Slovakia Investment Property

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Slovakia Investment Property Newsletter
June 2005 - Issue # 9
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It's June, start of the summer season. Over the next three
months many Slovaks (and Europeans in general) will travel,
explore, relax and enjoy the hot and sunny days. While many
Slovaks spend their vacation abroad, others take advantage
of the vaste opportunities Slovakia offers to holidaymakers.
In this issue we look at one of the new attractions the
country offers to those looking for active holidays - golf.
So, sit back and enjoy our June newsletter...

In this issue you will find:

1. Success - For Slovakia And The Property Investor
2. Slovakia Re-Discovers Golf
3. Prime Old Town Apartments - Only Eight Available!
4. Your Questions Answered
5. Win a Bottle of 'Tokaj'! (Prize Draw)
6. Tell Us What You Think!

===================== FEATURE EDITORIAL =================

1) Success - For Slovakia And The Property Investor

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Slovakia's economic success, massive investments pouring
into the country, structural reforms, low tax and significant
improvement of the business environment have started to bear
fruits for the population.

Real wages are now rising at 7% p.a. and employment is growing.
Private consumption and retail sales are soaring on the back
of higher disposable incomes. Profits of Slovak companies
have risen by 32% y/o/y (and by 80% in the service industry).

Importantly, Slovakia's favourable business environment is
making the country attractive not only for foreign investors
but for local entrepreneurs as well. 2004 has seen the largest
increase (nearly 27% y/o/y) in self-employed and business
owners, which in Slovakia has been historically very low.

* * *

And this is just the beginning... The Slovak Agency for
Investment and Trade development (SARIO) is currently
working on 39 investment projects in the total value of
4,10 billion euro. These investments would directly create
about 27,000 new jobs and another 30,000 jobs indirectly.

* * *

Now, a great news for those who have invested in a property
in Trnava, Slovakia's new motor town, 20 minutes from the
capital Bratislava.

Recently published findings (Narodna obroda) show that
Trnava has been the one city in Slovakia where rents have
risen strongly (over 10%) in the last 12 months. Two bedroom
flats (old stock) now rent for approximately 500 euro/month.

We had predicted a similar development due to the newly
created demand for rental property and extremely short
supply. However, given that most of the new workers will
move in in 2005 and 2006, this indicates an even stronger
rise further ahead.

For our Trnava investors this is very good news indeed and
means the rental yields will be higher than originally
estimated.

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2) Slovakia Re-Discovers Golf

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Slovakia offers a vaste range of sport activities, from its
most famous ones, skiing, snowboarding, alpinism, hiking,
rafting, treking and tenis, up to fishing and hunting.

Yet one sport enjoying worldwide popularity has only
recently started gaining appeal among Slovaks: golf.

It's been 10 years since the opening of Slovakia's first
golf-course, but only in the last two-three years has the
sport become more popular among Slovaks. Far from having
mass appeal, golf in Slovakia is mostly the domain of the
elites, business people, financiers...the better off
population. Not last because of the high fees involved.

With golf's increasing popularity, new courses and facilities
are being planned and should dramatically improve Slovakia's
attractiveness for the golf afficcionado.

At present the country only offers one 18-hole course in
Tale and four 9-hole ones (two between Tatranska Lomnica
and Velka Lomnica, one in Piestany and Bernolakovo).

With three golf courses, the region of the High and Low
Tatras is clearly Slovakia's # 1 golf destination. It
offers a truly unique advantage: in April or May one can
ski on the higher peaks and, weather permitting, play golf
on the same day. The relatively short golf season in the
Tatras leads the golf complexes to also invest in additional
services, wellness centres, spas, congress facilities.

On the other hand, the golf course in Piestany has the
benefit of being located in Slovakia's most famous spa
town, offering renowned healing as well as wellness
facilities. The only golf course in the Bratislava region,
Bernolakovo, benefits from its proximity to the capital.

Slovakia's most important golf courses, in summary:

* Gray Bear, Tale *
Webb: www.graybear.sk
The country's only 18-hole course has two successful
seasons behind it. Located in one of Low Tatras' best
ski resorts of Tale, the ski slopes are just a minute
away.

* Bernolákovo - Bratislava Golf & Country Club *
Web: www.golf.sk
Opened in 1995 in the grounds of a baroque church and park;
when the current 9 holes are extended to the planned 18
it will be (with a lenght of 6450 m) the longest in Slovakia

* Black Stork *
Web: www.golfinter.sk
Near Velka Lomnica in the High Tatras, the course opened in
2000; its currently 9 holes are to be extended to 18 this year

(A second course between Tatranska and Velka Lomnica is
a country style, natural meadow 9-hole course for less
demanding players.)

* Golf Club Piestany *
Web: www.gcp.sk
In 1914 the first Slovak golf course was opened in Piestany,
at that time already a world-famous healing spa town. It was
also one of the first courses in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The 9-hole course, holding international tournaments, had been
named - by the British magazine Golf Illustrated - the prettiest
on the continent. During the communism golf was considered a
capitalist passtime and the Piestany course was destroyed in
1965. It was only in 2004 that a new course was opened.

Good news for the future?

Further new golf courses are planned for the coming years,
one of them between Banska Bystrica and Zvolen (central
Slovakia) aiming for a more popular appeal, lower fees,
and allowing entry to non green card holders.

With the minimum of 60 hectares necessary for even a smaller
course, the biggest problem remains the difficulty in finding
suitable land. After all, the main hindrance for development
in Slovakia is the fact that land is split into tiny parcels
each often owned by several owners (3.5 million Slovaks own
at least a minuscule piece of land).

Although golf enthusiasts will certainly welcome the
increasing options for the game in Slovakia, when it comes
to the number and quality of courses, the country will
still lag significantly behind its neighbours Austria,
Czech republic and Hungary.

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3) Prime Old Town Apartments - Only Eight Available!

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It's been just three days since the launch of our unique
investment opportunity in the heart of Bratislava's
city centre. As expected, the top quality apartments
located in Slovakia's best address - the first district
of Bratislava (Old Town) have proved a huge success.

The development of 51 prime 2 and 3 bedroom apartments (many
of them already reserved by local families, even before an
official release) is truly offering the best of both worlds:

* A brand new luxury property located in the most prestigious
area of Bratislava, the beautiful historic city centre

* Just minutes walk to all attractions Bratislava has to offer
- historic sights, palaces, museums, galleries
- restaurants, cafes, shops and designer emporiums
- the best of culture, entertainment and leisure
- all of the city's 4-star (and most 3-star) hotels

* Short walk to most offices, company HQs, banks,
universities, government offices, embassies

This is your chance to invest in what is a perfect combination
of the most sought-after location And the most popular and
highest quality property, providing all luxuries of prime
city centre living with everything Bratislava is famous for
right on your doorstep.

But that's not all... You also get:

* A top quality property in the area of highest rental demand
in Slovakia (ensuring fast lets and good rental yields)

* A highly desirable apartment in the location of highest
capital growth (Bratislava's 1st district has seen 20%
annual growth over the last couple years)

* Strong demand for both sales and rentals and short supply
of good property (along with virtually no possibility of
new construction) in the Old Town mean that your apartment
will always command premium prices and rents

So...what we are offering you today is

A very rare opportunity to grab a brand new, top quality
property, in the most prestigious of addresses, offering
the highest growth as well as highest rental demand...and
all that in an exciting, vibrant city that is fast positioning
itself as one of the most significant players in Central
Europe - in a country that is the region's economic leader
and # 1 foreign investment destination.

And, what's more, at prices up to 10 times lower than in
other European capitals!

Plus - you will also benefit from an exclusive offer we
have negotiated for our units and have your apartment
delivered inclusive high standard fixtures while the other
units are being sold to locals as shell apartments!
This represents a discount of up to 10%!

We only have 8 apartments available now (out of 20 secured
for our investors)...so, don't wait, or this one-off
opportunity will be gone forever!

Call us NOW if you wish to secure one of the remaining
apartments.

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As a registered member of Slovakia Investment Property you
will always receive first notification of developments and
first opportunity to choose and reserve your preferred unit.

If this email was forwarded to you by a friend and you are
not a registered member, please remember that you need to
register in order to be able to receive notifications and
view our deals.

To join FREE of charge, please follow the link below:
http://www.slovakiainvestmentproperty.com/register.php

PLEASE REMEMBER:
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Slovakia Investment Property is not your typical UK
company of UK nationals claiming to be foreign property
experts. Not only have we teamed up with the best local
experts in Slovakia, we are Slovak nationals with first
hand experience of the Bratislava market. And yes, we
also put our own money into the opportunities offered.

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4) Your Questions Answered

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Is it true there is no capital gains tax in Slovakia?

Well, yes and no. Indeed, Slovakia doesn't have a specific
CGT, however, capital gain is considered income, hence
19% income tax is payable on net capital gains.

If you are using the Slovak property as your primary
residence, it will be exempt from tax after 2 years. If you
don't live in the property (but use it say as a second home)
you will be exempt from tax after 5 years of ownership.

However, business or rental property (property that is
generating income) is not exempt from tax, respectively,
it is only exempt 5 years after the income generating
activity had ceased.

In practice this means a buy-to-let property will not
be exempt from income tax levied on the capital gains.

If you have any question you want to see answered here,
please send it to us: contact@slovakiainvestmentproperty.com

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5) WIN a Bottle of 'Tokaj'! (Prize Draw)

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As every month, it is again time to give one of you the
chance to win a bottle of some of Slovakia's most popular
wines and liquors. This time, a bottle of the famous Tokaj
(or Tokay as it is known internationally) wine awaits a
lucky winner.

The lucky May winner is Mr. P. Ward. Congratulations!

All you have to do to be entered into the prize draw is email
your answer to our Question of the Month before 15 July to:
competition@slovakiainvestmentproperty.com.

It's as easy as that! We will contact the winner to obtain
the postal address. Good luck!

Question: If you have been thinking about buying a property
in Slovakia, but haven't done so yet, what is the main reason
for your reluctance? (Eg. unsure about the growth potential,
questions about letting/rents, lack of funds, shortage of
suitable opportunities, etc)

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6) Tell Us What You Think!

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We would love to hear what you think of this issue of our
newsletter. We hope you find the information useful and
wish you best success in your investment activities.
And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming
issues that you'd like to share with us, please send them!

Just e-mail us at: contact@slovakiainvestmentproperty.com

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We are looking forward to seeing you next month. In the
meantime, if you have any questions or would like to
request further information, please contact us at
info@slovakiainvestmentproperty.com or at
+44 (0)207 152 4014.

Best of success,

Petra Gajdosikova
Managing Director
Slovakia Investment Property
www.slovakiainvestmentproperty.com

Slovakia Investment Property is a trading name of
Alpha Real Estate Investments Limited