The New Opportunity for foreign purchasers in the USA

DCC

The New Opportunity for foreign purchasers in the USA.

Over the previous 3 years the US housing market in most States of America slowed dramatically showing signs of recession in early 2007. The result of rapidly increasing home values from 2000 to 2004 enjoyed by the Americans paid it’s toll and many are suffering with increased interest rates from their initial low start rate products, and in some cases keeping up their mortgage pay [...]

Small Balance Commercial Mortgage Terms

DCC

This is a brief list of terms and definitions that are most common in small balance commercial loans. This list also describes a lot of the information needed to analyze commercial deals.

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)
This is the Net operating income divided by the debt service (typically we are looking for a minimum of 1.20). This tells if the cash flow can adequately service the debt.

Currency Exchange News

DCC

Euro and Dollar Bloc currencies hit new highs With the Pound Sterling strengthening to 15 year highs of US$2.00, research highlights that a broad basket of currencies have also hit multi-year highs against the [...]

Major Mortgage Markets

DCC

IFC’s Primary market is made up of countries with stable political and legal infrastructures. Potential growth and returns are good, and stability is excellent.

IFC’s Secondary ma [...]

POUND BREAKS $2 BARRIER

DCC

POUND BREAKS $2 BARRIER

The ongoing weakening of the US dollar reached a significant benchmark this week, with the US currency breaching the $2=£1 barrier for the first time since 1992. Expectations of further interest rate rises in the UK, coupled with weaker-than-expected financial data in America, saw sterling lift to $2.003 on Monday; though the dollar quickly strengthened after that point, the two-dollar barrier was broken again on Tuesday and sterling seemed to be holding at above [...]

US HOUSE PRICES DOWN

IFC

US HOUSE PRICES DOWN

A survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has shown that prices of existing homes in the US have fallen over last year for the first time since April 1995. The price of the average existing property fell by 1.7 per cent in 2006 to approximately $225,000 (£120,000), according to the NAR, while the number of sales was also down over that year.

NAR chief economist, said that the figures held mixed messages for analysts but that overall it was [...]

NO MORE CGT IN MALAYSIA

DCC

NO MORE CGT IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia is set to abandon capital gains tax on property transactions beginning on 1 April, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced last week. The measure – part of a series of government initiatives designed to stimulate the country’s currently moribund property market – will “inject more excitement and dynamism in both the property and financial sectors”, according to Abdullah.

“Potential that has gone unrealised or u [...]

HOTTEST FOREIGN SECOND HOME MARKETS FOR 2007

DCC

HOTTEST FOREIGN SECOND HOME MARKETS FOR 2007 Americans have never taken much to living abroad, at least not to the same degree the British have. Some 5.5 million Brits, about 10 percent of that nation's total population, now live as expatriates, with 200,000 more every year.

The massive Brit presence in the heart of Tuscany's wine region has given it the nickname Chianti-shire.

For Americans, though, most other countries were too far away to tempt us [...]

The Loan Process

DCC

The first step – the loan application

As might be expected, the first step in obtaining an AU (automatic underwriting) is to provide a complete credit application (also called a “Fannie Mae 1003”) or “Uniform Residential Loan Application”. This is the most important document in any USD mortgage loan package.
It must be accurately and fully completed in order to be able to obtain timely loan decisions.
Application needs to dis [...]

U.S. Home Prices Still Rising But Rate Of Appreciation Slower

DCC

U.S. Home Prices Still Rising But Rate Of Appreciation Slower

Unlike the see-saw figures on housing sales and house prices that come out monthly from the National Association of Realtors and the Census Bureau, the House Price Index (HPI) published quarterly by the Office of [...]

THE END FOR FLORIDIAN PROPERTY TAX?

DCC

THE END FOR FLORIDIAN PROPERTY TAX?

Weeks after approving measures to reduce the burden of property insurance on Floridian householders, the Sunshine State’s lawmakers are turning their attention to property taxes – with the potential to do away with them altogether. This is the equivalent of UK abolishing council tax!

Under proposals currently being studied by the state legislature, Fl [...]

Vacation Home Qualify For 1031 Exchange?

DCC

When Can a Vacation Home Qualify for 1031 Exchange?

We frequently receive inquiries as to whether or not vacation properties qualify for exchanges. Section 1031 requires that both the relinquished and the replacement properties be “held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment.”

In the context of vacation properties, this “trade or business” or [...]

1031 Tax Exchange

DCC

What are the requirements for an IRC 1031 tax-deferred exchange?

In 1984, the IRS authorized the “Starker Exchange” commonly known as Internal Revenue Code section 1031. IRC 1031 permits investment property owners to sell a property and defer all capital gains taxes and depreciation recapture taxes at the time of sale.

Real Estate investors may opt for a forward or reverse exchange depending on their situati [...]

A must read on Florida

DCC

Regional Overview, Florida, USA. With 360 days of sunshine a year and over 1,000 miles of beautiful beaches, Florida offers a superb lifestyle.

Florida is rewarding buyers with a strong rate of annual capital appreciation while promising a good potential income from a tried and tested rental market. Soaring visitor figures and a burgeoning second home market are proof that Britain’s long-standing love affair with Florida is as passionate as ever, especially in the Orlando region whe [...]

Cyprus has the lowest level of income tax in Europe!

DCC

The emerging residential property market in Cyprus, located 35 miles south of Turkey on the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, has been something of a success over the past few years since becoming a member state of EU in May 2004. The country’s economy is growing at a rapid pace, with inflation in Cyprus currently around 6.3% and interest rates just 4%, while Cypriot residents enjoy the lowest level of income tax in Europe. Cyprus plans to give up its national currency and adopt the E [...]

US Real Estate Taxes For Foreign Investors

DCC

Foreign investors in USA real estate

The tax laws on overseas investors in US real estate are quite difficult to understand. Make sure you contact us or get competent professional advice before even make a simple investment such as a vacation home. The following is a brief overview.

Goals of the Foreign Investor
The prospect of significant economic gain is perhaps the strongest lure of the foreign investor to U.S. real property. Histo [...]

Vacationers choose homes over hotels

DCC

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Vacationers choose homes over hotels
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More tourists opt for cheaper accommodations in houses and condos.

Christopher Boyd
Sentinel Staff Writer

January 16, 2007

Some of the hottest vacation accommodations in Central Florida are hiding in plain view, cloaked so completely in the commonplace that they are in a sense invisible.

Thousands of single-family homes, town houses and condominium [...]

U.S. to U.K. Terms Conversion

DCC

To help your understanding, we have listed some of the real estate terms and their definitions that you maybe unfamiliar with, when obtaining a mortgage and buying your property in the USA.

Agreement of Sale (known in Britain as Counterpart Contracts)

A written document in which a purchaser agrees to [...]

U.K. Mortgage terms

DCC

Glossary of U.K. Mortgage terms
These definitions are those commonly used within the lending industry in UK and abroad.

Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance (ASU)
Insurance which pays all or a percentage of your monthly mortgage payment if you cannot work due to an accident, sickness or redundancy. Also known as Payment/Income Protection Insurance, Accident, Sickness and Redundancy Insurance (ASR) or Mortgage Repayment Protection (MRP) or Mortgage [...]

Fly-to-Let.

DCC

Property has become a highly popular asset among UK investors in recent years. More and more people have entered the buy-to-let market in the UK, but interest rate rises and the growing supply of rental property has brought yields down in many areas and the prospects for capital gains in the short term have declined. High property prices have also made it increasingly difficult for investors to build up their portfolios. As a result, a growing number are turning their attention to the overs [...]

Blog entries

The New Opportunity for foreign purchasers in the USA

Small Balance Commercial Mortgage Terms

Currency Exchange News

Major Mortgage Markets

POUND BREAKS $2 BARRIER

US HOUSE PRICES DOWN

NO MORE CGT IN MALAYSIA

HOTTEST FOREIGN SECOND HOME MARKETS FOR 2007

The Loan Process

U.S. Home Prices Still Rising But Rate Of Appreciation Slower

THE END FOR FLORIDIAN PROPERTY TAX?

Vacation Home Qualify For 1031 Exchange?

1031 Tax Exchange

A must read on Florida

Cyprus has the lowest level of income tax in Europe!

US Real Estate Taxes For Foreign Investors

Vacationers choose homes over hotels

U.S. to U.K. Terms Conversion

U.K. Mortgage terms

Fly-to-Let.