We’ve selected this property as our Best Value for Money! For sale privately by a local Spanish family. View it by going to www.mouse-move.com and type in P000656 in the Property Listings field.

Quick Summary of the property…
Price: 470,000 euros

Located on 700m2 of land.

3 bed, 2 bathrooms, 1 ensuite.

panoramic Sea and Mountaint Views

View more photos and details by going to www.mouse-move.com and type in P000656 in the Property Listings field.

Quick Summary of the Surrounding area…
Valldemossa (meaning Beautiful Lady in Mallorquin) is an old village in the mountains. Here you find a monastery where the composer Chopin lived the winter 1838/39. The houses are constructed of stone. It is a cool place and in the winter you get snow from time to time. It is well worth visiting this place, walk the streets and visit the museum. La Beata is the saint protecting the village. All the houses have a small ceramic plate at the main entrance saying: Beata, pray for us!

Having visited the sleepy town myself several times, I can only describe it as walking through a filmset. Everything seems so perfectly Mediterranean it’s hard to believe people actually live there! If you are ever to visit, be sure to sample the gastronomy in the local restaurantes and it is a MUST to try the infamous Coca de Patata!

Despite the fears of a global market slowdown caused by what many analysts are already calling a recession in the U.S., the overseas property investment sector continues to flourish. While David Stanley Redfern Ltd research into overseas property markets is ongoing, their 2008 research is finally at a point where they are willing to present their top investment destinations and the reasons why. Liam Bailey, head of international research for the international property specialist said:

“This will be the first part in a serious that will first cover the top five destinations for short-term investment, and then the top five destinations for long-term investments. Doing them in groups of two allows us to give a more detailed explanation of why we favour each one as a good destination for property investment.”

No 1 - Philippines
The Philippines is an incredible destination for a short-term property investment. Using other countries in the region as a guide, and considering the fact that the Philippines real estate growth is based on the same strengths, it is a safe bet that Philippines real estate will grow in value by 20-25% per year. Take Bangkok, where we can now see real estate being sold for twice what they were 3-4 years ago. And Cambodia’s Phnom Penh is seeing strong 24%-25% growth year on year.

Philippines real estate growth is — like Phnom Penh — fuelled by massive growth in its business and industry sectors, primarily in Manila as major companies flock in to build cheap office towers, inhabited by a cheap work-force, working with manufacturing goods bought just as cheaply. This then brings in retail chains and financial outlets in preparation for the increasing affluence of the population. The big corporations tend to relocate the top-level management, and the incoming executives are looking for quality rented accommodation, the same is true as the affluence of local people increases in their new jobs.

David Stanley Redfern’s Philippines real estate is perfect to capitalise on the demand for quality rented accommodation. The second tower of the three tower Lancaster condominium development is currently being built in Manila’s Makati financial district, and the luxury condos thereof marketed by David Stanley Redfern.

Units now going for £33k are set to be worth at least 46k in 2 years, and in the region of 60k in 4 years. Even after the Philippines substantial taxes are paid, there will be sufficient profit margin to make this an excellent short-term investment, ideal for a first-timer looking at an entry level investment. As a testament to the growth potential of Philippines investment property, the price of these apartments is going up by 17% on April 16th, so anyone fired up by the Philippines should act quickly.

No 2 - Thailand - Koh Samui Island
Following the success of Thai island Phuket, Koh Samui emerged onto the property investment scene in a big way just over two years ago. It is now a semi-mature market and the resort properties which make the biggest profit are rarely available for less than £200,000. However, research of late last year showed that people who had bought a resort property in Koh Samui in late 2005 as a short-term investment, sold last year for twice what they paid. This showed that capital appreciation had been solid at an incredible 50% over the past two years.

Thailand’s incredible growth is fuelled primarily by incredible tourism figures. As the number of people flocking in for the islands’ white sandy beaches, tropical climate and tropical atmosphere increases by 20% per year, resort properties on the beautiful island of Koh Samui will continue to attract a great proportion of the visitors, and property prices continue to grow strongly.

Koh Samui now has more 5 and 6 star resort developments that any other island, and the competition in the market is good for buyers because it is forcing developers to find ways to make their developments stand-out.

This intense competition has led to 2 bedroom off-plan luxury resort villas in the Maenam Hills development coming onto the market at a bargain price of £100k. The competition has also led to more developers offering finance on their Koh Samui property. Buyers can get 50% LTV finance on their Maenam Hills Villa. And David Stanley Redfern has other Koh Samui projects with equally impressive finance available.

2. Live in your own holiday home for at least a week. It’s the only way you’ll know what can be improved and what aspects can be highlighted.

3. Make sure your photos are taken on a sunny day, and that they ALL make your holiday home look appealing.

4. Be honest with your advert. If you want repeat bookings, don’t promise the earth then under-deliver. Keep it straight.

5. Answer enquiries right away. If you don’t the person asking might find another holiday home to rent elsewhere.

6. Keep the online calendar up-to-date to save everybody’s time.

7. Advertise for free on Mouse-Move.com to increase your occupation levels quickly.

For a limited time, you can advertise your holiday home anywhere in the world on Mouse Move absolutely free!

It’s quick, easy and very very effective. Just follow three steps:

1. 1. Register your details
2. 2. Create your advert
3. 3. Go live and take more bookings

It’s that simple!

This is what you get when your advertise your holiday home for rent on Mouse-Move:

• Professionally designed property listing page including description, features, amenities, pricing and your contact details
• 24 photos of your holiday home with detailed captions
• 21 ‘Key Features’
• Access 24/7/365 to create and update your property listing
• Receive enquiries online, via e-mail or SMS text alert
• Featured Property - highlight your property throughout the holiday home section
• Link to your own holiday home website (if you have one)
• Visitor counter to keep track of how many people have viewed your listing
• Huge exposure targeted to holidaymakers specifically looking for a holiday home
• Free Availability Calendar - manage your availability
• Online maps pinpointing your property location
• A booking form with all enquiries sent direct to you
• Discount on any additional properties that you list
• Late Offers - help book any last minute vacancies with this feature
• Comprehensive helpline Telephone:01226 370 072  or via email to customerservices@mouse-move.com

Your property will be available to the estimated 35 million or so people online in the UK, and over 850 million worldwide (rising every day). Over 80 per cent of holidaymakers now search for holiday accommodation online. It’s a market you can’t afford not to be in.

So I’m going to give you an invaluable tip.

Go and visit AngloINFO.com today.

From simple things like finding out how to get a phone line connected or what to do if you’re involved in a traffic accident, to finding an accountant you can trust or receiving recommendations for the best local school, everything is a difficult hurdle if you don’t have a reliable source of information.

Something like the unbelievably helpful AngloINFO network would have been a godsend for myself and Helen when we first moved to Tenerife many moons ago. Unfortunately though, this great site wasn’t around then.

Launched in  2000, nowadays AngloINFO sites are everywhere - from Belgium to Thailand and 35 other regions. In a clear, precise manner you can find ALL the answers to questions that EVERY expat anywhere is always asking, for FREE.

In fact, try it now. Think of some local service or information that you need to know about and I can guarantee that the answer will be found through the AngloINFO website for your region.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the INFormation pages, leave a query on the forum and before long you’ll have connected to others in the region that have the answer.

Believe me when I say I don’t make any financial gain out of singing the praises of AngloINFO, I just think it’s the ultimate information service for all expats in their local region and thoroughly recommend them to all our visitors and advertisers at Mouse-Move.com.

We are all too eager to jump in with our four-penneth-worth when it comes to having a mumble and groan about something, so we should equally be as keen to openly praise those who are providing a helluva service. You’ll see on the site that several people have already done this…

“Congratulations on your website - this is the first time I have been able to get easy to understand information about health care in France for expatriates holding an E121 form.”

“Just a short note from an AngloINFO fan… THANK YOU for managing such an excellent resource. This year, thanks to AngloINFO Riviera, I have been able to prepare for getting my Carte de Séjour, registering my car and having my baby. I’ve made friends with other users, and got some shopping done too! Keep up the good work.“ 

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the success of AngloINFO and for the wonderful service you are providing, your site is the essential website for the Anglophone society.“

I’ll be adding my comments soon.

If you’re based abroad, or have an interest in a particular overseas region, I highly recommend that you pay AngloINFO a visit.

You’d be mad not to!

The alternative is to blag, bluff or bury your head to those niggles and problems that face all expats at one time or another and are so easy to solve by making use of this fantastic free resource.

So start making your life easier today. Make use of what is one of the best free expat resource sites around today.

To make your life easier, click here now.

PS. AngloINFO are currently looking for franchisees in the Canary Islands, as well as other parts of the world. For more information click here or email franchising@angloinfo.com

No matter where you are, you just can’t avoid the For Sale or To Let sign. Every estate agent worldwide uses them.

Why?

Because they work.

Even if you’ve opted for a private house sale, research has shown that displaying a For Sale sign can double the chances of selling your house.

Although over 70 per cent of people now use the internet to search for their next home, many deals are ‘drive-buys’.

Whilst for those choosing to sell their house online the internet can globally spread the word to millions, it’s vital not to miss out on the local market. It’s estimated that up to 48% of property enquiries come from people seeing a For Sale or To Let sign.

House-hunters deciding on the area they want to live in will inevitably drive around to get a feel for the neighbourhood. If they like what they see, they’ll more than likely stop at properties displaying a For Sale sign and jot down the contact details in order to make an appointment, or at least find out more details about the house.

No matter how fantastic your property is or how low you’ve set the price, you’re never going to be in the running if the drive-buys don’t know your cherished property is for sale.

Even for those who have decided to sell a house privately, for the sake of a few quid it makes sense to order a sign so as not to miss out on a possible drive-buy sale.

Mouse Move will deliver a professional, eye-catching For Sale or To Let board for just £30 plus postage. Each double-sided sign is personalised with the contact number of your choice and a unique property ID for easy reference on mouse-move.com

Rising interest rates and thus more expensive mortgages costs, plus the desire to downscale in later life are two of the major factors influencing this trend.

The study also revealed that the average Briton will own five properties during their lifetime and moves an average of 125 miles each time to find their next perfect location.

1.  When people contact you to make an enquiry, make sure you always get their contact details
2. Try to get them to come and view as soon as possible so they don’t lose interest
3. Try to make viewings on the same day, at 20-30 minute intervals so that potential buyers see other interested parties
4. Make sure your house is spotlessly clean and tidy when people are coming to view
5. Make sure it’s brightly lit
6. If you can, palm off the kids and pets to family or friends.
7. Allow viewers some time to look around by themselves
8. Invite them to return if they’d like to see the house again
9. Ask questions about the them, their kids, their work, where they live. You can use the information to emphasise the features that would specifically appeal
10. If someone seems ready to make an offer, ask them the question, ‘Would you like to make an offer?’ More often than not the prospective buyer feels like he or she needs an ‘invitation’ to start the business ball rolling. If they do make an offer, make sure you get it in writing.

I think one of the things that is attracting so many UK homeowners and overseas property owners is the fact that all properties for sale online at our FSBO site www.mouse-move.com are also automatically advertised on HotProperty.co.uk and thus are getting incredible online exposure. Have a look at the following links for examples:

Sell my villa in Estepona online

Sell my house  in Keighley online

Sell my finca in Alicante online

Sell my apartment in Tenerife online

Keep those private property sales coming!
 

It seems that a lot of people are finding out about the benefits of selling a house privately (private property sales sites are the quickest way to sell your house) and discovering the reasons why not to use an estate agent (mistrust, high commissions), but they want practical advice, the nuts and bolts if you like, of how to advertise their property online.

I’m quite happy to receive these emails (and letters), but pretty much all of their queries can be answered on our website www.mouse-move.com

Having said that, keep the correspondence coming; in this cyber-age, it’s still nice to communicate one-to-one, and remember, there’s no such thing as a silly question - only a silly answer.

Fire away to davidwood@mouse-move.com and Helen, the team and I will do our best to give you all the information you need.

If you have a holiday home or villa with a pool, and you also have small children, the joy is often outweighed by the worry and risk of keeping your kids safe. However, some bright spark has come up with the ultimate swimming pool alarm to keep kids safe around the pool.

Once activated, if the wireless Life Guard Pool Alarm detects any disturbance underwater, it immediately sends out a piercing 115 decibel alarm, letting you know that something or somebody is in the pool.

I can see this easy-to-install invention being an essential piece of kit for any families owning a holiday villa with a swimming pool.

Of the 2,384 people polled, Alliance & Leicester found that sellers who sell a house privately make a sale in an average of two months or less while those using the more conventional (estate agency) route to sell their UK property were taking over three months.

In addition, the number of people interviewed who had used a private property sale site had risen from 5% last year to 8% this year, a sure sign that the FSBO trend is definitely on the up, as confirmed by Stephen Leonard, Alliance & Leicester’s director of mortgages:

 ”Research suggests that DIY methods such as using the internet to sell a home are becoming more popular.”

Long live the revolution!!

Nowadays the property market is more competitive than ever before, hence the price is the determining factor. Other factors that add to the speed at which a house for sale by owner sells are the condition of the property and any terms and conditions attached to the sale. However, nothing is quite so important as getting the price right.

So how do you make sure you’ve got it right?

First of all, keep an eye on the price of similar properties for sale in your area. Look in estate agents windows and keep track of what is selling quickly and at what price.

Secondly, make use of the fantastic UpMyStreet website to find out what price properties are selling for in your neighbourhood.

In addition to that, you need to have the property for sale in prime condition. Fix everything that needs fixing leaving no stone unturned. You don’t want to give any reasons for the buyer to knock you down in price. The condition of a property will play a huge part in a buyer deciding to purchase your property or somebody else’s. And remember, first impressions count so make it a damn good one.

The human obstacles that get in the way of fair pricing are the three deadly sins of pride, greed and ignorance. Overcome these natural tendencies and you’re going a long way to pricing the property fairly and thus making the difference between making a quick sale and twiddling your thumbs whilst all around you sign contracts and move on.

Make sure the price is right - and fair - and you’ll sell your home quickly.

Advertise on the right, high profile private property sale site, such as Mouse-Move and it’s as good as sold.

We wanted a web site which puts ‘You’ the person selling the house in complete control, from the starting line to the finishing line.

From the comments we have received so far, we firmly believe that Mouse Move is the perfect vehicle for people to buy, sell or rent property privately without involving agents and all from the comfort of our own home in our own time!

Why Sell A House Privately..?
With over 34 million people online in the UK and over 840 million worldwide, the internet is powering many people to self sell their own property and 82% of people looking to move house within the next 12 months say they will use the Internet to search homes for sale online.

A recent survey published by The Guardian also revealed that one in seven people would feel comfortable selling their home online, without the help of an estate agent.

Interestingly, the real driving force behind people moving away from traditional methods of selling property are the poor customer service and high fees that are often associated with selling through an estate agent.

A recent inquiry by OFTEL, the Government watchdog, revealed a record number (5370) of complaints had been made against estate agents for charging excessively high fees.

Read the Which? Report detailing why estate agency is out of control, and you’ll soon see just why selling a house direct makes so much more sense nowadays.

WHICH? Estate Agents Report

WHICH? Guide to Buying a Home

One of the main reasons for selling your house privately has to be the amount of money you will save. For example, with the average house for sale in the UK now priced at £239,000, the standard 1.5 per cent cut an agent would take is £4,212 (including VAT) I have calculated the above figure using an agent’s commission of 1.5%, however they can often be higher than this. For instance, in some parts of Europe they have been known to charge has much as 10%!

Click here and see the “Real Amount” you’re going to save by selling your property privately.

Why don’t more people sell their homes privately..?

I suppose the main reason why people choose to use agents, is because they think there is some mystique to selling a house. However, the simple fact is that houses sell themselves, not agents. If you’ve priced your house correctly, and put some effort into it’s appearance, and have marketed your property in the right way, you will find a buyer and more importantly you will sell it!

Having been involved in the overseas property industry for the past 24 years I fully understand how daunting and stressful it can be selling a property and buying a home, that’s why I’ve put together the 12 steps to sell a house privately which will show you how easy it is to sell a house privately.

Remember!

They warn that estate agents are ‘extremely well positioned to receive kickbacks for recommending financial services, solicitors, surveyors and now, home information pack providers.‘ These commissions paid to agents can be quite substantial and detract from what should be their main objective ie to secure a sale for their client.

Tickeverybox.com remind sellers of agent’s duties…

1. to report every offer that is made to the vendor
2. never fabricate or provide misleading information about other offers that may/may not have been made
3. not insist that an offer is accepted only on the condition of a buyer signing up to its own (or recommended) financial, legal or technical services.

Unfortunately, some agents tend to forget these duties when the lure of extra financial gain rears its head.

If a client suspects this is the case there are several paths they can follow to file a complaint.

Contact the following if you feel you’ve been duped:

• RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
• NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents)
• The Ombudsman for estate agents
• Local Trading Standards Office of Fair Trading