The Leaseback Blog

'Become a farmer, finance is finished!'

So says investment guru Jim Rogers.

In an interview on www.Moneynews.com here's what George Soros's former partner from the legendary Quantum Fund says:

"The problem is currencies everywhere are being debased, and that's why I would rather own real assets. I'd rather own silver or rice than Toyota or IBM,"

"If you can get the right farmland I would suspect farmland would continue to be a wonderful place to continue to put money," Rogers tells Newsmax.TV.

"Become a farmer. Finance is finished."

Jim made his fortrune by doing something different to the majority of people. I've come to a similar conclusion. That's why I've just put £18,000 into a completely different type of investment that can return £104,189 in 12 years and a mind boggling £1,059,312 in 24 years.

You can find out the full facts at www.wealthinvest.co.uk 

We live in interesting times. Governments brought down by Facebook and Twitter. A two speed Europe. Maybe it's time to invest differently too?

Warm regards

Graham

 

 

French Property Prices Still Rising

France may be the closest country to us geographically, but it doesn't mean we are anything like the same.

While the UK media spreads doom and gloom about ongoing falls in property prices, the latest French results show a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. As ever its a variable picture depending on which region we look at, but Paris prices have been very strong as have the Alps and the south. In other words, the areas where we recommend leaseback investment!.

The outlook for mortgage rates is a possible rise in the French bank rate during April or May, so if you are seriously thinking of making an investment now would be a good time so you can lock in the current mortgage deals.

The 3 month Eurobor, the rate used to price most French mortgages, has gone up by .15% to 1.2% in the first quarter. French inflation is forecast to hit 2.4% this year, hence the pressure on the central bank to raise rates. 

Whether the rate creeps up a bit or not, rates remain at historic lows but we shouldn't take them for granted. If you're as old as me and you remember 14.8% mortgages and negative equity in the 1980s then you'll agree that these are good times to borrow against long term incoem generating assets.

Best wishes

Graham

The Leaseback Team

www.leaseback.co.uk

+44(0) 20 8940 7000

64% Want To Invest In Overseas Property Now

It seems that many of us refuse to be dragged down by the doom mongers and the media.

In their latest survey Worldwide Property Group report that 72% of people believe property is the best investment, with gold second on just 16% and shares in a poor third place on just 11%.

64% of those polled thought that now is 'a great opportunity to invest in overseas property', with France being in the top 3 countries most favoured. Historically low interest rates add to the usual attractions of scenery, cuisine, outdoor pursuits and culture to make a compelling case for French property.

I know I'm biased but leasebacks give you a way of exploiting this opportunity in the most tax efficient way and with the least amount of hassle. Starting with a 19.6% tax rebate, add in generous offsets against rental income, up to 100% mortgages, guaranteed rental income and someone else doing all the work.

Sorry, once I get on my soapbox I can't stop...

But it won't be this good forever. Interest rates have definitely bottomed out and are starting to rise.  Competition from international investors is adding to demand especially in the most sought after locations. And while there are more projects around than there were two years ago, the best projects are still selling out within a matter of weeks.

That's where we come in - once we find the right place for you we can take an option on it while you have a think.  

So why not make 2011 the year you take the plunge and add a French leaseback to your portfolio?

PS Sorry about the recent lack of blog posts - I've been locked in a room finishing my book but now it's done so I can get back to all the things I've been neglecting...

All the best

 

Graham

www.leaseback.co.uk

www.leaseback.tv     

 

Why Leaseback Owners Need Good Support

We often talk about the process of investing in leaseback properties but today I want to look at what happens when you complete the process and become an owner. 

You will start receiving letters from various French organisations and it can seem disorientating. Here's an extract from my forthcoming book 'The French Property Secret - And How It Can Change Your Life'  :

"To give you an example of the sort of challenge you can face, one of my clients recently received a letter from the French tax authorities. It referred to an earlier letter sent four months ago stating that the development in which her leaseback was based had not met the conditions of a Residence De Tourisme. It seems the inspector had visited and reached a conclusion that not all the services expected of a management company were being delivered. (These include provision of reception staff, laundry, breakfast and cleaning services). The original letter  stated that, unless she responded by disputing these findings within thirty days, it would be assumed that she was in agreement and that €27,851 of VAT would be reclaimed by the government!

Even though, in the time since the letter was allegedly sent, the residence had been re-inspected and the Residence de Tourisme status granted, this did not change her apparent acceptance of the tax authorities’ position.

Thankfully we were able to prove that she had never received the original letter, forcing the tax authorities to reissue the letter at which point she responded appropriately.

There are two lessons to be learned from this. The first is that, unlike the response I see from many international investors, you cannot simply ignore correspondence that you receive just because it is in French and therefore placed on the ‘too difficult’ pile.

The second is that you need someone to turn to when something like this happens. For clients of our support service, it’s simply a question of scanning any document as soon as it arrives and emailing it to us. It gets dealt with quickly and efficiently, and you’ll only be contacted if there’s something unusual that needs your input."

If you want to learn more about the Leaseback Support Service visit

http://www.leaseback.co.uk/leasebackhelp.htm

Languedoc - France's New Hot Spot

It's sunny but accessible.

It's pretty but not over developed. And it's the area with the fastest growing population in France for the next twenty years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The darker areas on the map are the fastest growing population areas, with the South coast clearly the most popular (anything to do with 300 days of sunshine a year?).

But the growth has been matched by infrastructure investment - over €10 billion in the last eight years including motorways, the TGV, 4 tramways in Montpellier and a new port in Sete. Local President Georges Freche clearly knows the right buttons to press in Brussels as much of the work has been EU funded.

What it means for us is another huge trend in our favour if we invest in a leaseback in this part of France. With twenty years of growth ahead, a great climate and good infrastructure, I expect many more international investors to add a Languedoc leaseback to their portfolio in 2011.

Fun Video About Chatel

One of the new projects we launched at Leaseback Liveski last week was Le Grand Lodge at Chatel. It's one of the prettiest towns in the Alps and is really handy for Geneva airport.

But never mind all that - I just want you to watch the video because I think it's really cool...   

What Has Chelsea FC Got In Common With A Leaseback?

I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week on a seminar at Chelsea Football Club.

Seeing behind the scenes reminded me of all the work that goes on to keep Residences De Tourisme going so that you can just turn up and enjoy your holiday.

Watch me shivering on the video and listen for the icy blasts towards the end...

 

Sarkozy To Abolish Wealth Tax

Building a portfolio of leasebacks in France has always carried the drawback of taking you into the Wealth Tax bracket.

Introduced by the Socialist Party in 1981, the wealth tax is paid by those with total assets worth more than €790,000 (£672,100), regardless of their income.

In a television interview last week President Sarkozy said that he wanted to abandon the solidarity tax on wealth, one of the last remaining wealth taxes in Europe, to bring the French fiscal regime into line with Germany.

The bottom rate for the current wealth tax, which is levied annually, is 0.55% of the net worth of household assets, while the top rate is 1.8%. Those in the lowest band, with assets valued between €790,000 (£674,000) and €1.29m (£1m), pay up to €2,750 (£2,346) a year. Those in the highest band, with assets valued at more than €16.54m (£14m) pay at least €221,120 (£188,700).

A total of 562,000 households are expected to pay around €3.29bn (£2.8bn) of wealth tax to the French treasury this year.

I've been saying for some time that conditions have never been better for building a portfolio of French leasebacks, with mortgage rates at their lowest since the French revolution. Looks like the the situation just got even better...

Best wishes

Graham

www.leaseback.co.uk

020 8940 7000

 

Obama Meets VIP At Baltimore Airport...

 

 

 

It was a lucky chance for Barack Obama as he changed planes at Baltimore airport.

It just so happened leaseback guru Graham Rowan was also connecting to a flight to Raleigh North Carolina.

There was just enough time for the two to swap business cards and for the President to be appointed an honorary member of the Leaseback Insiders Club. Rowan offered Obama a ticket for Leaseback Liveski on 30th November - he said he would get his people to check if AirForce One could pop across to Kensington that evening.

Rowan also offered nutrition advice as the President was looking a little thin... 

Postcard From Baltimore

As we continue our stay in Baltimore Daphne and I walked past the submarine USS Torsk in the harbour. It gave me an analogy for how we prepare for retirement which I captured on this brief video:

 

For more on Leaseback Liveski visit www.leaseback.co.uk and, if you'd like a couple of the 10 remaining tickets, take 30 seconds to fill in the form there. More from the US of A soon.

Graham