” with you making needed repairs after the purchase is closed.
If you are going to make an offer on a short sale property there are some items that can protect and provide you with some sense of how the transaction is proceeding.
1. Make sure your Realtor (now required in California) outlines the short sale contingency terms and conditions. This essentially sets the time frame for approval by the lender which may or may not help.
2. Be sure to include a provision in the contract that allows you to withdraw at any time up until the lender approves the sale. This way you can get out of the contract without penalty if it looks like the transaction has little chance of closing.
3. Request from the seller confirmation of submission of the short sale package and confirmation that the lender has received the package.
4. Even though the sale is more than likely going to be “as is” it is essential for the buyer to conduct a home inspection. You want to know what you are buying and what repairs will need to be made.
5. Make sure there is a pest report and understand the seller may not be able to make Section 1 repairs resulting from wood destroying pests.
6. Be sure to discuss issues and questions with your Realtor before proceeding, preferably someone who has some experience with short sales. I recommend only making a short sale purchase with a experienced and knowledgeable agent. There is too much at risk for you and the listing agent represents the seller’s interests, not yours.
The answer to, is a buying a short sale property right for you depends on your situation. From a buyers perspective there have been some good deals done but they take time, require a level of cooperation not normally found between buyers and sellers, a good realtor willing to work hard and a responsive lender.
A significant issue with short sales is you are dealing with a seller and a lender and often when the transaction fails you are weeks and even months into it before you end up walking away or the lender takes a position you can’t live with. If you are interested in pursuing short sale acquisitions, talk it over with your Realtor and find out if your objectives can be met. If you think it is a way to get a deal, I’d suggest there are much easier ways.
Summary: Short sales have arrived; they are more common today than at any time in the past. Banks are easier to work with on short sales than they were six months ago and sellers who truly have a financial hardship should consider a short sale as an option to avoiding foreclosure. Buyers should not avoid a short sale purchase but must understand it will take more time before they have confirmation the sale will happen. Now the mainstream media needs to share this information with the public.
To learn more about the author, Julie Jalone and her company MagnumOne Realty, visit her website at www.jalone.com where you will find more articles, free home search and her daily blog, Keep it Real in Sacramento
Teaser: With more and more short sales on the market here in the Sacramento area why don’t we see them mentioned in mainstream media more. Roseville Realtor Julie Jalone answers the most common questions about short sales.
Blog: Why don’t we hear more about short sales?
With so many articles and news reports about the struggling real estate market why don’t we hear more about short sales? I wrote my first article on short sales back in June of last year, “Short Sales: Road to Riches?” but still get emails and calls asking what they are, can we use it to sell our house and should we consider buying a short sale house?
If you are interested in short sales or the answer to any of the questions above, check out my latest article, “Short Sale Questions.” We have completed a good number of these complicated transactions in the past year and I am happy to share my experience and knowledge.
I don’t understand your cheerleading on low interest rates: wasn’t it cheap money that got us into this mess it the first place?!? This was a comment I got on my recent post, “Rates Fall – Price Dropped – Broker Agent.” My first reaction was to think, “I’m not a cheerleader.” Then as I started to think about what my reader said I realized I don’t think low interest rates in the early 2000’s were the driving force behind the correction or downturn in our Sacramento real estate market and I don’t believe they will play a significant role in any recovery.

If you ever wondered how to buy or sell property at a real estate auction house, then keep reading…

Real estate auctions are not a new type of real estate sale. They have been around for many years.Auctions and the real estate agent

Real estate agents may sometimes recommend a property be placed for auction rather then listing it in a local Multiple Listing Service, typically referred to as the MLS

Many agents are not aware that when recommending a property be sold at auction, they can continue to maintain a working relationship with the seller.

A real estate agent can continue to assist a seller by:

Amazing Chicken Soup Recipe For… Short Sales. National Expert Spills His Guts and Reveals The Secret Weapons Used By Savvy Top Real Estate Investors. One Method Gets An Extra 20% Discount From Every Bank. Get All Deals Accepted Quickly. #1 Free Site Exposes Select Strategies.

Discover why lenders will take less than what is owed and forgive the balance of the mortgage. Multiple loans and the more upside-down the property the easier it is to do a short sale, and the bigger the discounts.  A positive and guaranteed foreclosure resolution for all parties, and I will explain why.

Learn how a beginner can get a complete package sent in the same day and an offer accepted within 30 days wiping out all outstanding obligations. I know this may sound silly, but stay with me and I can explain how.

Realize insane profits for real estate investors and unheard of super buys for families looking to realize a lifetime dream to buy a new primary or secondary home and or for retirement investments. A total enlightening of short sales.

An honest and treasured collection of trusted and protected secrets that some underground ex-bank mitigators have shared with me under secrecy.

Gain valuable knowledge and appreciate why our competitors think I use methods that some may believe are “illegal”. Rather it’s merely using an unfair disadvantage gained by a very diligent pursuit to uncover the underlying mystery.

Proven methods demonstrate sheer simplicity and straightforward truth. This guy really knows what he is talking about. No dilly-dallying or sugar coating.

Gain access to many loss mitigators with their private fax and phone lines along with personal e-mails. Get immediate access.

Discover how to covert these highly prized discounted properties into gold mines.

Understand how to get the bank to call you back and share other profitable deals with you. Tips the bank will openly share that will help increase your profits every time. The bank wants you to successfully complete the short sale and come back for more. Know why they want to work with you.

Anyway that you slice it, a sure fired winner for all involved parties. A true win-win and everyone gets what they want. A real eye opener.

All the rage today is mainly about a sluggish real estate market and also about foreclosures, but very little about short sales. Apprentice by a renowned master.

You are thinking…yea, I heard about them, but really didn’t want to act dumb and ask. Well, you are not alone. Even many real estate agents don’t know either, until…the short sale deal completes and they get their commission check, and they are “all ears”. How did that happen so quickly?

My name is Clint Cohen and I am an active real estate investor, author and educator. I have been active in creative real estate investing for over ten years and have spent thousands of hard earned dollars learning and mastering a system of securing foreclosures. I then create unheard of profits out of “thin air” by reselling these hugely discounted properties to a never-ending list of buyers.

Up until then I was savvy about being creative, but when I heard the term foreclosure or bankruptcy, I said, “I’ll pass”. I knew just enough to be ignorant and sense enough to “pass on it”. I admit that I knew very little at that time.

As one of my first rent to own deals started “going south,” I thought that it was best to call the sellers bank and see “what the heck is going on”?

That was my first brush with a foreclosure. The lady at the bank (a “gruff” lady) proceeded in setting me straight. After she calmed me down and explained just exactly what she wanted and what I needed to do if I wanted a “good deal”.

She explained that the bank was not interested in being in the real estate business. It was in the bank’s best interest to get me a good payoff discount on what was owed by the property seller (I only had an option to buy the property).

I heeded her advice and was able to do my first short sale option transfer (i.e. “flip”) and not only salvaged the $15,000 of profit that I thought that I was about to lose to a foreclosure, but actually was able to raise the profit to $25,000.

Not bad for stumbling unguided through a dark and cloudy maze of unknown.

At the time there were very few books and tapes, and I never heard of a “boot camp” other than in my military days. I kind of “hob knobbed” and slowly made sense of it. I was a slow learner, but very persistent and determined.

Since that time of wonder, I have attended many seminars, bought a few courses and read everything I could get my hands on. In the interim I have successfully completed hundreds of short sales and saved many homeowners from the brink of foreclosure and realized thousands of dollars of profits for my efforts.

I actually completed four short sale deals in one day. I should say, a very busy but very profitable one, I profited over $150,000 in one day. Smiling brightly.

The one thing that I found to be very enlightening was the fact that as I learned a piece here and there, I truly believe that most of the gurus and book writers have never actually completed a short sale transaction? All textbook theory that reads well but really doesn’t work. Believe me, I read them all.

Describe how to swim, but you can’t tell me what the water feels like.

I asked a well-known guru several questions at an event and he admitted that he didn’t have the answers and has really never completed many sales and his income is from speaking. He laughed and said that he would call me when he actually ready to do a short sale deals. “I like your way better”.

Enough story telling. Getting back to the short sale business.

Let me explain what a short sale is. First I will start with a typical sale.

When a property owner decides to sell a property, the closing attorney calls the bank and requests a payoff amount to satisfy the mortgage. That amount is included as line item on the settlement sheet, HUD-1.

That payoff number is subtracted from the selling price less any other normal and reasonable expenses and the seller typically leaves with a check for the difference. A happy day for the seller with money in hand and the property sold.

This is the scenario that most of us are familiar with and typically happens.

Now this is where the “rubber meets the road,” and where my invaluable experience separate the go-getters from the wannabes, plain and simple.

However when the property owner wants to sell the property and now for a combination of reasons owes more than the property is worth, what options does the seller have now? Under typical circumstances, many if they act quickly.

In most cases like this, the seller believes that there is no hope and generally walks away from the property, and by default the bank takes it back by a foreclosure action.

 It becomes a REO property (real estate owned by the bank) and resold at a fraction of the original loan value. If only the seller had been diligent?

Stands to reason that if you cannot payoff the exact amount of the mortgage, what other options may be available for the seller? Let’s see???

One relatively unknown option is to negotiate a SHORT SALE.

A short sale is a term used by the bank whereby they will grant to the borrower a lesser payoff amount than what is actually owed. That’s correct, for less than what’s owed including closing costs and real estate commissions.

Example… if they owe $100,000, the bank would accept $85,000? That’s exactly right…a mere $15,000 of savings, enough to get it sold now.

If that were the case, then a property owner that owes more than the property is worth would then be able to complete the sale of the property with a short sale. The revised sale price would now be at or below market value.

Why in the world would a bank want to even consider this discount?

·     Eliminates future carrying costs till the property would sell.

·     The longer a property is unsold, it continues to decline in value.

·     The bank realizes there is a buyer ready to close now.

·     The bank is not and doesn’t want to be in the real estate business.

·     The bank is not earning any money on non-performing loans.

·     The bank only earns money when borrowers are repaying loans.

·      It’s the best of a worst-case scenario. No other choices.

·     Looks better on the report to the stockholders.

·     Stop chasing good money after bad. Stop the bleeding.

Now coupling this with the current economic situation, the numbers of foreclosures have absolutely multiplied. Some counties are averaging over 100+ foreclosures daily combined with a decrease in property values by 25%, a 3+year backlog of property inventory and minimal monthly sales.

All these situations are creating tremendous opportunities for real estate investors and buyers. A 3-4 year supply to pick from and prices at a huge reduced savings lead to a true “buyers market.

A buyer can find a super super value on a new home of up to a 50% discount of market value. A real estate investor can flip, option or fix up and rent it, then resell it at a hefty profit later when the market rebounds.

As you can see, a short sale can open up a “log jam” for many sellers that would otherwise lose their homes to foreclosure. Additionally it becomes a golden opportunity for buyers, real estate agents, and related service industries and for people like you and me.

Meeeee… You are saying, what do I know about short sales?

This national expert is spilling his guts and is revealing many secrets. I am willing to show you how to negotiate these highly profitable short sale deals that will be a win-win-win for all parties.

Learn how to complete these highly profitable deals quickly so you can start helping these sellers and buyers while earning thousands of dollars for applying your new found efforts.

I had an associate a few years ago that asked if I could teach his friend so she could learn to do short sale deals? I agreed to coach her on a 50-50 split. On her first deal the total profit was $79,750. Beginners luck!

I have compiled all my many years of successful short sale deals including all the necessary forms, scripts and all that you need to get started and have a highly profitable business in a short period of time.

You can start out part time working a few hours a week and increase to full time. One hour a week can easily earn you $10,000 a month.

Learn how to find the sellers and buyers and what to say and do. Copies of many ads and compelling scripts. Paint by the numbers.

Everything is written that even a seventh grader can understand it. Detailed instructions show how to do and say everything correctly. Every sheet of paperwork has been time tested and legally checked.

No boot camps, tapes, videos or graduate manuals written in “Greek” by an anal PHD that had formally edited insurance policies.

Free, Easy and Understandable SHORT SALE Techniques that “jump off the page” immediately into action and quickly followed by your 1st profit check. Better warn your bank to get ready for your frequency of deposits.

There has never been a better to time in history to get involved in this unlimited opportunity. There is no greater joy in life than helping others.

These sellers are begging for help in getting out of these foreclosure situations. The banks are anxious to get these defaulted mortgages resolved quickly and the buyers are truly looking for a super savings in the purchase of their new home. And you…are looking for…? Thought so.

My wife thinks that I’m crazy for telling everyone my hard earned secrets and that I should just let well enough alone. You know how well men listen? 

I’ve done so many things in life and the best things that continue to overflow into my memory bank are those services that one does to help others. And that my friend delivers to my heart its greatest joy.

Well, for now all this super stuff is available. But…if I were a smart man and listened to my wife… You better get it before I start to listen.

To learn more about this exciting and profitable business and to get your Free copy of Successful Short Sale Secrets, please visit our website

Are you buying bargain properties by contacting owners facing a mortgage foreclosure? This is a tried and true method for finding motivated sellers. However, I’ve discovered a better source of leads, which you should consider trying, or adding to your mortgage preforeclosure business: tax sale preforeclosures. You’ll contact owners who are about to lose their property due to non-payment of their property taxes.
Everywhere in the country, owners of real estate are required to pay property taxes. And everywhere in the country, some owners fail to pay their property taxes on time, or at all.
Each jurisdiction has a method for handling the collection of delinquent property taxes. Most of the time, all counties in a state will follow the same collection process, but occasionally you’ll find variations within a state, or special rules for certain cities or counties within the state.
You’ll usually find that the area you want to work in will follow one of two formats: a tax deed format or a tax lien format.
A tax deed format is the most straightforward: the jurisdiction will publish a list of properties with delinquent taxes that will be offered at a foreclosure sale, and the winning bidder at the sale will get a deed to the property. This deed usually wipes out the previous owner and all mortgages and liens that encumber the property.
A tax lien format is a bit more complicated; the jurisdiction sells a lien against the property to recover the taxes owed. The owner of the property does not lose ownership at this time. The owner is given a certain amount of time to pay off the lien, plus interest and tax sale costs, to the investor who purchased the lien at the tax lien sale. If the owner does not pay the lien in the time allowed by law, the investor can apply for a deed to the property.
You can research your state’s tax sale online by reading its state statutes and contacting the tax collector. Regardless of the format your state uses, you can calculate a date on which owners will face loss of a tax-delinquent property. If the owner’s property is going to a tax deed sale, that date will usually be the date of the sale. If the owner has a tax lien sold against their property, add the time allowed for the payment of the tax lien (the {“redemption period”) and you’ll have the date the owner will lose the property.
What we will do is contact the owner just prior to the date he or she will lose the property.
I’ve found that the properties you encounter in tax sale, and the owners who own them, are much different from those you encounter in mortgage foreclosure. You will find a much higher percentage of “walkaway” owners who are letting the property go, who may deed it to you for as little as $10, subject to the taxes owed. Though it seems hard to believe, owners walk away from properties all the time, especially if they have moved out of the area or the property needs repairs. Many don’t realize they can sell the property without paying the delinquent taxes.
Another reason owners walk away is that the property was given to them as a result of an inheritance, and was never wanted or appreciated in the first place.
You’ll also find that most of the properties you encounter don’t have a mortgage; the mortgage company would have paid the taxes by now to preserve their interest in the property.
If you rehab properties for a living, this will be a rich source of houses needing repair. If not, just list the properties you get on the MLS and let a rehabber fix them up.
It’s interesting to note that when you buy a property in tax preforeclosure for a bargain price from the owner, and resell or pay the taxes owed, you’re removing the property from the tax deed list or preventing a tax lien investor from acquiring it. You may even become well-known to tax sale investors in your area. Go out and get some deeds out from under the tax sale investors today!

Part 2. The Free Property Inspection Trips to Spain – Warts n’ All.

FRESH OFF THE PLANE.

I have written this section of the article with the assistance of  personal experience in the industry, having personally undertaken an inspection tour, family and friends who hae toured and most importantly experienced sales reps who still work in the industry, so they have no axe to grind but perhaps their conscience got the better of them. The only remuneration they received was a couple of cafe con leche’s each. The surprising thing was that I had arranged to meet two reps but when word spread half a dozen arrived with offer from many others.

Your tour should proceed along these lines. Show homes are close on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday and flights are more expensive over the weekend so most tours tend to be during the midweek. Tour duration is normally 5 days 4 nights. For the purpose of this article I have formatted a Monday to Friday tour.

MONDAY:

A couple of years ago a trip to the arrival lounge at Alicante or Murcia airport would have seen you rubbing shoulders with dozens of agents sales reps /  salespeople / property consultants / tours guides ( I will call them reps from now on) all standing there with their clipboards with their clients names printed on them, often looking nervously as passengers came through the sliding doors. Similarly a trip down the coast road from the airport you would literally pass dozens of agents cars all brightly liveried and each company with its own colour cars. The credit crunch has killed off the numbers but made the agents need to extract every last euro from clients almost an art.

Your rep will great you with a big smile and engage you in small talk as they walk you back to the car. The reps should also take the luggage off you or at least the wife. During the journey back to the hotel it is taboo for the rep to talk about property for fear of the client feeling under pressure. What the rep is doing here is selling themselves, after all who would buy off somebody that they either did not like or did not trust? Your rep is sticking strictly to step one of the seven steps. The holy gospel of the rep which is drilled into them from day one. The steps are as follows and I will refer to the as we progress. I will shortly be writing an article solely covering the seven steps in much greater detail.

1. SELL YOURSELF – Make yourself likeable to your clients

2. SELL THE COMPANY – We are established, trustworthy, large, family run, UK based….

3. SELL THE AREA – Sell the lifestyle, pace of life, cost of living, health, beaches ……..

4. SELL THE PROPERTY – Once sold on the lifestyle find the property within budget.

5. FINANCE – Sort out loans, mortgages, affordability etc.

6. CONTRACT – Complete a property purchase contract and get €3000 deposit.

7. CONSOLIDATION – Introduce to solicitors, open bank accounts and look after them.

When you rep gets you to the hotel, they will jump out of the car and open the door for you, they will get your bags and check you into a very swish 4 or 5 star hotel on the beach with stunning views (see # 3). Once they have checked you in they will take you up to the room, open the door and take you in. You will often find that the curtains will be closed in the room. This is an arrangement that the agent will have with the hotel. This enables the rep to do the great reveal. They will walk to the window and pull the curtains back with gusto revealing a beautiful view of the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea. Having just left a grey, miserable, cold, wet and windy UK, this reveal makes the client feel that they have found heaven.

Most clients arrive late afternoon, so the rep will leave you for a couple of hours to rest and come and collect you for dinner (the tour will include all meals). The rep will still not be speaking about property, they will, still be selling themselves and the business. They will tell you about how they came to live in Spain, how great it is, how their kids love it…… this is undoubtedly true as I am willing to testify but it is all part of the sales process. The rep will also start telling you how great the company is and how good they are to work for and how well they treat their staff. The truth is that they are all non contract, commission only sales people who are in fear of their jobs from tour to tour because if they do not sell and hit targets they are out! The rep will also outline the itinerary whilst you are with them:

Monday: Arrive, settle in and go for dinner.

Tuesday: Pre tour meeting and area tour, go for dinner.

Wednesday: Look for properties in areas you have expressed an interest in.

Thursday: Continue search, or if purchasing complete contracts, payments etc.

Friday: Continue search or if purchased, consolidate and back to airport.

Following your nice evening meal you will be dropped off at the hotel and arrangements made to meet you in the hotel reception at 9:30am the following morning. As they leave the rep will be on the phone to their manager telling them what they think of you and the likelihood of you purchasing. You will be graded as red, amber or green or on a scale of 1 to 10 as a prospect with red or 1 being no chance. All clients start as amber or a 5 on the scale.

TUESDAY.

A good hour or so before the rep collects you on Tuesday they will have a breakfast meeting with their manager where they will discuss in great detail their impression of you. The manager will produce all the paperwork that they have on you. This will be notes and transcripts of conversations that you have had with the companies telesales staff, or the home visit rep or even with the manager when they called to confirm your attendance a couple of days ago. All the questions that you have been asked no matter how innocent have the intention of garnering as much information as possible. This meeting that the rep ha with their manager will determine the course of action that they will be taking with you over the next few days!

The rep will come and collect you on time. They will be in their uniform, light pants, either white or blue shirt/blouse, brown shoes, sunglasses and immaculately clean company car (the cars are inspected each day and reps fined €50 for dirty cars). Your rep will then take you to a lovely café by the beach, or on a golf course or with fantastic views. This helps sell the lifestyle, but the choice of café is determined following your conversation the previous evening when they gleaned the information out of you to make this choice.

The purpose of the meeting is to determine what you are looking for i.e. holiday home, relocation, investment or business, your budget and your preferred location. The rep already has this information as this information has already been obtained from you when you arranged the trip in the first place. The one thing that the rep will do is promise never to show you properties above your budget, they will site affordability issues however the truth is that people who over extend when in Spain are 4 times more likely to cancel when they get back to the UK.

Meeting over you will jump in the car. One thing to note here is that the rep will always have a cool box or paperwork on the seat behind them. This means that the clients will sit in the passenger seat and the seat behind. This stop them being able to make eye contact with each other, communicate without the rep hearing and the rep will be able to see the client in the rear view mirror.

The day will be spent completing an extensive tour from Alicante in the North to Cartegena in the south and up to 50km inland. You will visit town, villages, beaches, golf courses, mountains, you name it they will cover it. Anything or place you express an interest in will be noted for use later. If you like a particular village or beach, they will stop for a look around or a coffee. Although you do not know it you will be following a pre determined route aimed at showing the area in its best possible light.

Whenever you do stop the rep will be glued to your side at all times. They do not want you talking to the natives because they may tell you something that you do not want to hear (i.e.  how much commission the agents charge/make). The rep will always seat you away from other people, never at a café with free papers (other agents advertise in them) and never near an estate agent window because invariably they could have the same properties for sale for considerably less money! (most properties for sale are on with many agents).

Following completion of your area tour you are returned back to the hotel at 6pm, some 8 ½ hours after you were picked up and informed that the next couple of hours are your own and that the rep will pick you up at 8pm for dinner. As a parting shot the rep will warn you about “bar stool Johnny’s”. They will tell you to be suspect of anyone who approaches them in the hotel bar or foyer as they could be a con merchant who will know that they are on an inspection trip and will coerce them out of thousands of euros. There may be a modicum of truth in this, however its main reason is to stop clients talking to each other and comparing experiences. One rotten apple can spoil a barrel…..  You will be picked up at 8pm and taken to a nice restaurant for a three course meal and wine and taken back to the hotel at 10:30pm. You have been with you rep for 13 hours.

WEDNESDAY.

Following the extensive and tiring area tour you will be hoping for an easier day today. Your rep will collect you again at 9am fresh from a debrief with their manager where the plan of attack will have been drawn up. Today is all about property, after all, this is the third day you have been in Spain and you have not seen any property yet.

There has been a lot of thought put into the art of showing properties. The rep will have listened to your preferences and listened to your opinions when on the area tour. You general chit chat will have been noted and the answer to innocent sounding questions during dinner will have been noted, analyzed and actioned.

When you arrive at a property you will be brought in on a route that shows the property and area to its best. The show home will be immaculate; it will be on a nice big plot or have great views and will invariably be the most expensive plot on the site. The show home will have been dressed by a designer. Your rep will now take you round room by room, telling you what is included and what is not, what the payment structure for this particular developer is

You will never be shown the best property first. The first property will often be chosen because it does not match many of your requirements. You will be asked for your comments regarding, size, location, views, rooms etc and asked to score the property on a whole out of ten and the area out of ten. If you score the property highly and area poorly we need to look at similar properties in a different area. If you score the area highly and property poorly, we need to look for different properties in the same area.

The rep should note your thoughts, comments and scores and move on to the next property based on your requirements.

Amazingly the reps I spoke to stated that if somebody was genuinely interested in purchasing that they only ever showed 3 or 4 properties before they found the perfect place.

Do not be surprised if at some point during this day that the reps manager accidentally bumps into you either in a show home or at a café somewhere (those furtive phone calls the rep makes or receives when they slope off out of earshot are the management gauging the progress of the tour. If you hear the rep saying amber or green you might know what they are talking about now). The manager is there to check on how well the tour is going, check up on the rep and try and point the clients in a new direction should they need to, or to reveal a deal that can be done or a special offer that has only just become available.

The pressure will be really on the rep towards the end of the day as you should have seen a property that meets all your requirements by now. The pressure exerted on the rep will be passed down to you in a more subtle way in the form of more direct or leading questions.

You will be dropped off again at 6pm and collected at 8pm for dinner. The conversation at dinner will be a lot more focused. You may also find that on this evening all the reps and their clients eat in the same restaurant, often taking it over. The reps are allowed to bring their partners to this meal. This is all part of the sales process as the partner has been thoroughly briefed on what to say.  The reps manager and partner will also be present, so the sales process continues until 10pm. You will be dropped off at the hotel at 10:30pm with another 13 hour day under your belt.

THURSDAY.

By this point in the tour, if you have not purchased the chances of you doing so are minimal. Not only will you be feeling the effects of the long days, but so will the rep as their working day is on average 15 hours a day. Be prepared for a battle of wills.

Yours reps phone will be a lot busier today as they are pressured from above to get a sale. You will almost certainly call into the office to have a look around, with the real intention of putting some pressure on from the manager, finance person, company owner etc. This pressure will never be too excessive as this could be off-putting, but it will be pressure none the less. “We have found you the property within your budget in an area that you loved that meet all your criteria…… its what you asked us to find and we have, so lets do the paperwork!” The rep will pull out the property scoring sheets with you favourable comments and score on the top property. You will be told that if you do not buy now then you never will. Your “bottle” will be questioned and you will be asked why you bothered coming out if you had no intention of purchasing I the first place.

This is the make or break part of the tour. The pressure to purchase will be considerable but not overbearing, more subtle than high pressure.

You will find yourself looking at properties that had previously been rules out because of comments made in other properties. If you comment in one property that the kitchen is too small, the rep will then rule out taking you to dozens of properties that have small kitchen and will only take you to properties that have bigger kitchens.

The rep will keep going because they are paid on a commission only basis and have nothing to lose. As a self employed, commission only sales person, if you do not buy, they will not be getting paid for working some 60 hours and they could be one step closer to getting fired, especially if the sales manager thought you were a good purchasing prospect. In Spain if you are not on a contract you have to pay approximately €250 per month to the tax office to cover social security as well as €50 towards your accountant. Even if they do not work or earn no money one month they still have to pay out €300. Their company will say that this keeps them lean and eager. The reps will say that it leads to unnecessary pressure and often hardship.

With the realisation that there is no prospect of a sale, most reps will give up come the end of the day. You will find that you will be dropped off at the hotel at 4pm, the rep will offer you the chance of going for a meal on your own (at your own expense) and you will be given the opportunity of a later collection on the final day.

The meal on this last evening if taken will be a more casual affair as the rep is resigned to a “no sale” tour. The meal will be taken earlier and finished quickly. The rep out of spite will often take you to a restaurant that you have expressed that you do not like. If you don’t like Chinese food guess were you will be eating come the last evening if you have not purchased.

FRIDAY.

If you have purchased you will have spent Thursday completing paperwork and contracts in the office. On the Friday the rep will have you out of bed at 5am and standing outside the local town hall in a queue to get your NIE number (needed for purchase). You will be taken to a bank to open a bank account and introduced to a solicitor. If you want the solicitor to have power of attorney you will need to go to the notaries office as well.

As a word of caution I would always advise you to seek out your own solicitor rather than one suggested by your agent. Your solicitor should be working exclusively for you and some agents have far to a cosy relationship with their solicitors. Just check out some of the internet forums for details.

If you have not purchased, this will be a more relaxed day. You will have to check out of the hotel by 11am but the hotel or rep will take your cases. You will need to fill in an end of tour report where you can comment on the rep, company and tour. You will have a little time to sunbathe , go shopping, go for a walk. The chances are that you will be dropped off at the airport a good 3 hours before your flight and your reps car will disappear in a cloud of dust ready for the next clients.

IN SUMMARY.

Taking everything into account would I recommend partaking in an inspection tour?

The case for yes:

If you are looking for a new or off plan or key ready property, the prices are set by the builder not the agent, so you will be paying the best price for the property. Despite the sales tactics, the reps in general have a fantastic knowledge of the area, builders and developments and despite what you may think, they are chosen for their personality more than sales skills. The agents can use their size and power in your favour and you do get free flights, accommodation and use of car and tour guide. You will cover more area and see more in one day with a good rep than you would do in a week on your own. If you do purchase you are actually paying for your free tour out of the agents commission. It’s a great way to learn the area and see property at their expense, however please remember that your rep will not earn a penny if you do not buy.

The case for no:

You only get to see the side of Spain that the rep wants to show you. You are never on your own and are always being questioned as to your opinions. If you are considering a resale property then you will have to pay the agents fees not the seller. Agents can charge up to 20% commission. One a villa valued at €200,000 the agent will put it on the market for €240,000 . An agent can make €20,000 on a small apartment. If you have an idea of the area or what you want and the sort of property you are after you can save a fortune doing it your self.

There is an alternative. There are now companies who offer the best of both worlds. They are independent of any builder, promoter or agents. You pay for your flights and accommodation and meals. They pick you up and take you out looking at areas and properties and charge you a day rate. The late afternoons and evenings are yours. People come out for 7 days, spend 3 looking at properties and the rest of the time on the beach. Because they are independent they have no loyalty other than to you and could save you thousands. In these times of hardship it really is the best solution to a problem you never even knew existed…. Until now.

By BethMattsonTeig          

Investors chasing net-lease properties are upping the ante. Instead of paying $10 million for a single property, they are forking over $100 million for an entire portfolio. Buyers are increasingly drawn to the portfolio deals because they provide a vehicle to place a large volume of money relatively quickly in an intensely competitive investment arena.

Corporate portfolio sale-leasebacks have hit record levels in the past year with major deals from retailers such as CVS and ShopKo posting staggering numbers. In December, CVS Corp. announced that it had initiated a sale-leaseback of 340 owned or ground leased pharmacy properties in 29 states for $1.3 billion. ShopKo clinched a deal to sell and lease back 112 ShopKo properties and 66 Pamida properties for $815 million. Corporations are using the capital to finance everything from aggressive expansion campaigns to leveraged buyouts.

These two deals represent the extreme high end of the spectrum, but investors are showing appetites for multi-building portfolios that often feature single tenants with long-term, triple-net leases.

“A few years ago, a large dollar amount would have been a non-starter,” says Brian Scott, a senior managing director in the sale-leaseback group at CB Richard Ellis in New York. “But these days, the larger size is not much of an impediment because of all the capital looking for investments,” Scott says.

One would think that the higher prices would lessen the field of potential bidders. Yet it seems that the reverse is true. In fact, portfolio real estate is an increasingly crowded and competitive niche.

Portfolio sale-leasebacks involving a tenant with strong credit and quality real estate can receive upwards of 30 to 40 bids. Even portfolios of lesser-quality properties and non-investment grade tenants are receiving five to 10 offers.

Despite some of the high-profile sales, what is surprising is that a lot of these portfolio transactions are being done off the radar screen. “There are so many net lease funds out there that they are contacting companies directly, so sale listings are not even hitting the street,” says Jonathan Hipp, president and CEO of Calkain Cos. Inc., a brokerage firm in Reston, Va. For example, Hipp recently brokered the sale-leaseback of six Advance Auto Parts stores in the Northeast for $15 million. Despite the fact that it was an off-market deal in which the bids were unsolicited, the deal attracted seven bidders.

Another reason that investors are drawn to larger portfolios is the incentive to diversify the risk geographically. “The bulk of our transactions are portfolio acquisitions, meaning two or more properties,” says Ben Harris, managing director and head of domestic investing at W.P. Carey (NYSE: WPC), a New York-based investment firm.

The company expects to acquire about $1 billion in commercial real estate in 2007. For example, W.P. Carey recently purchased three cold storage facilities in Atlanta from Nordic Cold Storage LLC for an undisclosed price.

Both portfolio and single-building sale-leasebacks are popular among investors because the properties are known for generating steady returns with very little hands-on management responsibilities due to the long-term, triple-net lease structure. Oftentimes, pricing is based as much on the tenant’s credit quality as the quality of the real estate.

Net leases are often described as buying bond income in the form of real estate. “It’s definitely a predictable income stream that is bond-like in structure from a number of different perspectives,” Hipp says. Although returns vary widely, top deals typically trade about 200 basis points over the 10-year Treasury.

Booming portfolio sales

Both industry data and anecdotal sources agree that portfolio deals are on the rise. “We’re definitely seeing an increase in portfolios coming to market,” says David M. Ledy, chief operating officer at New York-based U.S. Realty Advisors.

In 2007, U.S. Realty Advisors expects to leverage about $150 million in equity to purchase sale-leaseback investments. Although it is difficult to pinpoint what percentage will involve portfolio deals, the firm is in the midst of closing the purchase of a $120 million portfolio, and is also bidding on a second portfolio valued at more than $200 million.

Portfolio transactions, including both sale-leaseback and non-sale-leaseback deals, have experienced significant growth in recent years. An estimated $84.2 billion in investment real estate portfolios changed hands during the first four months of 2007, nearly twice the $44.8 billion in single-asset sales, reports New York-based Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

The 2007 portfolio statistics may be weighted slightly due to the inclusion of the $39 billion Equity Office Properties acquisition in February by The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm. However, even excluding that mega deal, portfolio transactions of $45.2 billion reflect a growing market segment. Portfolio deals generated $63.7 billion in 2006 and $45.2 billion in 2005.

Overall, sale-leasebacks generated $11.2 billion in sales in 2006, representing about 5% of the $228.6 billion in total real estate sales for office, industrial and retail properties, according to RCA.

“We are seeing a fair amount of portfolio transactions,” says Fred Berliner, senior vice president and director of acquisitions at Miami-based United Trust Fund, an investment firm that has completed more than 400 sale-leaseback transactions since its inception in 1972. UTF is currently chasing two major portfolio deals, including a portfolio of 48 retail properties valued at about $130 million.

“It is just as easy to buy 30 buildings from one entity as it is to buy a single building,” Berliner says. Getting a large chunk of money invested all at one time — with a company that you like — is a huge incentive to pursue these portfolios. Although the larger portfolios do require more due diligence, the financial part of the transaction is much the same regardless of the size of the deal, he adds.

Growing inventory

The good news for investors is that the pipeline for portfolio deals continues to look promising. According to a CoreNet Global Experts Survey conducted last October, more than one-third of respondents indicated that they have had experience with portfolio sale-leaseback transactions or plan to initiate one in the near future.

“Given the improving fundamentals in the real estate market, and the availability of money, we are seeing a lot of sale-leaseback activity,” says Eric Bowles, director of global research for CoreNet Global, the Atlanta-based association of workplace and corporate real estate executives.

The survey was sent to 95 registered experts, with 29 completed surveys returned for a response rate of 30%. The large majority of respondents, 87%, were from Fortune 500 firms, their global equivalents, or their service providers.

Another key finding of the survey is that responses point to a greater shift from owned to leased property. Respondents expect the balance of leased property to increase from the current 48% to 54% in five years. At a glance, 6% may not seem like a significant move. But in reality that volume is quite compelling, Bowles notes. CoreNet Global members alone manage $1.2 trillion in worldwide corporate real estate. So that 6% shift could translate to about $72 billion in owned assets that will likely be sold and leased back.

Shifting corporate strategy

A number of factors are driving the surge in portfolio activity. The tremendous availability of investment capital has given companies incentive to sell now.

Solid investment grade credits with a typical 10- to 15-year lease term are generating cap rates below 7%. Those deals with stellar credit and “A” real estate are generating even lower caps of around 6%, or even sub-6%. “By the same token, the word is out that sale-leasebacks make good corporate sense,” Ledy adds.

Sale-leasebacks have long been a tool that companies have used to access capital tied up in real estate. In most cases, companies have turned around and pumped that money back into operations or financed expansion plans.

In April, RathGibson sold its headquarters and principal manufacturing facility in Janesville, Wis. to the new net lease group of Angelo, Gordon & Co. for $9.4 million. The firm, which manufactures a variety of stainless steel products, is owned by Castle Harlan Inc., a New York-based private equity firm.

“Oftentimes, sale-leaseback programs, especially when multiple facilities are involved, are useful in financing major spending programs or expenditures,” says Bill Pruellage, a managing director at Castle Harlan.

Although the RathGibson sale-leaseback was not a substantial transaction, it will provide added capital to improve the firm’s balance sheet and pay for expansion of the facility. “We view sale-leasebacks as a way to maximize value for our shareholders,” Pruellage says.

“The main reasons for corporations doing sale-leasebacks, individually or portfolios, is to pull capital out and put it to work where it can earn more for them and their shareholders,” says Scott of CBRE. “Speculative real estate is not going to throw off the kind of returns that are beneficial to their shareholders.”

In addition, sale-leasebacks also are being used more frequently to finance mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts. “It has become an important piece of the overall capital structure of a transaction,” Ledy says.

For example, Cardinal Capital recently executed a $100 million sale-leaseback transaction with select Bruno’s Supermarkets and BI-LO stores located throughout the Southeast. The proceeds constituted a sizeable component of Lone Star Funds’ acquisition financing for Bruno’s/BI-LO from Ahold.

“There has been a lot of interest in corporate real estate as a way to unlock value for the equity holders,” says Harris of W.P. Carey. For example, real estate sales played an integral part in the recapitalization of K-Mart and in the acquisition of Toys R Us.

Real estate has become a larger part of the investment piece among a lot of hedge funds and equity funds that are acquiring a company, and then selling a lot of the real estate — either through a sale-leaseback or outright sale — to add value, he adds.

Corporations also are motivated to conduct sale-leasebacks to reduce residual risk. A company that sells a building and agrees to lease it back for 10 years can cash in on the top real estate prices being paid for fully occupied buildings.

Ten years from now, if that property is obsolete or no longer needed, the company can walk away from the lease without looking back. If the firm had retained ownership, the company would likely have to sell the vacant building at a significantly discounted price.

“CFOs, treasurers and real estate executives are realizing they may be very exposed on residual value if they no longer need a property,” Scott says. At the same time, companies can lock in occupancy if they need it for a long period of time through lease renewals.

Fighting for deals

Although buyers and sellers alike are keeping a close eye on interest rates and debt markets, the potential for higher rates has yet to affect the flurry of portfolio sale-leasebacks. In fact, the threat of rising interest rates is spurring sale-leaseback activity.

The perception that there is a window of opportunity that will close once interest rates rise has actually pushed more corporations to initiate deals in the past couple of years, Scott says.

Like other real estate investments, most sale-leaseback deals are financed off the 10-year Treasury, which registered 4.86% at the close of business on May 24.

Although rates have moved little in the past six months, many industry observers believe that an increase at some point in the near future is inevitable. “As rates increase, sale-leasebacks may look less attractive relative to other sources of debt that a company may have,” Scott adds.

“You always have to watch the debt market for changes that can have ripple effects throughout the equity market as well,” notes Ledy of U.S. Realty Advisors. To some extent, lenders and rating agencies are starting to tighten underwriting standards due to widening in CMBS pricing among lower-rated levels.

“That’s the negative trend to keep cognitive of,” Ledy says. “Yet the sale-leaseback is a well recognized financing tool. Companies will continue to use it because it has become an important part of their arsenal for financing their business.”

The biggest challenge for buyers in this intensely competitive arena is finding a way to land deals without driving prices out of reach. One strategy is to carve out an even more specialized niche within the sale-leaseback sector.

American Financial Realty Trust (NYSE: AFR), for example, focuses solely on the acquisition of financial institutions. “Their whole angle to generate additional deal volume and be competitive is to offer tremendous flexibility to banks,” Harris says.

AFR recently purchased 13 fully occupied bank branches and three multi-tenant office buildings in Texas from Sterling Bank for $28.3 million.

Other firms such as U.S. Realty Advisors rely on service and experience. “Companies that do business with us are not necessarily looking to shake the last dollar out of the tree and lose professionalism,” Ledy says.

U.S. Realty Advisors typically buys sale-leasebacks with a long-term hold strategy. “We are service oriented and we want the company to realize we are here to problem-solve with them,” says Ledy. “So when the deal is closed, the end result is that they have a very responsive landlord on the other side of the table.”

Beth Mattson-Teig is a Minneapolis writer.

Wholesale buyers face pricing barriers

Premium pricing on portfolio sale-leaseback assets may sideline some “wholesale” buyers. Investors who have been snapping up portfolios for lower prices and then selling off individual properties for a retail mark-up may need to adjust their strategies.

“The wholesale market is very tough right now because of the stiff competition for portfolios,” says Jonathan Hipp, president and CEO of Calkain Cos. The strategy is simple. Investors buy a portfolio of triple-net-lease properties in a sale-leaseback, and then sell off individual properties at a higher price. The practice has been dominated by opportunistic investors, including both private groups and large, publicly traded REITs.

“As residential values appreciated, this was a very lucrative trade to make,” explains Ben Harris, managing director and head of domestic investing at New York-based W.P. Carey. Rising values among apartment and other rental properties fueled demand among the 1031 investor niche.

A wholesale investor could buy a portfolio of properties at a 10% cap rate, hold it for a short period, and then turn around and sell individual properties to 1031 buyers at a 7% cap. “That trade, in my opinion, is becoming much harder to do,” Harris says.

One reason the wholesale deals are less attractive is that the softening housing market has reined in demand from 1031 buyers. Owners of rental housing are not realizing the same appreciation of past years and are less likely to initiate a sale and pursue a 1031 exchange.

A second reason is the pricing gap between the wholesale and retail market has been shrinking. Wholesalers now run the risk of buying a portfolio at a lower cap rate than the cap rate they can get on the re-sale of the individual properties.

“A lot of times people want a pricing concession for buying in bulk as opposed to a one-off transaction. But in the market that we’re in today, that isn’t always the case,” Hipp says.

W.P. Carey is steering away from high-profile portfolios that attract more bidders and focusing on smaller, lower-priced portfolios of two to five properties.

W.P. Carey recently acquired two cold storage and distribution facilities in Ringwood, N.J. and Alameda, Calif. from CheeseWorks Inc. for $10.5 million. W.P. Carey often buys properties priced at a cap rate of 7.5% to 10.5%.

Some experts contend that buyers are not as aggressive as they have been, but it’s still a seller’s market. “This marketplace is very advantageous to the seller or tenant,” Harris says. “They are able to get much more aggressive pricing, lease terms, more flexibility — a whole variety of things.”

Foreign Currency Direct, the leading UK currency broker, has launched a new overseas property portal for UK buyers looking overseas. The portal is at www.Propertyline.co.uk and is part of the Eataz Network, with traffic of over 300,000 users per month and 17,000 properties around the world already online.

Unlike most property portals on the web today, Propertyline also has the unique attraction of combining private sellers, agents and developers from multiple countries, and connecting them with buyers across the world. There is also a Property Hunt facility – simply fill in details of your ideal purchase abroad and we can put you in touch with sellers directly according to your preferences.

If you’re buying in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Dubai, the USA or almost anywhere in the world, we’ll help you find your ideal property today.

In addition, property agents can take advantage of free advertising across the network, by vitrue of a partnership with FCD for currency referrals for their clients. This has already proved successful with many agents reporting a good volume of quality enquiries, at no incremental cost to them and with no commission to pay on sales.

Robin Haynes, FCD Director responsible for the Propertyline project, said: “Foreign Currency Direct is the only UK currency broker committed to adding value to agents’ businesses by providing genuine property enquiries to enhance the sales process. The resulting property portal site is in turn a useful tool for UK citizens looking at overseas purchases – meaning we can help them find their dream home and then save them money with the currency transfers too.”

Notes for Editors

Contact Details:

Foreign Currency Direct ((www.currencies.co.uk) and Propertyline ((www.propertyline.co.uk ) can be contacted on 0845 177 1001 (or +44 1494 787478 from abroad). Email info@currencies.co.uk or info@propertyline.co.uk.

Foreign Currency Direct plc has provided currency exchange services for the overseas property market since 2000. It charges no fees or commissions on its services and was top of recent surveys by the Sunday Times and Money Observer for best exchange rates and currency deals.

Propertyline.co.uk was launched in 2006 in partnership with the Eataz Network which has been offering online property marketing websites since 2004.

The market of Dubai properties is passing through a golden period, providing lucrative investment opportunities for interested investors to take advantage of the real estate boom. Rapid development and growing demands are enforcing deserts and barren lands to take the shape of sky-touching buildings, artificial lakes and gigantic entertainment facilities. Moreover, seeing the growing trend, the government of Dubai is facilitating adequate framework to the city to attain the city of international repute. Dubai is one such place where an individual is fully exempted from paying the burden of corporate, personal and sales taxes. Understandably, Dubai has become a prime investment center allowing foreigners as well as local investors to get the highest return rates. Also, the positive picture is encouraging the commencement of mega projects in Dubai.

Massive growth of the property market is also benefiting the other aspects of the city. Good infrastructure, world-class amenities and great entertainment facilities are inviting people to come and enjoy the hospitality of Dubai. In fact, reports confirm that the number of tourists has increased to a respectable number in recent few years. Coming of tourists bring money and profit to the city, providing newer opportunities for initiating better developmental projects. Who won’t be interested in looking for affordable Dubai Properties?

With its political stability, Dubai has been regarded as a considerable place in the whole Middle East. Overcoming the instable picture of the region, Dubai has proved that the city is totally safe and secure for all. Established as a perfect holiday destination, the city also provides a hub for finance and trade. No wonder, every global corporation has its office in Dubai.

With so much to offer, Dubai has won the hearts of its people and others in different parts of the world.

A great deal of attention has been paid to properties for sale in Bulgaria in the major urban areas in that country. In addition, the growth of property investment in Bulgaria in resort communities — particularly in the mountainous regions of the country and around the Black Sea — has been phenomenal in the past few years. However, when it comes to property investment in Bulgaria in some of the more rural areas of the country, people have been a bit slower on the uptake, perhaps a bit reluctant to put money into buying real estate in rural areas.

In point of fact, if you are interested in properties for sale in Bulgaria, you would be well served in taking a close look at the rural parts of the country.
(Indeed, Bulgaria — with a population of just at 8 million souls — remains a largely rural country.)

Perhaps the primary reason that you will want to consider property investment in Bulgaria in the rural part of the country rests in the reality that tourism is expected to increase markedly when Bulgaria becomes a part of the European Union in 2007.

For generations, Bulgaria has been a popular holiday destination for men and women who are residents of some of the other Eastern European countries. These holiday travelers flocked to the Black Sea resorts by the thousands annually. (As mentioned, properties for sale in Bulgaria in the resort communities have
been very buoyant recently.)

With the opening of the borders that will accompany admission into the European
Union, Bulgaria will experience an even more significant influx of holiday travelers in the future. A good number of these people will be interested in touring Bulgaria, including visiting some of the interesting and historic
destinations in the more rural parts of the country. Thus, a person with the foresight of taking advantage of property investment in Bulgaria will be in a position to profit from the increase in tourism that is anticipated in all sectors of the country.