Big Damage

‘Buy property when they are bombing and sell after the celebration drums start’
-My dad. (Lebanese saying regarding property)

The above may seem a rather blase statement when discussing war but when like me half of your heritage is Lebanese it is par for the course. War sadly in that part of the world is commonplace and business and money making is therefore moulded around it. It’s not cold and as someone who is a humanitarian at heart it doesn’t come as an easy thing to say but that is the reality. Just as we in the UK may decided to open a pop up shop selling fans in a heat wave the Lebanese people factor in war and political instabilities into business decisions. Everyone has to carry on as normally as they can, people need to eat, feed their children and not all have the luxury of leaving the country there is certainly no handy benefit cheque at the end of the week it is simply the reality of survival.

So why am I talking about property in Lebanon? Is she utterly mad? Well quite possibly but I am counting on the age old adage that in madness lies genius. ;) We (myself father and brother) are currently at stage 2 of a development project in Beirut building flats and a shopping centre and although I am currently filming A Place in The Sun I am going over there as much as I can and keeping in the loop with developments. Mortgages are a relatively new phenomena in Lebanon and as a result the mid range market has grown. Which is the market we are aiming for. So far there have been some wonderous mistakes to the sum of 400,000 dollars due to a confused architect,and a flood and still a year and a half to go! God help us! It is certainly a learning curve!

Yes the war in Syria could spill across Lebanons’ borders, Yes the economy has suffered hugely due to the wealthy gulf tourists not coming on holiday due to neighbouring instabilities, but Beirut’s property market has a staunch reputation for flying high when peace reigns. The mentality of the Lebanese is wonderful and unique perhaps only to countries effected by sustained war, they do not wait to live, spend or enjoy their lives they live in the moment and seize the day perhaps a reason why the economy quickly starts moving when it is given time to breathe. Would it be more sensible to do a smaller project in the UK? Perhaps. But helping the economy in Lebanon is much more appealing. It may not be your dream place in the sun but it will certainly be for others.

I shall keep you updated… here is me and my dad fondly known as Big ‘Damage’ onsite…