| The Baltic sea used to be the privilege of the few and remained virtually inaccessible for Westerners for much of the 21st century. Now this fascinating, forested and musical region is open to all and is in full swing of turbo-charged expansion.
Latvia lies between Estonia and Lithuania. In ancient times renowned for its amber, still a common feature of traditional jewellery, Latvia was annexed by Russia in the eighteenth century. The elaborate, domed architecture of orthodox churches and other monuments attest this historical fact, most notably in the capital, Riga. Catapulted into the 21st Century on secession in 1991, Latvia joined NATO and the UN in 2004. Wage inflation, growing prosperity and access to less constrained mortgage finance have all contributed to make this the prime investment location of all times.
House prices in Latvia are rising at a rate of 39 percent, a good 20 percent ahead of near-est rivals Bulgaria and Denmark. Foreign investment is now largely free of constraints and investment companies can be set up within a week. What’s more, as an emergent sector mortgage rates are 40 percent lower than the European average. Extremely high demand in rentals is also leading to double digit returns on investments
0. This means a great return on investment for many investors seeing their house as a kind of ATM. They borrow heavily on the rising real estate against their current loans and then refinance their lifestyle with the profits made. This is often a pact with the devil because many investors go over their means of affordability getting carried away by easy promises of instant riches.
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