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Jim Barnaby's Articles in General Business

  • Where the smaller investor should go
    Whether you are a newcomer to the residential property investment game or an old hand, the property finance mortgage market can present a bewildering spectacle. The range of products and options can leave even the most experienced market operator scratching their heads.
  • Credit crunch - who suffers?
    Property investors, personal savers and home buyers alike may be wondering what the future holds in the wake of the credit crunch that has hit Britain's banks. The spectacle of Northern Rock having to approach the Bank of England as lender of the last resort and then seeing thousands of its worried customers queuing outside to withdraw their savings left many wondering how bad things would get.
  • Regulation may aid Indian property market
    India has been one of the rising stars in the world economy in recent years, booming in industry, IT, filmmaking and numerous other ways, one of the two big beasts, along with China, of the developing world.
  • Cyprus offering inland delights
    Property investors looking to invest in Cyprus property are heading inland, it would appear. While the traditional appeal of the country focuses on the azure Mediterranean waters.
  • The opportunities for accidental investors
    Its official: renting is cheaper than buying. This news may not come as a huge surprise to some, not least with so many people choosing to rent rather than buy property precisely because of the soaring cost of buying a house in recent years.
  • First-time buyers: is buy-to-let to blame?
    The first-time buyer crisis has been one of the major issues of the housing industry and recent events have ensured it is not about to go away. Nor, as a result, will the scapegoating.
  • Retirees living the dream
    The dream of living overseas, waking up next to the soft sounds of the sea is one that is held by many Britons.
  • Investors beware: Jack Frost cometh
    Buy-to-let property investors hold the dubious honour of responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of all of their properties.
  • Commercial Property - the new investment opportunity
    The buy-to-let property market has come in for some heavy stick in recent months, with all kinds of negative predictions for the near future.
  • Overseas property income 'not being maximised'
    If any fact could exemplify the difference between the savvy overseas buy-to-let property investor and the second homeowner who dabbles in renting
  • Immigration and housing downturn spell good news for buy-to-let.
    The issues of immigration and housing have been big issues in the news in recent years, with both being bones of contention and debate.
  • Britons tunnelling through to cheaper property
    It was reputedly Napoleon who first thought of digging a tunnel under the English Channel, the idea being to provide a means for his armies to bypass the sea barrier which had (and still has) protected Britain from a successful full scale invasion since 1066.
  • Landlords 'maintaining faith in the UK buy-to-let market'
    Although there has been much talk about the effects of the credit crunch on the UK property mortgage market, investors who are looking for long-term investment have shown few signs of intimidation.
  • Short-term holiday letting proving popular
    A growing number of people appear to be turning away from the usual package holidays and traditional hotels when they travel abroad in favour of renting a holiday home .
  • Private rental sector 'boosted by financial conditions'
    Although many recent studies point to a gradual slowing down within the country's housing market, it has been suggested that in fact there are a number of reasons why buy-to-let property investors.
  • Cyprus will reward investors, minister promises
    Cyprus is an area which has seen a lot of change in the past few years, with much of it succeeding to make it an even more attractive destination for Cyprus property investors and holidaymakers alike.
  • Why down south is still up top in France
    Investing in France Property has always been a popular way for Britons to secure a piece of foreign property, with the country second only to Spain.
  • Don't be frozen out by global warming
    Those looking to invest in French ski property in the ski areas of the Alps, such as the major resorts of France and Switzerland ski property, may have more to concern them in the long run than most.
  • Top of the Scots
    It's now widely accepted that the UK housing market has all but ground to a halt. Some believe this is temporary, pessimists believe it will be the beginning of a downward spiral.
  • The guest way to do buy-to-let?
    Buy-to-let has come a long way since the term was first coined in the 1990s. It's not just that the market has grown massively during that time.
  • Does short-term dip mean long term cuts?
    The UK housing market is in a curious state in many ways. After years of high inflation driven by a strong economy and a shortfall in demand.
  • Tax the way to do it
    Inheritance Tax (IHT) has been a big issue in Britain recently, with newspaper campaigns for its abolition, a pledge to raise the threshold to £1 million by the Conservatives and an immediate doubling of the threshold for couples to £600,000 in response by the Labour government in the pre-budget report.
  • Crash? What crash?
    Forecasts of doom and gloom in the property market have not been in short supply of late, both for the residential and buy-to-let sectors. This week has been no exception, but such views are far from universally held.
  • The crunch-proof country?
    There may be some who believe that there is no country that can escape unscathed from the credit crunch. What began in the sub-prime collapse of the US housing market has taken its toll on many first-world financial systems, with stalling property markets, high interbank lending rates and, in the UK case, the Northern Rock affair.
  • Hips Hips hooray?
    It is now more than three months since the controversial home information packs (Hips) became mandatory for all homes being sold in Britain.