Naturally, all the facts will have a mortgage or property angle, but don’t let that put you off. Check in with us every working day during the tournament to get your fun fact of the day and read Kensington’s very own Alex Hammond’s World Cup blog.
9th July
The countdown continues to the final with the jury our so far on whether the Oranje or La Roja will lift the Trophy at Soccer City on Sunday. It’s all or nothing – which Sir Geoff Hurst also found in a depressing court battle earlier this year. The legendary 1966 England hat trick striker was caught out by a property fraudster back in 2003/4 who misrepresented the terms of a £2m deal to buy a number of off-plan villas in Marbella in southern Spain. The villas construction licences had been issued illegally by the city’s mayor, who was later jailed for accepting bribes. In February, Geoff joined six other investors in a high court battle to get his £600,000 investment back.
We’re rooting for you Geoff.
8th July
All eyes will be on Johannesburg this Sunday, when a hopeful Spain, which, despite its footballing prowess as a nation, has never won the World Cup, take on the Nederlands. The Orange team were defeated in the final twice in the 70s, but beat the USSR to raise the cup in 1988. If the Nederlanders prove as tenacious on the pitch as tenants do back home, they could be heading for victory again. In the low country, tenants are almost impossible to evict. The basic Dutch rental contract is one of unlimited duration. Landlords can only give notice in strictly defined cases, and it is extremely difficult for owners to evict tenants once they are established.
7th July 2010
It will be a nail-biter this evening, as Spain face Germany in the second semi-final of the tournament.
Property owners among the Spanish players may be particularly disgruntled with their opponents, given that German ex-pats are credited with exacerbating Spain’s property crash. Seemingly, just as the credit crunch hit, the German Tax authorities became very aggressive towards German citizens ownership abroad, so German owners of Spanish property dumped huge amounts of real estate on the Spanish market in a bid to pre-empt the impending law changes.
As the Germans had been among the first to purchase in Spain 20-30 years ago they were in a position to sell at well below the current valuations, and this caused wide-spread valuation drops in general.
6th July 2010
Tonight’s semi-final between Uruguay and the Nederlands is the 8th World Cup match to kick off in Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
With all those Vuvuzelas, the decision to cover the 64,100-seater stadium with “noise reducing” cladding on the external walls was probably a sensible one for its City dwelling neighbours close-by. Hope it doesn’t have the effect of amplifying the noise inside as well.
5th July 2010
Germany is set to play Spain in the semi-finals on Wednesday after crushing Argentina 4-1 in the quarters. The goal drilling team has garnered nothing but respect, just as plenty of Brits have also been drawn by the risk-averse allure of German property. Over 275,000 Brits have bought property there and the fact the government caps rents to keep them in line with national income has held property prices down in Germany. This means prices rise very slowly, but unlike the cart-wheeling UK market, they don’t tend to fall. So, German property and its football team share a sure-footedness both the England team and property market can only dream of.
2 July 2010
Ghana’s Black Stars take on Uruguay this evening in Johannesburg’s Soccer City. Uruguay is recognized as one of the more successful football nations, with two World Cup wins under its belt, including the first ever contest in 1930. However, Ghana carries the hopes of an entire continent on its shoulders, being the last African team in the competition. Millions will be tuning in from Cape Town to Cairo to root for the underdog, from the biggest mansions to the humblest abodes. Indeed, many Ghanains live in modest dwellings, given that only 15% of the population earns enough to gain access to mortgage finance.
1 July 2010
Mortgage Solutions never panders to racial stereotypes, but if it did, we might say glamour is set to meet stoic eccentricity as Brazil, the World Cup favourites play Holland tomorrow at 3pm in the quarter finals. William Hill is offering odds on Brazil at 9/4 to win the tournament but the Nederlands are winners in other ways. Wait for it… All mortgages in Holland are tax deductible offering 52% tax relief on mortgage interest and with the Coalition government in place this is unlikely to change.
30 June
The Netherlands has cruised into the quarter finals after ousting Slovakia 2-1 to set up a match with the mighty Brazil, which will need man of the match Arjen Robben to retain his top form.
But did you know that Robben hails from the Dutch town of Bedum where the 36-metre tower of the St Walfridus church has been calculated to now lean at a greater angle than the leaning tower of Pisa. If both towers were the same height, Bedum’s would have a greater displacement by 6cm.
29 June
Japan has reached the final 16 for the first time beyond home shores and takes on Paraguay today in their bid to go one step further to the quarter finals. One of Japan’s star players, forward Keisuke Honda, is confident in success off the back of his brilliant form so far.
Currently playing for Russia’s CSKA Moscow, Honda can hardly be placed among the legion of Japanese young people dubbed “parasite singles” for living with their parents until well into their thirties due to Japan’s notoriously high housing costs. Luckily for them, many don’t have to bother with household chores or helping to pay the rent.
28 June
Brazil face Chile today in what’s likely to be another lyrical footballing display. But what about down time off the pitch? Looking to rub shoulders with the cream of the Brazilian football team? Look no further than Natal in Northern Brazil, where no less than two of the team’s top players own second homes – Kaka and Ronaldo. Apparently Mel Griffiths and Antonio Banderas also own a home there, although we doubt they paid the average £80,000 price in the area for a two-bed apartment either.
25 June
Portugal face Brazil in the coastal town of Durban this afternoon.
Portugal enjoys a beautiful coastline of its own, replete with holiday homes large and small. In fact, there are more houses in Portugal than the total population of 10 million individuals, since half of the Portuguese families own second homes at the beach or in the country, along with many overseas visitors who own holiday villas here.
24 June
New Zealand take on Paraguay today at Polokwane in the Limpopo region of South Africa. ‘Polokwane’ means ‘place of safety’, which should make the Antipodean visitors feel at home. Auckland in New Zealand is ranked 4th safest city in the world, which may go some way to explaining why, despite the country’s image as a rural paradise, 80% of New Zealand’s population live in urban areas.
23 June
Slovenia take on England in a critical match today that the English side in South Africa has to win. Back home, the news is dominated by the Budget and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rising to 28%.
But did you know that in Slovenia, CGT is just 20% and drops 5% for every five-year holding period, meaning a property owned for 20 years or more is effectively exempt from CGT.
22 June
Mexico takes on its Group A joint leaders Uruguay in Rustenburg today, with the winner grabbing top spot in the group and a guaranteed place in the knockout stage.
Yet, foreigners in Mexico will find it harder to bag their perfect place in the country than simply kicking a ball around. In Mexico, foreigners cannot buy land or homes within 50km the coast or 100km of the border unless they hold title in a Mexican corporation or a Fideicomiso (a Mexican trust).
21 June
The Honduran national team, nicknamed La Bicolor after their blue and white flag, emerges out of the second poorest country in Central America, which is set to play Spain today at Ellis Park. But unlike the UK expat’s favourite property location Spain, borrowing a Honduran mortgage isn’t for the average Honduran Joe. With 59% of the population living below the poverty line and bank lending rates at 16.4% in May, property ownership is clearly restricted to the privileged few.
18 June
England takes on Algeria today in their second match of the World Cup, but regardless of the outcome, the players can take comfort in knowing they are not among the millions of people struggling to finance a mortgage.
Footballers are renowned for their extravagant houses / “palaces” and have turned the village of Oxshott in Surrey into reputedly the most expensive village in England. With its proximity to Chelsea Football Club’s training ground, the village has gained residents such as Ashley Cole and John Terry and its Crown Estate often does not see any houses for sale under £2m.
17 June
The Greeks take to the pitch today in Bloemfontein in what could prove a taxing match against Nigeria.
Tax – and its evasion – are sensitive issues in bankrupt Greece right now, and a fine example is to be found in the Greek housing market. If you have ever visited, you may have noticed that innumerable houses have steel girders protruding up from what appears to be the roof. They have not run out of building materials – this is simply a tax dodge. Once a property is complete, it is liable for taxation. While the girders remain, it is deemed unfinished, and therefore exempt.
16 June
The Swiss World Cup team labelled “less Toblerone, more stale digestive” by The Guardian can be cheered, perhaps, by the fact the country is on the cusp of a property boom.
Foreign buyers have always needed a permit to buy property in Switzerland, but change is afoot when each Canton (or autonomous federal subdivision) gets to make up its own rules on permits from this year. Mind out the way – chalet and lovers of cheese with holes coming through
15 June
The North Koreans are a long way from home today, playing Brazil at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park. At home, homes are provided by the State. Urban dwellings are classified into five groups, with the smallest consisting of one room with a half-sized kitchen, and the largest being detached properties. Housing type is allocated according to status, with 60% of the population living in the smallest dwellings, while party workers and the State elite get the one-and two-storey houses.
14 June
Italy gets onto the pitch for the first time today in its match against Paraguay. But have you heard that in one Italian village, San Basile in Calabria, it is solving its joint problem of a falling population and having over 100 properties lying empty in the village by selling houses for just €5000 (around £4150). Five houses have already been sold, while enquiries have flooded in from 500 people.
11 June
South Africa’s national team plays Mexico in the inaugural match of the World Cup today at Soccer City, Johannesburg’s recently enlarged 94,700 seater stadium.
But did you know that just round the corner from the stadium, in the same Soweto neighbourhood, former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived opposite each other for years in Vilakazi Street, the most famous street in South Africa.
