Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

Sunshine on a rainy day - Mortgage Solutions

Sunshine on a rainy day Mortgage Solutions, UK - Aug 26, 2008 The market for Britons buying property abroad is still alive and well, and according to the Office for National Statistics, is worth £58bn – a sum which ...

Sunshine on a rainy day - Mortgage Solutions It states that prices in Spain will fall by up to 8% this year and by up to 10% in 2009 and 2010, warning that the worst is yet to come. The most bearish report comes from consultants R.R. Not only are there plenty of people still willing to invest overseas, but there are good reasons why they do so. As with the UK property market, there are big dangers in making sweeping assumptions about overseas markets. Not all of them are in the doldrums and there are still good bargains to be had for canny investors. Buyers typically fall into one of two camps: those who purchase for the lifestyle, and those who buy as an investment.The first group are primarily interested in a life in the sun and the chance to get away from the rat race in the UK. They feel confident exploring opportunities in emerging markets such as Bulgaria and Montenegro and are primarily motivated by rental returns and capital growth. The truth is that they are far more likely to be found in Wilmslow than Wigan, but they do exist – even in these tougher times.Approximately half of all buyers are motivated by lifestyle, with the remainder being made up of investors and those preparing for retirement. About one third of owners have a mortgage that is equivalent to 75% or more of the value of their property, and just under 80% of buyers spend up to £300,000 on their foreign properties. But, what sort of legal problems can arise? Well, in Spain for example, a common trap has been for cash buyers not to obtain a full title deed, or escritura as it is called locally, and then discover they do not own quite as much land as they at first thought they did. This has been a particular problem in the Valencia region. The escritura legally defines the bounds of a property and the size of buildings on it and it specifies the sale value, which governs the amount of Capital Gains Tax to be paid when the property is eventually sold. Historically, the Spanish have paid scant regard to planning regulations, but this has now changed. Fines for unregulated building work have risen to a level which acts as a serious deterrent, and permits for building are granted at the local town hall. As in the UK, the best approach is to use a reputable local architect and builder to oversee such projects.Many people also buy new build properties off-plan. Buying off-plan does differ from buying an existing property and there are a number of factors the client will need to consider. The client will only own the property once it has been completed. In Cyprus, for example, the maximum LTV is usually between 60% and 80%, whereas in Bulgaria, Turkey and Switzerland it is 75%. There are also issue such as local tax laws and Capital Gains Tax to be considered.Owning a property abroad still remains an ambition for many thousands of UK homeowners. Retention strategies and broker remuneration. Product evolutionStephen Knight, Checkmate Liquidity crisis: a global update- PPT, 1.17MBWhole loan sales, securitisations, credit crunch update and securitisation/whole loan sale market. Developments and hypothesisTony Ward, Home Funding Cross-selling: A real opportunity- PPT, 122KB Making the most of cross-selling opportunities; we have become an industry of order takers, not brokers. Ten years ago what products were being sold, and by whom? How do leaders implement structures to get the most out of their teams; how do we best train them, not how to train them Nigel Stockton, HBoS Distribution and fees - PPT, 739KB Procuration fees. Single proc fees on all products, better deals with bigger (and controlled) distributors. How to approach fee based sharing, and should brokers be moving more towards this? Phil Jenks, HBoS Mortgage ToolsProperty Price PredictorMortgage CalculatorMortgage ChecklistsDownload Tools--> The latest edition ofMortgage Solutions -->document.write('');");//-->document.write('');© Incisive Media Ltd.