Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Property in Luxor Egypt

Uncertain about buying Egypt, see the two articles below. I think that first article is really fair but it fails to take account of the motivation behind a lot of sales. Retirement properties. The second article should reassure those looking at these.

With pension values falling, Westerners are facing an increasingly dubious future. Their pensions, if they have one, are minuscule and certainly not enough to maintain a decent standard of living or any living at all in some case. But because of the low cost of living in Egypt even the most cash strapped pensioner can live like a Pharaoh on a very modest pension. Buy your apartment or flat and never have to worry about rent again and live off your UK pension, yes it is possible here. After all there are no heating costs, it is sunny all year round. Food costs are approx 1/10 those of the UK. Also you can pass on your property with no tax, tempted, you should be.

The two article do reassure people looking to invest in Egypt that their capital value is set to rise. Which when you are facing an increasingly uncertain old age is very reassuring. The clincher is that you can pass everything on to your children, no tax!!!!

As you know we have property for sale and all is on private land where we can give you freehold and proper contracts and papers. Flats in Luxor has an international reputation for honesty and we can give you references from satisfied customers. We have a variety of properties some with swimming pools, so please get in touch and have a secure retirement.

Another article on why you should buy in Egypt

Why buy real estate in Egypt

Egypt may seem like an exceptionally unusual choice as a location in which to invest in real estate sure, its a great vacation location with its 7,000 years of history, its near perfect year round climate, stunning beaches and beautiful divingbut what does it have to offer someone wanting to invest in real estate as a commodity?

The answer is Egypt is actually fast moving from being an emerging real estate market place to a well established one because the levels of foreign direct investment into the real estate sector have increased based on some excellent fundamentals.

For example, Egypt is now considered to be a politically stable country and one that is absolutely pro-western, meaning that an investor can be confident in the political stability, will and vision of the nation. Next up, the economy in Egypt is going from strength to strength. According to The Economist magazine GDP grew by 5% in 2005, almost 7% in 2006 and is on target for over 7% growth in 2007.

A strong economy gives confidence to investors as well but it also means local people have more buying power which creates the perfect environment for house prices to rise in value and an investors real estate assets to appreciate.

Aside from these excellent foundations on which an investor can build confidence there are some travel and tourism angles you might like to consider when thinking about whether Egypt is worth a closer look as a place to invest your hard earned dollars into immovable property.

First up theres excellent statistical news and data from the World Travel and Tourism Council, they say Egypt is on track for enjoying 21.4 billion US dollars worth of economic activity from the tourism market in 2007 and that the nations travel and tourism growth rate is expected to hit almost 8% this year before averaging around 5 and a half % per annum until 2017.

Clearly there will be massive rental demand for accommodation that a property investor who buys well located real estate can benefit from. Boosting this demand is Egypts exceptional climate and the fact the nation is now cheaply and swiftly accessible from Europe and the UK thanks to cheap flight operators.

Finally, if you want more reasons why to buy real estate in Egypt think about the fact there are no capital gains or death/inheritance taxes in Egypt and the government has now made it easy and safe for foreign buyers to own a home or multiple real estate assets in Egypt and surely you have enough evidence to support taking a closer look at the Egyptian property market.

Rhiannon Williamson writes about property investment worldwide,

Now is the time to buy property in Egypt according to analysts

Egyptian Property: Too Good to be True or Too Good to Miss?


The recent media reports relating to the real estate market in Egypt paint a picture that would make anyone think twice about buying property anywhere else. Even the Prime Minister of Egypt believes that the construction industry has just witnessed a 15% expansion. But are all these tall tales about the success of the Egyptian property market too good to be true, or do they illustrate a picture of an investment asset that really is too good to miss?

The thing with Egypt is that it is an undeniably amazing country in terms of its travel and tourism appeal. It’s not like the authorities, tour operators or property professionals have got to flog a semi-decent location like Bulgaria is it?! Egypt has year round sunshine, it has the Red Sea, it has incredible beaches, it has the pyramids, Cairo, Alexandria, Tutankhamen – I mean, it has it all in abundance! And what’s more, the tourism industry is truly thriving…up 20% in 2007 on 2006 levels, set to increase by about 7% on average a year for the next ten years, and being targeting for inward investment by the government seeking to stabilise and diversify its economy.

So, the fact that the entire fledgling real estate industry is built on tourism makes property in Egypt initially seem like a no lose commodity. Surely as tourism numbers rise and rise and rise and all these amazing developments in all these amazing resorts are built and sold, so those who buy will be able to let to the tourists coming in and profit right? Well, yes…and no. What about all the hotels in Egypt? And all the hotels that are being built in Egypt? And the fact that tourists still prefer hotels with all their facilities and conveniences to self-catering? Aye, there’s the rub, not every tourist visiting Egypt is going to want to rent a fly-to-let investment property belonging to someone from the UK who has invested their life savings into what is being oversold as an amazing investment asset ‘guaranteed to double your money, honest.’

Sigh…

Sorry, we got carried away – it’s just that we despair when we see developers advertising properties for sale in untried and untested emerging markets with ludicrous promises about guaranteed rental yields, guaranteed capital appreciation and guaranteed returns. Yes Egypt is potentially a great place to invest, yes there are amazing fundamentals supporting the development of the nation economically speaking…but come on, it’s not a sure bet. Please, proceed with caution and look at any investment opportunity with just a little suspicion if you want to do the best for your money.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Kids Tours and Another Recommendation


Spotted this very nice recommendation from some past guests. They work at a school down in Cairo and are talking about using me for school trips which should be fun.
Here, we recommend Jane Akshar, whose teenage daughter often accompanies the tour when there are kids involved. She also explains that, "With kids on a tour, we sometimes act out, dressing up in galabeyas and some cheap beads, and pretend to be priests and pharaohs".

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Want to know more about us

Flats in Luxor was founded in 2003 when I moved to Egypt. I first got interested in Egypt when I was 9 years old, my grandmother gave me a book to read on Tutankhamun and I was hooked. When I received some book tokens for my 10th birthday I got the book and never looked back. I first visited Egypt in 1979. having read every book in the library I thought I knew it all. I found I knew nothing, in fact as time has gone by and I realise just how much there is to know I realise my percentage goes down and down :)

I did evening classes with the University of London, 3 year, 2 year and 5 year courses and grew to love it even more. I did more visits and found the modern Egypt just as interesting and fascinating.

Through various times in my life Egypt has been the thread holding it together and frankly it is no surprise that I have ended up moving here. After all I started talking about that when I was in my teens. My husband Mahmoud Jahlan was the catalyst to making me move here and I am forever grateful to him for this.

If you want to know more about me search on the web for Jane Akshar and my Linked In profile details my business career.

Want to know more about the Flats, again search but beware of imitators. Lots of people have used the 'flats in Luxor' name but nobody else is in the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Trip Advisor, Daily Telegraph, Responsible Travel, All the Experts, Echo, Tour Egypt, Luxor News, Egyptology News, Egypt Mad. We are the original Flats in Luxor, the first tourist standard in Luxor, the first to go Green and the first to make the guide books

Flats in Luxor is on Facebook

I have added a Flats in Luxor company page to Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flats-in-Luxor/23829117620 so if you use Facebook you might want to become a fan.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Story about us

Really nice article about our Flats in Luxor. http://www.asap.co.uk/news/a-green-vacation-in-egypt-5633201.html. The first Flats in Luxor to offer tourist standard accommodation the first Flats in Luxor with a swimming pool, the first Flats in Luxor o go Green.

We have also been in contact with another member of Responsible Travel in Egypt. They offer horse riding trips near Cairo. It is a really exciting new aspect to our business.

We are now recommended by Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Tour Egypt, Responsible Travel, Trip Advisor.

Excited, you betcha

Friday, July 11, 2008

Flats in Luxor goes Green

Ever since I went on holiday to Japan in 2007 and booked through Responsible Travel I have been looking at turning our business GREEN. After months working with Responsible Travel who have been most helpful we have been officially recognised as the first and only GREEN tourism business in Luxor.

We had to do a number things in order to met the criteria but many of the conditions we were already doing. Ever since the beginning of our business 5 years ago I have recommended that tourists keep the money in the local economy.

I am so excited about this new aspect to our business

Our page on Responsible Travel