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Paying 1800/month for a modern 5 bed detached in SK8 Cheadle with minimal back garden. Rents are no way soft in the area you are looking in - our lease is up in Sept and I'm sure the landlord would be asking 2k/month. We are going overseas, so will be able to resist his wonderful offer!

Malaysia: http://www.iproperty.com.my/

Was in Cyprus for 4 years until 2007. The prices there were insane then - and have shown little evidence of pulling back. The Cypriots' answer to a shortage of buyers is to raise prices - I kid you not! Greek logic at its finest. When the Cyp currency changed to the Euro, they just multiplied their old Cyp prices by 1.72 (or whatever the then exchange rate was) to get the Euro price. Of course, when the Euro was then converted to pounds, the prices were out of reach for 99% of British buyers. Lots of shoddy construction over there - anyone looking to buy would have to do serious structural inspections. Then there is the title deeds fiasco, which has been round and round the Cyprus legal system and is now heading for the EU courts. Some people have been waiting 20 years for their papers on property they have paid off long ago. Add to that the bent solicitors and developers and the place is an absolute nightmare for the unwary investor. Saying that - it's a great place. I would suggest renting!

Kayuya, Everywhere is way overpriced at this time - but all that's needed is to point out better areas than the Whalley Range originally mentioned. Agree about the Mauldeth Rd area and the new builds.

Stretford - between Chester Road and Barlow Moor Road there are some nice areas. Lots of leafy roads and some nice big houses without the stigma of Whalley Range. Also you could try Sale, which has very good transport links with the Metro. Failing those areas i think you are stuck with Didsbury and the Didsbury end of Withington. But don't go any further towards Manchester than Didsbury/Withington (Fog Lane area). These are just my opinions - you must drive round yourself and get a feel for them.

Natalie, As a Manchester lad and not an estate agent, I have to tell you like it is - not how you would wish it to be. Whalley Range has a reputation. Have a look at the Heaton Moor area of Stockport.

Have the police sorted out the kerb-crawlers and the hookers now then? That part of Whalley Range used to be full of them not long ago. Also, proximity to Moss Side and druggies does not do wonders for the ambience.

The problem in S Cyprus is exacerbated by the ineffective legal system, especially where buyers use lawyers who are often also acting on behalf of the developers from whom they are buying! Unbelievably, there are thousands of Brit buyers in this position, having been duped into believing that the lawyers working for them were independent. The trusting Brits were victims of elaborate marketing scams (Cypriots are excellent at these scams with their easy going Mediterranean charm) and the misleading claims that Cyprus law is almost the same as English law. All the egentsd and developers pump this line and iy=t is sa heady mix. I lived in Cyprus for 4 years and saw a good number of scam cases myself.

With such a low initial amount, I would suggest you get into a monthly savings plan with Fidelity, Invesco, Henderson or any other of the major unit trust firms. Just pick your sector - you suggested the US, so go for the S&P500 fund - and just keep the payments up every month. I believe the minimum monthly amounts required go as low as 50 quid. For share buying, it is simply not feasible to invest less than 1,000 to 1,500 a share due to dealing charges and buy/sell spreads. Good luck. John

Peter, Yes I do expect hefty price drops - actually, I'm planning to buy around 2013 for precisely the reason you mention. I had been expecting Phil prices to have dropped by now considering that remittances from overseas must be severely affected, especially the States. I'm just curious on which developments you would recommend in Manila. Although I've been there many times, I'm not as in touch with the details of the market and daily living as you are! John

Ulidia, Looking at Manila, which development would you recommend for buying into for a 2-bed condo which will be used by my wife and kids on our trips back to Phils? Prefer resale but will consider new if the numbers are right. Cheers, John

Nautorius, I looked at Altea and Denia on the map, but it seemed too far away from a major town. Now, we're thinking of around the Alicante area, close to a good school as we'll have our youngest still with us (will be 12 then). I was looking at Elche. Are there areas you would recommend that we should look at - safety being a prime consideration, as you say. Thanks, John

Nautorius, Yes, much as I thought - at 4% yield, those houses are still way overpriced for me. I think 3 more years of doom and gloom will take them nicely down another 40-50% which is roughly where I hope to be coming in. We're planning our move to Costa Blanca for 2012, so with a year's rental under our belt, should hopefully pick up some hefty discounts by 2013. Cheers, John

gotoutintime, Exactly what I said in the first paragraph of my post No.17. Can't the Phil Tourist authorities see that there is no way that serious foreign money will ever be invested in their country until it improves the general infrasturture and standard of living of its people first? Flying regularly from Tokyo to Cebu, it took me just 10 minutes out of the airport at Mactan to get depressed at the poverty, begging and all round crap that is everywhere. There's nothing like this scale of poverty in Malaysia and Thailand, which are the Philippines' direct competitors. John

I would much rather hold dollars than sterling IMHO. With all the money being pumped into the US stimulus, the dollar will resume its safe haven status - especially as the Euro will collaspe soon (and good riddance to it, I say). So wherever you have the dollars, keep holding.

Nautorius, Seeing as you're there...have you checked out what the rental yields are for those 3-4 bed villas, comparing probable sale price with actual rents being paid? Is your mortgage in pounds or Euros? John

Sounds like a 2 yrs rental at 12,000/yr will get you into the realm of saving of at least 120k on a 300k villa. HAs to be a no-brainer. And who on earth wants to pay 770k for a house in southern Spain in a dead and falling market? These agents are insane. why don't they just tell their clients to drop the prices to move them? Madness. Surely there are keener sellers to be found on the internet, especially via UK-based agents?

Suggest you buy into a high income investment trust. If you go to Trustnet you can take your pick. Aberdeen Asset Managers has the Glasgow Income Trust paying a whopping 17.4% yield based on today's bombed out price! Income is paid quarterly - just reinvest it. This beats the hell out of getting a measly 5-6% (if you're lucky) as a BTL wally owning a depreciating asset.

Correction to my post No. 22 - the reduction in rent is 400 cheaper than when we rented last July, equating to about 23%.

Just seen a nice, spacious 5 bed detached about a mile and a half away from where we are, asking rental price is 1295/mo - that's 300 cheaper than what we're paying for a 5 bed on a lease signed just last July. No question that the rents are falling on larger houses, certainly in S Manchester/N Cheshire.

Chelston, We moved to Cebu in July 2007 with the intention of buying a family home, and I thought we would benefit from lower prices due to the general economic slowdown in the States, for exactly the reasons you said. I was shocked beyond belief to see Cebu prices not only not falling, but going through the roof. In fact, they were more expensive even than Manila! Asking prices for good houses in secure subdivisions which were already highly inflated, were being paid without question by Koreans. Even the rental market was crazy - again the Koreans were the guilty party - driving the market through the roof, and then there were all the multinational companies adding fuel to the fire. The budget that I had worked out through careful research over a couple of years was blown apart by a factor of two, and I simply could not get onto the market at a sensible level. One of the biggest shocks was the extremely onerous lease terms demanded by private landlords. Up front payments of 6, 9 and 12 months were demanded without any hint of shame - apparently this was their insurance against the risk of damage being caused by burning open barbecues in the living room. As if! Allegedly this was something the Koreans used to enjoy - as a result of which every other tenant had to suffer through outrageous deposit demands. The Cebu market was just a madhouse and we were glad to get out of it.

Acer, "...The LL should be giving me a reference to prove he is not near bankrupcy..." Exactly what I said to the letting agent last July when we were looking for a rental. The look of horror and disgust on his face was a picture. That I had the audacity to even suggest such a thing was simply beyond his comprehension. As he was a bit of a numpty, I called the partner of the firm to put my view across. He said this was the first time in his career he had ever heard of anyone asking for a LL reference - to which I said that I think he better get used to it in the future. This wasn't enough to force him to get the reference, but I think that the market has deteriorated since last summer, and LLs may well now have little choice but to provide them if more and more tenants demand them.

Lucky, You said "...there are a lot of innocents who are going to suffer as well..." What "innocents"? They were all perfectly happy to large it up about house prices going up while we on this board were slagged off by friends and relatives for "missing the boat". I have had my wife complaining since we sold in late 2003 asking when we were going to buy again, and the stress and tension that causes when you're holding out in a market that should be falling but went up all the way to late 2007 is hard to take. But no point to complain or ask for sympathy - uust back your own judgment and hope it pans out. Now we have this woman aghast that her house is being sold below it's true "value". But that "value" was only an artificial construct in her mind as to what the property was worth - within the status of the market as it stood at that time. That very same market is now singing a different tune. She, along with the many thousands like her who you call "innocents", is just too weak and uneducated to take the time to learn about market forces. They expect sympathy and "hugs" to help them feel better. They're not "innocent" - just uninformed, ignorant sheeple.

Hi Helen, Yes, thanks for that info. I had read about crimes like this. We had a similar scenario in Cyprus, but on a much smaller scale. Seems as though these places could do with some kind of neighbourhood watch or even vigilante system to deter thieves. Don't the urbs have private security patrolling the area? I would definitely like to hear more details from your friends. Thanks again John

Helenreed, Oh dear, your comment about you friend’s experience has confused me now! You say he hated Alicante but loved Elche? What’s the problem with Alicante that both of you dislike it so much? I guess I’m asking too many questions ahead of our first visit (we’ll go this summer after first sampling the Marbella area), but I’m intrigued to know some details on how life is in and around Alicante, and especially the downsides froma residential point of view. John