International Property News: May 3

Express Delivery No longer do you have to worry about what lies behind your door while away at your second residence. MF Express has begun a unique post forwarding system. They organise a secure UK address for you, then they open your post, discard the junk, then your mail is scanned and available for your perusal via a secure web page. Once a month they package all your post and forward to the address of your choice. So now it is possible to read your mail within hours of it being delivered. Visit www.mfexpress.com Resurrection of the Mount Major reconstruction has begun on Mont-Saint-Michel through EU funding. Included is the building and restoration of a barrage to remove sediment from around the mount and a bridge. The bridge will replace the roadway allowing easier access to the Mont, this teamed with a new car park on the mainland and a new shuttle service. The reconstruction is expected to increase tourism to the area. RAK on the map Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ? the popular tourist destination, 95km down the coast from Dubai is hoping to trade in on the current popularity of property investment in the UAE. Entry level prices are £40K for a studio at Al Hamra Village www.alhamravillage.com a 300 million dirham (£46M) seaside resort due for completion 2007. Investment in the Alps The sudden influx of hotel room purchase in the UK and USA is set to expand into Europe. Hotel rooms in the four-star L'Hotel des Deux in the resort of Belle Plagne are for sale through Erna Low Savills. This is the first of its kind in the Alps, and has the added attraction of being a complete new build. Similar to leaseback, the owner has limited use with a guaranteed rental return. As the property is commercial it has the added benefit of being placed as a Sipp. Further details at www.ernalowproperty.com Da Vinci Fever The Cannes Film Festival, May 17-28, will open with the long awaited 'The Da Vinci Code'. Chateau Villette is only 35 minutes drive from Paris in the environs of Versaille, the elegant mansion designed by Francoise Mansard in 1668 for the Comte d'Affley Louis XIV's ambassador to Venice. The property's owner Olivia Hzu Decker, a Chinese American, allowed Blythe Brown, Dan Browns' wife to view the interior of the property during Browns research for the novel. At the time she had no idea how successful the novel would become, but later agreed to allow a crew 850 to film the scenes for the new blockbuster. To see the chateau visit www.thedavincicodechateau.com.