The Press Room
Welcome to the Your Place Abroad Press Room. Below are press articles regarding foreign property purchase that we feel our clients may find of interest, we even feature in a few!
Sharm el Sheikh: Everything under the sun
Located on the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Sharm el Sheikh is all cloudless blue skies, palm trees and breathtaking sunsets.
It is a harsh rather than beautiful landscape, but the colours alone are like a much-needed shot of adrenaline, especially for those of us who’d pinned our hopes on an Indian summer. In this former fishing village, year-round sunshine is almost guaranteed (the resort saw its last major rainfall seven years ago).
Bag a hot property in Mexico
Think of Mexico and tequila-toting bandits or Mel Gibson’s gory Mayan epic Apocalypto might spring to mind. Less well-known is that Brits are flocking there to buy a second home.
Why? It’s less speculative than Brazil, more exotic than Florida, and cheaper than the Caribbean. And as well as a sub-tropical climate and vibrant beaches, Mexico is rich in culture, and it’s a much more mainstream destination than it used to be.
‘For the past 25 years, the country’s been struggling, but things are changing and people are now willing to take a bet on it. The Mexican government is also encouraging non-residents to buy’.
Hotspot - Portugal, Ferragudo
This unspoilt fishing village used to be the Western Algarve’s best-kept secret – but not any longer.
Think you know everything there is to know about Portugal’s Algarve? Then think again. Because there’s one coastal spot that has, until now, kept itself out of the spotlight.
That place is Ferragudo, a traditional fishing village where old women greet you from their gardens, fishermen lazily mend their nets on the quayside, young couples stroll happily along its sandy beaches and the occasional tourist admires the castle at the river’s mouth.
It's Va Va Voom in Venezuela
This exotic outpost has all the benefits and few of the pitfalls of some overseas favourites closer to home - and a property sector that's revving up…
Even for seasoned overseas property buyers, South America may seem like a continent too far – and Venezuela an outrageously exotic option for an investment or holiday home. But look closely at a map of the region and suddenly the attractions of this classy corner of the Caribbean become obvious.
Town that got away
Tavira is the exception to the Algarve rule – unspoilt and affordable. Anthony Jefferies reports.
WE BRITISH love the Algarve with its year-round sunshine, its Anglophile leanings and more golf courses than you can shake a mashie nib lick at.
The problem is that so many of us buy into this southern European dream that it can seem more like Bournemouth than Albufeira at times. Everywhere you look there are menus, signs and newspapers in English, and the estate agents’ windows are full of front-line golf villas and low rise apartment blocks within easy reach of an authentic Irish pub or an Asian restaurant.
And so to Med....
Cyprus, the Med’s largest island is a firm favourite with British tourists and homebuyers.
Familiarity is a draw card: islanders dive on the left, English is widely spoken, and the legal and tax systems are similar. Access is also improving with the expansion of Larnaca and Paphos airports and new low-cost flights through Monarch. The island should also see a marked uplift when it adopts the Euro next January.
“The demand for property is increasing by as much as 20 percent a year and experts predict that within five years, all prime locations, particularly beachfront land, will be used up” says Chris Davies of Your Place Abroad.
The WAGs (property) boutique
It’s a whole new ball game for footballer’s wife Keely Barrett…Helping relocate others just like her.
Keeley Barrett is the WAG who wants to be known for more than the flashy sex-and-shopping life-style which defines most footballers’ wives and girlfriends.
The 34 Year Old, married to former England player Earl Barrett, has now set herself up as a property finder and relocation expert for every new WAG who arrives in Cheshire.
A haven of delights plus duty free
They tick all the boxes. Unspoilt, blue seas and year-round sun.
Island living, especially in unspoilt, sparsely populated sunny climes, is the ultimate dream of many foreign property buyers. The Caribbean paradise of Isla Margarita has all this and more.
Sparkling turquoise seas and sandy white beaches fringe an island on which more than three quarters of the land is undeveloped. Owned by Venezuela, it is about 30 miles off the north-eastern coast and provides a great taste of Caribbean life – with added bonus of being out of the hurricane belt.
Now, this is right up my Street!
It’s a long way from Weatherfield, but when Gaynor Faye took her family on an epic voyage through the Caribbean, they had a grand old time.
"Oh well I don’t think your going to see anything today", our guide sighed heavily after we’d sat patiently for more than an hour bobbing in a boat three miles off the coast of St Lucia.
I was gutted. This whale-watching trip had been the key selling-point when I’d decided to take my entire family on a cruise around the West Indies and the star performers had failed to turn up.
I aim to be a premier league developer
The former England footballer whose new goal is building five-star homes in the Algarve
It’s easy enough to name some of the sports celebrities endorsing luxury resorts and developments overseas – think Sir Steve Redgrave in Spain’s Costa de la Luz or Seve Ballesteros in Estepona. But former footballer Tony Dorigo has gone one step further and is building his own boutique development.
Although the former England defender has no previous experience as a developer, he has just launched Vale da Lapa Parque on the Algarve, with two and three-bedroom villas ranging from €465,000 (£313,000) to €950,000 (£640,000).
Florida’s a new attraction in Wayne's world
Can it be true that Florida is fashionable again? Despite the US property market lurching from bad to worse, the state best known as a hotbed for retirees and Disney junkies is now attracting high profile sporting stars such as footballer Wayne Rooney and Ryder Cup golfer Lee Westwood.
Both sportsmen have just bought at the luxurious Harbor Pointe development at Port Charlotte and others are about to sign on the dotted line.
Wayne's world expands as star buys Florida pad
Star splashes out on luxury apartment. Complex proving a big draw for stars.Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney has treated himself to a luxury £250,000-plus apartment. Wayne's believed to have bought the pad so his fiancee Coleen can take her sister Rosie, 9, who suffers from a a rare brain disorder and needs 24-hour care, after trips to nearby Disneyland.
Wayne's pad has only been completed this year but a few remaining apartments are still available on the celebrity crammed complex through Stockport-based property experts Your Place Abroad.
Is Florida ready for the Rooneys?
Celebrities are spending millions on Gulf Coast homes, but is it a good investment?
WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
Harbor Pointe in Port Charlotte, a quiet waterfront community with an historic centre south of Sarasota on west Florida's Gulf Coast.
Port Charlotte and nearby Punta Gorda, also on the waterfront, are separated by the narrow Peace River. On the doorstep are beaches, parks, golf courses and shopping malls.
Into Bat for the Caribbean
My paradise found...in a day
Why England captain Michael Vaughan and his wife are buying property on the beautiful island of Margarita.
When on holiday in Barbados two months ago, Michael, 32 took the short plane hop over to the lush, mountainous Venezuelan island of Margarita, with a view to adding another holiday home to his portfolio.
He promptly bought a £199,000 four-bedroom, hacienda-style villa, which will be completed in 14 months, overlooking the beach in Piedra Negra in the north-east of the island. The house is set in a gated community of 50 similar properties, each with a private pool, barbeque and views of the Caribbean.
Margarita - a little bit of paradise
A cancelled flight led to the discovery of a paradise island for Cheshire overseas property developer Chris Davies.
Chris, boss of Bramhall-based Your Place Abroad, was due to be flying to Florida on a work trip last year. But when his flight was cancelled at the last minute due to a security alert, he decided to look into a hot tip he'd been given about the Caribbean gem of Margarita.
Show him the way to Amarilla
Hale's Freddie Flintoff is bowled over by his new place in the sun at Amarilla, tenerife as he explains in a Question and Answer session.
Why have you decided to buy a property in Tenerife?
We wanted to have a holiday home that wasn't too far to travel; with two young kids it can be difficult traveling at times. Tenerife has some great beaches, plenty of sunshine and of course you can find world-class golf courses here. There's a lot more to Tenerife than people think, with its cultural and historic side and of course English is widely spoken.
Freddie knows the way to Amarilla
Our home-grown cricket hero has found a penthouse on a island paradise for him and his young family
Lancashire cricket superstar Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has splashed out £290,000 so he can sit in his Jacuzzi and gaze out at one of the world's great sea views.
The Preston-born all-rounder snapped up the three-bedroom hideaway on Tenerife after seeing the stunning surroundings of Mount Teide and the Atlantic Ocean.
A new isle of plenty
We'll be hearing a lot more of Margarita. It's almost the Caribbean, properties are cheap and the authorities welcome foreign buyers.
There's a new South American holiday-home location being launched the autumn to tempt Britons' demand for exotic overseas property. But despite being a classic location for locals, few in Europe have heard of it.
Spain is where my boat's come in
Sir Steve Redgrave finds a family home in the shelter of the Costa de la Luz
Olympic rowing phenomenon Sir Steve Redgrave has struck gold again on a glorious Andalusian lake in readiness for the day when he hangs up his oars for good.
Tenerife is our winter warmer...
Scorched by sunny Spain, Brits are finding their way to Amarilla
Until the property market turned as sluggish as a sunburnt Englishman, the Costa del Sol was a hotspot if you were looking for a short-haul destination with warm winters and reliable rental potential.
For Sale in Venezuela
Piedra Negra
An estate of ranch-style houses to be built on Margarita Island, in a guarded beachside resort with pools, tennis courts and barbeque areas. From £199,950.
Playa Cardon
A gated community of 30 newly-built townhouses, 200 metres from the beach at the Margarita Island resort of El Cardon, with 24-hour security, private gardens and a large communal pool. From £64,950.
Excuse my Portuguese now, Ron?
Former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson may be struggling to learn French for BBC2’s celebrity school series Excuse My French, but he’d be better off learning Portuguese (and, some still might say, some manners).
Great lifestyle at limbo-low prices
England Cricket captain Michael Vaughan has made a big catch - based on a solid partnership.
He's bought a holiday home on the stunning Caribbean island of Margarita with Bramhall-based foreign property company Your Place Abroad.
Meet the Flintoffs
Exclusive: Where Freddie and Rachael are buying their sunshine hideaway
Freddie Flintoff sees the world's exotic places on tour with the England team, but found Tenerife had all he wanted for a family getaway - complete with golf course.
Howzat for a holiday home
Who's buying where and why? This week: Cricketer Michael Vaughan on Margarita Island
WHO'S BUYING THERE?
THE Ashes-winning England cricket captain Michael Vaughan - he of the troublesome knee which is awaiting a fourth operation.
So, he may welcome a bolthole to hobble to with his wife Nichola and their two children after next year's World cup in the West Indies.