How we work - Our services and organisation explained.

Since the overseas property market began to boom in the late 1990s, many thousands of New-Build property purchases have taken place with billions of pounds or euro´s invested by buyers from all over the world.   The early investors get the best prices and property positions in their chosen resorts. The average deposit ranges between 15% and 50% - leaving the buyer between 1 and 2 years until completion where they usually take out a mortgage to pay the final balance.

Most developers/builders anticipate a certain amount of sales to be "investment driven", often selling multiple properties to investors and speculators knowing their intention of reselling them either before or after completion.   Some will keep their property for rental income and holiday/second homes.

After choosing the right property or properties, the buyer will sign legally binding purchase contract/s with the developer and pay their deposits.   If cancelled the buyer will often lose all of their money and may even be required to pay additional administration fees and possibly legal fees too.   Some builders will give back a small portion of the deposit, but most do not! The buyer simply gives away their right of purchase and relinquishes all responsibility.

It´s hard to imagine why anyone would just simply walk away from so much of their hard earned money!   There are numerous reasons. The most common attributable to the buyers change of financial and personal circumstances, such as, job loss, divorce/separation and foreign currency fluctuations.   As their property nears completion, the thought of finding the payment balance in cash or by mortgage can cause huge worry and concern if the means of payment have been impaired by loss of job etc. Handing back the contract is probably the only option, but the worry remains that a builder who receives too many cancelled contracts might exercise their right to enforce completion. With no way to pay, this could mean a legal embargo on the buyers’ primary home in their country of residence.

We have met many victims of this very stressful situation, people who cannot find a property agent to help.   Estate Agents are not well connected enough to help. They sell houses not contracts, they have little or no experience of the legal process and so simply suggest "another agent down the road". The poor contract owner gets nowhere at all, adding to their disillusionment.

Our founding members were in this position in early 2007. They made considerable efforts to sell-on their own contracts and eventually were successful. It seemed silly to just walk away from all the doors they had opened and decided to help others release themselves from similar financial commitments.

Make no mistake, selling in present market conditions will result in a loss of some kind. The world-wide financial slump is being felt throughout all property markets such as; Spain, Dubai, Bulgaria and Florida, where in some cases homeowners forced to sell are losing up to and exceeding 50% of their property value. It goes without saying that selling purchase contracts will see the same, if not more significant losses.

We have to be honest with ourselves, we speculated at the wrong time. We bought in a rising market and had to sell in a declining one! Switch on your TV and you are bound to find a program giving advice on how to become an amateur property millionaire. The chances are we will see financial ruin. How can we run our busy lives, going to work, feed our families and ever hope to capitalise on the property market when the professionals live, eat and breath their way to the top? They network together, build substantial property portfolios in all the right locations and pay a fraction of the prices that amateur speculators pay in their ignorance. The amateur hardly has time to keep their eye on the ball; the professional will never take their eye off it!   Professionals will only speculate a fraction of their wealth whilst amateurs will mortgage their family home, hoping a dabble in the market will double their money. As we now know, the opposite is the truth.

In summary, we must expect to lose money when selling-on property purchase contracts in today’s market.   The investors will be looking medium to long term before they see a profit; they can afford to wait for the up-turn in the world’s economies. For present contract owners, time is ticking away and the completion date is nearing. We suggest caution when considering selling your contract, but here you will find a safe and legal way to release some of the money you have locked in your contract. You will be able to walk away with something and have no need to worry about finding the final balance. As we found ourselves, the stress and health worries associated with a looming completion was too much to bear alone. We are certain that through our network, a buyer can be found and wish you good luck whichever way you choose to go.

Regards,

The Team - Contracts4Trade.Com.

If you wish to have your purchase contract appraised and offered for sale to one of the many investors in our network then please proceed to our "Submit a Property" page and fill out the short form. We shall contact you by E.mail with advice on possible value and offers.

Important Notice - Submission is FREE at present but we anticipate a small charge will have to be made to any new submissions made after January 2009.