Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Cyprus property investment weekends - 5-8 May and 12-15 May

Cyprus Property Investment Weekends

InvestinCyprus.com property investment weekends are unique and are the only dedicated investor events of their type on the island of Cyprus and led throughout by experienced professional investors.

The weekends have proven to be very popular and are huge fun, for both the investors and ourselves.

You have informative seminars presented by our lawyer and accountant on the legal and financial aspects of investing in Cyprus and you also have the opportunity to discuss mortgages with our mortgage advisor.

You also have plenty of time to view our developments.

The aim of the weekend is to inform and educate, but we also manage to have a few fun nights sampling the delights of the Cypriot nightlife.

As you will appreciate, these weekends are always full, so please reserve a place as quickly as you can.

Our advice and assistance does not stop after the weekend. The InvestinCyprus.com team of advisors, whether property investment strategy, the law, tax, lettings, furnishings, foreign exchange are all on hand to help and are only a telephone call away, or a visit.

Your personal investment manager is always available by e-mail or telephone, in person in our offices in Liverpool or at one of our innovative Customer Services Open Days in London .

You provide the flight and we provide the accommodation, food and transport. Please book and confirm your place on the investor weekend BEFORE you book your flight.

Next dates: 5-8 May and 12-15 May 2006

To book your place please ring 0151 482 5526 or e-mail
info@investincyprus.com

Our aim is to take the hassle out of investing in Cyprus and InvestinCyprus.com staff are available to ensure that you do as much or as little as you wish.

Click here to see what our clients think:

http://www.investincyprus.com/testimonials.htm

Best Wishes

www.investincyprus.com

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Cyprus is second most popular Easter destination for the British

Spain is the favourite place this weekend for UK tourists as a record 2.3m holidaymakers leave the UK to find the sun.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said the exodus overseas was caused by the poor weather for this time of year and Easter falling later than usual.

The second most popular foreign destination is Cyprus , followed by Portugal , Tunisia , Egypt and Florida .

InvestinCyprus.com

Property investment - a Currency Risk Plan saves you money

Currency planning is an important factor when considering your property investment strategy. What if sterling gets stronger, or gets weaker against the Cyprus Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc or US Dollar? How will it impact my investment and what can I do about it? What happens to my mortgage?

nvestinCyprus.com have pre-empted all of those questions and our clients have full access to our currency broker if they choose to take up the offer. They are advised on whether to buy Cyprus Pounds on the spot, forward buy or place limit orders thus potentially saving substantial sums.

We set up a currency account for free on your behalf which again saves you money on any transfers while your broker is conveniently at the end of a telephone for advice and assistance.

Below is a useful article from today's Financial Times:

"While the UK property market shows signs of a modest rebound, our ardour for buying holiday homes abroad is undiminished. Latest estimates suggest around 1.5m people in the UK now own a place overseas.

Europe remains the favourite location, with new hotspots such as New Zealand , Bulgaria and Canada emerging, according to HIFX, a currency broker.

But many purchasers still enter into property transactions with a reckless attitude. Simon Conn, managing director of Conti Financial Services, says individuals frequently overlook the issue of fluctuating foreign exchange rates. It typically takes six to eight weeks to complete a property purchase abroad, according to HIFX. Currencies can fluctuate dramatically over such a period. According to HIFX, a €250,000 property bought on March 1 2006 would have cost £169,837. But by April 5, the same property would have cost £175,523, following a healthy rise in the euro relative to sterling.

According to David Reith, divisional director of currency brokers Moneycorp, 60-70 per cent of purchases are new-build and payments are staged between around four sums, the last of which is payable on completion, which can be in a year's time.

Alex Wright, director of private client services at HIFX, says individuals need to eliminate risk and not speculate on the sometimes quite volatile currency market: "If you're buying a house in the UK , you won't normally open a spread betting account. Why do it with Spain ?"

People buying larger sums of currency can protect themselves against fluctuations by buying forward contracts from banks or brokers. These contracts allow you to fix the exchange rate today for delivery in the future, subject to a 5 or 10 per cent deposit, known as a margin. If your target currency market moves against you by more than the deposit percentage, the bank or broker may make a margin call, for additional security.

Wright says the exchange rate that buyers get will depend on the interest rate of the target currency. The exchange rates on forward contracts may be slightly better than instant or "spot" rates if you're buying a higher interest rate currency. If the interest rate on the target currency is low, the forward exchange rate is likely to be slightly worse than the spot rate.

The advantage of forward contracts is that you can buy currency now and pay for it later. You also lock in a rate, giving you certainty over the purchase price of your property. The downsides, however, are two-fold: you're unable to take advantage of future exchange rate moves in your favour; and you lose on the interest you might otherwise have earned on the deposit.

Currencies can be volatile in the short term too. On July 7 last year, the day of the London terrorist bombings, the sterling to euro rate fell from 1.4707 to 1.4509. On a £100,000 purchase that's a difference of nearly €2,000.

A handy tool buyers can use for buying forward, or indeed buying spot, are market orders known as "limit" and "stop loss" orders. These allow punters to set top and bottom rates they wish to do business at. Automatic purchase is triggered when the exchange rate reaches what you believe to be at or nearing a high point , or when it drops to a designated level. (If a currency slips below a certain support level, it may have a lot further to fall.) Brokers can help customers understand where to set these buy points.

Brokers tend to offer better exchange rates for larger sums than the big four banks, and it's worth shopping around. If you do go via a high street bank ask for the wholesale exchange rate rather than the less competitive tourist one. Also, try and get the bank's booking rate rather than the indicative rate. The former is the price you'll end up paying.

But you are likely to get a much better deal via a specialist currency broker, and some brokers do not charge customers transfer fees for sending money abroad. By contrast, the big four banks charge £18-£35.

Many European banks and some in the US also charge receiving fees. Currencies Direct and Moneycorp have a list of Spanish banks where there's no fee. HIFX promises no receiving fee at any Spanish bank.

However, before you send a small fortune to some obscure broker remember that currency broking isn't regulated by the Financial Services Authority. So buyer beware."

Source: Financial Times

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Cyprus property investment - beware of "sharp" practices

We had a full house at last Monday’s InvestinCyprus.com property investment seminar in London . It was fantastic to meet with so many investors looking for the opportunities that Cyprus has to offer and the unique and professional property investor service that InvestinCyprus.com can provide.

Dominic Farrell outlined the economic and financial case for Cyprus and also highlighted some “questionable” practices adopted by some companies and that due diligence with any overseas property investment was the key priority.

One “questionable practice” that some overseas companies pursue is to add in the common shared area to the sales price of an apartment. Here’s an example:

The fact that you have a share in the corridor outside your apartment is irrelevant to the size of your property and what you pay! Suddenly, to the untrained eye, a Covered area apartment of 74m2 becomes 84m2 when the shared area is added in, which can represent up to CYP10,000 – CYP15,000 on the sales price depending on location, VAT and quality of the apartment.

There is no sensible reason why part of the corridor outside your apartment should be reflected in the “Total covered area”

Why this is so is open to speculation!!

My advice would be to avoid companies which adopt this practice.

Dominic also highlighted many other factors to be aware of when investing overseas. His new book, “The Jet-to-Let Bible: the secrets of overseas property investment” will be available at Amazon, WH Smith, Waterstones, Tesco and other good book sellers from 1 June 2006

The next InvestinCyprus.com FREE seminar in London with availability is Monday 22 May 2006 at 7pm. These are ticket only events and are always full so please book early to avoid disappointment. Tickets, which are limited to 2 per applicant, can be reserved by phoning 0151 482 5526 or e-mailing your name, address and telephone number to
info@investincyprus.com

Investincyprus.com

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Cyprus Economy: budget deficit to fall below 2% of GDP in 2006

The budget deficit in Cyprus should fall to below 2% of GDP in 2006, the Minister of Finance Michalis Sarris announced last week.

The budget deficit in 2005 was 2.4% of GDP, according to latest figures, down from 4.1% of GDP in 2004.

Dominic Farrell, a director of InvestinCyprus.com, says that this is a very positive sign that a major hurdle for adoption of the Euro 1 January 2008 would be crossed.

Dominic pointed out that countries are required to converge with the Eurozone economy and had to meet certain economic conditions, one of which is to have a budget deficit no more than 3% of GDP.

This and many other economic and financial considerations will be covered in a free investment seminar in London on Monday 10th April 2006 at 7pm. For further details please e-mail info@investincyprus.com or ring the UK office on 0151 482 5526 or visit the website.

InvestinCyprus.com

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Invest in Cyprus

Invest in Cyprus
Dear Investor
We had a fantastic response to the launch of our exciting new Cyprus property investment at Petounta View, Mazatos, Larnaca.
For further details:
http://www.investincyprus.com/developments/petounta_view.htm
We will be looking at this solid capital growth development and others, including an innovative and up market leisure complex with pools, tennis courts and distinctive landscaping in the fast growing Protaras area, at our seminar next week in central London:
Monday 10th April 2006 at 7pm.
Dominic Farrell, director, investor and author of “The Jet-to-Let Bible: the secrets of overseas property investment” will examine the economic and financial case for property investing in Cyprus and will also look at the latest hotspots for the astute property investor.
To reserve your place, which are limited, please contact the office at
info@investincyprus.com with your name, telephone number and an address where we can send your FREE ticket. Maximum of two tickets per applicant.
This is a ticket only event.
For the very latest Cyprus property investment news please visit our unique Cyprus property investors’ blog at:
http://blog.investincyprus.com
InvestinCyprus.com
Hanover House
Hanover Street
Liverpool
L1 3DZ
Tel: 0151 482 5526
Fax: 0151 482 5501