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.

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!

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!

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:

Dunas Beach Resort

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.

West Coast Property, Barbados

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!