• A guestimate of 60 hours walking so far (that is over quite a few months before you say anything!!)
• 15 hours on other exercise routines (jogging and indoor floor work) to improve general fitness and strength
• 3  hours of walking around Go Outdoors, a retail outlet that supplies all the endless accessories we apparently need.
• 10 hours easily spent planning and attending our fundraiser Curry & Comedy night
• 1 hour on face book talking to the team and planning walks/and even making plans to plan
• 4.5 hours travelling to and from the start and finish

That’s 93.5 hours and multiply by 4 and as a team we will have spent 374 hours..and that’s not even including the actual event!

…It makes the 30hours we will spend walking seem almost insignificant in length when you add it all up!! (I said almost for a reason!)

Even still, I don’t consider a minute of this as wasted. Even before the event has taken place there have been many experiences, a lot of laughs, a number of learning opportunities and achievements that have come from doing this good deed. And going by the feedback we have plenty more of these to come on 17th&18th July!

Rachel James

I am part of the group 4goforawalk and we have signed up to test our stamina and endurance against teams from the famously tough Gurkha regiments by taking part in Trailwalker- one of the most challenging team events in the world.

Trailwalker UK, which takes place on 17 and 18 July 2010, requires teams of four to cover a 100km course across the South Downs in less than 30 hours. We are completing the challenge in order to raise money for Oxfam and the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

This event was started by Gurkha soldiers in Hong Kong in 1981 as a training exercise to test endurance and encourage teamwork. The teams must start together, go through each checkpoint together and finish the course together.

The Gurkhas currently hold the record for completing the course in an amazing 9 hours and 50 minutes. But for most the challenge is about lasting the distance, and the average time taken is around 25 hours. Our team target is 24 hours but anything within the 30 will be an achievement!

Funds raised will support Oxfam’s work in relieving poverty and suffering around the world, and The Gurkha Welfare Trust’s community projects in Nepal.

Oxfam is a development, relief and campaigning organisation dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world.

The Gurkha Welfare Trust was set up in 1969 to relieve hardship and distress among Gurkha ex-servicemen of the British Army and their dependents in Nepal – one of the poorest countries in the world. Money raised through Trailwalker helps fund community projects across Nepal.

Trailwalker is a worldwide event. Trailwalker challenges take place in the UK (Trailwalker in the South Downs and Trailtrekker in the Yorkshire Dales), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada and Ireland

And finally some Trailwalker statistics…

• Trailwalker UK raised £1.3 million for Oxfam & the GWT in 2009.
• The course record is 9 hours and 50 minutes, held by Queens Own Gurkha Logistics Regiment, but the average time taken is 25 hrs.
• Trailwalker is the equivalent of 2.5 marathons and a complete ascent of Ben Nevis.
• The 2,000 people taking part will collectively walk four times around the world, taking at total of 200 million steps.
• Participants have come from the US, Nepal, the Caymen Islands, Australia – as well as the UK.
• A third of the teams taking part are from the corporate sector.
• 230 Gurkha soldiers, including 13 chefs, will provide logistical support. Over 3 days the Gurkha chefs will produce10,000 Nepalese curries and 2,000 cooked breakfasts!
• Oxfam supporters will make 15,000 cups of tea!! They will also provide massages and cheering throughout the 30-hour challenge.

Well folks…that should be enough info to keep the most curious minds satisfied! If you do have any questions though feel free to ask! Otherwise I’ll leave you thinking most probably the same as I did when I found out… wow, that’s a serious amount of tea!

Rachel James

The last couple of years have literally been rocked by disasters around the world.  It seems that not much time passes between breaking reports of earthquakes, eruptions, floods…and now hurricane season is fast approaching. As a truly international company, that has staff, clients & products all around the world it is Colordarcy’s duty and our wish to give something back through carefully selected charities with real global reach.  From day 1 we pledged to donate a minimum of 5% of profit to good causes and are proud to stand by that. Every year Colordarcy donates to a range of charities, including Cancer Research, Diabetes UK and Greenpeace.

For me personally, the disaster in Haiti really struck a chord within and I felt compelled to help.  The opportunity was presented to me and I signed up to take part in Trailwalker 2010, an annual event that raises money for Oxfam and The Gurkha Welfare Trust.  Oxfam is well known for helping people in crisis and currently the latest emergencies they are helping are in Haiti, Africa & China.

Trailwalker is dubbed one of the UK’s toughest team charity challenges…100km and 30 hours later I, along with my 3 team mates will certainly know why!

In about 2 month’s time on the 17^th July, we will be waking up in our tents at dawn and setting off on this daunting challenge. The South Downs (Southern England) contributes not just beautiful scenery but a landscape of gruelling gradients that will test the stamina & strength of the most seasoned walker. The last few months have been all about training and campaigning.  We have walked through snow, ice, hail, wind, rain, mud and sunshine (that’s English weather for you!) and we still feel nervous!

I am thrilled that this year Colordarcy has agreed to support me in this charity challenge by pledging to make a donation.  My team have been tirelessly fundraising and held a local event but we want, of course, to raise as much as we possibly can, not just as added incentive to complete the 100km (a quarter of participants didn’t make it to the end last year!), but to make even more of a difference to those who receive aid and support from Oxfam.

A big thank you for all the support we have received – it really will make a difference!

Rachel J

To support Rachel’s valiant efforts and make a donation please go online to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/4goforawalk – whatever you can spare will go direct to Oxfam.  You will be able to follow Rachel’s progress on the big day (and night!) on the Colordarcy blog page which will get updates of the pain, sweat, tears and joy that she encounters all in the name of insanity – sorry I mean charity!

Loxley McKenzie,

Managing Director

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

The whole Colordarcy team would like to wish Rachel lots of luck – just make sure you get to that finish line, we know you can do it!

After going through 1000 things that we could do to stand out from the crowd – positive cash flow properties, technological breakthroughs, a consultant in every city in the world, mission statement, etc, we went back to the top of the list. At the top of the list – there it was scribbled in black ink: client, client, client! We had the answer from the first drop of ink.

At Colordarcy, we ensure that the client is at the heart of our business and we aim to consistently deliver the highest level of service to you at all times. Our passion, our goal and our success is centred on client satisfaction. It is exciting to receive this level of recognition for our high level of client focus, but if I am honest, we would do it anyway as it is what we believe in.

Every employee, every communication and every process within Colordarcy should delight you, our most important customer, by demonstrating our understanding of your needs and goals, and by going the extra mile to ensure you are happy and satisfied in all your interactions with us.

Colordarcy Shortlisted for Two Prestigious AIPP Awards 2010

We are delighted to inform our VIP Members that your international property investment partner, Colordarcy, has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards at the leading overseas property awards – AIPP Awards 2010 (Association of International Property Professionals – http://www.aipp.org.uk/aipp_news/aipp_awards_2010_shortlist_announced/73/news.html).

We are proud to have been shortlisted for the two most important awards:

Most Outstanding Example of Customer Service

Most Transparent Marketing Campaign

About AIPP Awards (Association of International Property Professionals)

The AIPP Awards are wholly owned and organised by the AIPP. They are an independent, not-for-profit initiative to reward customer service excellence in the international property sector.

As a consumer, when dealing with an AIPP approved company, you can be confident that you are receiving the highest level of service and professionalism.

Awards Ceremony

The AIPP Awards 2010 will be presented in front of a live audience of industry professionals and consumers at A Place in the Sun Live exhibition, in Earls Court London on Friday 26th March.

The presentation ceremony will start at 2pm on the main stage.

Colordarcy VIP Members who are attending the show, do come over and say hello, we would love to meet you. Colordarcy representatives that are attending show are:

Loxley McKenzie, Managing Director

Barry Ramsay, Marketing Manager

Rachel James, Client Support Manager

Matthew Francis, Senior Portfolio Consultant

Colordarcy in the News

Below you will find links to a couple of recent news articles featuring Colordarcy.

Daily Mail – Keys to Florida

Click here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1250294/Keys-Florida-Sunshine-sport-low-prices-make-state-retired.html

The Rio Times – Brazil Property – Real Estate Companies in Zona Sul

Click here: http://riotimesonline.com/news/rio-real-estate/real-estate-companies-in-zona-sul/

What A Fantastic Year We Have Ahead!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our VIP Members for choosing Colordarcy to serve you in all your international investment property needs.

We will continue to provide you with outstanding client service, each year we strive to get that much better. We are never afraid of going the extra mile.

Over the next few weeks, we will be launching new projects in the following countries: Brazil, Egypt, Florida, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey.

We are working very hard to complete all the necessary due diligences. I believe that our VIP Members will have a selection of properties to choose from that will be second to none.

2010 is the year of opportunity!

Colordarcy…for more than just an investment.

Property investors from around the world are flocking to Brazilian shores with a view to snapping up real estate, in anticipation of future capital growth.

Brazil Property Specialist, Colordarcy have seen Brazilian property enquiries increase by 60%, since the Olympic announcement. The company has responded by launching a consultancy service to help clients to source the best real estate deals in Rio de Janeiro.

Loxley McKenzie, Chief Executive at Colordarcy – is predicting an annual increase of 20% per annum – carrying through to the Olympic. He said, “The time to purchase Brazil real estate is now, I have no doubt that we will see incredible growth over the next few years”.

Mortgages will soon be available to international buyers and this will create a further boost to Brazil’s property market.

Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs believes that Brazil’s economic growth could outstrip that of the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations over the next few years.

Brazil’s economy is widely expected to become the fifth largest in the world by the time the Olympic Games kicks off in 2016, and yet property and land prices still remain a fraction of those found in more developed nations.

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already pledged to spend up to £11.5bn on building a million new homes in Brazil between now and 2011.

It is time to Samba all the way to Brazil.

Click here to view Brazil properties for sale:
http://www.colordarcy.com/brazil-properties.php

Property investors from around the world are flocking to Brazilian shores with a view to snapping up real estate, in anticipation of future capital growth.

Brazil Property Specialist, Colordarcy have seen Brazilian property enquiries increase by 60%, since the Olympic announcement. The company has responded by launching a consultancy service to help clients to source the best real estate deals in Rio de Janeiro.

Loxley McKenzie, Chief Executive at Colordarcy is predicting an annual increase of 20% per annum carrying through to the Olympic. He said, “The time to purchase Brazil real estate is now, I have no doubt that we will see incredible growth over the next few years”.

Mortgages will soon be available to international buyers and this will create a further boost to Brazil’s property market.

Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs believes that Brazil?s economic growth could outstrip that of the other BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations over the next few years.

Brazil?s economy is widely expected to become the fifth largest in the world by the time the Olympic Games kicks off in 2016, and yet property and land prices still remain a fraction of those found in more developed nations.

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already pledged to spend up to £11.5bn on building a million new homes in Brazil between now and 2011.

It is time to Samba all the way to Brazil.

Click here to view Brazil properties for sale:
http://www.colordarcy.com/brazil-properties.php
__________________________________________________________________________
Notes to the editor:

Colordarcy is a leading property investment company that specialises in finding positive cash flow investment properties worldwide. Their aim is to provide their clients with properties that offer the unique combination of strong growth returns and cash flow positive income. Investing in positive cash flow property significantly reduces the risk because the property will pay for itself regardless of market conditions, employment status or other financial commitments.

Colordarcy provides complete support before, during and after a sale, including finding tenants, financial assistance, viewing trips and currency services. Colordarcy are proud members of the ?Association of International Property Professionals? (AIPP), and abide by its code of conduct, one established to protect the buyer, by ensuring members follow professional guidelines and procedures.

For more information, supporting pictures or logo artwork, please contact:

Loxley McKenzie
Colordarcy Investment Ltd
2 London Wall Buildings
London
EC2M 5UU
Telephone: 0207 100 2393
Email: press@colordarcy.com
Web: www.colordarcy.com

House prices in Florida have seen their first monthly rise since July 2006, up 0.5% between April and May, according to Standard & Poor?s Home Price Index. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said house sales had seen a ?sustainable? gain of 3.8% over the second quarter of the year.

Florida home sales rose in July to their highest level for 2 years. Agreed sales have now risen for 6 consecutive months. Max James of Barclays has already seen the change, ?The US Florida market is definitely improving?. This is confirmed by figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showing that 43,000 homes were sold in Florida in 2nd quarter this year, 8,000 more than the same time last year.

Here are some recent stats on sales in Orlando:

Members of the Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association in July sold 65.23 percent more homes than in August of last year, contributing to the area?s year-to-date sales increase of 49.40 percent.

The sales of apartments in the Orlando area increased by 259.48 percent in August when compared to August of last year.

Osceola County Property Sales: 111.75 percent above 2008 (3,551 homes sold to date in 2009 compared to 1,677 in 2008).

Don?t Miss the Boat

The window of opportunity is starting to close and we encourage our VIP Members to contact us today to discuss their investment goals and objectives. Our central database system gives us access to every single property for sale in Florida. Naturally, we are unable to display all the properties for sale in Florida on our website. So if you do not see what you are looking for, do contact us and we will send you a list of properties that matches your requirement.

Please visit http://www.colordarcy.com/property/florida/latest_florida_property_for_sale.php to view our portfolio of properties.

Kind regards

Loxley McKenzie
Managing Director

US Dollar
Having held firm three weeks ago the technical support at $1.58 looks solid. Unfortunately, the resistance at $1.67 looks equally rigid. The break, when it comes, is more likely to be upward than downward but that does not remove the need for protecting the downside. Buyers of the dollar should place a stop order somewhere south of $1.58 and be patient. The cautious strategy is still to buy now half the dollars you will need. If you feel comfortable in doing so, leave a larger percentage uncovered in anticipation of a proper rally but do not forget that stop order.

Euro
In sterling’s current mood it seems able – though maybe not without some effort – to push through every obstacle in its way. The dip a fortnight ago almost to ?1.16 suggests that level is the new support line. The next obvious obstacle is the psychological one at ?1.20 (although ?1.19 poses a barrier of its own). Beyond that, the more important technical resistance is the early December high in the region of ?1.2150. Buyers of the euro should bide their time, using a stop order to protect against a reversal.

Support and Resistance levels
When watching the currency markets, a foreign exchange dealer will monitor movement within a range. This range is determined by 2 indicators, support (low) and resistance (high) levels. For example, the current range of the Euro would be 1.16 to 1.20. As a buyer, you would look to purchase your currency at the higher end of this range. Imagine support and resistance levels as a room with a floor and ceiling, and the exchange rate as a rubber ball. The ball will bounce off the floor and hit the ceiling, and bounce back down to the floor, back up to the ceiling and so on. At some point, the ball will break through either the floor (support), or the ceiling (resistance). In the real world, the support or resistance level is weakened by data coming out of the market, such as retail sales figures, consumer confidence data, interest rate announcements etc. If there is enough positive or negative data, the exchange rate will break either the support or resistance level, and begin trading within a new range. Your foreign exchange dealer will use their currency market knowledge to provide you with guidance, helping to protect you from negative movements and enabling you take advantage of the positive ones.

Colordarcy VIP Members can directly contact Mr. Deane Roe, Account Manager at MoneyCorp and he will discuss the options that are available to you. Please call him on: +44 (0) 207 828 7000 or email: deane.roe@moneycorp.com and quote reference: Colordarcy10.

To register with Moneycorp now, click here – http://www.moneycorp.com/CFX/?ReferringAgentID=10147610

Kind regards

Deane Roe
Account Manager
MoneyCorp

 Halcyon Hills is a uniquely luxurious spa resort on the south eastern coast of Samos. The resort offers world class facilities, including a 1200sqm spa with its own signature treatments and an exclusive 36 berth marina. Situated within a 30 minute flight from Athens, and within 65 kilometres of the new super marina at Didim, Turkey; Samos occupies an excellent location making it easily accessible from all over Europe. Click here for more details about Halcyon Hills: http://www.colordarcy.com/property.php?id=52

Tourism has always been popular on the islands but as the demand for luxury property increases this popularity is set to flourish with a 3.9% growth in Greek tourism predicted by 2011 (World Travel and Tourism Council).

Samos was chosen by the developers of Halcyon Hills for its unique mix of verdant vegetation, striking topography and historical sites. The island is a popular stop-off point for yachters, with a state of the art marina at Pythagorio just 12km from the actual location of Halcyon Hills.

Mayor Filippos Petrouskas has always supported the development of Halcyon Hills Marina Spa Resort. During his recent meeting with the Managing Director Robin Barrasford, Mayor Filippos Petrouskas took the opportunity to admire the new computer generated flythrough of the resort in addition to congratulating the developers on the beautiful and sympathetic design of Halcyon Hills. Click here for more details about Halcyon Hills: http://www.colordarcy.com/property.php?id=52

Mayor Filippos Petrouskas reiterated how important Halcyon Hills is to the future of tourism on Samos. Robin Barrasford commented, “We’re delighted to be working with the Samos authorities and are genuinely pleased by their continued support in Halcyon Hills. It’s important to nurture a good working relationship with the local population and local government. Samos tourism is flourishing and the development of Halcyon Hills will boost this expanding tourism market over the coming years.”

Loxley McKenzie, Managing Director, Colordarcy Investment commented, “We are very impressed by the Halcyon Hills concept and it goes to show why this development is one of our most popular projects”.

Luxury property at Halcyon Hills can be purchased from £176,000. Buying options include 100% assisted finance, fractional ownership from £19,000 and guaranteed rental returns. A refundable reservation fee of £1000 applies. Click here for more details about Halcyon Hills: Click here for more details about Halcyon Hills: http://www.colordarcy.com/property.php?id=52

Central Florida is by far the most exciting place for cash buyers to invest at the moment and the time to take advantage of the highly discounted bank owned properties is now.  

The Foreclosure Process 

Properties that first enter ?foreclosure’ are listed as ?short sale’.

•  If they fail to sell at this point, the institution (bank / lender) that has provided the mortgage then moves to the next step of the foreclosure process, the auction. 
• If the property fails to sell or reach the reserve price at the auction, the property reaches the final position in the process, REO / Real Estate Owned.  
• At this point the lender / bank now own the property and it sits on their balance sheet. They are motivated to sell this property quickly, and it is at this point they are prepared to cut the price further.  
• At this stage, Colordarcy negotiates with the lender / bank on behalf of investors to secure the desired property at the lowest possible price for cash purchasers.

In summary, REO properties are owned by a bank or other lending institution and have passed through the foreclosure process. 

Lenders and banks do not want to hold REOs on their books and try to dispose of these as quickly as possible. 

Florida – Low prices, low taxes, high rental yields

Apart from having the comfort of investing in an area that has been offering foreign property investors security and legal protection for decades, there is no stamp duty or state tax in Florida and both income tax and capital gains tax can be lowered to trivial amounts due to the sheer amount of allowable deductions available.

Colordarcy Investors will have the opportunity of purchasing property at less than 30% of their previous sales prices, which ensures a high net rental yield. These properties are also much easier to rent as tenants prefer and actively seek properties owned by cash buyers. They do this because it minimises their chances of being forced to leave again if their landlord misses mortgage repayments and the bank forecloses.  
 
Accurate Sales Prices & Rental Income

As previous sales prices are on public record for every property in Florida and as the current market value estimates we provide are sourced from the Orlando Appraisers office, investors can easily calculate the huge value in the low purchase prices of the bank owned properties we carefully select.

While there are often large differences between a property agents optimistic rental income estimates and the reality on the ground, investors in Florida can verify that the gross and net income figures we quote are extremely accurate. Firstly, there is a monthly publication called Apartments for Rent that lists units for rent across Metro Orlando with guide prices. Secondly, our partner management company has many years experience of renting properties in the micro areas we focus on, and thirdly, there are many other rental companies offering units to rent across metro Orlando which can be quickly compared against our quoted figures.

 Summary 

In short, Colordarcy does a lot of work behind the scenes to provide a completely hands off purchase process for this unique and very time sensitive investment product. The best properties are selected daily, the legal paperwork is processed efficiently, tenants are in place within weeks of closure, accountants are in place to take care of tax affairs and secure online bank accounts are quickly opened.