Personal Pension Funds were typically administered by a third party, such as an insurance company, until the arrival of Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) scheme. Under SIPP, the subscribers can manage the investment of the pension funds on their own subject to approval of an FSA regulated Independent Financial Advisor. They can invest the funds in assets so approved, and switch the investment to another asset if they so desire.
SIPP falls under the category of Registered Pension Schemes under Section 150 of the Finance Act 2004 and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Investments should be in assets approved by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Certain types of real estate, including Crown’s land products in the Cayman ...
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The post Land Abroad evaluated the prospects of investing in Cayman Islands land property. As we saw in that post, the Cayman is a top tourist destination and also a top financial center with one of the highest living standards in the world. There is also a stable government that permits foreign ownership of land and the land records maintenance system is good.
Let us now look at the unique characteristics of the islands that constitute the Cayman and see why it is such a good place for people to visit, and even consider living there for the long term. It is these people who create the demand for land and make Cayman property investment worth ...
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In the post Why Buy Property in Cayman Islands we explained why Cayman Islands is an attractive location for investing in land. In this post we look at some specific properties with attractive offers. The properties are offered under the following projects on the different islands that comprise the Cayman.
The Dubli Golf & Beach Resort in Grand Cayman,
The Little Dolphin Estate in Cayman Brac, and
The Lakeside Estate and the Little Cayman Estate in the Little Cayman.
These are great projects that offer developed land plots with infrastructure and each plot comes with a full set of architectural and construction drawings (though you need not proceed to the construction stage as many investors prefer to keep the ...
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The post on Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) mentioned that you can invest your SIPP funds into Crown’s land products in the Cayman Islands. The post also listed some specific projects that qualifies and also includes an attractive feature in the form of guaranteed returns on the investments. In this post we look at the specifics of each of these projects.
The Dubli Golf & Beach Resort project offers land plots with asphalt roads, electric power and water supply in an area known as Millionaires Row on the north of Grand Cayman. This elite project also includes a built-in four-hole golf course, beach club and a resort condominium.
The Little Dolphin Estate project offers land plots with asphalt ...
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Buy Land Abroad
Why should you buy land abroad? The answer has to do with the varying levels of demand for land in different parts of the world. Let us elaborate on the potential of land investment in overseas countries.
Certain countries of the world have the potential to attract more people. And when the population increases as a result, demand for land and it price will go up. Land is an asset that is limited in its supply and increased demand translates into higher prices for the available land.
Another factor is the pace of economic development. In an underdeveloped economy, purchasing power of the population tends to be low and prices, including land prices, also tend to be low. As the economy develops, demand for land from new industries, as well as from people who have acquired greater purchasing power, tend to increase the demand for land at specific locations and land prices can often shoot up dramatically.
The first task of investors planning to buy land abroad for investment purposes is to assess the potential for land price increases. Are there any factors that can lead to such increases in the country being considered? Discuss the issue with the seller in the overseas country as well as other persons competent to advise you.
Once you have narrowed down to a particular location, you have to do a due diligence investigation of the factors that could affect the safety of your investment. The investigation will typically involve answering questions like:
• Is the country politically stable? Does it have a strong rule of law?
• Does the country permit foreign citizens to hold freehold title to land?
• Is there a good enough system of maintaining land records that can avoid unnecessary disputes about the ownership of land?
• Does the land records maintenance system disclose all liens and charges on a piece of property?
• Can you find a dependable local agent to manage the property and even add value to it until you are ready to sell it (unless you are planning to shift residence to that country)?
A considered selection of location and proper due diligence can reveal opportunities to earn high returns through buying land abroad.
Land Abroad
As discussed in the post on Buying Property Overseas, investing in land abroad can produce high returns if you select the location to invest carefully and do a proper due diligence exercise to make sure that your investment will be safe. In this post we evaluate one particular location for land investment, viz. the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman is British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean where British Common Law applies. Three main islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman make up the Cayman Islands. All the islands share the top Caribbean tourist attraction of great beaches and a sunny and tropical environment while each island has its own unique ambiance and tourist attractions.
Cayman is not only a tourist destination but also a top financial centre in the world, ranked the fifth largest. There are hundreds of bank offices in its capital city, George Town, and these banks employ highly paid professionals. In addition to these high net worth employees, demand for land also comes from wealthy retirees who have chosen to retire to the safe and pleasing environs of the Cayman.
The Cayman has one of the highest living standards in the world.
Freehold foreign ownership of land is permitted in the Cayman Islands, which also have a good system of maintaining land records. Each piece of land has a unique Block and Parcel number allotted by the Land & Survey Department of the government. And the Land Planning Department ensures proper zoning to separate residential and commercial areas.
With a governor appointed by the British Monarch and a parliament elected by local citizens, the country has a stable government.
The Cayman Islands thus meets all the criteria for investing in land abroad viz. high purchasing power of local residents, increasing demand as tourism picks up, favourable legal position for foreign ownership of land and a stable government. Investors looking for land investments abroad will thus find the Cayman an ideal destination.
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