Buy property in Spain but know your facts first

It is often very easy to get swayed by the lush grandeur of
Spain. You may quickly be taken in by the tremendous
earning potential this place has to offer in terms of real
estate investment. However in order to buy property in
Spain you need planning and research.

Things to look out for before you buy property in Spain

Even before actually going to buy property, it is essential
to understand certain aspects – especially the applicable
laws in the land.

Under quoting prices: Many real estate agents quote a far
lower price on the property you intend to buy. This is a
common practice used when foreigners try to buy property in
Spain. In fact, this is illegal and is used mostly to evade
high tax payment.

As a buyer, you need to be aware of such practices so you
do not fall victim to it.

Unregistered agents: A booming real estate market in Spain
has given rise to a surge in hoax agents. They are
unauthorized and unregistered yet they continue to offer
their services, thereby misguiding potential investors.

Foreigners who wish to buy property in Spain are most
vulnerable and often come under their radar. They may put
terms and conditions in the contract which may place you in
a difficult situation.

Therefore only hire established, reputed firms – it doesn't
matter if their price is a little higher. Seek independent
lawyers: Many times your real estate agent may recommend a
lawyer who they personally know.

If you buy property in Spain with the help of such a
lawyer, they may manipulate the terms of the contract to be
more advantageous to the real estate agent. Check for any
agricultural protection laws: There are many laws in Spain
that seek to protect agricultural land and foliage in the
country. This prohibits the construction of houses in
certain select pieces of property that have been specially
demarcated for this purpose.

Therefore, before you buy property in Spain make sure you
know it doesn't come under such laws. Imagine spending a
fortune on the land only to realize later you cannot
construct a house on it! What can you do?

There are many ways in which you can ease the process of
buying property in Spain. It helps to do a lot of research.

Find out the going rate, shop around for the best deals,
and subscribe to magazines dealing with real estate in
Spain. You can also find out the most suitable locations
around the country for investing, explore schools and
educational facilities and the local culture.

You may also need to assess your own personal motives to
buy property in Spain. If you're looking at it merely from
an investment perspective, it may help to invest at the
early stages of development to fetch a better price. On the
other hand, if you're investing for attracting tourists,
you may want to choose houses near the coast.

Your personal tastes and situation will go a long way in
deciding the location of the property.

----------------------------------------------------
Get in touch with the industry experts at
http://www.buyspain.co.uk for more details. Steve Magill
has written several articles with regard to the Spanish
property business. As a Fellow in the British Association
of Entrepreneurs (FBAE) he is considered an expert
consultant when it comes to real estate in Spain.

The "Stagnant" Scenario vs. The "Down" Scenario

The "Stagnant" Scenario

When we apply the covered call strategy to the stagnant
stock scenario, we take a negative return scenario and turn
it into a positive scenario. Remember, when we sell an
option, we receive a premium for doing so.

When the stock does not move during the option's life, the
extrinsic value of the option goes to zero. The amount of
money paid for the option goes to the seller. We'll take a
look at how this sets up.

Let's go back to our previous example with the stock
trading at exactly $9.50. We sell the front month,
at-the-money call, which would be the 10 strike call. We
sell the front month 10 strike calls at $.50. As time goes
by, there is less chance for the option to become
"in-the-money". As this happens, the extrinsic value
lessens and finally, after Friday expiration, the option is
worthless.

The stock finishes at $10.00 and you have received no
capital appreciation but you have received the full $.50 of
extrinsic value from the option sale. If the studies are
correct and selling the premium works 80% of the time, then
you will collect approximately $4.00 per contract sold over
the course of the year.

As the examples demonstrate, writing covered calls against
a stagnant stock can provide you with an acceptable return
instead of frustration, wasted time and capital.

The "Down" Scenario

In the final scenario, where your stock purchase is headed
down into negative territory, the covered call strategy can
help minimize your losses. Although picking losers and
incurring losses is inescapable, it can be minimized and
controlled. Let's take a look at how the buy-write can help
us do that.

For example, let's say you bought a stock for $9.50 and at
the end of the month the stock had traded down to $8.50,
you would have a $1.00 loss on our investment.

However, if you had sold the 10 strike calls for $.50, you
would only have a $.50 loss. You would have a $1.00 capital
loss in the stock, but a $.50 option gain from selling the
option, which would expire worthless.

If you were going to buy the stock anyway and incur a
possible loss, it is better to take a $.50 loss than a
$1.00 loss. In this down scenario, the option premium
received helped to offset the capital loss.

If the stock is down more than the amount you received for
selling the call, then the option premium serves as an
offset to the loss of the stock.

However, you can still make money in the "down scenario"
using the covered strategy if the stock is only down a
small amount. There is a scenario in the buy-write strategy
where you can profit from owning a stock that is lower than
where you bought it.

Going back to the previous example, you bought a stock for
$9.50 and you sold the front month 10 strike calls for
$.50. At expiration, the stock finishes down $.20 at $9.30
You would have incurred a $.20 loss on your stock.

However, with the stock at $9.30, the 10 strike call that
you sold for $.50 is now worthless. So, you have a $.20
loss on the stock and a $.50 gain from the option premium
sold. This leaves you with a gain of $.30 on a stock that
is down $.20 since the time you purchased it.

To recap: in our third scenario, the "down scenario," your
loss will be offset by the option premium you received so
your loss will not be as severe. You still may incur a
loss, but it will be minimized, and minimizing losses is a
key to successful investing.

----------------------------------------------------
This Article Provided By The Options University: Options
Trading Strategies For Safer Investing and Consistent
Profits. Discover how to protect your investments with the
leveraged power of options. Step-by-step video tutorials,
articles, free and premium trading content can be found at:
http://www.TheOptionsUniversity.com

10 tips for insuring your home

Insuring your home can be a long and complicated process.
Have a look at this brief but informative guide for 10 tips
that could make the whole experience a little bit more
bearable.

1. It's worth making sure that your house is fully
protected with a pretty comprehensive range of security
measures. A basic requirement is a mortice deadlock or
rimlock that conforms to British standard 3621 but you
should also seriously think about installing a NACOSS
approved burglar alarm and joining a neighborhood watch
scheme. The more secure your house the better chance you'll
have of getting a 5-10% discount.

2. Don't let your home become one of the vast majority of
houses in the UK that are underinsured. One of the key
measures you can take is to make sure your contents
insurance is up to date, this means taking into account any
new purchases like expensive electrical equipment or even
pricey designer clothes.

3. Make sure you know what isn't covered by your home
insurance policy. Although building insurance should cover
more than simply the main building and potentially include
any outbuildings such as garages as well as gates, patios,
sheds and fences any of the above might not be incorporated
so you'd be well advised to study the exclusions in your
policy.

4. Lengthy periods away from your home might not be
covered. Find out the number of days your insurance allows
you to be away without losing your cover and let your
insurer know about any significant travel plans.

5. Find out if your home is at risk of flooding and make
sure your home insurance policy offers adequate cover if
you are. Writing this in the summer of 07 we've recently
witnessed the havoc flooding can wreak and recent flood
maps show an additional 300,000 homes in England and Wales
are at risk, so do a bit of your own research to find out
if you're affected.

6. The 'reasonable care' clause means just that so do take
care to look after your possessions by locking doors and
windows and trying not to advertising your valuables.

7. Take note of your maximum single-item cover. It's likely
to be something like £1,000 or £1,500 and essentially
represents the most your policy will pay out on a single
item. You'll need to insure anything worth much more than
this individually.

8. Look out for combined building and contents policies.
Sometimes using the same insurer for both will mean some
sort of discount package is available and will obviously
save you time and hassle. Don't just plump for a combined
deal for convenience sake though; a good policy for
contents could be teamed up with a less impressive deal for
the building or vice-versa.

9. If you're after a quick money saving tip, think twice
about paying for your home insurance with a direct debit,
it's entirely possible you'll be charged up to 30%
interest. A good alternative is to pay using a 0% purchases
credit card. 10. Don't over-insure yourself; the sum
should be the cost to rebuild rather than what the property
is worth. In certain cases the insurer will only pay out
the cost to rebuild anyway. A rebuild cost estimate should
be pretty cheap and easy to come by so make sure you get it
right.

----------------------------------------------------
For peace of mind from a name you trust get an online home
insurance quote at
http://www.asdafinance.com/home-insurance.html yoday