There are now many problems with stalled developments that Irish people have invested in right across the globe. I am currently supporting the Dublin legal firm Anthony Joyce & Co on six different cases. In a lot of instances the developers didn’t sell enough of the properties to finish the developments, but have spent the money paid by the initial investors.

Where people have been lucky enough to get their hands on finished property the values are now much lower than they were during their boom. If people bought early enough, say pre-2005 and in some cases 2006, then they can still make a profit because some markets we climbing by such large amounts that even with a 50% reduction they are still above what investors will have paid.

The problem came with the people that were late to the sector and paid peak prices. Their problems are compounded by the fact that a lot people remortgaged their primary residence in Ireland many off whom are not left paying very large mortgages in Ireland, that are in negative equity and which we used to pay of an overpriced overseas property that is now well below it’s peak. They effectively have two or properties that are in negative equity.

Whilst most agents who sold overseas property have gone bankrupt or run off with their high commission before the investors come after them, one company [disclosure: they are a client of Republic] is turning the overseas property market on it’s head and helping investor sell on their properties.

Appreciating Assets started by developing commercial sites along European Strategic Corridors in Eastern European countries like Bulgaria. Here they made good contacts with the no-nonsense down to earth way of doing business and struck up some long term partnerships.

The Russians have always been keen to do business and pleasure in former Eastern Bloc countries like Bulgaria. During the boom it was the Irish and British investor that we dominant on the Black Sea and in the ski resorts, but as the economies in their countries waned so demand from Russia remained strong.

But, there was problem, Russian property investors don’t buy off-plan and most of the recently built properties were owned by Irish and British investors. Whilst they Bulgarian businesses had good contacts with Russia they had little or no existing contacts in Ireland and the UK. This is where Appreciating Assets were asked to step in, their Bulgarian contacts needed them to help target Irish and UK property investors who wanted to sell their property. This is a niche that they have successfully turned their sights on and in the past 18th months have helped over 230 property owners sell their properties to Russian buyers.

Now they are expanding. They have asked if they can also provide properties to Russian buyers in the more upmarket locations in Western Europe where Russian investors are now buying. Seafront properties are very popular Russians who are very prominent prestige buyers on the Costa Del Sol and Côte d’Azur, as well as the French Alps.

So Appreciating Assets have now expanded their services to property owners in France and Spain, two countries where Irish and British property buyers were prolific during the boom.

It is rare to see a property investment company expanding during a property slump, but the reality is that their niche market is actually booming. This is because the downturn and financial pressure at home has meant so many people need to sell their properties. When times are tight that house in sun can look like an expensive luxury and most people bought the property as an investment anyway with the intention of selling.

If investors want to sell their overseas property then an exit strategy is key. By exit strategy I mean how the property is going to be sold. There is little point trying to sell it to Irish investors because they simply aren’t buying, so investors need to look to countries that are still expanding and where affluence is still increasing, such as Russia and use companies that have a track record of dealing with people there.

The good thing about Russia is that it hasn’t fallen into recession and the outlook looks good. There is a lot of talk these days about the investment markets focusing on the BRIC countries, and Russia is one of these; the others are Brazil, India and China. The IMF backs this up and forecasts that Russia will be the second largest economy in Europe within three years; second only to Germany.

So if you have any overseas property that you want to sell in France, Spain or Bulgaria then sell it to the Russians by contacting Appreciating Assets – please click here fore details.

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