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"Yield analysis............7.77%" Meanwhile, back in the real world, my landlord is getting 2.8% yield minus agents' management fees, for the tenancy I have in South Manchester!

I would bet any money that 99% of those new homeless in the US are actually illegal immigrants. So, the choice is live in a field in the US or go back home to Mexico. Obviously, the field has greater appeal.

rathers, Maybe York was more reasonably priced all along. Had a look at the house on that link. FFS, we expect agents to be economical with the truth - but outright lying is something else. How on earth can they say that the house is a semi-detached? It's very obviously terraced, as you can see from both the photograph and the aerial shot! Lying b*stards.

Ulidia, My view on Philippine property is that I'm buying purely to keep the wife happy! It's certainly not anything I would expect to get a return from. Speaking of which - I've read in quite a few places that the best pure investment for a foreigner to make is to buy 1-bed condos in Manila either in Makati or Ortigas, which can then be rented out for returns of up to 10% pa. As long as your purchasing exposure is low (say 1-2mill php) then it may well be worth having a go at that sector of the market. Also, I've noted there is a serious lack of secure, quality 2-3 bed condos available in the short term market - something that would be useful for balikbayans and their families visiting Manila.

Helenreed, Thanks for your advice and for explaining the reasons. I take your point about local schools, but we’ve lived overseas in the past (HK, Indonesia, Cyprus and Philippines) and our children have attended international schools in all these countries, so we know about the pros and cons between local and British schools. Based on our experience of over 15 years of schooling abroad, we think 12 is too old to be putting our child into a state school in a new country with a new language. Given the language issue and the other settling in problems that will affect our child all at the same time, for us, the decision on sending him to a British school makes itself. All I want to know on the school front is which International school in the Alicante area is best. You say “a more Spanish area” - is Alicante not Spanish enough? I’m expecting to find a functioning city with thriving local businesses, even though lots of Brits may be planning to go back. I’m not interested in going to British bars every night, frankly. We just need a good area near to a decent British school that is not too far from a town or city that has all the mod cons. As for residential areas, we’ve never lived in an English ghetto yet and are quite happy to live among local people. As long as the area is a decent quality urbanization (not identikit concrete boxes) that’s fine by us. Except for the Philippines (for security reasons) we’ve always lived among local residents anyway, and expect to do the same in Spain. My wife is excellent at languages and will be speaking Spanish in no time, so there’s no chance of us being confined to an English ghetto. Nautorious, Thanks for that tip – I’ll check out La Nucia. What about Elche? Do you (or anyone) have any information on that place as a place to live? Thanks again, John

Ulidia, Wouldn't disagree at all there - both places are as corrupt as hell. That leaves Malaysia as the least corrupt out of the three, and most likely the country where I will put my money. Why oh why the Philippines simply will not improve their tourism infrastructure to bring in foreigners (as Thailand does) and thereby generate much needed foreign income is a national disgrace. Anti-foreigner protectionism and the total stranglehold operated by the big Philippine taipans is a big part of this problem. The whole tourist market needs opening up and liberating to let the money flow.

Rents in South Manchester/N Cheshire are falling big time. We rented a 5 bed house for 1650 just last August. Comparing it with similar houses/location now on the rental market, we could have got it for about 1400 if we rented it today. That's a big drop in just 6 months. Based on the current "agent valuation" for this particular house, which is just under 600k, this would give a yield of 2.8% - from which has to be deducted agent's fees. All this in a falling market - what a mug's game for the landlord!

Yes - that's always our intention in any case. We've lived overseas before and are well aware of the need to rent before buying. However, it would be helpful to receive some inside information on which locations would be suitable, even for renting, bearing in mind that school is the No. 1 priority. No point in renting a place thirty miles away from where we'll buy.

We will be moving to Spain in 2012 with our youngest child, who will be 12 then. Our idea was to move to Malaga, but high prices there are leading us to reassess. We are now thinking of the Alicante-Benidorm area on the Costa Blanca. Priorities for our location are (1) Good British school, (2) close to a town with good infrastucture and (3) a decent quality urbanisation. Can any old Spain hands recommend a suitable location based on this criteria and also advise what would be the current price of a 3 bed resale villa in such a location? We plan to visit the area this summer and would like some advanced info in order to narrow down our searching. Thanks in advance! John

My family and I have just returned from a year living in Cebu, so we have a good idea of the state of the tourist infrastructure in Mactan. Quite frankly, it's poor. Outside the gated resorts and condos on Mactan, the place is a tip - full of squatters, garbage heaps, poor roads - a fitting advertisement for the amateurish efforts of Philippines tourism. If I were to spend any money in SE Asia to invest in tourist facilities it would be in either Thailand or Malaysia. In both countries, the tourism product is better developed and more foreigner-friendly (particularly Malaysia) than the Philippines, and there is less sense of overt corruption. Don't get me wrong - I love the Philippines (married 15years to a Filipina) but the place is ust total chaos when it comes to getting business done. Charming people for sure - but they have the talent for fleecing foreigners off to a fine art. John

Soldintime, Interesting you speak of Indonesia. I used to live in East Java for three years. How can you stay on a one year visa? This one is news to me - I always thought visas like that had to be sponsored by a local firm? As regards renting your way around the world - yes it must be a great lifestyle. Lot of a problem if you have 4 kids of school age as I do! Internatioonal schools are damned expensive - I know. You also talk about exchanging houses - again, fine in theory. However, can you really do this when you're only renting and not owning the place? Surely the terms of your rental lease prohibit such exchanges. Cheers, John

Chrysalis, So which part of the "rest of the country" are you in that has rent rises? I'm in south Manchester, and have seen rents falling dramatically everywhere around here since we rented in late July. What we are paying 1650/mo for (5 bed detached, originally asking 1950/mo), the agents are now ASKING 1500. Reckon you could negotiate to 1400 from that without any trouble. So, basically, a drop from 1950 asking to 1500 asking in just 4 months!

Nelly, "Some of the stuff he says is true" - yeah like in the sense that a broken clock is right twice a day. He's an obnoxious lying hypocrite and needs debunking at every opportunity.

Anyone who takes anything from Michael Moore should check in at the nearest clinic for treatment. He is the embodiment of hypocrisy - like many on the Left. He has made a career out of constantly trying to prove his and the Left's moral superiority. This leads him to saying things about himself that are patently not true. He's almost pathological about it. How else to explain that he's loudly proclaimed no less than three times that he doesn't invest in the stock market because it's "morally wrong" -while quietly picking up shares in a whole host of companies. A portfolio that includes Halliburton, Boeing, and HMOs doesn't fit the bill so he lies about it. I could go on about his property in Manhattan and the fact that he sends his kids to private schools (how socialist of him) but what's the point. He's a total basket case - and all the "cool dudes" and 6th form debaters love him!

Been keeping my eyes on the rental market in this area since we signed our lease in late July. In the 4/5 bed detached market, what were up for 1.6k - 1.8k/month are now appearing at about 200 quid a month cheaper across the board. I get the distinct impression that asking rents are falling. Any others noted similar? John

Nomadd, That place on Eveshamin Wilmslow (your post 178) - we visited it. at the time of our visit it was under redecoration - really nice finishings and good quality fittings. However, it was too small for us as we needed 4 beds minimum and it was only a 3 bed plus upstairs office. Eventually we got a 5 bed for 1.6k/month in Cheadle. Cheers, John

Didn't fancy anything that we saw in Wilmslow at all. 4 bed detached houses had just lounge/diners and breakfast kitchens and medium size bedrooms for 1.6k/month (and more). Went round a couple of posing estates at that price level and just did not like the "keeping up appearances" feel of them. Eventually, we ended up paying 1.6k/month (2k asking) for a 5-bed 3-bath detached just off Schools Hill in Cheadle, which was our ideal location. I think we probably paid 100 quid a month too much but couldn't really afford to wait any longer as we had been in unsuitable temp accom for 4 weeks - too long with 4 kids and a nagging wife in tow! Never underestimate the impact on the property market of a nagging wife. Good luck to all!

I can vouch for Nomadd's comment about rental prices and asking prices being way out of line. We've been looking for the past three weeks for a 4-bed detached to rent in the Wilmslow/Bramhall/Cheadle areas. Typical rental asking prices of 1.5k/month are also appearing on the sales pages at 450K+, giving yields of just 4%. While rentals are being snapped up, sales are just not happening - so obviously the market for sales is still vastly overpriced.

Thanks for your replies. Below is the exact response I received a few weeks ago when I enquired through one agent: "References are required from all prospective tenants. These are taken up through a Credit Reference Agency, a non-refundable administration fee is required of £115.00 (£97.88 plus VAT) for one application with an additional fee of £45.00 (£38.30 plus VAT) for each extra applicant aged over 18. This covers a charge towards the costs of referencing, preparing the Inventory, drawing up the Tenancy Agreement, for copying the Inventory and Agreement and for arranging for the transfer of the Gas, Electric, Water and Council Tax into the Tenant’s name and the setting up of the Bank standing order for future rent payments. References are harder to complete if you have been out of the country for a long period of time. If you work for a UK company it would be easier. To speed up the process with the Landlords approval you could pay 6 mths rent up front." I thought the last sentence said it all.

I opened up a thread on this subject on My 21st headed "Fees for Obtaining References". From that and the comments seen here, it looks like a dead end for tenants at the moment. We have one letting agent who has three properties we wish to view. Does this mean I'll be getting stiffed for 3 x 160 quid "reference fees"? Or will a one-off payment cover all the houses he has on his books that we visit?

We will shortly be renting in south Manchester. One of the agents we have contacted have advised that they will charge me 160 quid for obtaining references about me. Is it normal to charge the renter for obtaining references? Surely this is done for the landlord's benefit so should be to his/her account? Last time I rented in 1999 we did not pay any fee for references. Advice welcome.

Yes, I'm aware of the process. So, under HA2004, the tenant informs the local authority that a hazard exists and then the LA enforces the LL to do the bloody repair work! That's what I was getting at. Surely, any LL faced with this obligation would just get on with the work rather than wait to be sued after a child suffers injury due to the LL breaching his duty. I'm sure the local papers would have a field day with that one.

Matt, Sorry, but this is not my understanding of the law on this subject (and yes, Agent - I do understand the difference between the two concepts). Since 6 April 2006, landlords have to comply with the Housing Act 2004. This introduced the Health and Safety Rating System, which identities 29 types of hazard with which landlords must deal. Among them is the risk of falling on level surfaces, which is described as "...the threat to health from falling on any level surface such as floors, yards and paths. It also includes falls associated with trip steps, thresholds or ramps, where the change in level is less than 300mm." The landlord is required to deal with this condition by "Proper design, construction and maintenance of floors, yards, steps or paths to minimise any trip hazards." This is why I say the landlord is responsible for the upkeep of external paths. If you don't agree, Agent then please point out what part of the law supports your position.

Agent, Why would the landlord not be responsible for maintaining the paving? If the flags are as described, then with rainfall they would be further undermined making them even more unstable and dangerous over time. This is clearly a potential health and safety issue and should therefore be the landlord's responsibility. If i were you, Q, I would first write to the landlord pointing out the danger in a calm and reasonable manner and asking him to rectify the problem. I would then speak to the either the Health and safety people in the local Council and/or the Citizen's Advice Bureau, both of whom I'm sure would give you correct advice.

Tube, Yes, we had a plot in Kolossi. Bought it for 40k and sold for 65k 2 yrs later. Had to cancel our building project after the builder tried to rip me off on the very first job he did. Hearing the architect say that he was the "man in the middle" and not working in my interests was the final nail in the coffin. Cyprus is so full of shysters and conmen in the building industry. I do so agree with you that they must keep the trees in Fassouri, I always loved driving down that road. Cheers, John