Foreign Currency Direct, the leading UK currency broker, has launched a new overseas property portal for UK buyers looking overseas. The portal is at www.Propertyline.co.uk and is part of the Eataz Network, with traffic of over 300,000 users per month and 17,000 properties around the world already online.
Unlike most property portals on the web today, Propertyline also has the unique attraction of combining private sellers, agents and developers from multiple countries, and connecting them with buyers across the world. There is also a Property Hunt facility – simply fill in details of your ideal purchase abroad and we can put you in touch with sellers directly according to your preferences.
If you’re buying in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Dubai, the USA or almost anywhere in the world, we’ll help you find your ideal property today.
In addition, property agents can take advantage of free advertising across the network, by vitrue of a partnership with FCD for currency referrals for their clients. This has already proved successful with many agents reporting a good volume of quality enquiries, at no incremental cost to them and with no commission to pay on sales.
Robin Haynes, FCD Director responsible for the Propertyline project, said: “Foreign Currency Direct is the only UK currency broker committed to adding value to agents’ businesses by providing genuine property enquiries to enhance the sales process. The resulting property portal site is in turn a useful tool for UK citizens looking at overseas purchases – meaning we can help them find their dream home and then save them money with the currency transfers too.”
Notes for Editors
Contact Details:
Foreign Currency Direct ((www.currencies.co.uk) and Propertyline ((www.propertyline.co.uk ) can be contacted on 0845 177 1001 (or +44 1494 787478 from abroad). Email info@currencies.co.uk or info@propertyline.co.uk.
Foreign Currency Direct plc has provided currency exchange services for the overseas property market since 2000. It charges no fees or commissions on its services and was top of recent surveys by the Sunday Times and Money Observer for best exchange rates and currency deals.
Propertyline.co.uk was launched in 2006 in partnership with the Eataz Network which has been offering online property marketing websites since 2004.
Italian property lawyer Massimo Migliorini tells all about property investments in Italy Are you interested in overseas property investments? Are you confused about how to go about arranging the finer details or worried that youll struggle with the language barrier? If so youll be pleased to know that weve got Italian property lawyer Massimo Migliorini in the studio to tell you all you need to know about buying your very own Mediterranean retreat or even starting a new life abroad. Italy is now the number one place that us Brits want to move to, and its hardly surprising considering the culture, cuisine and beautiful fashion and design it has to offer. One enticing financial bonus of buying in Italy is that inheritance tax is non-existent making it the ultimate place to buy a nest egg for your children. Massimo will also be telling us all about the best way to find out about everything the Italian property market has to offer without having to root out your passport. La Dolce Vita with Viva Italia festival comes to London on the 13th-16th of March and is a must-visit for anyone interested in overseas property investments. The event will be celebrating all aspects of Italian lifestyle and culture but will specifically offer you exclusive insight into buying a property abroad. Agencies, developers, architects restoration experts and lawyers will all be on hand to guide you through the Italian property process from start to finish. And you can even bid for your very own …
If you love Italy, then buying a getaway in Tuscany is the way to go. No matter if you want a villa or an apartment you will be able to find a large variety of properties that will fit your lifestyle. Those who have visited there say it is so beautiful and peaceful. Living there is like being a part of history with the ancient houses and many historical places to visit. It is also known for its romance. You can take your loved one there and enjoy the romance of the city. You can enjoy the Italian foods that you could never get at home.
No matter if you want to just visit or move there permanently you will find some type of home. More than 6 million people have made Tuscany either there home or a vacation spot. You are sure to find several different houses or villas that you will fall in love with as soon as you see them. The décor of these houses are magnificent. Many houses will have amazing views, most of vineyards. You will find many homes with arches, wooden beams on the ceilings, terracotta floors and tiling as well as old stone fireplaces just to name a few attractions. If you really want to go all out, you can buy one of the few castles that are for sale. Some even have the moat and drawbridges! Castles have many rooms that would be a joy to discover for children. They could be hunting around the castle for days exploring and never knowing what they might find! There have been some who have bought castles and turned them into bed and breakfasts for the tourists. This is a great business to get into. Everyone has always wanted to stay in a castle! I know I would love to spend a weekend in one!
Speak with a realtor if you decide to buy because there are many new rules overseas that we do not have here. For one thing, you should expect to have a cash transaction because they do not have many mortgages over there like they do here. If you are able to find financing then you should also know you will more than likely be asked for half down. Therefore, your best bet would to be to go for a visit and then bring back the cash from home.
Then you will need to find out about the taxes and the deeds along with property lines and so on. You will need to know all this beforehand. The building expenses are much higher over in Italy so be prepared. Know ahead of time what everything will cost you and make sure it is in your budget. Another thing to remember is the offer you put in is only valid for 2 weeks in Italy unlike 30 days here.
Once you make the move, you can sit back and enjoy the land. You will not be disappointed that you decided to get a home in Tuscany, Italy.
On sale on www.houseabruzzo.com Private residence historic villa of 1840, to be restored, 600 square meters large, with terraced garden of 5000 square meters. Contact info@houseabruzzo.com for more details. Visit www.houseabruzzo.com
Scandinavian snow, Dolomite rock, Mediterranean sun. We are not talking about three different places 2000 km away from one another but we are talking about one single place: the “Gran Sasso” mountain in Abruzzo, central Italy. It is nearly exaggerated in its contrasts, its dimension, its mighty natural forces.
The mountain range of Gran Sasso rises grandiose, a bit out of scale, with about twenty peaks above 2000 metres a.s.l., hit by winds and snow storms for 6 months per year. Here, especially when the Balkan draughts arrive, can snow a lot more than on the Alps, even 80 cm in a single night.
On the canals of Corno Grande (Big Horn), the highest peak of the Apennines with its 2.912 metres a.s.l., the snow lasts until July, even though the only glacier of the range, the Calderone, can be considered extinct.
The Gran Sasso is not only wild peaks and bare rocks but is also plenty of small peculiar villages such as Isola del Gran Sasso, also called “the saying village” for the door and window lintels are carved with wise Latin sayings, Castelli famous for its majolica, Santo Stefano di Sessanio which has gain notoriety for its recent conversion in Albergo Diffuso (diffuse hotel) and then the lonely village of Rocca Calascio with its fortress, a brave sentinel at 1460 metres a.s.l. since the VIII century.
The Gran Sasso is, of course, synonymous of winter sports. Here skiing was born during the Fascism with the first cableway that linked Fonte Cerreto to Campo Imperatore. This big plateau, that opens all of a sudden at an altitude of about 2000 metres a.s.l., is particularly suitable for cross-country skiing and ski excursions. A spectacular white plateau 19 Km long and 4 Km wide that is hard to forget.
The ski resort of Campo Imperatore can easily compete with the ones on the Alps with its 20 Km of pists. The off-pists of Tre Valloni and the wild Valle Fredda (Cold Valley) are very appreciated at top levels.
The ultimate ski lifts are the only modernity permission in a planet called Gran Sasso that seems to be unchangeable, where the building developments aimed to satisfy the ever growing demand and offer of tourist resorts are respectful of both tradition and environment, matching the standards owed to one of the most beautiful and important Natural Parks in Italy.
For the ones interesting in investing in property in Italy, the property market around the Gran Sasso area and in all the Abruzzo region offers great opportunities.
Prices of property in Abruzzo are still surprisingly low, especially in rural areas where is possible to buy a country home or a stone house to be restored with some land for less than €80,000.
But rural areas in Abruzzo are not the only ones offering great investment opportunities, there is plenty of properties to buy at an affordable price by the coast, where with an investment as little as €130,000 is possible to buy a 2 bedroom apartment facing the sea, with the possibility to rent the property as an holiday let and get also a good income to help pay the investment.
You have some spare money and you want to invest it. You have already considered all the opportunities in finance but you have decided this is definitely not the right moment to give your money, your precious savings, to someone who, probably, with some magic trick, will make it disappear.
So, eventually, you come up with the idea of invest your money in bricks, a solid, touchable, real, good old house.
This is really a great idea, but where to buy it?
Well, you realize that probably your country has not the best property market at the moment and you start to consider to buy a property overseas.
Overseas properties are good investments but the question is still unanswered: where to buy?
After you have taken into consideration the whole world you realize that you would like to invest your money somewhere offering history, culture, sun as you would like to enjoy and to use your investment and, why not, you’d like to rent out the property when you can’t use it to help you pay off the investment.
But you want also to invest in a stable property market (well, as much stable as it can be in this utterly unstable moment) and reach the conclusion that Europe suits your needs.
Great, but again, where exactly to buy a property in Europe?
Europe has been hit by the crisis as much hard as all the rest of the world with banks closed down and the ones still open not giving money to anyone.
The average property price in European countries have dropped between 5% and 10% (source: Nomisma). Property prices in UK, for instance, have dropped of over 14% so far and is expected to fall to 16% at the beginning of the year compared to the start of 2008, in Spain property prices had started dropping even before this financial crisis started.
So you start to get information about property markets in Europe and you find out that there is a country where the bank system has hold the crisis, a country definitely not lacking of history, culture, sun and where you would love to go there to enjoy your investment and that would be very easy to rent out your property: this country is Italy!
Italy is in a lot better situation than the other countries, the bank system has hold the financial tsunami and not a single bank has been recorded to be gone bankrupt. This s not only due to the tight method to distribute mortgages that Italian banks have always adopted but it’s mainly due to the good habit of the Italians of not get into debit. The average debit value of Italians has increased in the last years but still doesn’t reach 50% of the available income whereas in the rest of Europe is about 100% with peaks in the UK of 160% (source: Nomisma).
Property prices in Italy haven’t drastically dropped and experts say that the prices will hold but still in this tough period you could easily find a really good deal from some seller who needs to sell his house quickly and this can only make Italy even more attractive for property investors.
Now you know the answer, buying a property in Italy is the best choice if you want to invest in a home overseas and this without even mentioning the climate, the food, the landscape and that you would love to use your investment to enjoy your holidays.
On sale on www.houseabruzzo.com a nice italian villa in the province of Pescara, a short drive from the airport. Contact info@houseabruzzo.com for more details. Visit www.houseabruzzo.com
On sale on www.houseabruzzo.com a large two floors + habitable mansard fully furnished villa in the beautiful Abruzzo countryside of Collecorvino, near Pescara. Land and garden are included in the sale.
On sale on www.houseabruzzo.com, this agritourism is located in the province of L’Aquila, north of Sulmona. Visit www.houseabruzzo.com for more information.
