Britain to become a nation of renters… but wait!
Having just seen a news article stating that Britain is to become a nation of renters, I felt that it contradicted slightly the other news I heard today which was that a leading mortgage provider are now offering a 100% LTV mortgage! Yes, that’s right, it’s back! Arguably the thing which started the whole credit crunch and recession we are currently experiencing in most westernised countries. I understand that, at the moment the terms to these types of mortgages are very onerous, but I feel it’s only a matter of time before these are widely available on better terms.
Obviously there is A LOT more to the credit crunch and the recession than the 100% mortgage, but I must say, when people are given the chance to purchase a house that they can ill afford, I start to get worried. Then again, maybe it is exactly what the market needs at this point to stop the UK turning into a “nation of renters” From my calculations; in most places it would definitely be cheaper to service a 100% LTV mortgage than rent a property. Crucially though, what would this do to house prices, if there is a massive drop off in the private rented sector? With less competition from renters, the currently healthy rental market may start to take a turn for the worse, landlords having to lower their market rent in order to attract tenants. Would this cause a sell off of some investor properties? Doubtful, as prices are not exactly at all time high levels at the moment. So as people may start to decide to Purchase rather than line the pockets of their landlords will we see a correction in rental yields which are very high at the moment, with property prices rising in accordance?
With the return of a 100% LTV mortgage there will now be the opportunity for people that had very little equity in their current house to upsize, this could free up FTB properties which can now be funded with new mortgages on the market. First time Buyer’s are often called the lifeblood of the market. Without new buyers in the market who will purchase all of the new supply from housebuilders?
What does all of this mean for those wishing to invest in UK property? I am a firm believer in a recent article I read in the Estates Gazette which gave a compelling argument for the fact that we need different methods to measure the UK property market these days, and the old method of an average wage multiplier to the average house price ratio should be overlooked. The reason stated in the estates gazette was the fact that property prices have continued increasing albeit very slowly over the past couple of years, but real income has been dropping, much due to the very high inflation we are currently experiencing. This is why other signals must be taken into account, one of which is always going to be mortgage availability and the cost of credit. Now availability is very high and the cost of credit is at an all time low are we just about to see a large increase in UK house prices?
Time will tell…
Student Property Investment – still a great buy
The student property market has been the focus of much debate over the past few weeks in the property industry. Still remaining strong and with more and more purpose built student blocks rising from the ground. But will the increased fees now payable to universities stifle the rental market as less people can actually afford to go? If they can afford to go are more students going to be looking towards the private rented sector and house shares to cut down their monthly overheads?
High Rise Student blocks have started popping up in most university student towns and cities as savvy developers see the potential for a 51 week tenancy agreement and maximising their rack rent by utilising as much of the available space in a building as possible by filling it with bedsits and communal spaces as opposed to self contained apartments.
High rise student blocks are often most popular with the overseas student market that will be coming over to the country and staying for a longer period of time often lets of 43 or 51 weeks, they tend to stay in the UK for the summer, they also normally pay higher fees, sometimes up to £20,000 per year making them a vital fee earner for UK universities.
London in particular is an area where student development is taking off and with figures recently released showing demand over the next few years and the supply that is currently in the pipeline, it could be only the overseas students that will be in a position to front the rising costs. The predicted shortfall of beds is 47,000 by 2016! In the new Nido scheme at Spitalfields students will be expected to pay up to £350 per week per person!
Even with the caps on overseas students that the government has proposed we feel the student property investment market is going to remain strong for a few years yet. As top universities start to charge higher fees in London maybe more students will start to look at smaller university towns and other large respectable locations may continue to grow.
To see our latest UK student property investment opportunities please click the link.
Barbados Property – Weston Resort update
Weston Resort, a development of 45 apartments on the west coast of Barbados, at prices far below anything seen in this location in recent years, is still progressing well and the exterior shell of the building is coming up very quickly.
After a small set back due to an unforeseeable amount of rain in the past few months, Weston is still taking shape quickly. We have been constantly updating our construction progress page with more and more pictures of the site as it begins to take shape and form one of the best investment opportunities in Barbados we have ever seen.
Weston offers investors the chance to purchase on the West Coast of Barbados at prices which are completely unheard of in this location. The development was first marketed at the beginning of 2010 and since then 95% of apartments have been sold, couple this with the fact that clients have exchanged contracts on their apartments and the build security is phenomenal. Apartments have sold so quickly on this development for a variety of reasons, mainly:
- An excellent location,
- Prices far below any local comparables,
- Desirable payment plans,
- A UK based developer with a long track record,
- No restrictions on usage for owners,
- Low maintenance fees, through the use of an owners’ cooperative,
- Strong rental returns, with an offer from an excellent hotel operator
It has been a struggle for a long time to find something on the West coast of Barbados, which will not only provide the Capital Growth that has come to be expected in such a desired location, but with this, a return that could pay the mortgage on a leveraged property and hopefully provide a return on top as well. When you can leverage your property safe in the knowledge repayments will be met with no money directly from your own pocket each month, you’re on to a winner. This also opens the investment opportunity up to a wider audience, leading on to a better price and further capital growth realised on resale as the deposit needed to buy the property and have a long secure income is reduced. We are sure that even when leveraged to the maximum LTV mortgage for Foreign nationals (70%LTV) these properties will show a strong net yield!
For more details on Weston Resort, please either use the “request information” tab on the web page or give us a call (freephone) on 0800 043 69 56
Build Progressing on Weston Resort Barbados
As many of you will know, Weston in Barbados has been our most successful development to date. After being recommended this development by a client of ours we have successfully transformed this developer’s sales focus to investment as well as holiday home buyers.
At first glance, Weston seemed like a low priced development, one back from the sea front with sea views to many apartments, perfect for holiday makers but with no obvious investment characteristics.
However, after digging further we realised that it’s low prices and fantastic position mean’t room and occupancy rates could be set at a premium and even on a 20 week occupancy would provide yields a lot higher than many other competitors.
Fast forward 6 months and we are now due to launch our 3rd development in Barbados, both Ixora and Weston having sold out in record time.
Weston is due to complete in November/December 2011 and build is progressing nicely.
Above is a picture of the front of phase 2, about where the swimming pool will be, coming along nicely…
Back corner of phase 1 ground floor with sea views possible, 1st and 2nd floor views should be fantastic!
Back corner of phase 2 with the sea viewable, a lot of the apartments in phase 2 will have sea views thanks to the height increase between phase 1 and 2.
This will be the view available from 2ft below where apartment 7-6 will be on phase 2.
As construction progresses we will bring you pictures from the 1st and 2nd floor showing even better views. The sea is just 200 metres from the entrance to Weston meaning the beach is only 5 minutes away.
There are still 3 apartments remaining for sale:
1 bed sea view apartment – £166,050*.
2 bed sea view apartment - £209,100*.
4 bed apartment – £265,680*.
* Subject to exchange rates.
If you want further details please contact us on info@freshinvest.co.uk or call us freephone on 0800 043 69 56.
The Changing Face of Cape Verde
It wasn’t long ago that you could be mistaken for thinking that certain parts of Cape Verde were akin to a desert…
With little infrastructure and no direct flights from most European countries, Cape Verde as a holiday location was only for the most hardcore of travellers.
Fast forward a few years and Cape Verde presents a very different image. None more so than Sal.
Being only 5 and a half hours from the UK and now benefiting from a direct flight from many major cities there is little doubt that Cape Verde is the future winter holiday destination for most of Europe.
Through increased interest and build Cape Verde have been able to push more money to the infrastructure of the country, building roads and bringing power and water facilities up to European standards.
Cape Verde is now being talked of in the same breath as the Canary Islands and the Caribbean as a winter holiday destination. This is in no small part due to a handful of developers that have managed to build affordable quality property that offers high yields and low entry costs.
With the Completions of Villa Verde and Tortuga Beach Resort slowly but surely the face of Cape Verde is changing.
Tortuga Beach Resort brings the first of three 5* hotel resorts to the Island, all operated by world class operator Sol Melia, the quality of these properties have to be seen to be believed.
Many overseas developers promise a lot and deliver little, this is certainly not the case with Tortuga Beach, with the development going live to the public next month pictures of the finished product are now available for all to see.
Located right on Cape Verde’s famous Ponta Preta Beach, many apartments and villas have direct sea views and easy access to the beach and beyond.
The emergence of hotel companies managing developments built and sold on to investors is fairly new and as with every walk of life, as time flows these precesses are refined. I say this because there are plenty of developers that build with the intention of bringing a 5* hotel company in to manage but only a handful that actually manage it.
9/10 the hotel company realises the increased cost in terms of added specification of doing this and decided to go it themselves or attract a lesser hotel company to do this for them. Not in this instance! Sol Melia is well known for it’s 5* brand and it’s evident that Tortuga Beach Resort fits into this perfectly!
With a 5* Hotel branding also comes the benefit of increased specification and leisure facilities:
Tortuga’s Features and Benefits include:
- Stunning beach-front location
- Occupancy density of less than 25%
- 12 luxury front-line single storey 4 bed detached villas
- 40 luxury two storey 3 bed detached villas
- 306 two bed apartments
- 358 properties in total
- Two communal pool areas
- Lush green landscaped gardens
- Luxury 5-Star Hotel
- Apart-Hotel facilities for all villas and apartments
- Superb 150 seat restaurant
- Elegant Wine Bar and Piano Bar
- Luxury Spa and state of the art Gymnasium
With only limited availability left on this stunning development you may look towards this developers next project, Dunas Beach Resort. Ready at the end of next year and with build already underway you can be assured this will be bigger and better than it’s predecessor!
Or if you prefer, wait for Llana Hotel and Spa, the developers third resort which is due to be released next month.
Whichever you choose, Cape Verde as a destination is here to stay and these three developments will become a massive part of it.
Property market 2011 – Fresh Views
Where does UK property and interest rates go from here? Economy shrinking, Inflation rising and rental values apparently falling…
Let’s start off here. If an economy is contracting this typically means that unemployment is rising, the reason for this is that, the size of an economy is measured on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) this is the total amount in pounds of everything circulating through the economy in a given year.
The formula for GDP is C + I + G + (X-M) = GDP
Where C = Consumer expenditure, I = Investment, G = Government expenditure and X – M = exports minus imports i.e. the total value added to products in this country.
If people are spending less, people are making less profit. If inflation is present it should be easier for GDP to increase as prices are rising, but the figure given as -0.5% is “real terms GDP” this is the total increase having taken into account inflation. Now, inflation can do two things it can lead to further spending or it can stop spending and send an economy into negative growth (much like it, seemingly has here) the reason it can do two things are:
1. Inflation can lead on to further inflation as people decide to purchase goods early before prices rise further. Resulting in further rises.
2. Inflation can lead to negative growth as people begin to slow their spending habits as prices hit certain levels i.e. a £9.99 CD becoming a £10.19 CD, the psychological effect of this small rise can damage sales, but the shop has no choice but to raise prices as prices of other goods and services are rising.
However I don’t feel that the negative growth can be solely attributed to increasing prices etc. What must be taken into account is the good old weather of the UK! Because of the poor weather conditions we suffered in December much of the country was unable to get to work and even unable to go out and spend.
But there are two significant ways for a government to battle inflation at the scary 3.7% it currently is and that is… raise VAT, or raise interest rates.
VAT has been raised from the beginning of 2011 and I feel we are yet to see the full effect of this in the figure of 3.7% inflation which was given at the beginning of the year. But now there are lots of rumours of an interest rate hike on the back of this as well, which should of course slow down inflation, but could quite easily send us back into negative growth and further stagflation where growth is stagnant and inflation is still present.
Now if interest rates were to rise I feel there will be lots of unhappy landlords on Tracker Mortgages, especially when rental values are apparently falling (this is taken from a generalised figure, which we try not to rely on too much in this industry) but this will normally mean less in the landlords pocket and in some cases, more out of their pocket!
Further to this we have the savers. Savers have had a particularly hard time throughout the recession, low interest rates and constant inflation means that at no point have they really been “better off” apart from possibly sheltering from losses in certain markets.
We still firmly believe that purchasing property through us on one of our developments is your best way to 1. Build up a portfolio for your retirement or 2. Make a “hands-off” profit, for years to come… or 3. Both!
We have some excellent investment opportunities at the moment; both UK Property and Overseas Property please contact us for more details. In times like these it really pays to think Fresh 
The Fresh UK Property outlook 2011
After reading a few different articles regarding the state of the UK property market and realising we have not done a UK property article in a while, I thought I would share my view on the outlook for the UK property market for 2011.
The end of 2010 was an interesting time for the property market, with not a lot of people looking to move just before Christmas and the extreme weather conditions putting a further dampener on house sales. However, mortgage approvals and sales are still holding up and I would expect as we go into spring, house sales will increase and prices will follow suit.
With news today that the Consumer Price Index has risen to 3.7% the BOE may well decide to increase interest rates in the coming months to try and curb this. However, the recent Consumer Price Index will not be taking into account the increase in Vat which has just come into play. I feel that consumers will have purchased their products earlier due to the Vat increase and this would of course bolster the CPI albeit temporarily.
It seems that in the face of fiscal restriction increasing the interest rate to try and slow inflation could be a dangerous move by the BOE however is it something they have to do? I am unsure as to the strength of the economy coming out of this recession and feel that an increase in interest rates too early could cause another fall in house prices. But then again, does the economy need this in the long run? What we need to remember when looking at the property market is that, unless we have new consumers entering the market, then it could fall into stagnation and at the moment, it is still hard for a first time buyer to get on that first rung of the ladder.
First time buyers are the lifeline of the market they need to be buying to keep the market moving. But then again, say first time buyers have to turn to renting does this mean that the market will be bolstered by Investors for the time being until there are some more attractive lending options available for the first time buyer?
What do you think?
I know one thing’s for certain, by buying one of our UK property investments with built in equity and reliable tenants in good locations you will be either weathering a storm or riding a wave of success.
X factor’s over and Simon Cowell’s off to Barbados!
Do you blame him? As we wind down into the Christmas period I can’t help but think, this time next year we will be able to hop on a plane and go and stay in our brand new apartment on the West Coast of Barbados… actually, at only 100m to the beach, I could be wrong but, I think it’s closer to the sea than Cowell’s place although his may be a bit more extravagant!
Now people may think to own a holiday home in Barbados, you need to be extremely wealthy, but I would beg to differ. There are developers out there that can deliver reasonably priced apartments, to an excellent specification, but you need to check their track record and you need to know that you will get what you pay for.
The developer we are working with is Candelisa Resort’s a UK based company that originally sprang from a successful architectural practice. After completing many developments in the UK they ventured overseas and began developing in Austria, where they have delivered numerous developments at excellent prices on ski resorts.
Seeking warmer temperatures, Candelisa then purchased their first plot of land in Barbados. A prime piece of land on the West Coast of the island, often called the platinum coast, due to the prices and the people that frequent the area. That piece of land is currently in the process of being turned into The Weston Resort, a development of 45 apartments of which, at this moment in time, all are currently sold! The reason I say currently, is that, during the times we are currently living in, it is impossible to say that not one person’s circumstances will change throughout the build process, meaning they need to either re-sell or pull out entirely.
This development sold so quickly because of the fantastic prices offered in comparison to all other developments available on this coast and the excellent and verifiable track record that the developer has achieved over the past few years.
Another reason for the success of this development is something we have spoken about in previous posts and that is the hotel operator effect. Candelisa have an offer from a very reputable hotel operator on Barbados to take over the running of their properties once complete. This benefits purchasers in two very important ways: 1. A hotel operator will only offer to run a development that they are sure is going to be finished to their (very high) standards! 2. Hotel operators (this one in particular) have a very good international presence in the travel industry, which makes sure your property is rented as often as possible, which ultimately means maximum returns for purchasers!
If you would like to view details of the Weston Resort please click the link.
If you would like details on the next development by Candelisa of apartments in Holetown; With 1 bed’s available from $198,000 please click the link.
Skidding along the bottom!
There are so many comprehensive USA property listing sites available in the USA that can aid the property investment process they can show you the “tone” of the neighbourhoods and compare one with another. They also show what’s for sale, what’s to rent, what’s been sold and what you can buy if you want to offer. So why can’t we call “the bottom of the market”?
Take a look at the 2007-2010 reduction in the value of 3 bed single family homes in tourist areas in Florida the loss in value is scary from $250,000 to $75,000 and in many parts the fall in value slope is still downwards or flat.
Rental value for these units hover around the $800 – $900 per month and demand is good and at this level the gross returns are over 13%, that will still net to 10%+ and where can you get that in the UK?
Some reassurance can come from the American mindset “a property owning democracy” land of the free, home of the brave, incentives have been made available to encourage families back into ownership. BUT more forclosure releases are on the horizon and this could keep the slope downwards again.
One interesting point to note is the price of new homes, compared with that of the existing stock and where there are new homes being constructed. There is a bit of a shortfall of new builds and prices for new builds are well above existing empty stock. When the time does come for a mass buy of US property it will be the “existing stock” that people are buying.
Property wire report Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack the largest mortgage providers in the USA has the view that although sales are subdued this is the bottom and they are predicting a small rise in 2011. Interestingly the amount of property sales to foreign nationals accounted for 7% of sales a massive 66 billion dollars worth………Time to Invest? Take a look at our USA Property Investments.
Llana Beach Hotel and Spa – The Resort Group’s Latest Project
Following the massive success of Tortuga Beach and Dunas Beach Resort, The Resort Group will launch Llana Beach Hotel and Spa early next year.
The Resort Group seem to be transforming the face of the island of Sal in Cape Verde single handed!
As you will remember, Tortuga and Dunas Beach Resort offered guaranteed returns on deposits, fully managed properties in a 5* Hotel Resort.
With Dunas and Tortuga Beach Resorts, investors could choose from purchasing fully in cash, whereby they would benefit from an additional 15% discount, or deposit options of both 35% and 45% with a mortgage on completion to cover the remainder. Investors could even invest with an existing pension through a SIPP.
Many of our clients decided to utilise redundant pensions that were not giving them the returns they had expected, they spoke to our SIPP provider who moved various pension pots into one Self Invested Personal Pension scheme.
Payment plans on the new resort are likely to be just as innovative as before, so we are waiting with baited breath!
As with all Overseas Property Investments it pays to invest early and benefit from the capital growth that this will bring with it, as more and more investors jump on board through the build period, prices will often rise quickly.
For further details on overseas property investment opportunities please contact us!
We at Fresh Invest are happy to be a main agent for The Resort Group and as such, will be offering Llana Beach Hotel and Spa, the moment it becomes available… so register your interest with us ASAP!
No snow for me next year! – Barbados Property
As I sat at home yesterday unable to get to the office, I could not help but let my mind drift to warmer climates, particularly that of Barbados, where my siblings and I have recently purchased our latest overseas property investment
Now, Weston Resort is not just a great place for us to holiday but we have done some conservative figures for rental returns and the results are absolutely staggering!
Barbados is a great country for investment, but it is imperative that you find the right development in the right location! Weston Resort is a breath of fresh air on the normally, very expensive west coast of the island. As many reading this will know, there are two things you really want to achieve with a property investment and they are: Yield and Capital Growth.
Capital Growth has, for a long time not been a hard thing to achieve in Barbados, It has always remained popular with sun seekers and particularly English sun seekers; however, yield is a different matter. Where prices in Barbados have traditionally been high it is hard to achieve a rental income that will. 1. Service the mortgage repayments and 2. Provide you with an income on top.
This is where Weston separates itself from other developments in Barbados. Because of prudent cost management, the developer’s long background in construction and their knowledge of planning systems, they are able to offer apartments in their development at around 40% below the market value of similar properties in the local area. This alone gives you the upper hand when it comes to renting your apartment out as you will receive a larger return in comparison to your purchase price.
Because of the low purchase price, we are able to take just a small mortgage, which means that repayments are also low. On just a 38% rental occupancy and room rates that undercut the competition we have worked out that we should receive a rental yield of over 10% and a net return after mortgage repayments of over £10,000!
Rather than battling the snow next year, come and join us on the beach at the brilliant Weston, Barbados Property Investment.
The developer is currently working on another Property Investment in Holetown click the link for more details.
The West Coast of Barbados. So good I purchased there myself!
One of the benefits of being the director of a property investment company is that you generally get first dibs on the property opportunities you source!
For years this has helped some of us acquire good sized property portfolios. We generally need them as not many of us have pensions!
Now over the last few years the property investment market has got increasingly hard to operate in, there simply are not the funds that there were a few years ago. This means that we all have to be a lot smarter about where we invest, we can’t just take a chance!
Well as of yesterday I am the proud owner of apartment 6 block 4 at the Weston Resort, Barbados.
I thought I would write a brief summary on why I decided to invest here as opposed to any of the other investment opportunities we are offered on a daily basis.
1. The Location
In a market where yield really is king, I make sure I concentrate on areas that are already established. Areas that I know people will holiday at no matter how dire the financial market is. For me the West Coast of Barbados has this.
The types of people that regularly holiday here are not bothered that their mortgage rate just crept up a few percent. Most probably don’t have mortgages!
2. The Developer
Another important point for me is the quality and financial stability of the developer.
I have met the directors of Candelisa on numerous occasions, in London and at their fantastic glass fronted offices in Leeds.
I know that they have the facility to not only build this out but also deliver it on time.
3. Its Rental Return
I have holidayed in Barbados before so have an idea of the amount you pay to rent on the West Coast.
Before offering Weston to yourselves, we took some time to delve into rental values in the area, as well as reading through the information provided by the developer. We found that with just 38% occupancy a return after mortgage payments of over £10,000 per annum was achievable. This amount of return in such a quality area is almost unheard of.
In the UK you would not expect the same amount of rental return in Kensington as you would in Manchester, at Weston we have achieved exactly that!
4. Its Re-Sale Value
The final straw came when I conducted further comparable research on competitors resorts in the area. Quite simply, nothing came close.
The fact that I could purchase a 2 bedroom apartment within walking distance of Royal Westmoreland golf course at just £200,000 sealed it for me. Especially when I realised they were selling 2 beds at Royal Westmoreland at over £1m! The closest comparable I could find was over £50,000 more expensive!
5. My Long Term Goal
I don’t actually plan to visit Barbados in the near future, I will put my apartment in their management scheme and plough the profit back into the mortgage. I have worked out that I should be able to clear the mortgage in just over 10 years taking into account renting for just 20 weeks out of 52. If I manage to rent for 40 weeks out of 52 this is reduced to just under 4 years!
Why have I mentioned this?
I know if I was looking at purchasing abroad, the fact the guy offering me the property was in the same boat would definitely give me some comfort.
As of today there are just 11 apartments left at Weston. (One just came back to market)
4 X 2 bed apartments (1 with sea views) Invest from just £62,000.
4 x 3 bed apartments (3 with sea views) Invest from just £78,000.
3 x 4 bed apartments (1 with sea views) Invest from just £92,000.
Remember these are selling quickly, the sooner you come back to me the sooner we can secure your chosen apartment.
Act now or forget your pension
Pensions, Savings, Isa’s….
What do all of these have in common?
Well other than shocking returns, the chances are that over half of you are relying on one of these come retirement.
Forgive my scepticism, I can only talk from past experience, you see I’ve got a share portfolio which I’m looking to for a pension, I’ve had this for 7 years and rather than make me any money, it’s actually fallen 3% in value.
The news is full of programmes investigating the current financial crisis; no avenue of investment seems to be safe.
Panorama recently investigated the vast fees and commissions some pension companies take from their clients, in one case a lady’s net return over 21 years was just 3%…it would have been 4% if she had not been paying various charges!
Now I’m sure that there are other pensions that would return her a larger sum but as she pointed out, how do you know which are any good?
Well the answer is, you really don’t…
Why Property?
For years I have tried to educate clients as to the benefits of investing in property as your pension. Not only do you benefit from any rental returns after mortgage payments but you will also over a number of years, benefit from capital growth.
It has been widely documented that property prices have taken a tumble in many locations, however if you buy smart and at a good price you massively reduce your risk.
The average pension pot in the UK is around £33,000; now for many of you it may not be too late to do something about this.
Below I will show you a simple way to make your money work for you in property.
Let’s take a 35 year old male that wants to retire at 55.
- Purchase a 1 bed apartment for £150,000. (Multiple locations across the south coast)
- Deposit needed £30,000 (20%)
- *Repayment Mortgage over 20 years = £735 pcm (4% interest rate)
- Rent PCM = £750 pcm (average for this price and location)
- Management Cost £75 pcm (10%)
- Additional payments = £60 pcm.
*Remember this is a repayment mortgage, not interest only, the long term goal is to pay this mortgage off over 20 years.
If you look at the £60 as your pension payments, in 20 years time you will have a pension pot worth £150,000, not taking into account any growth; giving you a return of £750 pcm.
Now the chances are that there will be capital growth during this period, if we take it at just 5% per year, your property will be worth £397,995 in 20 years time.
Rental also historically increases over time, if we take 5% here as well, your £750 would be worth £1,990 pcm in 20 years.
In Conclusion:
When investing in stocks and shares, it is extremely hard to get an idea of what they will be worth come retirement time. Brokers and IFA’s will bombard you with figures, but for the most part it’s a shot in the dark.
One thing that not is historical data on property and rental growth, this can be proved, as can the UK’s desperate need for more property and the demand for rental property in certain areas.
Many of you probably own a house and have done for a number of years, cast your mind back 20 years and recall the re-sale and rental values then. See what I mean?
In short:
- £30,000 investment in property now
- £60 pcm top up
Should provide you with…
- An asset worth £397,995 in 20 years time
- Income of £1,990 per month.
The Alternative:
Keep ploughing money into a product you’re not in control of and you probably don’t understand.
For information on how you can make your pension work best for you contact Fresh Invest on 01243 527327 or email info@freshinvest.co.uk.
Barbados Bound – Why Celebrities flock here year on year!
Michael Winner, Simon Cowell, Philip Green, Trevor Eve, Richard E. Grant, Amanda Burton, David and Victoria Beckham, David Frost, Lulu, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Wayne Rooney, Jemima Khan, Hugh Grant and not forgetting Cliff Richard and Cilla Black!
What do all these people have in common?
They all either holiday or have property in Barbados.
So why is this Caribbean island the second home location of choice for all of these celebrities?
I think firstly it is the idea of security, you are in the Caribbean but as long as you stay on the west coast you are never far from a cocktail bar, mulit million pound house or exclusive golf club.
Over the last 15 years the West Coast of Barbados or the Parish of St James has risen from relative obscurity to command the name ” the platinum coast”. It is now widely known as one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to live in the world.
With the cost to stay at the exclusive Sandy Lane Resort coming in at around £40,000 for a week over Christmas this location is certainly not cheap!
Expect to pay roughly the same in Barbados as you would in central london for dinner at a top restaurant.
So after all of this, why does tourism in Barbados continue to grow year on year?
Well actually its kind of because of this, the average joe would rather pay more to be near these kind of celebrities, they will probably never meet Michael Winner strolling down Sandy Lane beach but its the prospect of this happening that keeps people enthused.
And for the celebrities, its like a home away from home, at Christmas around Sandy Lane the same celebs come back year on year, they all know each other, they know the restaurants they can go to unhounded, they know the areas they can sunbathe without being papped!
Why would this change, the celebs can afford to holiday here, prices can increase as much as you like, your not going to price any of the above out of the market!
So what about the average person?
Well there are still some areas where you can pick up property at reasonable prices.
Just 5 minutes from Sandly lane and 2 minutes from The Royal Westmoreland golf course is Weston Resort, prices here start from just £180,000 for a ground floor 2 bedroom apartment. Fully furnished and ready to rent you are probably looking at £200,000. With mortgage available at 65% loan to value and only needing a 35% deposit you can buy one of these with just £63,000!
With possible rental yields of over 10%, not only could you afford to buy it but it would actually make you money year on year. Compound this with the fact you could safely holiday in this every year and remain fairly exclusive (under 50 apartments on this development) and you begin to imagine why this scheme is nearly sold out with around a year till completion.
For more information on how you can invest alongside the celebrities of barbados call 0800 043 6956 or email info@freshinvest.co.uk.
My top 5 places to invest for 2010 – Part 2!
As you saw in last weeks blog, i delved into my top 5 places to invest in property for 2010.
The first 3 were Cape Verde, Barbados and Barcelona.
Below are the last 2, and perhaps the most interesting.
4. Mallorca:
Known to many, invested in by few….
Mallorca is one of the most visited islands in Europe, most of us have been there be it on a lads holiday or a family one!
What many people don’t know is that because of building restrictions prices have not been effected by the global downturn anywehere near as much as their close neighbour Spain.
We have a villa in Puerto Pollensa and in 15 years have not seen it lose money, also long term lets are easy to obtain in the winter, it yields around 11% per year AFTER mortgage payments!
Combine this with an average 3 weeks use per year and it looks like a great investment.
As the cost of far away holidays spiral and many long haul operators upping prices or going under altogether, holidays closer to home tick boxes for many people.
The fact that more and more people are buying second homes in Mallorca combined with laws on future building means that prices are sure to steadily increase in the near future and with a vibrant holiday market rentals will follow suit.
Conclusion:
Risk = Low
Returns = Medium
Yields = Medium
Minimum cost to invest = £30,000
5. The UK
Well you knew it was coming didn’t you!
Ok the returns may not be as much as the countries mentioned earlier BUT many of you will have the market knowledge to know a “good deal” when you see it.
In this market many property investors that do look to invest are loking at minimising their risk as much as possible, for the masses that means not moving out of their comfort zones.
I’ll always tell you that using a property investment company is the way to go, they charge very little, normally get paid by the developer and have market knowledge and contacts that can only be gained by years in the business.
We have seen some really great stock recently, from tenanted apartments in Chorley yielding over 8% to townhouses in Chichester (where we are based) yielding close to 9% when let to students under an HMO license.
Check out our UK property investments for more information.
Conclusion:
Risk = Low
Returns = Medium
Yields = Medium
Minimum cost to invest = £20,000
To Finish……These are my 5 places to invest in 2010, i would hope that by 2011 i will have invested in at least 3 of them. If you have a location you are looking at and a reason why, post it below!
A good time to invest in property
I was just reading an article by BBC news about how taking investment advice from your bank is a bad idea. I’m sure many people reading this article will have been asked to speak to one of the financial advisors available at their local bank, who will tell them that investing their money in one of the banks medium/high risk funds is a good bet and it will return x% and increase in capital by x%.
One of the ladies in the BBC news article had invested £100,000 into a “Cautious fund” and she quickly lost £40,000… unbelievable! Not only this, but the lady’s money was also decreasing at a faster rate because of the fact it was shrinking against the rate of inflation.
At a time of inflation coupled with low interest rates, ideally you would like to be in a position where you have an asset which is making you money and your borrowings on that asset are also, in real terms, shrinking while inflation is present. Your asset will be making you an increased amount of money with inflation and in comparison to your borrowings against it; the time at which you will have no outstanding finance will approach quickly. I am, of course talking about property.
It is no surprise that property investment has, for a long time, served as the main entry route to the forbes 100 rich list. The process of buying property in the right location at the right time and making sure the rent is going to cover the repayments you have on any borrowings, is just the start of it. The distance you can make your money stretch in property is insurmountable, by refinancing and keeping the cash flow on each property positive every month.
I have seen an article today from a top economic forecaster predicting that interest rates will remain at 0.5% until 2014; you may have also seen that the UK economy grew faster than expected last month inflation is at a rate of around 3% this typically means that the price of most goods and services are increasing at that rate and, ideally, your wage at work, as opposed to your borrowings on your property, which will be shrinking in comparison. Ideally I would be looking to invest in property now, take advantage of very little new build stock, the low interest rates available and use some of the positive cash flow generated every month to reduce my borrowings, so when interest rates do finally rise I am less susceptible to increased repayments.
See some of our UK investment opportunities here
More strong news for Cape Verde Property Investment
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) have conducted their eighth and final review of the Cape Verde Islands and yet again it is fantastic news for anyone invested or interested in investing in Cape Verde Property.
The IMF have stated that they believe Cape Verde’s growth will continue through 2010 with inflation remaining low. This is good news for the islands that are already showing very strong growth indicators and are becoming a real investment hotspot.
The IMF have shown that they believe that “Real GDP” will be increasing at a rate of around 6-7% pa over the next 5 years (“Real GDP” is the size of an economy with allowances for inflation) meaning that the value of all goods and services produced or passing through the country will be increasing by 6-7% and therefore the size of the economy will be growing and people, on average, will be able to benefit from a better standard of living and companies can begin to grow, allowing more money to go back into the development of infrastructure.
Lots of the growth for these islands comes from increased Tourism and an increased level of investment in property and then infrastructure. Property prices on the island have been rising on average by around 15% per year. The islands have remained a relatively undiscovered gem in comparison to the Caribbean and its northern counterpart, the Canary Islands, where property prices can be as much as 40% higher. They are only a 5 hour flight from the UK, have a time difference of only GMT – 2hours and benefit from 360 days of sunshine per year. Tourism figures have been increasing year on year and the island of Sal has seen increases of around 27.5% per year, as the only island with a truly international airport.
All of this information leads to a great location for investment in property serving the tourist industry. The investment we are presenting at Fresh Invest takes full advantage of the increasing tourism figures and can realistically provide investors with a net rental income of £12,133 per year for an investment as low as £32,294. All of this in a beachfront, 5* resort that gives purchasers 5 weeks free use per year.
To find out more about our investment in Cape Verde click here.
For the report by the IMF click here.
My top 5 places to invest for 2010 – Part 1
The property market in many countries has taken a real hit over the last few years, however this sometimes is not a bad thing.
If your looking at property investment as an alternative to stocks and shares then the time may be ripe to invest.
Below are my top 5 places to invest.
1. Cape Verde:
When looking for an overseas investment opportunity the first thing you should always ask yourself is “would i go there”. If the answer is no, the chances are your not in the minority.
The next question is, if you would go there, why?
For me Cape Verde offers a unique proposition, 360 days worth of sun that you can access via a 5 hour flight.
Combine these 2 points and it narrows the field down considerably; quite honestly the competitors i’ve either been to or i’d never want to.
The reason for this is as follows, not only does Cape Verde have a Caribbean climate but also a laid back lifestyle unlike many of its competitors.
The Prices are still relatively low compared to the likes of Tenerife and some Caribbean islands, this is mainly due to the infancy of the islands that make up Cape Verde.
This will not be the case for long, already some major 5 star hotel operators are building on the islands of Sal and Boavista, this will increase tourism and put more pressure on Airline operators to increase their flights.
One such 5* hotel operator is Sol Melia – the worlds largest hotel resort operator, they are taking over the running of our Dunas Beach Resort investment opportunity.
Conclusion:
Risk = Medium
Returns = High
Yields = High
Minimum cost to invest = £33,640.
2. Barbados:
If you have deeper pockets abd want slightly less risk then Barbados may be for you, offering the true 5* lifestyle with prices to boot.
The reason i think this is a good investment is that even though prices are high, you can still achieve yields in excess of 10%, as witnessed in our opportunity on the West Coast Barbados.
Yields this good along with the knowledge that you are investing in the holiday makers favourite Caribbean island means that occupancy rates should remain strong. Most other Caribbean islands are so far behind that no threat to this crown seems anywhere near appearing.
Demand is Barbados is so high it has become the place for celebrities to have second homes, as proved by a host of premier league footballers, golfers and tv personalities.
Conclusion:
Risk = Low
Returns = Medium
Yields = High
Minimum cost to invest = £64,990.
3. Spain – Barcelona:
I love Barcelona, its my favourite city by a long ways.
Sea, Sun, Football, Great Beaches, Great Nightlife andf now a grand prix! I don’t know another city that offers so much.
I also think its a bit of a hidden gem, 1 bed apartments on the outskirts of Barcelona can be picked up for around €160,000 and if you can rent them for 40 weeks of the year you should be on for close to a 8% yield. Not bad for one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
Demand will always be strong because of the sheer size and climate of Barca.
Combine this with the fact that house prices in Barcelona have hardly been effected by the global financial crisis and you know that values will remain robust in all but the most dire of circumstances.
Conclusion:
Risk = Low
Returns = Medium
Yields = Medium
Minimum cost to invest = £27,111
Too see what numbers 4 and 5 are, click here!
The new era of overseas property investment
In the past investing in property overseas was an arduous process, finding a suitable property was not the problem, it has always been the due diligence involved in an overseas purchase. Are you buying in the right location for Capital Growth? Will you be able to let your apartment or villa for long enough to cover your repayments on any finance used? What is happening to the local property market at present? Is there a long and complicated buying process? Will your apartment or villa be up to the standard promised by the developer? The questions can continue forever.
Investors are of course and rightly so, more tentative about investing overseas because of the reputation that some overseas developers have given the market when they, ran out of money or built a development that was subpar and then scarpered before the investor could so much as ask for their money back. But the thing that attracted investors to the overseas market in the first place is that chance of finding the property in a location that will provide you with capital growth and a large positive cash flow to line your pockets every month, with the added benefit of a free holiday.
Now we carry out a full due diligence test on all of our developments and our due diligence test on overseas property is second to none. However without any request from ourselves or our investors, we have just received one of the best partners for our due diligence tests that money could buy. The hotel operator!
When you purchase an investment property in an overseas development that is due to be run by a hotel operator, as soon as the agreement is made the developer is not now building to the standard of the investor, they are now building to the very high standard of a hotel operator and if they don’t, they risk losing the operator. Not only will the standard of your property be of the upmost quality but you now have somebody with a large web presence to promote your apartment for you, meaning that your apartment or villa is tenanted as often as possible and you are therefore provided with a handsome return. The hotel operators will of course also carry out very strict due diligence on the location to make sure that it is in a location where occupancy can be maximised and therefore your return can be maximised which will, in turn, add value to your investment.
We have 2 overseas developments that fit this bill exactly at present:
The developer of Dunas Beach Resort has recruited “Sol Melia” to run the resort upon completion. Sol Melia are the largest resort operator in the world and are constantly winning awards for their dominance in the market and the quality of their resorts. The build cost of this resort in relation to any others on island is double and they have already completed one resort on the island and the results speak for themselves.
The developer of our properties on the West Coast of Barbados has recruited Mango Bay Resorts to carry out the hotel operations on site. Mango Bay constantly receive fantastic reviews for their operations on Barbados and their average occupancy is 80% which, in our resort, would give investors a return of up to 23% per year! The developer also offers purchasers the chance to help with the design of their apartment on line throughout the construction period.
Ladies and Gentlemen this is the future of overseas property investment!
Spring market bounce defies political fears
The traditional slowdown in the property market coming up to the election, was not enough to eradicate the increase in housing sales, enquiries and prices that come with the spring season every year.
As the election comes around people traditionally slow their searches for new properties, in a hope to not overexposing themselves to possible new policies, which could leave them struggling once the new government has been decided. One such new policy could be an agreement to hold the interest rates at a current low level, this will of course be beneficial to anyone looking to trade up in the housing market and possibly leverage themselves further against the value of their property, if interest rates were due to increase this could be a problem for would be house buyers as they may struggle to match the repayments.
On the other hand it is normal in Britain for the property market to have somewhat of an upsurge in interest during spring, this can be attributed, partly to the sun making house hunting a more pleasant experience and also, to the budget which is often announced late in March and provides more certainty to market conditions.
It is good to see this news, as now the new government has been decided and are getting to work, we would expect the current trend in new house buyers and a slow increase in house prices to continue, as people are given more certainty in the position they will be in, come the next few months. There are a few interesting policies being taken into government, it will be interesting to see what the Lib-Dems have in store with the new “safe start” mortgage, designed to stop new buyers slipping into negative equity.
News of the increase in prices and sales came from RICS this month, as they published their latest monthly survey of some 245 members of the RICS who work as estate agents.
Fresh Invest is a property investment company with the aim of maximising our investor’s funds whilst minimising their risk. For more information see www.freshinvest.co.uk or phone 0800 043 69 56.
What will the election mean to the property market?
This election could mean boom or bust to the already fragile property market in the UK.
As we all know, possibly the largest challenge facing the new government will be our economy. The 3 big parties have outlined the steps they will take to try to deal with the £170bn deficit in the UK’s finances.
With it looking increasingly like a hung parliament, what will be the main points of debate from these parties on our property market?
Listed below are some of the key points of each party.
Conservative:
- Scrap home information packs
- Keep the £250,000 stamp duty threshold for the foreseeable future
- Add a new 5% stamp duty threshold for £1m properties from April 2011
- Increase inheritance tax threshold to £1m
- Regards Northern Rock, they have not stated whether they will consider remutualisation
- Include more local initiatives rather than large scale regional building plans
- Will look to split state and part owned banks into 2 parts, retail and investment
Labour:
- Add a new 5% stamp duty threshold for £1m properties from April 2011
- Keep the homebuyer direct scheme for low earners
- Keep Home Information Packs
- The £250,000 stamp duty threshold is due to expire in March 2012
- 10,000 affordable homes to be built a year by 2014
- Northern Rock: Manifesto pledge to consider remutualisation as an option, ‘while ensuring the sale generates maximum value for the taxpayer.’
- Will look to break up large banks but probably not into retail and investment
- Maintain the standard interest rate on the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme at 6.08 per cent until December 2010.
Liberal Democrats:
- Charge VAT on new homes
- 1% “supertax” on homeowners with properties worth over £2m.
- Create a new “Safe Start” mortgage that keeps buyers from slipping into negative equity
- Propose a green loan for people to invest in home energy efficiency and micro-renewables
- Get rid of home information packs and keep energy performance certificates
- Consider remutualisation regards Northern Rock
- Will split state and part owned banks into retail and investment
- Concentrate on local rather than large regional building plans.
Fresh Invest is a property investment company with the aim of maximising our investor’s funds whilst minimising their risk. For more information see www.freshinvest.co.uk or phone 0800 043 69 56.
SIPP’s, The leaders debate and the £59 pension
After watching the leader’s debate last night, one thing stuck in my mind, it wasn’t any particular party policy (at the moment it seems they all have flaws somewhere) it was… the poor old lady that is currently having to live on £59 per week as her state pension!
The thing that I find the worst about this is that, we all know that by putting our pension in the hands of the government, we are never truly in control. I, like many others, like to be in control of my finances and this is where I would like to make the case for the Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) known.
Not only do I like to know how much of a pension I will have to live on come retirement age, but I would also like to be able to increase this amount which will either mean me retiring earlier than originally planned or living a more prosperous retirement period. The only way you can truly take control is by utilising the money in the form of a SIPP. There are fantastic benefits available for people putting money into a SIPP such as attracting tax relief at your tax rate; this means that if someone is taxed at 40% the government will add 40% to any contributions they make towards their SIPP!
Another advantage to a SIPP is the ability to borrow up to the value of 50% of your SIPP to increase your buying power this means; if an investor has a pension value of £100,000 they can then borrow a further £50,000 against this, giving a purchasing power of £150,000.
I believe that the only real way to have a secure and happy retirement is to use a SIPP to invest in property, be it in the UK or Overseas. The returns available in our Cape Verde Investment for example, show that if an investor had a pension value of around £84,000 they could increase this figure to around the £300,000 mark in 10 years, and still have an apartment providing a net profit per year of £12,000! This is based on pessimistic figures, assuming that growth isn’t as good as it has proven to be over the past few years.
We think now is a fantastic time to invest in any property with your SIPP, especially those in Cape Verde; which is a real emerging country currently receiving 15% growth per annum and tourism increases of around 27.5% pa expected to top 1,000,000 per year by 2015.
For more information on investing in property with the use of your pension including unlocking frozen pensions contact info@freshinvest.co.uk
Lack of property boosts asking prices
I’ve done it again!
If you remember i blogged in september regarding a lack of supply leading to increased prices, well it seems mortgage solutions agrees……better late than never! See their article here.
I personally i think they missed the biggest point which is the slow down in new build development. But you get the same result.
We still have a few new build developments with discounts available, if you are looking for a property investment click the link!
Another option is to buy a student property, some of our wealthiest investors specialise totally in student accommodation investment. A couple of them have yields close to 20% on massive portfolio’s!
Some investors don’t like the hassle of student property but if you have a management company set up all you need to do is collect the profits!
Dunas Beach Resort, What our investors say…
For months we have been talking about how great an opportunity Dunas Beach Resort is, it has obviously worked as we were overwhelmed by the amount of interest we have had in this overseas investment opportunity.
We thought prospective investors may like to hear what previous buyers had to say about this investment.
Mrs Carole Winters – Shrewsbury.
“In 2009 we approached Fresh Invest initially looking for a holiday home, we had a budget in mind but were aware that we were stretching ourselves, however we knew that if we did not buy now then we may never have!
Over the next month or so i had various conversations with Dan regarding various properties in various locations. In the end we settled on Cape Verde and Dunas Beach Resort. We loved the idea that we could invest in a good size 1 bed apartment with just £32,000. We were also very interested in the equity release scheme which mean’t that we used £30,000 worth of equity in our home and topped up the £2,000 ourselves!
Seeing as we had set aside money to buy the flat, to know that we could use equity in our house was a massive relief to us.
Dan gave us a financial breakdown on the apartment based on comparables in other developments showing that we should look to make at least £6,000 per year after all costs including mortgage payments. He also showed us what we could mortgage the property for on completion, at the moment it looks as if we should actually be able to pull out all of our deposit on completion!
We have decided to enter into the hotel agreement meaning that Sol Melia will take care of all rentals ensuring we get the best rates for our apartment. We also get 5 weeks use of the apartment for free.
Since then we have found out that Dunas Beach has been upgraded to a 5* resort which was great news.
I have to admit the investment was a little daunting in the first instance but once we got our heads around it the process started to make sense.
Now we are looking forward to a lovely apartment that has cost us £32,000 that we didn’t even know we had and receiving 5 weeks use and £6,000 per year! thanks Fresh Invest!”
….Just one investor that took advantage of the various money saving options on Dunas Beach Resort!
