Greetings from sunny Cyprus… no intention to rub it in!
OK so where do we start, it would seem that whilst I have been here in Cyprus that the world has fallen apart (well that’s what the newspapers would have you believe).
What a wonderful weekend! Not only was the weather fine but we spent it down in our holiday home in Portland (Dorset). The beautiful weather really brought it home to us that England has much to offer the holiday maker, and, as the current trend is to holiday at home, the U.K. is no doubt going to see a renaissance in the great British seaside holiday! For the best part of nine months now, we've been advocating holiday lets for cash flow, but make sure that you choose somewhere with year round appeal.
Chesil_beach Chesil Beach is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site stretching 18 miles along the south coast of Dorset, England from the 'Isle' of Portland in the east to Lyme Regis in the west. Fishermen familiar with the beach claim to be able to tell their location from pebble size alone.
Although we do not actually let our Portland house out as a holiday let, there are many signs that it could be a good area to buy in. Portland itself is a stunning and unique island, and has so much more to offer than Portland Bill Lighthouse and Chesil beach, which it is mostly known for. There are many beautiful coastal walks, birdwatching, horse-riding, not to mention all the water-sports you can do in the area. Portland Harbour itself is brilliant for windsurfing and kite-surfing with its shallow and calm water.
We've just got back from glorious Cyprus where the weather was an amazing 30 degrees and sunny every day!. We had a wonderful and fulfilling time over there and were lucky enough to take the opportunity to buy our dream "place in the sun", pictured below.
We've named the house "Aqua Vista". It's a contemporary 3 bedroom villa in the beautiful and tranquil village of Mazatos, near Larnaca and has stunning far reaching views of the azure Mediterranean. We can't wait to get back over to Cyprus and furnish it as we are looking forward to spending time there with family and friends and enjoying all that Cyprus has to offer.
In between relaxing by the pool and enjoying some traditional Cypriot hospitality, we managed to catch up with our good friend and international tax planning expert, Jarl Moe. With Cyprus being the No. 1 tax haven in Europe, it seemed the ideal opportunity to talk to Jarl about the benefits of international tax planning and asset protection. If you are serious and committed to being a successful property investor, you need to consider wealth/asset protection as well as wealth creation! In this exclusive interview, Jarl explains why ...
Click here to watch the video in High Definition via Quicktime
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Due to our relationship with Jarl, we have been able to arrange a complimentary personal consultation with him for all 4walls clients. If you would be interested in finding out more please e-mail me at nick.tadd@4wallsandaceiling.com.
We hope that you are enjoying our broadcasts from 4 Walls and a Ceiling, and getting value from them. We certainly enjoy doing them! Whilst it's great to watch us on video, you can also meet us in person. We believe that nothing beats a personal, face to face introduction, so we endeavour to meet as many of our subscribers as possible.
We would therefore also like to remind you that it is now "last call" to register for our property networking event in Milton Keynes on Sunday 21st September. I will be there to answer any questions you might have on "offshore Tax strategies" and/or any property related questions.
I will also be doing a brief presentation on my findings in Cyprus this time around, up-to and including the satisfactory letting of our penthouse plus the latest aquisition.
In this video postcard from Cyprus, Vanessa gives the low down on the event and why you cannot afford to miss it!
Please rest assured that we will be sending out final details to all delegates on Wednesday.
Stay tuned for our next video broadcast in which Vanessa will be talking about risk management and how to "hedge" your portfolio to spread risk. Remember, you can never learn less!
I came across the below news release courtesy of The Move Channel today, and thought I would buzz it out as it's a really positive note to end the week on, for those of us who have already invested in Cyprus.
This news release confirms everything I have been saying for the past two years and also suggests that there's still a long way to go before Cyprus comes off the investor map.
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I have been banging on about Cyprus for the past 18 months, promoting it as a top investment opportunity. I myself have made a lot of money over there through my own investments.
It seems that the Financial Times agrees with me, albeit 18 months late! However, better late than never. What is really rewarding is that their article vindicates my own philosophy about investing in Cyprus. That is: location, quality, and a unique proposition are the criteria your investment must meet to enjoy the greatest returns.
The article suggests that the luxury end of the market will prove to be the most profitable, so proximity to golf courses, spas, and leisure amenities are paramount.
WOW! SOUTHERN CYPRUS DUBBED "THE HOLY GRAIL OF INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY INVESTMENT"!
Dear Fellow Investor,
We've
just returned from one of our most successful-ever viewing trips to
Larnaca. We had a number of valued clients join us over there for a
few days to view our developments in the Larnaca area, including sites
at Pervolia (where we have our penthouse), Kiti, Pyla, and Mazatos.
Our clients were able to see with their own eyes all the economic
drivers that are fuelling the country (and their investment).
"Thanks
for being such wonderful hosts. I had a ball and learnt so much. I am
really happy with my investment". - Joy Webber, South London
Cyprus road trip group photo June 2008
First
of all, the flight over there was full to bursting - always a good
sign! On arrival, we were greeted by perfect holiday weather of 30
degrees with a light breeze. While we collected our luggage, it was
interesting to note that the Arrivals Board showed flights arriving
from places as diverse as Manchester, Prague, Jeddah, Bahrain, Paris,
etc. For centuries, Cyprus has been a melting-pot of cultures, and
this tradition is clearly continuing as the island becomes a major
holiday destination for many different nationalities! The number of
different languages being spoken in the Arrivals Hall was something
akin to the Tower of Babel!
New motorways whisked us to our
delightful hotel in Pervolia. On the way, we were able to see that the
new international airport terminal is well under way with its
construction, consolidating Larnaca's position as the main gateway onto
the island. The Cypriot government has a strategic tourism plan in
place, to grow tourism over the next few years. This includes
increasing traffic through the airport from 2 million to 9 million, and
the facilities to handle this increase in people are currently being
built. You may also have seen the "Love Cyprus" advertising campaign
which is currently running on T.V. here in the U.K. (www.visitcyprus.com).
The Cypriot government have just commissioned the international Cypriot
tennis player, Marcus Bhagdatis, to act as the "face" of Cyprus to
increase awareness of the island as a holiday destination. Marcus will
be fronting a number of new advertisements and campaigns.
At our
hotel, we happened to meet a chap who works for Total Oil. He (along
with a number of colleagues) has been brought in to supervise getting
the infrastructure in place to start getting the oil out. He told us
that the oil reserves are sizeable and that many people are being
brought to the island to help work on the project. They are either
buying or renting apartments. The Scandinavian oil company, ProSafe,
has already moved its headquarters to Larnaca, and brought 1300 staff
with it. There is a severe shortage of QUALITY accommodation in the
Larnaca area, which has always been Cyprus' business hub, but is now
been up-graded to a holiday resort area. This is fantastic news for
those of us who have invested there, as the proximity to the airport
always increases occupancy, both for corporate lets and holiday lets -
of which you have the option of both in Larnaca.
Over the next
few days, we took our clients around the area to see our developments.
Entry level into Cyprus starts from as little as £6K, which you won't
find here in the U.K. With 30% capital growth predicted, this is
SERIOUS leverage of a small amount of money!
We showed our
clients the site of the new David Lloyd Olympic Village, the new 5 star
Grove Star Spa Resort (both at Mazatos), the site of the new
mini-Marina at Pervolia, and the new coast road linking Larnaca,
Pervolia, and Mazatos. All this development subscribes to the golden
rule of I.C.I - investment, communication, and infrastructure! These
are the vital ingredients that fuel any investment and if you adhere to
them, you minimise your risk and reduce speculative elements.
As
far as we are concerned, Cyprus (the Larnaca area particularly) ticks
all the investment boxes and we have been promoting it as an investment
destination for the past eighteen months and investing heavily there
ourselves. Many people tried to question our judgement and say that
Cyprus wasn't anything special.
It was therefore particularly
interesting to note on our return, that one of the U.K.'s most high
profile property investors and marketeers, Andy Shaw, has just send out
a broadcast stating that he now considers Cyprus to be "the Holy Grail
of international property investment"! Andy has a database of
thousands of investors and now he is promoting Cyprus to them, the
secret is out! Cyprus was also just on the front cover of "A Place In
The Sun" magazine, so you can't get more mainstream than that.
However, we at 4 Walls and a Ceiling, recognised the benefits of Cyprus
over 18 months ago!! What's more, we identified "where" in Cyprus -
Larnaca - and we have been proved correct in this, as Larnaca has
enjoyed the most significant gains.
When
somebody says "invest in Cyprus" - you should ask "where in Cyprus?".
If they give you a town, ask "where in that town?". If they give a
development, ask "why that development?".
Do not be sold on just a development alone. You need to be convinced on why that development, why that town, and why that area.
If you want
to know the difference between investing in Paphos, Limassol, Nicosia,
Larnaca, Famagusta, Parallimni, Protaras, Aiya Napa etc. then speak to
us at 4 Walls and A Ceiling and we will break down the pros and cons of
all these places, as we have been involved in Cyprus for a number of
years and have the experience to do this.
Whilst it's
great that Andy Shaw has acknowledged Cyprus, albeit a couple of years
late, he's not the only one. The sports entrepreneur, David Lloyd, is
also investing heavily on the island, building the David Lloyd Olympic
Village - a major sports training facility for athletes that will
operate year-round thanks to Cyprus' 340 days of sunshine per year.
Meanwhile, Harvard University has identified Cyprus as a centre of
educational excellence, and is investing in new educational faculties
there. This is creating awareness in the lucrative American market and
there is talk of direct flights to Cyprus from the U.S.
If you
would be interested in having a free, no obligation personal telephone
consultation with our very own tame Cypriot property expert, Nick Tadd
(as seen on the BBC 2 programme "The Truth About Property"), then
please email nick.tadd@4wallsandaceiling.com.
Please
note: we do not employ any "hard sell" tactics. We don't need to.
Cyprus speaks for itself. If you see that, you will want to get
involved. If you don't, you won't. Simple as that.
Meanwhile,
on the home front, we are still being bombarded with so-called "no
money down" deals. Indeed, one famous property marketeer is inciting
100 investors to pay £350.00 each to obtain the latest "no money down"
deal structure. That's a cool £35,000 to him! However, the proof will
be in the pudding whether these unsuspecting people will actually be
able to bring to fruition what he tells them. We're pretty certain
that most of these deal structures, because they are so flawed, rarely
amount to anything - but the people promoting them make a lot of money
along the way, even though you don't.
For novice investors in
particular, it is very confusing as one person is saying they can do
"no money down", and we are telling them otherwise. At the end of the
day, you must decide who to trust.
Since April 2008, it is our
opinion that there are now no legitimate ways to do "no money down"
deals here in the U.K. with the current mortgage products, and taking
into account Council of Mortgage Lenders and Law Society Guidelines.
To
this end, we have joined forces with our friends at Property Traders to
bring you the truth about "no money down" deals and to bring into sharp
focus the dangers of doing them, not only from a legal standpoint, but
also from a tax perspective; something that is always overlooked by
novice investors.
This is an unbiased, independent report
exposing the serious tax and legal implications of doing deals in this
format and it will answer all your questions about whether you should
be entertaining these deal structures. There are issues here which no
one else will tell you and YOU NEED TO KNOW THEM. There is no need to be confused any longer.
For further information, or to purchase your report for £29.99, please click here:
We
at 4 Walls and A Ceiling have a deserved reputation for always giving
you the best possible advice and property intelligence. As you can see
from above, we started promoting Cyprus 18 months before Andy Shaw.
Our investors will subsequently have made far more significant gains,
as they started earlier.
Unlike most other companies, we have
been warning our clients of the dangers of doing "no money down" deals
for several months now. Yet people still believe it when someone tells
them that they have found a way to fudge the system. No doubt, you
will be asked to use their solicitor and broker. Ask yourself "why"?
If the deal is legitimate, you should be able to use any broker and
solicitor you choose, as transparency is a pre-requisite of any
legitimate property transaction.
The bottom line is ... if you
are not disclosing the incentive and/or discount to the lender, it is
tantamount to mortgage fraud.
Our report dissects all these
latest "no money down" systems and exposes their flaws and also flags
up the legal and tax implications. If you are found to have done one
of these fraudulent transactions, you can end up with a prison sentence
and owing the Taxman thousands of ££££££'s.
Before entertaining doing one of these deals, you need to read our report.
It's
worth noting that many of these deal structures require two sets of
solicitors, exhorbitant bridging fees, etc. That is most certainly NOT
"no money down".
If you read our report, you will be convinced that it is now not possible to do it here in the U.K. - NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE MAY TELL YOU.
You can buy our report for £29.99 at the following link: please click here
Please
do not waste your money on reservation fees, valuations, solicitors
fees etc. This report will explain why and tell you the legal and tax
implications of what you are contemplating doing. The entity trying to
sell you a "no money down" deal will never tell you these facts or be
able to answer your questions about them.
However, if you are
going to do one of these questionable deal structures, please at least
be aware of the legal and tax implications and make provision for
them. In property, if something goes wrong, it is YOU that carries the
can as you signed the mortgage agreement. And don't let anyone tell you
otherwise.
So, to summarise, Cyprus is currently looking a lot
more attractive as an investment destination than the U.K. With big
guns like Andy Shaw promoting it, you need to get going quickly before
too many people get wind of it. The biggest gains are made whilst it's
a "best kept secret". Now Andy Shaw has dubbed it the "holy grail" of
international investments, the secret is well and truly out and every
man and his dog will be investing over there, which again will fuel the
market, as demand increases.
If you would be interested in
having a free, no obligation personal telephone consultation with our
very own tame Cypriot property expert, Nick Tadd (as seen on the BBC 2
programme "The Truth About Property"), then please email nick.tadd@4wallsandaceiling.com.
Please
note: we do not employ any "hard sell" tactics. We don't need to.
Cyprus speaks for itself. If you see that, you will want to get
involved. If you don't, you won't. Simple as that.
We
offer viewing trips from £149.00 per person. Unlike other companies,
who will tell you that you do not need to go and see your investment as
"it is just a grey box that makes you money", we do not advocate that
you buy any investment unseen. We actively encourage you to go and see
your prospective property. After all, when you buy a new car, you test
drive several different models. When you buy a mobile phone, you check
out several different types. When you buy a new pair of shoes, you try
on several different pairs. Therefore, when you make a property
investment (where there is a lot more money involved), we encourage you
to understand it from every angle. It could be financial ruin not
to!! So, if Cyprus sounds of interest to you, get in touch with us,
and get yourself over there as soon as possible to see it with your own
eyes and get an understanding of what the island has to offer your
prospective tenants/clients. You can buy property by science and
maths, but there is also an emotive element that should be
considered. After all, if you would not want to rent/live/holiday
there, then probably other people might feel the same!
With
its spectacular scenery and enviable climate, it's no wonder that
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, chose Cyprus as her playground in ancient
times. Since then, mere mortals have been discovering this 'land fit
for Gods' for themselves!. Maybe it's your turn now!
For a copy of our e-book about investing in Cyprus, please click here.
Flickr: badgerproductions
LinkedIn: nick tadd
Pownce: nick tadd
Skype: badgerproductions
Chesil_beach Chesil Beach is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site stretching 18 miles along the south coast of Dorset, England from the 'Isle' of Portland in the east to Lyme Regis in the west. Fishermen familiar with the beach claim to be able to tell their location from pebble size alone.
