Overseas Property Investment

Top Tips For Overseas Property Investment;Its All Been Said Before But Its Worth Reiterating

Estate Agents Websites

There was a time when a homebuyers first search would be in the local paper property pages, followed by a trip into the Estate Agent to pick up the details, before ringing up to organise a viewing. Nowadays the internet means that most property searches begin online. We can view the street, garden and rooms and create a favourites list while watching the TV.
Typically purchasers will search for Property/house/flats/one bedroom apartments/Villas etc in West Hampstead/ Dubai/Solihull. They will not be searching the name of the agent necessarily. Websites built, nurtured and maintained with Search Engine Optimisation in mind will ensure the Estate Agent is stumbled upon; the agency site which appears on the first pages of Google under usual search terms, will be the first port of call.
Once found websites should be easily accessible; the next agent’s website is just one click away if the prospective client is asked to fill out a long form and register in order to view your properties. We don’t want to spend 10 minute looking for the ‘search properties’ or ‘contact us’ functionality
Estate Agency websites not only need to provide an easy to use property search facility for the prospective buyer looking to create a viewing shortlist. They must ensure that each set of property details are as comprehensive and informative as possible, to include maps, and knowledge of the local area, floor plans and as many photos as possible. As yet, video footage of UK residential property is not often used and may prove to be too costly in the marketing process. However, videos and/or 360 degree images of overseas property is a must in a market where the cost of viewing several properties before purchase could put prove prohibitive.
Likewise, when looking around for an agent as a seller we want to see our home marketed to its full potential, whatever its asking price, so that we wonder why we are moving on; great photos and descriptions, local information such as lists of schools, transport links should be the norm.
Paramount Properties are West Hampstead based estate and letting agents with houses, penthouses, lofts, studios, flats and apartments for sale and to rent in Belsize Park, Brondesbury, Childs Hill, Cricklewood, Fortune Green, Highgate,Hampstead, Hampstead Village, Hocroft Estate, Little Venice, Kensal Rise, Klburn, Maida Vale, Mapesbury Estate, Queens Park, St. John's Wood, South Hampstead, Swiss Cottage and Willesden Green


Paramount Properties Estate and Letting Agents

150 WEST END LANE

WEST HAMPSTEAD, LONDON, NW6 1SD

Tel: 020 7644 2336 Fax: 020 7372 2712

e-mail: info@paramount-properties.co.uk

West Hampstead estate agents

West Hampstead estate agents.blog

Gazumping and Gazundering

Gazundering and Gazumping Rates Reveal Property Market Revival

Gazumping has returned to the property market as confidence among estate agents reaches its highest level since the credit crunch began. Gazumping last hit its peak with buoyant property prices in the residential property market of the late 1980s and early 1990s when gazumping became commonplace (in England and Wales)Gazumping is possible here because a buyer's offer is not legally binding even after acceptance of the offer by the vendor. This is because, by s.2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 and in order to prevent dishonesty, a contract for the sale of land must be in writing (a requirement of English law that dates back to the Statute of Frauds of 1677)

What Is Gazumping?
When the owner accepts the offer on a property, the buyer will usually not yet have commissioned a building survey nor will the buyer have yet had the opportunity to perform recommended legal checks. The offer to purchase is made "subject to contract" and thus, until written contracts are exchanged either party can pull out at any time. It can take as long as 10-12 weeks for formalities to be completed, and if the seller is tempted by a higher offer during this period it leaves the buyer disappointed and out-of-pocket.

Gazumping is hitting popular parts of London for the first time in months and it is now likely to strike other towns and cities where prospective buyers outnumber properties.

So is it farewell to Gazundering?
We hope so.When property prices are in decline the practice of gazumping becomes rare. The term gazundering has been coined for the opposite practice whereby the buyer waits until everybody is poised to exchange contracts before lowering the offer on the property, threatening the collapse of a whole chain of house sales waiting for the deal to go through.

UK Pubs Face Demolition If Landlords Dont Let

The confirmation in last weeks budget that there would be no increase in the tax relief rate period on empty business properties could see the demolition of many traditional pubs. The only concession for landlords of industrial and commercial spaces in the budget was that empty property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less will be excused from paying the empty building rates until March 31 next year.
Before April 1 last year, empty pubs, offices and shops received 50 per cent tax relief. They now have to pay the full amount when a property is empty for more than three months. Landlords of industrial space have to pay full rates after six months' grace whereas previously they had full relief.
While this may not directly affect the Publican, the pubcos who will have to pay this extra tax hike will have to pass the cost on or make savings somewhere else; redundancies; increase in rents for the publican; a further rise in the price of beer. But perhaps the worst scenario will be the demolition on old UK traditional pubs.
This is a far greater threat to the traditional UK Pub than a hike in beer tax or any conversion to a takeaway



George IV
Commercial Road
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS5
£ 100,000 + VAT
Leasehold
http://www.paramount-investments.co.uk/

Save On UK Pub Rateable Value; UK publicans can appeal

Check out your pubs rateable value (http://www.voa.gov.uk)
The website states its case as follows;
Rating is a property tax based on rental value. Whether the property is a shop, a factory or a pub, various elements can affect its value upwards or downwards. The more popular a pub is, and the better the facilities, then the greater the potential for trade and the higher the rental value is likely to be. Events and facilities, such as quizzes, darts and pool, either provide an indication of the popularity and therefore likely potential trade of the pub or constitute facilities likely to enhance trade. They have been recorded and taken into account when valuing pubs since 1990, and are already reflected in current rateable values. This method is agreed with the industry and is a tried and tested way of valuing pubs.
So how does the loss of earning following the smoking ban or the costly investment in outside 2 sided buildings to provide an area for smokers impact on the rateable value of your pub? All that is clear from the website is that certain rural businesses, such as village shops and petrol stations, may be able to claim rate relief and you may be able to get hardship relief if you are finding it difficult to pay. This is normally only available to businesses that are important to the local community.
As you would find it difficult to change the use of a village pub due to its importance in the village, it seems only fair that to keep the pub open, business tax relief should be due?
The smoking ban’s effect on business could be taken into account as well as any other changes in the area, such as the closure of other businesses.
You can query, or make an appeal to reduce the rateable value of your commercial property in the form of a proposal to the Valuation Office Agency.

Holiday Home Sell Off = Holiday Let Price Rise

Furnished holiday home owners face some difficult decisions before the latest budget measures kick in, in April of next year; Previously owners of furnished holiday homes were able to defer capital gains tax payments or offset losses made on their investment against their income. In order to qualify for these benefits, secondary homes had to be furnished, run as a commercial business and available to rent, by the public for at least 140 days a year, with actual lettings for 70 days in the year.

Alistair Darling has put a stop to all benefits, and the result could affect more people than the secondary home owners.

Such measures will make ownership of a holiday home to let far less attractive investment. Many might consider selling their property before next Aprils deadline; sale prices would fall due to a surplus which could provide some bargains for those of us with spare cash. The other side of course is that the letting market will have fewer properties, and owners will be able to charge more.

For those people who have headed the lessons of the credit crunch, tightened their belts and decided to holiday in the UK this year, the price of their holiday accommodation has just gone up. The 2% beer tax hike, the closure of pubs with B&Bs and hotels all impact on the holiday at home market, which has struggled for long enough.

UK Laws for Change of Use of Pubs

UK Pub Conversions- Change of Use
6 pubs a week are calling last orders for the last time with the asking price of the buildings low enough to tempt property developers as well as other retailers. Planning laws on change of use may restrict development to residential property on pubs in certain areas; a city centre pub is more likely to gain permission for conversion to a residential property than the only pub in the village, and some pubs are advertised for sale with full change of use/ planning.
Agents at London-based Paramount Investments said the company would prefer to sell to a new pub landlord but would consider other buyers. Paramount managing director Mark Greig said: “Not all pubs which close down are redeveloped as housing. A lot of them reopen again as pubs or as other businesses.” He added: “Falling property prices are creating tremendous bargains within the pub market for licensees and other entrepreneurs”
So if residential conversion is not available, what changes can be made to the use of the pub for other businesses?

The following classes of use for England are set out in the Town and Country Planning Order 1987. Pubs are in the A4 ‘Drinking Establishment’ class, and can be converted without permission being sought to any of the following;
A1, Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, undertakers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices, pet shops, sandwich bars, showrooms, domestic hire shops, dry cleaners and funeral directors
A2 Financial and professional services - Banks, building societies, estate and employment agencies, professional and financial services and betting offices.
A3 Restaurants and cafés - For the sale of food and drink for consumption on the premises - restaurants, snack bars and cafes
Paramount managing director Mark Greig said “Pubs often appeal to retailers because there is a natural crossover in space requirements. As pubs are often around 4,000 sq ft (370 sq m) and have a floor-to-ceiling height of around 8 ft (2.4 m), the sales space is ideal. Furthermore, because pubs also need both basement space for heavy duty equipment and space for deliveries, retailers often find they have ready-made sites for storage.”
UK Pub Sales Agents: Paramount Investments are specialists in the sales and leasing of UK pubs, including freehold pubs, leasehold pubs, inns, public houses, pub tenancies and managed houses.

For further details please contact the investments team on 020 7644 2333

Web: www.paramount-investments.co.uk/
Blog: uk-pubs-for-sale.blogspot.com/
Search: www.uk-pub-sales.net/