HomeHere is a list of news archive items.
An e-mail based scam from what seems to be a professional con-man is doing the rounds aimed at holiday property owners...
Largest Private Development in US Breaks Ground
At the end of June 2006, MGM Mirage began pouring the foundations of the MGM Project CityCenter, the largest private development under construction in the United States. The project will be an upscale urban residential district complete with high end shops, gourmet restaurants, cinemas, parks and unique pedestrian environments...
UK Mortgages top £1,000 billion for the first time
The total sum owed in mortgages topped £1,000 billion for the first time in May, according to figures from the Bank of England...
Condo hotels are being cited as one of the hottest products in today's real estate market and not just in the United States, though this is where the majority of developments currently are...
European Health Insurance Cards
European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) have replaced the traditional E111 forms that covered UK residents travelling in Europe for medical treatment...
Don't Use Your Bank for Foreign Property
People buying second homes abroad are losing thousands of pounds in currency exchange because they use high-street banks rather than specialist foreign-exchange brokers...
Barcelona and Palma- London's New Commuter Belt?
The Future Forum predicts Chip 'n' Go passports, low cost commuter belts, and fair trade resorts will influence how we travel in 2016...
Portugal Has Fastest Coastal Development
Population densities along the European coast are higher and continue to grow faster than those inland, the "Changing faces of Europe's coastal areas" EEA report released this month says. Between 1990 and 2000 artificial surfaces (primarily roads and buildings) in coastal zones increased in almost all European countries...
HM Treasury Announce Investigation into Travel Insurance
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ed Balls, today announced a new inquiry into the sale of travel insurance purchased as part of a package...
Twice as Many Brits Now Want to Emigrate Than in 2003
The number of Britons hoping to emigrate in the near future has almost doubled in three years, a poll carried out by ICM for BBC Online suggests...
AIPP Membership
We are proud to announce that we are Members of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP)...
The Knight Frank Global House Price Index
The Knight Frank Global House Price Index for Q2 2006 shows results for property in 30 countries on a standardised basis every quarter...
Smaller manufacturers enjoy export growth for the first time in a decade
Export orders for small and medium sized (SME) manufacturers have grown for the first time in over a decade, and are expected to continue rising, according to CBI...
Oslo is world's most expensive city
A new survey has found that Oslo is the world's most expensive city in which to live...
One in Three Brits Wants to Retire Abroad
New Clerical Medical research shows that 77% of brits are positive about retirement and 1 in 3 brits aspires to retire abroad...
Why Languedoc Remains A Strong Favourite For Property Investors
Alex Charles, co-founder of property specialist website Creme de Languedoc makes the case for why overseas investors should not miss out on this strong investment opportunity...
BA Launch Interactive Travel Tools with Google Earth
British Airways and Google have teamed up to make travel preparation even easier by launching a new interactive service through the airline's website...
Bulgarian Property Market Overview Launched
Colliers International has just published the first market overview of the Bulgarian holiday homes market. The report documents the significant development in the past years in both mountain and coastal resort areas...
Romania on verge of EU accession
A European Commission report released yesterday announced that Romania and Bulgaria will join the EU on 1st January 2007, seven years after membership talks began. This accession date has been brought forward from 2008 after Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced that the two countries had made enough progress to be able to join the EU ahead of schedule...
Tripartite Agreement to End 'Siege' of Gibraltar
On 18 September 2006 representatives of the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Spain concluded in Cordoba, Spain, a landmark agreement on a range of cross-cutting issues affecting the Rock and the campo Gibraltar removing many of the restrictions imposed by Spain...
9m Brits want to leave the UK permanently
According to a NatWest Survey, one in three current and potential overseas homeowners would like to retire abroad...
E.T. Phone Home - But Maybe Not From Spain
A phone line is considered a basic amenity and is considered to be the norm especially in a brand new, purpose built home. However, buyers of off plan property shouldn't be so complacent to expect to be able to check your emails when away from work on holiday or even make an emergency phone call without a mobile phone...
The Broker World in 2020 Study
Spain, France and imminent EU entrant, Bulgaria, will be the top three European countries for overseas mortgage distribution by 2020 according to a study by Alliance & Leicester Mortgages...
O2 and Movistar offer free incoming calls when travelling in Europe
Telefónica, through O2 in the UK and movistar in Spain, launched a new mobile pricing plan which removes charges when receiving calls abroad. The two companies are the first operators in the world to launch such a service regardless of which network the call is received on...
Bulgaria still on top despite negative publicity
Last month, Bulgaria received the second highest number of enquiries from prospective overseas investors for the second month in a row, reports property website The Move Channel...
Property prices push first-time buyers abroad
3.8 million first time buyers would consider buying abroad just to get onto the property ladder, according to the new research from MRI Overseas Property...
Strong pound and booming house prices help Brits move abroad
More than 198,000 British nationals moved overseas last year, bringing the total number of Brits abroad to more than 5.5 million, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research. The report says that a strong economy at home has encouraged emigration and that very few Britons leave because they think ‘the country has gone to the dogs’...
Electoral information for British citizens living overseas
Advice from The Electoral Commission to Brits living overseas...
The Spanish government is likely cut capital gains tax for non-residents in 2007
It is widely anticipated that the Spanish government will reduce capital gains tax liabilities for non-resident property sellers in its 2007 budget. The tax is payable on the difference between the selling price and original purchase price of a property...
EU and Euro Zone Expansion Continues
On 01 January 2007 Slovenia became the first former communist country in Europe to adopt the euro as its currency. On the same day, Bulgaria and Romania celebrated their first day as European Union citizens, 17 years after the fall of communism...
Why buying a new home abroad has never been easier
Extracts from Nic Cicutti's article in the Sunday Herald: New generation of independent dealers provides cheap alternative to banks...
Spain and France Still Favourites with Over-50s
Despite growing interests in emerging markets, the traditional favourites of Spain and France are still the most popular choice for the over-50s, according to new research...
Government Faces Strong Legal Challenge on Air Passenger Duty
Leading tour operators - members of the Federation of Tour Operators - have launched a challenge to the legality of the Government’s Air Passenger Duty. If the Judicial Review is successful it will mean the complete withdrawal of the tax, and leave the Government open to claims by airlines, and their customers, for the repayment of over £2 billion that has been collected since 2004...
New International Property Rights Index Launched
Property Rights Alliance, in conjunction with 37 global partners, yesterday released the inaugural International Property Rights Index at an event at the National Press Club...
Carrying cash in and out of the United Kingdom
From 15 June 2007 if you are arriving directly from, or are travelling directly to, a country
outside the European Union, and are carrying 10,000 euros or more or the equivalent amount
in another currency, you must complete a cash declaration form...
UK Taxpayers Offshore Disclosure Facility
HMRC to target those with offshore bank accounts and undeclared tax liabilities who chose not to come forward to make a disclosure...
New Spanish Legislation Levels the Insurance Playing Field
Until now, for the expat community in Spain, buying insurance has tended to be clouded by uncertainly. Some agents have been purporting to be brokers when they were actually only selling products from one company...
More Than 110,000 Passengers Book Travel on High Speed 1
Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train operator between the UK and the continent, announced on 06 August that more than 110,000 passengers have booked to travel on High Speed 1 in the period between the opening of St Pancras International on 14 November and Christmas...
IRIS - Iris Recognition Immigration System – what is it and what are the issues?
IRIS (Iris Recognition Immigration System) is being promoted as 'a fast and secure way to clear immigration when returning to the UK'. Pilot projects are currently running at Heathrow, Manchester, Gatwick and Birmingham...
The World's Largest Leisure Park And It's Not in America
Earlier this year the Dubai Municipality approved 16 master plans for what is being billed as the world’s most ambitious family entertainment destination. The sheer scale of building projects in Dubai keeps it constantly in the media, but Dubailand is pretty big, even by their standards...
