From inland medieval villages to quiet coastal communities, here are five pretty property destinations in France:

Alsace

Alsace is one of the smallest regions of France, but it’s also one of the most densely populated areas. Picturesque landscapes, quaint villages and stunning castles offer a beautiful backdrop for local residents, with vineyards and warm summers making Alsace a promising market for both second home hunters and investors.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Alsace

Picardie

Aside from its major role in the First World War, the region of Picardie is known for its strong culture, which extends even to its own language. Gothic churches and local food add to the local character, which is accentuated in the area’s homes, which are a distinctive red brick. Tourists, meanwhile, are attracted to Picardie by its famous Asterix theme park.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Alsace

Uzes

Located to the north of Nimes, Uzès is famous for its market and local produce, which both complement the area’s natural beauty. A medieval town with a strong heritage and relaxing lifestyle, its range of food, the nearby coast and wealth of hiking opportunities promise a quaint getaway for second home buyers unconcerned with the traditional tourist trappings.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Uzes

Eymet

A commune in the Dordogne, Eymet is home to a thriving expat society. Its pleasant climate and beautiful surroundings make it a relocation hotspot for British buyers. Indeed, homeowners from the UK account for one-third of the population. It is so popular among expats, in fact, that it even starred in an ITV series about the area – promising house hunters not only the chance to join a welcoming community but also to become a national celebrity.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Eymet

Côtes-d’Armor

Côtes-d’Armor is a department in the north of Brittany that is famous for its stunning landscapes. From the Pink Granite Coast to the Emerald Coast, the coastline is a picturesque window onto the English Channel, while local residents are welcoming to new home buyers, both domestic and international.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Cotes-d’armor

In the UK, new homes are becoming an increasingly viable option for people looking to climb onto the housing ladder. Indeed, government schemes, such as Help to Buy and Funding for Lending, have been introduced in the past with the aim of encouraging first time buyers to buy their own home. But one of the most affordable ways for them to achieve this is to look at new build properties.

A landlocked county in the West Midlands, Staffordshire is home to the cities of Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Tamworth.

Staffordshire has lost several cities over the years to its neighbouring counties – Handsworth and Perry Barr are now part of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton are now within the West Midlands County – but it is no less important. Indeed, companies such as the Britannia Building Society are based within Staffordshire, while top educational institutes such as Keele University are included in its borders.

Combined with its good links to the M42 and M6, which make travelling to other major cities easy for commuters, and mainline train services connected to Stoke-on-Trent, living in Staffordshire is convenient for workers, while the extensive canal network makes it an attractive place to raise a family.

Most people will be fond of Staffordshire, though, because of its most famous attraction: Alton Towers. The theme park brings people from around the country to the area, which could potentially introduce the opportunity for some occasional property rentals for those seeking to stay nearby.

For landlords, off-plan homes are also a popular option due to the low prices. So whether you’re a landlord or a home buyer, new homes can be a smart choice. A new home in Staffordshire? Even smarter.

For more on new build homes around the country, visit www.newhomes.uk.net

As a result, it has long been a popular real estate hub, both for commercial property and residential property.

In the 1980s and 1990s, during the Asian investment boom, Bangkok became the place to go to for many companies, with international corporations locating their regional or national headquarters in the city.

Indeed, Bangkok is most famous worldwide for its red-light districts, but it is ranked only behind London and Paris as one of Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities – a mark of its economic prowess as well as tourist popularity.

Bangkok alone accounts for almost one-third of the country’s GDP, while the surrounding area takes that figure up to nearly one half: it ranks alongside Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul for financial clout.

Retail makes up a large part of the city’s business, but real estate and manufacturing are big constituents as well. With such a range of companies clamouring for office space in Bangkok, it is wise to make sure you know which sector you fit into – and where in the city you will be looking to rent.

The shopping centre, for example, is near the Siam area, while the Silom district has many important financial institutions, such as banks, in additional to hotels and restaurants.

Renting a serviced office in these areas will be geographically ideal, but may also come at a premium – particularly in Silom, where commercial property is located close to the legendary nightlife of Patpong and other activities. This combination of entertainment for local residents and employees as well as economic significance is both a recipe for prime real estate and the city’s overall appeal; a colourful blend of culture, commerce and crowds of people, coming from across the planet to see it for themselves.

For more information on serviced offices in Bangkok and other cities around the world,  visit http://www.servicedofficesolutions.com/

This week, TheMoveChannel.com turns its attention to bars for sale. Advice on investing in bars can be hard to find, but it mostly boils down to a single word learned from experience: caution.

Like restaurants, investing in a bar can be a hugely mouth-watering prospect. Who wouldn’t like the idea of owning their own pub or bar? But along with owning a bar, there is the question of running a bar. That can be where the problems start.

Bars are similar to many other commercial property investments: their appeal lies principally in the returns that they can generate. Income produced by a bar can stem from individual pints or from private hire of the property, but the yields are there all the same. In that way, bars are related closely to opportunities such as resort properties, hotels, or bed and breakfasts.

But as well as the similarity in the range of potential sources of income, bar are not unlike bed and breakfasts or hotels in another crucial aspect: they all require managing. The solution is simple: hire someone else to manage the property for you.

If you can’t find someone to manage the day-to-day running of the establishment, though, the duty of running the bar falls to you, the buyer.

There are already other factors to consider that can determine the profitability of your investment. Firstly, location – a bar based in a tourist hotspot, such as Benidorm, will enjoy a high turnover of visitors and a consistent level of custom, while a bar out of the way in a small village will be significantly less busy.

Then there is the building itself. How long has it been on the market? Is it in a good state of repair? Ensure that the property requires no major repairs and you can save yourself significant hidden costs. Other legal issues, such as licences, will also need to be addressed.

As a business, there are more considerations that enter your decision. For example, what is the bar’s representation like? How long has the bar been active? Visit as a customer to see what the business is like first hand before choosing whether to invest.

Of course, there’s still the question of running the property. If you do your due diligence before signing on the dotted line, a lot of potential headaches can be prevented. As long you’re careful and cautious, when you do decide to invest, you can expect thirst-quenching results.

French property remains some of the most popular among buyers on TheMoveChannel.com but with such a big country to choose from, sometimes a little peer recommendation can go a long way. So TheMoveChannel.com continues to profile the property hotspots in France which received the highest number of enquiries in 2012.

Here are five in-demand property destinations in France:

Honfleur

Located in north France’s Calvados department, Honfleur is a small town on the bank of the Seine. Its riverside location promises residents a gorgeous port background for their traditional homes – a sight that inspired artists from Boudin and Monet to paint the area. Who could resist the chance to live in a literally picturesque neighbourhood?

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Honfleur

Charente

A department in the Poitou-Charentes region, Charente earns its name from the Charente River, which runs past its two major towns: Cognac and Angouleme. The culture, cuisine and history associated with those two cities alone are enough to attract tourists, but the area’s natural beauty and welcoming locals make many think about staying their more permanently.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Charente

Sete     

Located in the Herault departments, Sète is a stunning little costal town which doesn’t rest on its laurels. Made up of a hard-working population with no tourist machine, the town itself is the attraction: unspoilt beaches, colourful houses and charming canal-side restaurants add up to a quiet getaway for second home hunters.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Sete

Morbihan

Most famous for its Carnac stones, Morbihan is a popular destination for historical tourists, but that is only half the area’s appeal: the Gulf of Morbihan, a natural harbour just inside the coast, is an idyllic mini-coastline, with islands for residents to explore all year round and for holiday home owners to admire from their balconies or boats.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Morbihan

Auvergne

Auvergne is a region in the centre of France with as many hills as it has attractive houses. The rolling green backdrop to the old-fashioned villages are a destination of choice for hikers and mountain climbers, while the medieval communities and picture-perfect lakes are a reason for many to stop there for a long rest – say, for several months in their new second home.

Browse TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of property in Auvergne

Ad sales teams would rub their hands with glee as property companies spent millions on huge colour display ads running every day of the week in the national press. MD of PR agency AB Property Marketing, Charlotte Ashton, knows first-hand as this is where she started her career, but things have changed.

Exacerbated by the recession, companies have for a while now struggled to justify the ROI of their printed marketing especially in the fickle world of property. Should you really be spending all that money on print advertising when online marketing offers so much?

Well, something could change all of that and this something is called Augmented Reality (AR).

AR is the ability to make part of the real world, “Augmented” or put in simpler terms, imagine having the ability to have a property video shown directly from your print adverts or a 3D model of your development pop out of the floor.

This might sound like Tomorrow’s World but it is in fact already here today and all your clients need is a tablet or smartphone and suddenly printed media takes on a whole new dimension.

A colleague of AB Property Marketing who has years of experience in the property industry and now is Founder of The Digital Marketing Bureau, James Dearsley is helping clients fathom out how to get involved in AR.

A pioneer of AR within the property world, James can:

• Embed Videos into printed media (adverts, billboards, business cards etc)
• Embed Calls to Action into printed media (including Call, SMS and e-mail options)
• Build 3D models of developments with interactive walk throughs; putting the client in control of selecting the colour of the walls and which sofa to purchase.

The glory of this technology is that it can be applied to a range of sectors and printed materials and is exceedingly cost effective.

Charlotte Ashton comments, “The property world is notoriously slow at cottoning on to the latest technological advances. It took years to move away from print to online marketing, from signboards to QR codes but the world is changing and fast! Property buyers are tech savvy consumers and with AR poised to become an everyday feature of our lives, it is essential that property companies embrace this incredible technology and use it to their own advantage.”

For more information about AR and how you can spice up your property PR in 2013, contact Charlotte at AB Property Marketing on 00 44 845 054 7524 or email charlotte@abpropertymarketing.co.uk.

Your own private patch of grass out the back may not seem like a priority, especially with work and other commitments taking up your time, but a garden can be a big factor in your property’s appeal. For a family, for example, it could be the one big difference between clicking on a listing and scrolling down to the next.

But how can make sure people fall in love with your lawn? Sell My Property offers eight steps to get the most from your garden:

Get your timing right

If you have a garden, Spring is the best time to sell your home. The warm weather and positive vibes will be encouraging buyers to start their house hunt afresh – so you should be ready for them. Choosing bulbs that will flower in succession are a great way to maximise the colour from your garden.

But even if you’re not in the hot summer’s sun, don’t fret: just plant something else. Bedding plants will appear attractive in autumn, ensuring your back yard boosts your property’s appeal all year round.

Get the right flowers…

Flowers, great. But which ones? The right flowers can make a big difference to house hunters. Indeed, according a recent Homebase survey, roses are the most attractive flower to potential home buyers. If roses aren’t your thing, the survey’s other most popular flowers include: lavender, fuchsia, tulips, sweet peas, lilies, jasmine, geraniums, hydrangea and sunflowers.

… or grow your own veg

Vegetable gardens are increasingly popular among homeowners – it’s no coincidence that demand for allotments in the UK is on the up. So if you already have a vegetable patch in place, the chance to grow your own greens could appeal to the some of the more health-conscious, or cost-conscious, buyers.

Trim, snip and clip

Nobody likes a messy garden, so make sure yours is tidy. A quick trim around the garden, cutting the grass to a short length, will go a long way to keepings things smart. Snipping unruly hedges and clipping any wild branches will complete the effect.

Do-it-yourself

As well as the garden, don’t forget to pay attention to the things around it: fences, gates, chairs, doors. If anything needs to be fixed or oiled, a bit of DIY will create the best possible impression – and stop that annoying squeak that’s been driving you mad for years.

If it’s not green, give it a clean

Why stop at DIY? If your chairs are dirty, give them a wipe. If the patio door windows are grubby, give them a spray. Cleanliness on the inside is what counts when taking photos for a listing or organising a viewing: but it’s just as important outside.

Shed responsibility

If you have a shed, take responsibility for it: clear out any leaves, tidy any cables. If you want someone to love your home, it needs to feel loved. A tidy shed, complete with working door and clean windows, will avoid your garden looking ignored or neglected.

Keep it simple

All the above is very well and good, but remember what we said about time? No one wants to take on a huge responsibility. Extravagant borders or high-maintenance flower arrangements may deter as many people as they impress. So make sure your garden is simple as well as stunning.

For expert advice on how to sell your home and information on listing your property online, visit www.sellmyproperty.org

Located in the East Midlands, Nottinghamshire borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. Like its neighbours, it is an area that sits on top of coal and was therefore a big part of the UK’s industrial revolution; a hub of manufacturing and mining – and also the lace industry – that saw people come into the county to work and live.

With the influx of people came canals, railways and other modes of transportation – but also a need for housing. So new homes began to be developed, turning tiny market towns, such as Newark-on-Trent or Worksop, into thriving areas of growth.

Market towns declined in the miners’ strikes of the 1980s but remain a popular place to live today. The city of Nottingham is also a hub of work and accommodation. Connected to London by the A1 motorway, the city’s employment prospects also allow workers to commute to the UK capital or other major cities. Connections have been further improved by the Robin Hood Airport and East Midlands Airport (located just across the border in neighbouring Leicestershire), which both serve major European destinations – including the Caribbean and North America.

As a result, residents and homeowners can be confident of family holidays without much hassle, making it even more attractive to live in Nottingham.

A strong education system, including the Nottingham Trent University and the prestigious University of Nottingham, boosts the area’s appeal to home hunters, while the local culture – it is the birthplace of D. H. Lawrence and the ancestral home of Lord Byron – adds to Nottinghamshire’s likeable character.

With UK government schemes and developers ensuring that development is increasing across the country, new build homes provide an increasingly affordable way to enter the housing market. Nottingham is no expection. So if you’re looking for a new home in the UK, have you considered Nottinghamshire? And if not, why not?

For more on new build homes around the country, visit www.newhomes.uk.net

Indeed, the TV show has become a driving force in the Cardiff economy, boosting the city’s profile as well as its income and tourist appeal. Now, the capital city may only account for 10 per cent of the national population but its economy is worth double that of Welsh GDP, while 40 per cent of the city’s workforce travel in daily from around the country.

Cardiff’s industrial boom revolved around its docks in Tiger Bay, which was once the busiest pot in the world. Over the years, that profile has changed into a business and finance hub. Service companies, include education, health, and administration, have swarmed into the city’s commercial property, pushing up occupancy rates of Cardiff offices.

In 2008, fDi magazine ranked the city as number seven in Europea’s top 50 Cities of the Future. It achieved an equally high ranking for foreign investment too – a sign of the wide range of interest the redeveloped city has generated.

Companies as varied as HBOS, Admiral Insurance, HBOS, British Gas, The AA and BT all have regional or national headquarters in Cardiff, with demand particularly high for office towers such as Capital Tower and Brunel House.

The regeneration of Cardiff’s commercial property sector has even extended to retail, with St. David’S Centre completed in 2009 to provide 1,400,000 square feet of shopping space – one of the UK’s largest shopping malls. With an increasing number of businesses taking advantage of the thriving retail and employment sectors, including a strong hotel industry, it is no wonder that office space is still being sought-after.

Indeed, in the media world, BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C now all have major studios based in Cardiff. And with Dr Who continuing to boost interest even further every year, Cardiff is increasingly becoming a household name – not just in Britain but further abroad.

For more information on Cardiff and serviced offices around the world, visit www.servicedofficesolutions.com

The most obvious is the same as with any piece of real estate: why is it for sale? If the restaurant is successful, the reason for putting it on the market could be relevant to your purchase. A new rival nearby, pending legal issues, or problems with the building could all severely affect the value of your investment.

Maintenance issues should be a major concern: make sure the building is fully checked by a surveyor and check all the utilities are correctly installed, working and compliant with safety standards. But outside of the building can make a difference too – watch out for a major change in local taxes, or even the travel and infrastructure. (If no roads lead to your restaurant, how will anyone find it?)

Location is a big factor. If you are looking to move overseas or relocate to start a new life abroad, a property in a tourist hotspot is a sound choice; even if you depend on seasonal peaks, if the summer traffic is strong, it can be enough to live off all year round.

The other considerations are business-specific. What is the restaurant called? What do the menus look like? What kind of food does it serve? Do you want to change that? What kind of customers does the business attract?

If all the above check out, the owner may be selling the restaurant for personal reasons. Nonetheless, it can be wise to check the company’s books for previous management behaviour; if something has been mismanaged, or handled well, you can take lessons from their examples.

Once you have chosen the restaurant of your dreams, it is worth asking for a non-compete clause in the property’s lease – these will prevent anyone opening a similar establishment near you for a stated period of time.

These are just some of the factors that should be taken into account when looking to invest in a restaurant – a small measure of how complex the decision to invest is.

If you aren’t prepared for these issues, a restaurant investment could well be a folly – but if you are informed and confident about your planned purchase, owning a restaurant can be real food for thought; and, if you like your food as well as your returns, a mouth-watering prospect for an ambitious buyer.

To view TheMoveChannel.com’s listings of restaurants for sale, click here.