Hi again!
Found some news, but it's all REIT's and shopping malls. One of the interesting parts is that one new REIT is being listed on the local exchange in Jersey (Channel Islands - UK, not "Nieeuu Jersee", USA), a small but relatively active tax haven for the Brits (and others). The only other interesting news in all this for me is that the organisations announcing new shopping malls are from Poland and Greece. International markets, right?
More later.
Ciao
Craig
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Oops!
Hi again!
My laptop's hard disk destroyed itself during my trip, so the latest news is ... there is no latest news! The laptop (now exactly two years old) was protected by a 1-year warranty and a 2-year extention at the initial purchase (direct from the manufacturer). I have to say that the service has been relatively good. This is the second time I have had to use it.
The first time, the optical drive (DVD-RW) died. I had an additional problem after the manufacturer replaced the drive -- apparently a registry conflict between some proprietary bundled software and Nero. The result was that I was functioning without the CD/DVD. My work-around was to copy essential CD's onto a 1GB or 2GB USB memory stick. That worked reasonably well, but having the drive would have been easier. I know that the CD/DVD drive worked, because I was able to start the laptop with a boot disk. I just didn't have the time and patience to find out what the registry fix is. Maybe after this I will.
Here in central Italy the heat is on! Temperatures in the 30-35°C (high 80's-low 90'sF) range. The following nine days are dedicated to the town's festival, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, our patron saint. I'll be selling cold beer for the town's promotional committee "Associazione Pro Loco Marsciano", so the hot weather is a good thing for beer sales (see www.MeetingPointBeer.com for an idea about the beer store)! There is no web site for the festival.
More about the real estate market later on - my e-mails are accumulating...
Ciao for now
Craig
My laptop's hard disk destroyed itself during my trip, so the latest news is ... there is no latest news! The laptop (now exactly two years old) was protected by a 1-year warranty and a 2-year extention at the initial purchase (direct from the manufacturer). I have to say that the service has been relatively good. This is the second time I have had to use it.
The first time, the optical drive (DVD-RW) died. I had an additional problem after the manufacturer replaced the drive -- apparently a registry conflict between some proprietary bundled software and Nero. The result was that I was functioning without the CD/DVD. My work-around was to copy essential CD's onto a 1GB or 2GB USB memory stick. That worked reasonably well, but having the drive would have been easier. I know that the CD/DVD drive worked, because I was able to start the laptop with a boot disk. I just didn't have the time and patience to find out what the registry fix is. Maybe after this I will.
Here in central Italy the heat is on! Temperatures in the 30-35°C (high 80's-low 90'sF) range. The following nine days are dedicated to the town's festival, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, our patron saint. I'll be selling cold beer for the town's promotional committee "Associazione Pro Loco Marsciano", so the hot weather is a good thing for beer sales (see www.MeetingPointBeer.com for an idea about the beer store)! There is no web site for the festival.
More about the real estate market later on - my e-mails are accumulating...
Ciao for now
Craig
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The latest news...
Hi there!
The recent news seems to be full of REIT's and shopping malls, not our core interest area of personal real estate investment.
I guess that just leaves me to talk about my van which is half full of fantastic Belgian beer at this point. It's there for the town party in Marsciano called la Festa di San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist). San G. is the town's patron saint, and the celebration takes place the last 9-10 days of June every year. The schedule is flexible enough that it always spans two weekends. It's a great party if last year is any measure (it was my first exposure). I think that there is a website, but since I'm still in Belgium, it will have to wait. I'll try to find it for anyone who might be interested.
That's about all for now...
Ciao!
Craig
The recent news seems to be full of REIT's and shopping malls, not our core interest area of personal real estate investment.
I guess that just leaves me to talk about my van which is half full of fantastic Belgian beer at this point. It's there for the town party in Marsciano called la Festa di San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist). San G. is the town's patron saint, and the celebration takes place the last 9-10 days of June every year. The schedule is flexible enough that it always spans two weekends. It's a great party if last year is any measure (it was my first exposure). I think that there is a website, but since I'm still in Belgium, it will have to wait. I'll try to find it for anyone who might be interested.
That's about all for now...
Ciao!
Craig
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Hello again!
There are two new electronic news clippings posted on www.Good2004.biz/news.htm. One of them (from an on-line newspaper called the Diplomat, from Roumania) has some good information for prospective buyers, regardless of where they want to buy. Most of the examples are from Bulgaria (next door to Roumania), but they could be anywhere. We will keep this post and one just a few days earlier as part of our basic investor information packet at the bottom of the page.
The interesting thing about these articles is that much of the information is "obvious to the casual observer", but at the same time, it tends to be overlooked when that same buyer/investor is in the heat of the acquisition. The lessons to be learned here are simple, and certainly not new:
There are two new electronic news clippings posted on www.Good2004.biz/news.htm. One of them (from an on-line newspaper called the Diplomat, from Roumania) has some good information for prospective buyers, regardless of where they want to buy. Most of the examples are from Bulgaria (next door to Roumania), but they could be anywhere. We will keep this post and one just a few days earlier as part of our basic investor information packet at the bottom of the page.
The interesting thing about these articles is that much of the information is "obvious to the casual observer", but at the same time, it tends to be overlooked when that same buyer/investor is in the heat of the acquisition. The lessons to be learned here are simple, and certainly not new:
- Take your time
- Talk to your friends and advisors, particularly the ones who know something about real estate
- Try to look at things through sober eyes = non-tinted glasses
Our objective at Good 2004 is to help you get what you want, at a fair price, with no surprises! Let us know how we can help you.
Ciao for now...
Craig
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Hi again!
Well, I'm going to be on the road for the next week or so, so the blog entries may slow down somewhat.
"On the road?" you ask. Yes. I'm driving our delivery van from our B&B in Italy to the France/Geneva area for personal business, and then on to Belgium to buy beer for a local festival in Marsciano (Italy). Why go to Belgium to buy beer? Well, if you have to ask that, you've never tasted any of the fantastic beers that Belgium brews. I expect to bring back about 400-500 liters of beer, made up of about 8-10 different brands. The micro-brewery concept in the USA is based, more or less, on the variety of available beers in Belgium. I'm told that there are about 500 breweries in Belgium, ranging in size from major brands like Stella Artois to true micro-breweries that only produce 500-1000 liters (that's about 125-250 gallons) per year. The festival lasts about a week, so we'll see how much beer we can sell!
Interested in our website? You'll find it at www.MeetingPointBeer.com.
Ciao...
Craig
Well, I'm going to be on the road for the next week or so, so the blog entries may slow down somewhat.
"On the road?" you ask. Yes. I'm driving our delivery van from our B&B in Italy to the France/Geneva area for personal business, and then on to Belgium to buy beer for a local festival in Marsciano (Italy). Why go to Belgium to buy beer? Well, if you have to ask that, you've never tasted any of the fantastic beers that Belgium brews. I expect to bring back about 400-500 liters of beer, made up of about 8-10 different brands. The micro-brewery concept in the USA is based, more or less, on the variety of available beers in Belgium. I'm told that there are about 500 breweries in Belgium, ranging in size from major brands like Stella Artois to true micro-breweries that only produce 500-1000 liters (that's about 125-250 gallons) per year. The festival lasts about a week, so we'll see how much beer we can sell!
Interested in our website? You'll find it at www.MeetingPointBeer.com.
Ciao...
Craig
Hello again!
There is a new article on the Good 2004 website (www.Good2004.biz/news.htm) that reports the results of a seminar called by the Balkan Real Estate Conference, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia (Balrec) in Sofia in mid-May. The information does not seem to have many surprises, but for someone just starting to get their feet wet in Balkan real estate, it's a good synopsis. Unfortunately, it only covers the three member countries, but this is still interesting.
There are mini-analyses of the real estate markets in the three countries that show, not surprisingly, that the capitals are also the major markets ein each of the countries. They are also the largest cities in their respective countries, which makes the information a non-surprise.
With reference to an earlier posting about not owning the land that your house is built on, please note that in Serbia, this practice is supported by the state. In fact, the Serbian state and the Belgrade municipality are the lessors of 99-year leases for properties with building potential, depending on size (they do not compete with each other).
Ciao for now...
Craig
There is a new article on the Good 2004 website (www.Good2004.biz/news.htm) that reports the results of a seminar called by the Balkan Real Estate Conference, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia (Balrec) in Sofia in mid-May. The information does not seem to have many surprises, but for someone just starting to get their feet wet in Balkan real estate, it's a good synopsis. Unfortunately, it only covers the three member countries, but this is still interesting.
There are mini-analyses of the real estate markets in the three countries that show, not surprisingly, that the capitals are also the major markets ein each of the countries. They are also the largest cities in their respective countries, which makes the information a non-surprise.
With reference to an earlier posting about not owning the land that your house is built on, please note that in Serbia, this practice is supported by the state. In fact, the Serbian state and the Belgrade municipality are the lessors of 99-year leases for properties with building potential, depending on size (they do not compete with each other).
Ciao for now...
Craig
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