February 2009 Update
Welcome
  
Well done for opening this email up! If this is the first newsletter you have received, I hope you will find the contents interesting and of value to you as an investor. If this is your 3rd newsletter from us then consider yourself a “roadie” as you have read them all! Clearly we are delivering something that you find interesting and we hope to continue to do so.
 
Whilst ProVenture's main business is German property investment, our aim is to support investors as broadly as we can and hopefully make our service of some relevance to any area of investment you are considering. With this in mind, we have published a short “eBook” this month which should be of use and provoke thought for both first-time and more seasoned investors. More on this later in the Newsletter. Next month, we will be releasing a series of 10 podcasts which take ideas from the book and develop them, in a more interactive fashion, with some current property investors and managers. I hope you find both the book and podcasts of interest and are, of course they are free of charge to our loyal newsletter readers.
 
Kind Regards,
 
Mat
 
Please click on the following titles to read the content or scroll down to read the whole newsletter
  
 
 
 
 
New lines of finance
 
 
 
 
 
Snow and no show!
 
 
 
How to change regular, smaller amounts
 
  
 
 Recent Property deals available
 
 
Your Life in Property
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Finance Update
 
 
The volatility in the currency markets continues since our last newsletter with movement mainly against the Euro of up to 10% for major currencies. Since last month, sterling for example has traded between 1.02 and 1.14. Weakness in the so called “PIIGS” countries, (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain) appears to be beginning to take its toll on the currency. Downgrades in Ireland and Portugal's grading from AAA are being muted and the gap for Government bonds rates within the Eurozone is opening up. I am in regular contact with a number of currency traders and they are in agreement that this high level of volatility should reduce over coming weeks. Let's see shall we! It seems certain that as interest rate decisions are fairly dramatic each month from many central banks, some level of volatility above historic norms will continue in the short to medium term.
 
In terms of finance available for property purchase in Germany, we have opened 2 new lines of finance with the Allianz and Deutsche Bank who may prove more suitable for investors with lower incomes. Loan to values with Allianz tend to be lower at around 70% but this will provide a useful route into the market for some investors who could otherwise be locked out. The Deutsche Bank have indicated that they can offer upto 80% Loan to values.  And the Dresdner Bank continue to be serving us well with finance levels at 80% in the usual case.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Activity on the Ground
 
 
We have been presenters and exhibitors at the London Property Exhibition in the past and find going to the exhibition really useful to meet up with both new and current clients. Sadly, our next planned exhibition in March has been cancelled by the organisers, as a consequence of the general downturn in the property market. This is a real shame as we are experiencing good demand for German Property and would like to meet with new clients and discuss issues and new projects with our existing clients face-to-face. We are therefore looking to put on a bespoke German property exhibition in London in the Spring and another venue in mainland Europe – dates TBN at this stage.
 
In terms of our activity in Germany, the recent snow conspired to reduce our planned inspection trips this month from 3 to 2. Property inspections conducted were mainly for properties in the “core” 200 – 500k Euro level in the cities of Leipzig, Halle and Berlin, although some interest at the higher end was experienced. In terms of market activity, we are experiencing continued strong demand below around 500k Eur and have been beaten by rival buyers at this level on a number of occasions. It is difficult to gauge the activity above this level precisely, but it would appear that demand for property in excess of 500k Eur is lower although high-yielding objects are still proving attractive.
 
We have put some additional dates on for February and March to meet the current demand for trips.
Please take a look at the website for dates when both UK and German staff will be in town and able to show property that may be of interest:
 
http://www.german-property-for-sale.com/property-inspection-visits.htm

 
 
 
 
 
 
Top Tip – Smaller Currency Exchange
 
In a change to the promised 'where to stay' tip (coming soon):
 
We discussed in December how to make large savings on currency exchange when purchasing property overseas. If you missed this, or you would like the fact sheet, please let us know.
However, for current owners, the movement of smaller sums of money between UK and the Eurozone is often required to pay bills for example or to bring back to UK the rent accrued. In the usual case, currency exchange firms will not be interested in the transfer of sums below £10,000 and so you are left to make the trade of smaller sums with a UK bank. The usual costs are up to 4% for this service together with a flat fee, usually around £30. This deters making frequent exchanges.
 
Hi-FX have launched a new service this month which allows you to transfer modest amounts (£250 to £10,000) online at very low cost. The account takes around 10 minutes to set-up and you have immediate access to live market rates, which are updated every 6 seconds. The cost of each trade is set at 0.4% within the wholesale market “spot rate” which is very competitive and is only possible because the trade is conducted online without the input of a member of staff. The account is currently only open to UK bank account holders and the facility to exchange Euro back to Sterling does not come online until autumn 09. In our opinion, this product gives you quick and easy access to the currency market at a very competitive rate. It should prove useful to those making regular exchanges and, as the rate is updated every 6 seconds, gives the opportunity to take advantage of changes in prices. For more details see:

 

http://www.hifx.co.uk/personal/online_services/about_online_services.aspx 


 
 




E-Book

The launch of the E Book is TODAY!! The E Book has been written to discuss the overall approaches to property investment, approaches that will prove successful regardless of the market conditions faced. A number of models are introduced to describe successful investment and property management strategies that we hope you will find useful. Also included are a number of links to websites that professional investors use day-to-day in determining areas to invest in. To collect your FREE copy, please click here. 

The book is available also as a softback book which is priced at £9.99, although readers of this newsletter will receive the book at the printed cost of £7.50.
 
 
 
 
 
Latest Property Offers
 
 
 PVSI 188
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