» Hotspots in the sun
The crickets are chirruping, and you can feel the last rays of the day’s heat on your face as you watch the sun set from your villa’s terrace. The barbecue is sizzling and your pool still looks inviting, especially when this idyllic environment is all yours for renting and using as you please for less than £215,000 - for the rest of your life.
Added to that, you can enjoy your villa appreciating at around 20% a year in a confident rising market, plus strong rental demand, with sufficient earnings from the high season to cover your overheads.
It will come as little surprise to hear this kind of property is not found in the UK. We’re talking Croatia, Turkey and Cyprus, among many other international hotspots. Indeed, to find comparable capital growth in Sussex, you’d have to go back at least five years. In fact, you’d be lucky to pick up a two bedroom flat in Brighton for the same price these days, and it’s highly likely it would still need some considerable refurb work before it was as comfortable as some of the stunning new build properties being constructed abroad.
It’s easy to see why there is an estimated 4.5 million British buyers looking to take advantage of the extremely attractive returns found in sunnier climes (Source: Barclays).
“Many investors are put off buying abroad because we don’t know which locations to choose, or who we can trust - namely estate agents, developers, and even lawyers.” says Caroline Hollingworth, managing director of Sussex-based overseas property specialists, Hollingworth & Associates.
“A successful purchase comes down to doing the research and working with the best professionals in the business,” says Hollingworth. “Many buyers spend more time looking for the right pair of jeans than researching the right property, despite investing hundreds of thousands of pounds more.”
Hollingworth & Associates has a team of experts spanning the globe, dedicated to cherry-picking the best property investment opportunities in the marketplace and guiding investors through the buying process from start to completion.
Hollingworth advises against settling for the old adage of location, location, location. “When you’re buying overseas, there are numerous important factors you should be considering and location is only one aspect. Successful property investing comes down to choosing the right market, getting the timing spot on, identifying the political and economic outlook, assessing a country or region’s accessibility and surrounding infrastructure, as well as its ongoing demand, and perhaps most importantly, looking to a country and regional future to gauge a market’s sustainability.”
This market intelligence is crucial to Hollingworth’s property selection process. “We recognise that property investment can be a risky business,” concludes Hollingworth, “which is why we demand a transparent approach and only offer buyers developments and properties that are underpinned by facts and statistics that significantly mitigate the risks and provide an acceptable level of due diligence”.
Hollingworth & Associates are based in the heart of Brighton. For further information, call 01273 697437 or email info@hollingworthandassociates.com. You can also visit their website for further information at www.hollingworthandassociates.com
