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Dear Investor,
Happy New Year!
With the exception of me, we are all now back in the offices in Liverpool and Larnaca after a well-earned Christmas leave. However, I will be part-time for a couple of weeks and will be back in the office full-time mid-January.
Before the break we had meetings with a number of clients in Liverpool, London and Dublin to discuss our new project aimed at turning the credit crunch and current financial squeeze to clients’ advantage. This project has proved to be so popular that we currently cannot accept any further clients into the subscription-based investor group. I will report back on our successes in due course.
The Financial Times Top 10 for 2009
The Financial Times recently published (27/28 December 2008) its Top 10 property investment locations for 2009. The Top 10 were: London, Paris, New York, Montenegro, Majorca, Austrian Alps, Southern Cyprus, Costa Rica, Turkey and Cambridge (UK). I would agree with the majority of the Top 10 and clearly the inclusion of Cyprus is welcome from my perspective.
Further, over the Christmas break, the Financial Mirror in Cyprus reported:
“Cyprus government plans to increase its golf courses to 14 in a bid to enrich its tourist product, Cypriot Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides said. Paschalides met with Cypriot businesspeople to discuss the government decision to increase the number of golf courses to 14. ''The proposal stipulates that there will be up to 14 golf courses in Cyprus'', he said, adding that three already operate on the island. He added that government desires development, adding however that there should be a balance between development and the environment.
Paschalides said that he will examine the concerns expressed by the businesspeople and will discuss them with the other Ministers composing the Ministerial Committee dealing with the issue.
He added that after a consultation there will be a balanced proposal so everybody concerned will be satisfied. ''Golf courses certainly reinvigorate effectively the tourist industry,'' he said.
Paschalides called for a ''geographical balance,'' adding that the golf courses will be constructed in Larnaca, Famagusta and Paphos.”
Those of us who know Cyprus well understand that things don’t happen overnight. But the government’s direction is clear and will have a profound positive effect on the island in years to come.
The Grove Spa Resort is to all intents and purposes “sold out” with buyers from around the globe, including a number of Cypriot business people who have bought units for long-term investment purposes as they fully appreciate the quality and uniqueness of the scheme and the major infrastructure developments in the locality.
However, just before Christmas we had the opportunity to purchase an additional plot of land which was not available in 2006 when we purchased the original site. We snapped it up as we could immediately see how this land would significantly enhance the site and allow us to provide extra facilities. So the footprint of the resort has now been extended, allowing us to add a further outdoor pool plus additional retail space, which adds to the value of the original investment for clients, at no extra cost.
Marrakech Investor Weekend 23/24 January 2009
Jet-to-Let Investments is hosting an investor weekend in Marrakech 23/24th January 2009. With savings rates falling to zero in the next couple of months, this investment is proving popular with investors, given the guaranteed 7% per annum gross yield. Look out for the email with further details of the weekend in the next couple of days.
Property Entrepreneur Programme 3
The next briefing day for the Property Entrepreneur Programme is Thursday 29th January 2009 in Liverpool. This day is FREE and enables you to get a clear picture of what this opportunity can do for you and your future wealth. If you wish to apply for the programme then contact details can be found at:
http://www.property-entrepreneur.co.uk
FOREX
Sterling has recently moved sharply up against the Euro, after sharp and sustained falls before Christmas. Most analysts agree that the Euro was overvalued or overbought and we are now seeing a balancing of that.
This is an interesting trade for those who speculate in foreign exchange (FOREX) markets. I hold my spare cash in Euros and have done for a number of years. The currency effect has been spectacular. However, even in the very short-term - a matter of a week - the exchange rate has moved by nearly 8%.
There will be more volatility to come and the potential for substantial profits for those who follow these events closely.
WARNING – I am not recommending that you trade FOREX. It is highly speculative and you could lose a lot of money.
The Sterling/Euro Chart is supplied by http://www.advfn.com/
The Upside of the Credit Crunch: Plummeting Mortgage Costs
I have mortgages with a lot of different banks in the UK and overseas and I was pleasantly surprised this morning by a letter from the Nationwide reducing one of my loans on a UK investment property to 2.75%. My outgoings on Nationwide mortgages have now fallen by an average of 55% since the start of 2008. However other banks have been much slower to pass on the interest rate cuts. My personal experience is that Standard Life Bank has been slow in passing on some of the recent cuts in UK base rates, while Nationwide, Bristol & West, Paragon and Birmingham Midshires have been ok.
So, one of the Nationwide mortgages is now £195 per month on a property valued in today's market at about £170,000, down from a peak of about £200,000 or so. This property rents up to £500 per week. Yes, per week on a holiday let basis.
There will be a stage, which I suggest is not as far away as many commentators think, that we all need to look at ways in which we can lock in these incredible rates for at least 10 years or more because once the money tsunami which is "Quantitative Easing" hits the shoreline, watch interest rates move the other way in response to rising inflation – but not in the near future.
In the meantime, make the most of it.
Best wishes
Dominic Farrell |
