How do I make the most of £35000

Janette_2

I have recently released some equity from my house to enable me to buy a property abroad. I am hoping to find a suitable property during the summer but in the mean time would like some advice on what to do with the money (£35000) to make some interest. I don't really want to risk losing any of it so stocks and shares are not really an option. I have considered Premium bonds.
Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks

dunstonh

Premiums are useless and even more so for short term as you do not get put into the draw straight away.

codetown

You need an instant access saving account.
Given the short term you need something easy and quick to set-up and operate, best which pays monthly.
I would suggest first to check with the bank you normally operate with in case they offer something (for example Nationwide has e-savings which is very easy and not too bad in terms of interest).

If nothing comes up there, an easy online saving account with no penalties is ING Direct. Some others might give probably more, but:
a) I would not risk anything with ICICI
b) I would not go to First Direct where they cut interest on the month you withdraw.

vishpatel

If you don't want to lose any of it, why on earth are you buying property abroad?

Jim_B_3

What's the interest rate on the second mortgage you took out? You'll be losing money every day unless you find something that pays more.

Conrad

Ive been buying abroad a while now since selling some UK properties.

I look for total return (not just capital growth because you may not be able to sell, so rent becomes important).

I also look for investor safety - people get ripped - off because they let thier heart and the nice brochures lead them into trouble.

I also seek places not too far away.

Furthermore I consider the 'fly to buy' factor, which means looking for destinations that are serviced by low cost airlines.

Lastly the language and ease factors are very important otherwise things like this happen - you get a letter out of the blue from yet another Government department. You have to get it translated then you discover you have to clear the snow from your property regularly which gets costly.

In my opinion the best place to INVEST now is Morocco, BUT stick to the above rules. This means only dealing with large international developers. The med coast has a 12 month season BUT TO MAXIMISE RETURNS YOU MUST BUY ON A LARGE COMPLEX THAT INCLUDES A SUBSTANTIAL GOLF PROPOSITION.

Id recommend you buy off - plan and look for something that will be complete in 2009. This opens up investment possibilities:

- You can 'leveredge' into greater profit exposure by putting down say £30000 now ( on a property worth c£110000) and then either sell the contract in late 2008 at considerable profit (the new buyer takes over the contract and you pocket the full profit).

- OR - you can take a mortgage in 2009 with a French Bank on a non - status basis and then own and let the property. Some properties come with rnetal guarantees - FOR EXAMPLE: The APART HOTELS where you own a 2 bed appartment but the hotel owners get to let the place and share rent with you. These are often right on the beach.

Id recommend the following resort; MEDITERRANEA SAIDIA ('Saidia').
Me and other investors Iknow are buying within this resort on an exclusive development called 'LeJardinDeFleur'.

LJDF is up - market so more expensive than some in Saidia. You might prefer the FADESA offering. Fadesa are Spains second largest builder. They have 1 bed appartments from £50000 but no aircon fitted.

Im also investing in Berlin - not very exciting but many huge financial institutions are buying property here.

frivolous_fay

codetown wrote:

a) I would not risk anything with ICICI

Can I ask why? I have some savings with ICICI.

codetown

frivolous_fay wrote:

Can I ask why? I have some savings with ICICI.

the pal is asking for very short term investment. From people's opinions here around ICIC is by far the slowest to release funds. you might even have to waste 10 days to get money out of them, so over three months that is a very high proportion. Also setting it all up is not always straightforward... so is a risk I would absolutely avoid given the three months orizon for investment.

frivolous_fay

Aha. Thought there might be a far more sinister reason

Janette_2

Thanks for your replies.

Our plan is to buy a renovation project in Brittany and are going in a couple of weeks to view some properties. The aim of the purchase is to enable us to have frequent holidays in France in school hols without paying a premium and to enable our children to experience a different culture. It is very much a long term investment. The advance on our mortage is a fixed rate which will coincide with the timescale of our other mortgage and we can then look to switch to whichever is the best mortgage option at the time.Hence wanting to start repaying now so the two end at the same time.