The Office of the Mayor of Paris has stringent rules that now demands that property investors who let out their Parisian properties pay for affordable housing equal in size and similar in location and style to that which they are renting out. These rules have led many buy-to-letters to keep their buy-to-let propeties unofficial – any holiday property which is let out should be given government permission ahead of the start of the property’s lettings.

Many foreign property investors have recently become interested in Paris as a potential investment destination as prices in central arrondissements have doubled in the past five years and property was cheap compared to other capital cities. Rental yields tend to be good with most netting around 5%, although some owners have reported yields of up to 9% on their portfolio.

It is unsurprisng that Paris remains a popular choice with it’s beautiful architectural charm. Many Paris properties have immense wooden doors opening onto stone courtyards, with winding stairways and tiled passageways, and these give off an air of romance and mystery. There is very little in the way of new building going on in Paris as space for new projects is at a premium, however some derelict sites on the edge of the city are being torn down to make way for modern apartment blocks. However older properties still drive the market thanks to their quaint charm and history.

Many property owners – both local and foreign – have tended to ignore the requirement to register the change of use on their properties and the issue was rarely enforced unless local residents compalinged. However the new rules, which follow concernts about the affordability of properties in locations which are favoured by the wealthy, and the scale of the penalties, has worried many property investors.

To get around the rules, some investors are trying to think out of the box – some properties are now empty, no longer rented to anyone, foreign or local; other property investors are looking to set up co-operatives to provide social housing nearby; some property investors are looking into renting their property investments to students, which would satisfy the affordable housing rules.

So in short, if you own a holiday let in Paris, it’s time to revisit your property and decide what you want to do with it – ensure that you are fully compliant with local laws, or perhaps try another option and see whether the enforcements really do come into practice or not.

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Cardea Property Consultants are the new sales and marketing agent for The Jalousie Plantation in St Lucia, which is currently undergoing a $100 million transformation and will be rebranded as The Tides Sugar Beach on completion. Cardea took over the account from Prestigious Properties Ltd in December and have hit the ground running with luxury villa sales made at this exclusive resort development over the Christmas period.

Two Rental Pool Villas totalling $1,600,000 have been reserved. There are 85 freehold Villas which form part of the hotel rental pool affording owners four weeks free usage and a revenue split of the return, guaranteed at a minimum 5% net ROI from now until the end of the first year of operation as The Tides Sugar Beach. There are completed villas immediately available. A third Rental Pool property went straight to sale for $705,000.

Two Private Residences with a sale price totalling $4,600,000 have also been reserved. These are two of 36 spectacular Ocean and Piton view homes, which can be used as often or as little as desired. If owners choose to rent out their residence, luxury operator The Tides will manage everything. This provides the best of both worlds; the seclusion of an island paradise, international marketing and management to enhance the rental return when not in use and exceptional resort facilities just steps away. Amenities at The Tides Sugar Beach include two white sand beaches, 24-hour butler service, gourmet restaurants and a Rainforest Spa all set within a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lisa Basire and Naomi Cambridge are co-directors of Cardea. Naomi is Sales Director and Lisa is Marketing Director for Sugar Beach Villas, both having previously worked in conjunction with the resort development. Naomi previously worked onsite at the resort; she will join Lisa at their new London office at 87 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6XD. Colleen Howe has replaced Naomi as the onsite Sales Manager in St Lucia.

Lisa Basire says: “The Jalousie Plantation is undergoing a $100 million refurbishment to transform it into The Tides Sugar Beach Resort and one of the best resorts in the World. The sales made over the Christmas period have ensured a fantastic start for us as a new company particularly in the current climate. I think holidaymakers who visited the resort this Christmas could see the beautiful transformation taking place in front of their eyes and recognised what a great investment Sugar Beach Villas will be.”

Cardea Property Consultants has also been granted sales and marketing exclusivity for an ultra luxury development adjacent to Sugar Beach called Glenconner Beach, also positioned within the UNESCO World Heritage site between the iconic Piton volcanic mountains. There are five villas for sale at Glenconner Beach (from $7 to $9 million each), set on large plots right on the beach.

Lisa says: “One of our first tasks has been to source and meet international agents with whom we can work closely, and we are starting to create a great team who are generating good leads. We are keen to build on our initial success.”

Cardea Property Consultants Ltd
+44 (0)844 9210119
info@cardeaconsultants.com
www.cardeaconsultants.com

Sugar Beach:
+44 (0) 844 921 0124
info@sugarbeachvillas.com
www.sugarbeachvillas.com
www.twitter.com/SugarBeachVilla

Glenconner Beach:
+44 (0)844 921 0127
info@glenconner.com
www.glenconner.com
www.twitter.com/GlenconnerBeach

All Media Enquiries:
Kerry Nicholas, Tideway Communications
+44 20 8878 0787
kerry@tidewaycommunications.com

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The World Islands Developments was a massive project planned to sit in the shallow waters just off Dubai’s coast near the highly-hyped Palm Jumeirah. When it was first launched in 2003, the Press were quick to cotton onto the idea and the super-rich and celebrities were anticipated to flock to buy islands of their own. 11 billion cubic feet of sand and 47 million tonnes of rock later and the foundations for the islands were complete.

However NASA has just released recent images of the development taken from one of their satellites and the picture is not so rosy. Work inside the man-made lagoon stopped late last year and the website has had no new updates in some time. Dubai Properties then asked for a delay in repaying $26 billion in debt leaving many pondering the future of this incredible resort.

Officially, the project has merely been delayed, not cancelled. However the new overhead pictures of the islands show that several are merging together and there are rumours that several are beginning to sink.

Officials from Nakheel have been quick to point out that the Palm Jumeirah is a great success and attracts many tourists each year, however thanks to the recent economic troubles many hotel developers – amongst them Donald Trump – have quietly shelved hotels plans for the resort.

Only time will tell whether these man-made islands really will be saved or whether they will quietly drop back into the sea with little evidence to show they actually existed.

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In the past decade, Morocco has managed to double tourist income and there has been heavy investment in holiday properties over this period. The government are doing their bit by actively encouraging foreign investments to help raise up local living standards.

It’s not all good news though – despite the higher number of tourists visiting Morocco in 2009, the income from tourism declined. However experts believe that this is a mere blip and that the tourism income will be back up to predicated levels for 2010.

All this bodes well for overseas property investors: the more tourists, the higher the demand for rental property – and the stronger the market, the better the rental prices will be. With a strong rental market, the buy-to-let market will also increase so prices over the long-term should increase.

Morocco looks set to give overseas property investors who invest now good short, medium and long-term return on investment. Although other countries may out-perform Morocco in these areas, Morocco looks to have a stable property market therefore would be ideal for a property investor not looking to take too many risks.

View Morocco properties for sale
A free guide to the Morocco buying process
A guide to Moroccan property

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The decision comes as little surprise with many economists predicting the interest rate hold.

John Busby, director, French mortgage specialists Athena Mortgages, comments, “Another month, and as predicted another hold. It’s a prudent decision, as 2010 kicks off with the European economy facing a difficult year.

“Talk of recovery is a tad premature and an interest rate hike would have sent out the wrong message. The worst of the recession may be behind us, but Europe’s economy is not out of the woods just yet. The likelihood is, that with recovery still in the balance, ECB interest rates will remain at 1% until the later part of 2010, with only small incremental rises in 2011.

“With respect to the French property market, despite the strength of the Euro, record low interest rates continue to make it a very attractive proposition at the moment. We are seeing a lot of interest in equity release mortgages and refinancing, with many investors releasing funds from their French property to pay off loans and mortgages in the UK.”

Positive data has emerged from the Eurozone with industrial production found to be growing twice as quickly as expected, however property investors still remain cautious about the future.

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Firstly, you need to ensure that the holiday home is in good decorative order throughout and meets any local health and safety regulations. It is better to have fairly neutral furnishings and decorations to ensure that you don’t put people off. Your holiday home should also not be cluttered by lots of personalised effects – some decoration is required however anything personal like family photos or expensive heirlooms should be locked away out of sight. It is also good to have clean, matching crockery.

You should also think about first impressions – when the guests first arrive, it is nice to have a basket of essentials for them to help them relax and get settled in after their journey. The basket should include items such as tea, coffee, milk, a small snack such as a packet of biscuits of sweets, and a bottle of water. It is also useful to include a little ring binder full of up-to-date local information such as the activities that are going on in the area (festivals, farmer’s markets etc), local travel arrangements, nearest amenities and recommended tourist spots and restaurants.

You now need to decide what dates your holiday property will be available for and how much you are intending to charge – do your research and remember that prices will change according to the season.

You will also need to consider how the property will be maintained and how the handover of keys etc will be handled. It is useful to use a local letting agent if you do not live nearby as they can handle the handover, can ensure that the welcome basket is always ready for new guests, and can also help out in case of emergency (such as helping you find a plumber).

It should go without saying that you need to find out about legal and tax issues in the country where your property is located and, indeed, with your own country’s taxes associated with overseas rental income. You may want to contact a solicitor and/or accountant to help you sort out all the legal and tax issues surrounding holiday home letting.

Now for the advertising. If you have an unusual property or you have a large number of properties you wish to let, you might want to consider having your own website. If you choose to create your own website, just because it is there does not mean that people will automatically come – you will need to either look at online marketing and/or SEO to help drive visitors, or you will also need to look at other ways of marketing your holiday home.

There are some fantastic holiday home portals already on the internet and it is a good idea to add your properties here – these websites will already be well known and will rank highly in the search engines therefore your property is likely to get much higher visitor numbers and therefore bookings than if you run your own website.

When writing your advertisement, make sure that you use good English and you fully describe your property. Take a look at other ads and base your own advertisement on the bits that you like. You should include all the facilities that your holiday home has to offer including TV, satellite, internet, WiFi, kitchen appliances, air conditioning etc.

Remember to include a pricing structure, how far away your home is from popular tourist attractions, and what there is to do in the local area.

It is also really important to take photographs of your property – both internal and external – as an ad without good photographs is unlikely to attract much interest. Ensure that the property looks clean and tidy and that the photographs are taken from good angles and it is clear what the property looks like. Try and ensure that the photos are a good resolution so that prospective renters get a good feel for the property.

Don’t just look at free property portal websites – although it may be a good idea to try these first, research and talk to other holiday home owners to see what portals work for them and then try them out for yourself. Try the portals out for yourself and choose ones which offer the best user-experience. Many portals offer free or low-cost ads with extra charges for extras such as photos, highlighting an ad in the search results or adding extra words to an add. Think carefully about whether any of these extras will actually help you sell your property or not.

When you receive an enquiry, it is important to respond promptly in a professional and friendly manner. You should try and respond to e-mails within a day as many people will only research for a day or two, so waiting longer than this may make you lose a booking. Be prepared to be flexible in areas such as times of arrival and departure, minimum night stay, help with airport transfers, price etc. The friendlier and more helpful you are, the more likely you are to get the booking – and the more likely the people are to recommend you to their friends and family!

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That’s because Marc has been living in the house he built himself since it was first completed 11 months ago. In six weeks’ time, Australian law will re-classify it as an established property. Established properties are only allowed to be sold to Australians or New Zealanders.

For non-residents, getting a foot on Australia’s property ladder isn’t difficult but can only be achieved by buying off-plan or newly completed homes which have not been occupied for longer than 12 months. This means time is running out for Marc, but he has come up with a novel way to encourage potential buyers the rest of the world over to own one of the most exceptional contemporary homes that Australia has to offer. He is not only the developer, the vendor and the resident family man; he also wants to remain the tenant and will give investors a guaranteed rental income from the moment of purchase.

Deciding to buy a £1.8 million property investment cannot be rushed. But Blue Water is very special. It is situated on an island amongst only five other properties with price tags much bigger than this. It is part of the only canal estate in Northern Queensland – a pretty network of man-made waterways north of Cairns. It is built on a 1000 sqm plot, with over 40 metres of water frontage and has its own 12 metres pontoon which could take a boat of up to 30 metres. The canal leads directly to the deep waters of Blue Water Harbour and the famous Great Barrier Reef. The proximity of the famous reef just 15 minutes away by boat, means that no further canal developments will take place to protect the reef in the future.

Marc, who runs property company, Australian Dream Homes, says: “I have decided to put the house that I love on the market 20% below its real value for this area especially to attract the foreign investor before the door is closed to them for good.”

The upper level of this double storey, five-bedroom home has a full length undercover balcony with 180 degree water views. All rooms and living areas are purpose built with views to the canal. There’s a large dining area with built in fish tank adjoining the kitchen and entertaining areas and the kitchen overlooks the outdoor infinity pool. Each of the four bathrooms has been generously appointed with an eclectic choice of materials.
Non-resident investors who are interested in retiring to Australia might be interested to find that buying a residential property gives them rights to vote in elections and other benefits which can increase their chance to become residents with the purchase of a new home.

Marc Jackson says: “We have been in a housing shortage for the last few years, and high demand looks set to continue. Our infrastructure is good and the population is predicted to increase rapidly with a permanent population of over 150,000 by 2010. Cairns City Council is making a big effort to make Cairns the most liveable city in Australia. We are only 15 minutes from Cairns International airport.”

Blue Water has easy access to a world class 108 berth marina, proposed boutiques, restaurants and boat club. Bluewater Harbour is in close proximity to beautiful Trinity Beach, Daycares, Schools, James Cook University and Smithfield Shopping Centre and only 15 minutes drive to Cairns CBD and International Airport.

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The steel-ribbed, glass-clad structure also boasts the highest swimming pool in the world which is based on the 76th floor. There are plans for the world’s highest place of worship with a mosque on the 158th floor.

Unfortunately, it’s not the most auspicious time for the Burj to open; Property prices around the world have plummeted in the last year and Dubai property is no exception. The 300,000 square foot of office space in the tower has yet to find any tenants. Mainly residential, the 900 flats (ranging from studios to four-beds) on levels 19-108 were initially snapped up by property investors, selling for between £660,000 and £11 million. Many of these are now worth a lot less meaning investors may have lost millions.

Some facts ‘n’ figures:

• “Burj” means tower in Arabic

• 138th floor: Highest single lift run in the world from ground floor at 1,654 ft
• Double decker express lifts carry 25 people to 124th floor in 60 seconds. They travel up at 25mph but go down more slowly to stop passengers feeling ill.
• 57 lifts service the building
• 124th floor: the World’s highest observation deck
• 158th floor: Plans for a mosque which would make it the highest place of worship in the world
• Weighs 500,000 tonnes

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The pair of Spanish homes in question are near Albox in Almeria in south-east Spain. The local town hall had initially issued building licenses for the properties however court action by a higher regional government led to the licenses being nullified.

The Spanish homes under threat are owned by British expats who have vowed to fight for their homes. Many claim that both them and their builder were totally unaware that their building license had been revoked and that if bulldozers turn up, they will barricade themselves in their homes to attempt to stop the demolition.

The demolition order is not the first in the area – two years ago, another British couple had their Spanish property bulldozed nearby after their building license was revoked. The couple are now said to be living in a converted garage nearby and have yet to receive any compensation over the matter.

The Spanish government are currently cracking down on Spanish properties that have been built on green-belt land. Although several properties were bulldozed in early 2008, a court has ruled that demolition is illegal and so homeowners are now being notified of the issues with their houses. Around 500 miles of Spanish coastline are currently being targeted leaving many Spanish property investors concerned over the status of their investments. Celebrities and ordinary home owners alike have been caught up in the Spanish property bulldozing saga.

(Photo Credit: Mat C)

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The new rules look set to be introduced next April and will stop property investors with second homes from being able to write-off their mortgage interest and other maintenance bills as a business loss. Investors will also not quality for capital gains tax (CGT) relief, hitting those who will look to buy a new holiday home from the proceeds of other property sales.

Old rules state that if rental income did not meet costs (i.e. mortgage interest and maintenance costs on the property) on holiday lets, the losses could be used to reduce the amount of tax payable on the rest of the investor’s income. However from April 2010, second homes will be treated as a fully-fledged business i.e. as buy-to-lets as professional landlords.

The news is not all bad though. By switching to the buy-to-let business type, different taxes are applicable. For example they will now be able to claim a ten percent deduction for wear and tear on furnishings within the property and the property may qualify for things such as energy saving allowances.

It is important to note that the new rules will only affect UK property investors who have holiday homes in the UK. Foreign property investment is not yet affected thanks to European rules introduced earlier this year, thus foreign property investors will still be able to claim the old tax breaks.

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