Property: CAN'T GET ON THE LADDER? TIME TO.. Fly to buy

Sunday Mirror, Feb 13, 2005 by Jane Adams

THEY are young, free and often single and have been dubbed the "fly-to-lets". They are the growing band of desperate house buyers who are turning to foreign investment in a bid to get on the property ladder.

With UK prices now out of the reach of many first-time buyers, some are buying abroad and renting out their property to try and make money. When prices rise, the aim is to sell up and use the profit to buy a house in the UK.

A recent survey showed that nearly half of young people in the 18- 30s age group in the UK are planning to buy abroad. Around 60 per cent of them will be first-time buyers, who in many parts of Britain have to spend well over pounds 100,000 to get on the property ladder.

"Property prices abroad are lower, capital appreciation is healthy and the lettings market is strong," said Simon Burgess, of Oceanico Developments, who conducted the survey.

"UK property prices are prohibitively high and the rental market is near saturation so it's natural that investors tend to look abroad."

And there are healthy profits to be made if you know where to buy, says JANE ADAMS

My first home is a flat..1,400 miles away

SPAIN

WHO: Alex Froude, 24, an estate agent

BOUGHT: A 2-bed apartment in Cadiz on the Costa de la Luz

PAID: pounds 78,000

AIM: Wants to rent it out, then sell at a profit

ALEX Froude works for an estate agent - but even he can't get on the UK property ladder.

The 24-year-old, who is paid a salary plus commission at the Townends chain, has found it impossible to take out a mortgage and buy a place of his own.

But after years of showing clients round houses he can't afford, he is overjoyed at finally getting into the market himself after snapping up an apartment in Cadiz, Spain - 1,400 miles away.

Alex, of Hampton Hill, Middlesex, said: "It's so expensive around here. You can't get much for under pounds 170,000 - and that's for a one-bed flat. I got the idea to buy abroad from one of the guys in the Townends overseas department, who said it was a great opportunity for me to get into the market.

"He suggested I could buy an apartment, rent it out but make the capital growth and then sell it and be able to buy here in the UK. He said the Spanish market was flying at the moment. It seemed such a good deal."

Alex has bought off-plan on the first stage of a development overlooking the ancient Spanish city and will have a two-bedroomed, ground floor apartment with terrace and a view over the city.

"It's brilliant. It's 200 metres to the harbour and the beach and about 40 minutes from trendy Puerto Banus." Alex's apartment will cost him pounds 78,000 and he has paid a pounds 3,000 deposit which will be followed by staged payments totalling pounds 24,000 over the next two years. The apartment is due for completion late in 2006 or early 2007.

Townends organised the paperwork for him and he chose an English- speaking Spanish lawyer which cost him an additional pounds 1,000.

Alex reckons he has made a profit already. Phase two of the development, which is being built by Aifos Costa del Sol and marketed by Townends Overseas, is being sold with a 15 per cent rise in price.

"I am going to see how it goes. I might sell early and use the money for a deposit in Britain. Or I can rent the apartment out and wait until it's made enough money."

He had some savings stashed away and he has begged, borrowed and scraped the rest of the money together, some of it from his parents. "My mum is a little bit in two minds about it," he said. "I have really had to run through it with her. Dad has said if I think it's a good deal to go for it. I am trying to convince him to buy one now. But it's such a good investment for me. It's the only way I can make some money."

Alex looks forward to the day he can buy himself a cool bachelor pad near Twickenham, South-West London, and get out of his one bedroom rented flat which costs him pounds 600 a month plus bills.

Even if he does eventually rent out his new apartment in Spain, he can use it himself for holidays. "The airport is about 20 minutes away and flights are pretty cheap," he said.

Details: 020 8241 2023

I paid just pounds 10,000 for 3-bed apartment

TURKEY

WHO: Gillian McClure, 33, a nanny

BOUGHT: A 3-bed apartment on the Aegean coast

PAID: pounds 10,500

AIM: Wants to let it to holidaymakers, then sell up to buy a UK home

YOU would be hard-pushed to buy a new car for the money Gillian McClure spent on her stunning new Mediterranean apartment.

For just pounds 10,500 she is the proud owner of a three- bedroomed duplex apartment (right) in the Turkish village of Altinkum on the Aegean coast.

She bought it two years ago and soaring prices mean it is now worth pounds 35,000.

Gillian, 33, is a nanny to four children in the seaside town of Bangor in Northern Ireland. The fact that the town is handy for Belfast makes it ideal for commuting but has pushed up prices. A two- bedroomed flat would cost at least pounds 80,000.