Sadly this vessel is still lying off the East Devon coast between Branscombe and Seaton. There is an interesting article on the fishing-blog about the boat, with a few pictures as well.

To read more have a look here MSC Napoli 

To increase our effectiveness and improve the information we offer we have decided to run the web site for the foreseeable future as a free service.

We will be making a revenue from third party advertisers and marketing schemes. We are also investing in flyers and magazine marketing in the Cornish region of our market place married together with our improved SEO we are now getting great results for search terms in the 3 main search engines.

Cottage holiday accommodation is our main stay of current available property but we will be hoping to broaden the base of our holiday accommodation, including more hotels, B&B, apartments, hostels and caravans.

The holiday season in Cornwall and Devon is almost upon us so I hope you are all ready to make the most of what promises to be a hot summer.

My wife’s best friend has just moved away from Cornwall and is now living in Exmouth.

She has been phoning regularly informing my wife about the area and what it has to offer. “Exeter is only 7 miles away, there is some great shopping to be had” she tells my wife!

Apart from retail therapy she has found some lovely FREE areas to wander in. The Western end of the Jurassic coast line to walk her dogs on, or the length of the beach on the estuary at Exmouth, this part of Devon is criss crossed with footpaths and bridal ways.

Being a keen eventer she is delighted with the equestrian facilities in the area which include of course Bicton Park with its cross country course, used for basic riders and the most advanced and I understand well thought about in the horsy world. There are great hacks across Woodbury Common full of diverse wild life and the odd Marine training at Lympston commando camp. She also informed us that there are many stables offering livery for holidays periods, so you and your horse can go self catering together if you so desire!

All in all she seems delighted with her move to the region and its opened her eyes up to what this town has to offer.

I thought I would show this short film I made at Loe Bar in Cornwall. Please don’t go on the beach if the conditions are like this

Well according to according to the Channel 4 programme Britain’s Favorite Holiday, Devon and Cornwall is beating Spain and Greece as the top Holiday destination.

I have read that last year 6,300,000 people visited the two counties, almost 500,000 more than the second place destination. This trade bought Devon and Cornwall £2bn.

It seems that the beaches, cottages, hotels and quality bed and breakfast accommodation are not all people want. Memories are driving people to the region. Enjoying an ice cream thinking about the old times and revisiting the old haunts is the driving factor.

We need to keep this up know and cash in on this making Devon and Cornwall the top location for years to come.

This article is meant as a guide only. Advice should be taken from a qualified person.

Letting a fully furnished holiday home in the UK may mean the income made is treated differently than other rental income. Holiday lets are considered a business, where as other property letting income is classed as investment income.

The are some tax incentives for holiday lets, but your accommodation must comply with inland revenue rules, referred to as “QUALIFYING TESTS” which are:

* Based in the UK.

* Furnished rental accommodation.

* Available for holiday letting to the public for at least 140 days a year.

* Actually let as a holiday let for at least 70 days a year (and
these must be commercial lets, not at cheap rates to friends and
family).

* Your occupier cannot stay for more than 31 days in any 7 month period.

* Lets must be at the full market value. This means letting your
cottage to family for £2 a week will not count.

And holiday lets must be (both):

* Short term lets of not more than 31 days.

* The only lets over a period of at least seven months.

Your income from you holiday let is subject to income tax, but you can off-set expenses for example:

* Repairs and maintenance.

* Decorating.

* Heating & lighting.

* Legal and letting agent’s fees.

* Management fees and cleaning costs.

* Insurance.

* Mortgage interest payments.

If you make a loss, you can off-set this against your other income to reduce your tax bill. You can avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of the property if you roll-over the income within 3 years to another holiday letting property.

There are other advantages, and as stated before, take professional advice before heading into holiday letting. There are many mortgages available for the buy to let market and spending some time with a well regarded mortgage advisor would be in your best interest

Visitdevonandcornwall.com is now able to offer free property marketing. We have added to our popular accommodation rental web, site a facility to market your home at no cost, on the internet.

With the rising cost of estate agents fees self-promotion of residential property is becoming the norm. The average house price in the UK is around 190,000, and a common estate agent fee is 2% of sale price which equates to £3,600 plus VAT at 17.5%  totalling £4,230. By using our free service and other similar advertising on the web, as well as investing in some advertising in your local papers, you can sell your own home and save thousands.

Valuation

Search your local papers, and the internet to find similar homes to your own. Consider the location, condition, and other desirable factors of the comparable properties, and use this to value your own home. If you are honest with yourself, you probably have a better idea of the market value than anybody else. An estate agent will go through this same process and generally, when they visit they will talk about the possible value of your home, and judge your reactions to their comments, and use this feedback to find a price you are happy with without you knowing about it.

Details

Create, using your PC, a set of bright, clean, property details. Keep the information accurate and factual. Explain enough to get somebody interested. Use your camera to take bright colourful images of your home (a picture paints a thousand words), and lay the information out in a way that’s easy on the eye, a nice amount of white space on the page, so things are not crammed. Don’t forget to add your contact details.

Free Marketing

You then need to consider the likely purchaser, a family, a single professional?. Use this information to target your marketing; let’s consider a family. Visit local day care nurseries and ask to see if you can put a set of details on the notice board. The local shop that sells milk and nappies, you often have to make a small donation to add things to the for sale board but it’s usually a nominal amount. Find out if the local school produces a magazine, and see if you can add your property for a small charge, schools are often grateful for contributions towards the production cost. Use your imagination, there are lots of outlets for your property. Golf clubs, sailing clubs, village halls, the list is endless.

Papers

The free papers in your area are another source. Small lineage ads with images are very affordable and generally cost effective. Include brief accurate bullet points about your home, and clear contact details. Again don’t cram the advert, use the space available to you.

The Web

The internet has a whole range of solutions for you. We offer a free service for you to add your property. There are fantastic sites that charge a small set fee like thelittlehousecompany.co.uk who market your home online for a flat fee. Add the basics of your property to your email signature, you would be amazed of the results this can deliver. Surf the internet for blogs about house sales, and add something worthy but include your property, or a link a page where your property is being marketed.

Cost effective

Following this basic guide, and doing some research on the internet, you can create a very cost effective marketing package for your home, which will get results fast. Most importantly it will save you thousands.

Start today

You can start today by going to www.visitdevonandcornwall.com clicking on advertise, and following the simple online instructions. All it will cost is your own time but it’s a valuable investment.

Hi,

Welcome to the new Devon and Cornwall blog. We hope to bring you information about Devon and Cornwall, including activities, attractions, latest news and happenings from around the area. As well as this we will be bringing you updates for the web site and general travel news.

I hope you enjoy this improvement to the site and use it to comment on anything you feel strongly about or even just have a view about.