Lawyer Suing Bulgarian Dreams' Contractors

We've been contacted by Milen Hristov, a Bulgarian attorney-at-law, who is currently suing contractors working for Bulgarian property agent, Bulgarian Dreams on behalf of seven former clients of the company.

We have, of course, referred to Bulgarian Dreams and their activities in the past, you'll find the main post here. For those not in the know, the company was being investigated by the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) and, à la MRI Overseas Property, decided that they'd leave before they were dispatched, which they duly were.

If you have had any dealings with Bulgarian Dreams, its owner Rober Jenkin or its legal representatives, DLA Piper, you may be very interested in the information contained in this blog from Milen Hristov which contains reference to a number of pointers about how to handle your dealings with Bulgarian Dreams and how the company operates its business.

To contact Milen Hristov
Phone: 00359 (0) 885558281
Email: milen@mhlegal.eu
Web: http://mhlegal.eu

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For a selection of property in Bulgaria click here. 

For a list of agents selling property in Bulgaria click here.

For independent articles on the Bulgarian property market click here.

For advice on purchasing in Bulgaria click here.

For news on the Bulgarian property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from Bulgaria agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring Bulgaria property click here.

Irish Airports to Offer US Pre-Clearance Facilities

At last, some bone-fide good news, for Irish airports and travelers to the US.

A report in this morning's Irish Times says that "Dublin and Shannon airports are set to become the first airports outside the Americas to offer full pre-clearance facilities to passengers travelling to the US, thereby boosting their potential as transatlantic hubs and speeding up travel times."

The piece goes on to say: "Both airports already offer immigration clearance but the new agreement will add customs and agriculture clearance on Irish soil for US-bound travellers. This means airlines will be able to fly from Dublin and Shannon to less congested and less expensive domestic terminals in the US. Passengers will be able to check their baggage through to their final destination even if this involves two flights with different airlines."

This will get around the current ludicrous situation where, even when you've booked a through flight to a US destination, you have to collect and identify your baggage once you land on US soil and then put it back on a separate carousel for its onward flight (and depending on who you're flying with, practically a guarantee that you're baggage and you don't arrive at the same time and at the same airport). You are also obliged to wait at huge queues to clear customs in the US even though you've already cleared immigration in Ireland.

Also: "Airlines will also be able to fly direct to smaller and less expensive domestic airports in the US, an option that may prove attractive to budget carriers hoping to enter the transatlantic market. Smaller private jets are likely to combine a refuelling stop in Shannon with pre-clearance."

The news should be a huge shot in the arm to Shannon in particular, which is still reeling from Michael O'Leary's insistence that the governments recently announced €10 departure tax would mean the demise of the airport completely. O'Leary has threatened to reduce the number of planes based in the Clare airport from four to one if the government doesn't renege on its plans to issue a flat €10 departure tax on anyone flying more than 300km out of an Irish airport. Ryanair currently accounts for 60% of all traffic to Shannon. 

It is likely that carriers flying from Europe and the UK will take the option of using Shannon, in particular, as a pre-clearance stopover, before flying to the US as if they were on a domestic US flight. It still sounds a little convoluted, but take it from one who's flown to the US a bit, it's a lot better than the mayhem you generally encounter when you land at major airports in the US at the moment.

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For a selection of property in the USA click here. 

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring American property click here.

Dubai Property Market Starts to Slide

We'd love to bring you good news stories every day, but let's be realistic, there aren't exactly buckets of them around at the moment and we have to relate what's actually happening in the world of overseas property instead of burying our heads in the sand and pretending that the current market instability doesn't exist.



Despite having wagon loads of cash to spend and many vehement protestations to the contrary, it would appear that Dubai's fledgling property market is suffering just as badly from the global credit crisis as everybody else.



A very interesting piece by Jason Benham in Reuters suggests that "secondary prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi fell 4 to 5%, with Dubai's advertised villa prices falling by 19 percent month-on-month in October after several banks tightened lending conditions in August and September." It also says that : "Apartments in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the nexus of the banking and investment sector, fell as much as 30 percent."



Another sales agent was quoted as saying that property prices had fallen 30-35% in Dubai since September. The downturn has meant that major developers in the Emirate such as Nakheel, Emaar and Damac are either cutting jobs or at least reassessing employment numbers.



This is not good news for the many thousands of Irish investors that flocked to the Emirate after it opened its property market to the world in 2002. But, you know what they say, "it's an ill wind ...". Perhaps this will make room for another speculative run at this most extraordinary of markets in the not too distant future.

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Dubai Property Links

For a selection of property in Dubai click here.

For a list of agents selling property in Dubai click here.

For independent articles on the Dubai property market click here.

For advice on purchasing in Dubai click here.

For news on the Dubai property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from Dubai agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring Dubai property click here.

Chicago Spire Halts Construction

It would appear that Garrett Kelleher's dreams of building the most stunning building on the Chicago skyline are rapidly tumbling to earth.



Launched in a blaze of glory earlier this year by Irish agent Savills HOK (now just Savills) the Chicago Spire tower, which featured lake view apartments from €500k, looks like it is going to be no more than a big hole in the ground for the foreseeable future. And boy is it a big hole at 76 feet deep by 110 feet wide.



Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune reports that spokesperson for the developer, Kim Metcalfe, has said that the construction will go ahead, but no commitment was made as to when this might happen.



The cracks started to show even before the launch tour for the project had completed last spring. As far back as last March Kelleher's Shelbourne Developments failed to pay nearly $430,000 in property taxes due on the proposed site.



Mind you, Kelleher is in good company, although that may not be much consolation, it looks like his isn't the only project that has ground to a halt recently.



According to project spokesperson Kim Metcalfe, Kelleher has spent at least $50 million on construction. She says that this investment is evidence that work on the project will resume and that it will open as scheduled in 2012. This would, however, look like wishful thinking, as there is an estimated 10,000 new condo units scheduled to become available in Chicago by the end of 2009 with no market to absorb them.



The Spire project is bedeviled with problems at the moment as its star architect, Santiago Calatrava, recently filed a lien on the property seeking more than $11.3 million in payment from the developer. The Perkins & Will architecture firm has also filed a $4.85 million lien against both Shelbourne and Calatrava's Festina Lente Ltd.



Foreign woes are starting to become somewhat of a recurring story for Irish agents and developers as high profile companies such as Harcourt Developments, Paddy Kelly, Simple Overseas Properties, KenDar Holdings, KMS, Larionovo, Pruntys Overseas Properties and France First have all run into problems overseas in the recent past.

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USA Property Links

For a selection of property in the USA click here.

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring American property click here.

Advertising Your Overseas Rental Property

We are delighted to announce some more positive news. Heaven knows there's not much of it about these days, but we have been trying our best to bring you some, particularly as the dull and dreary autumn/winter weather really starts to take hold.

In association with Holiday Homes Direct we are offering our clients, many of whom own property abroad, the opportunity to list their overseas rental property on the HHD site, with an added bonus.

If you sign up your overseas property for rental on the excellent HHD site you will get an extra six months for free, just quote code 3025. For a full advertising rate card click here. To add your property click here, and don't forget your offer code, 3025. 

No need to say thanks, we're happy to help in any way we can.

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For a selection of property from around the world click here. 

For a listing of agents selling overseas property click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing property overseas click here.

For news on the world of overseas property click here.

For new releases and product updates from agents around the world click here.

For a list of upcoming overseas property exhibitions around the country click here. 

Advertising Rates on OverseasCafe.com

We've had quite a bit of traffic to the site querying on-site advertising rates. This is, obviously, a very good thing, as it means that the site is raising its profile and has proven an attractive advertising medium for those currently with a presence there.

There are a a great variety of advertising avenues which can be used on the site including banner adverts, Premium Property listings (to ensure your property is featured on the homepage), inclusion on monthly newsletters, dedicated newsletter campaigns to our opt-in overseas property database and advertising on supplementary pages such as the Tempted Buy section, newsletter archive, press archive and of course this blog. 

One of the unique things about the OverseasCafe.com website is that advertising of normal properties is ABSOLUTELY FREE for both agents and private sellers. Yes, you read that correctly, you have to pay absolutely nothing, simply Register on the site and upload your properties. It couldn't be simpler.

Our traffic is growing by the week and the website has become quite high profile across varying levels of media. If you want to maximise your exposure to Irish overseas property buyers, both north and south of the border, the OverseasCafe.com has proven itself an indispensible and incredibly cost-effective tool. 

Don't get left behind. If you want to market your overseas property in Ireland you simply must have a presence on OverseasCafe.com.

For further information on using OverseasCafe.com to promote your business please contact Tara O'Toole on tara@OverseasCafe.com or by phone on 00353 (0)86 044 9278.

Top 10 Overseas Property Destinations

Well you guys just love 'top 10' lists, so we said we'd better give you some more of them. This is one we've put together from the most frequently visited countries in our property database on the website over the month of October.



Property in the USA. God bless 'em, on the run up to their election the guys Stateside will be delighted and excited (or delired and excired as good old Gaybo used to say) that we love them so much. Bottom fishing? Possibly a little of this, but the Irish do love American property anyway, the fact that it is a little more affordable now is just an added incentive.



Property in France. Ever the popular one, French leaseback has been a constant attraction and the Irish just seem to like France as a place to buy property.



Property in Spain. It's property industry is taking a hell of a beating at the moment, but there are signs that the Irish are looking for bargains there. It is still the easiest place to access for us that has a half decent climate.



Property in Portugal. Always a popular one with Irish buyers. A bit on the expensive side, but there are signs that the Irish are taking to places like the Lisbon coast and the area around Porto now that there is improved flight access.



Property in Sweden. Now this is an interesting one. Solid, stable and with reliable investment returns. Does this mean the Irish are now starting to recognise the attractions of this market?



Property in Cape Verde. Probably not that unusual considering how much Irish development there is on this relatively recent addition to the overseas property landscape. It's pretty high profile at the moment as well with the high profile Irish campaign by the Ciarán Maguire Group.



Property in Bulgaria. Now here's a surprise. Bulgaria hasn't disappeared completely. We're not sure whether the interest is mostly from investors trying to offload their properties or whether there is still genuine interest in the country.



Property in Montenegro. This tiny Balkan state was a big hit with the Irish after its split from Serbia. There are signs that the interest, while it has dipped somewhat, hasn't disappeared altogether. It is a spectacularly pretty country and the Irish appear to have fallen head over heels in love with areas such as Budva, Tivat, Kotor and Herzig Novi.



Property in Italy. Italy has been climbing the charts monthly and the only surprise is that it didn't register higher than ninth place in the list.



Property in Turkey. The Turks are starting to regain their position toward the top of Irish interest tables. For those who are looking for good weather it's a relatively inexpensive option.



And there you have it, that's what people who visited the site in October were looking for in property terms. We'll be sure to provide you with plenty more top 10 lists in the future.

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General Property/News/Agent News/Editorials

For a selection of property from around the world click here.

For a listing of agents selling overseas property click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing property overseas click here.

For news on the world of overseas property click here.

For new releases and product updates from agents around the world click here.

For a list of upcoming overseas property exhibitions around the country click here.