It has been reported that many people are becoming dissatisfied with life in Britain and are looking to move overseas. This used to be confined to those looking for a change in their retirement years or for those limited people who wanted to make a new start and moving overseas was often seen as a huge move. Not so these days with all corners of the globe becoming ever more accessible and most countries within a few hours reach.
For those wishing to move overseas before retirement, they need to have some form of income. Overseas business investments are always a dubious thing to get into unless you can take advise and be sure about what you are doing. However, the business of French leaseback is coming to the fore as a way of moving overseas and providing yourself with an income as well as a future investment.
French leaseback is less a business opportunity and more a term that covers several different types of businesses that come with distinct tax savings. To check out the advantages involved and to see if the move away from Britain was all it was cracked up to be, we caught up with a few overseas investors of French leaseback properties.
Mr and Mrs Davidson, formerly of Wakefield, moved to France in October 2001 after hearing of the benefits of French leaseback. They had been itching to move abroad for some time and after a fairly impressive win on the lottery, decided to invest in a care home in Provence. 'We have a regular income, we have made massive savings on tax and we love the work', says Mrs Davidson.
Her husband agrees, adding 'We looked into many types of business to invest in. We still have a lot of working years ahead of us but wanted something we felt would be worthwhile whilst not throwing our money into something we were unsure of. French leaseback allowed us to work with the elderly, who we have much respect for, and enjoy the life in a country we have come to love'.
Another fan of the French leaseback idea is Sarah Kingston. Originally, Mrs Kingston hails from London but after losing her husband in the conflict in Iraq, she felt the need to get away and start again. She took her husbands life insurance and invested it in something she knew her husband would be proud of. Young people.
'My husband was always talking of the help he wished he could give to young people in a world that is so difficult to get a leg up in' said Mrs Kingston. 'He was a great believer in a good education being the basis of all you would need in life and to this end, I have invested the insurance money in a large house in Paris where I let the rooms to students studying in nearby colleges and universities.
'I feel this is one way I can contribute to something my husband saw as important. That of being able to help young people on their path into life. I think helping others is the best way I can carry on his legacy as that is what he died doing.'
For people like the Davidson's and Mrs Kingston, French leaseback is a way of moving overseas for a fresh start and also ensuring that their money goes to good use and that they see a good return on it to ensure their own future income.
You might have noticed lately that the television and the Internet are full of promotions that tell you that you can earn an income in real estate. You might be asking yourselves, what are the ways that I can make money in this business? Real estate investing is really not that far from any other forms of investment: you buy a property to sell and make profit.
As you can already tell, real estate investing isn't that much different from stock investing. You put your money into a product, let it appreciate in value, and then sell it at a higher price.
The dynamics of real estate investing come into how you can buy for a low enough prices, or sell at a high enough prices to make a profit. Different investors have different strategies for doing this. When you read or see advertisements for making money in real estate, experienced investors are selling instructions on their specific strategy for real estate investment.
If you can manage to purchase a property well below its present value and sell it at a much higher price later, you're sure to get your profit. But obtaining these kinds of property is pretty much a challenge in itself, and even if they are low-priced, they are still not a guarantee of earning a hefty profit. The fact remains that this is not a bad strategy to earn income, but if your goal is to amass wealth, you need other ways to bring more profit than just a couple of thousand dollars.
One profitable strategy in real estate investing is to buy foreclosed properties because most of the time, these properties are priced well below its market value. If you can find properties in which the owners have contributed a great amount of equity to it, you're sure to get a property at a very, very low price. Especially if the property requires very little repairs, your profit could shoot up even higher.
Another strategy to make money in real estate is with tax lien certificate. If property owners cannot meet their property tax obligation, the government will issue a tax lien certificates for those properties, which an investor could buy for profit. It is a win-win solution for all three parties: the property owner, the government, and the investor.
The property owner is allowed an extended period to pay his obligation and the government gets its tax from the investors money. The investor on the other hand has two ways to make money from his investment.
If you're the investor, you're given a fix interest rate mandated by the local government when the lien matures. This interest rate is considerably higher than the interest rate you get from other investments. Moreover, if the property owner cannot meet his obligation within the extended time, the lien certificate holder is given the chance to buy the property at a much, much lower price.
Investing in real estate isn't as complex as you might think. If you know how to invest at all, then you can learn how to invest in real estate. Once you learn the basics of real estate investing and how it's possible to make money from it, you can learn more creative strategies for building wealth through your investments.
Both Catherine Harvey & Jacques Coquerel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Catherine Harvey has sinced written about articles on various topics from Culture and Society, Home and Wedding Gowns. Property expert Catherine Harvey looks at the benefits to investments.. Catherine Harvey's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.
Jacques Coquerel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Property Investment, Finances and Make Money Online. Author Jack Cockrel is a real estate investor in Atlanta, Georgia. He has made more than 750 real estate transactions since 1996. For get h. Jacques Coquerel's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.