Look4aProperty Blog

James was recently invited by Google to speak to all of their employees about his background, business successes and being an entrepreneur.

You can view the video below.

A DRAGON swooped into Grantham last week for a whistle-stop visit.

James Caan and Mark Newton from Newton Fallowell

Multi-millionaire James Caan stepped out of TV’s Dragon’s Den programme and into the streets of Grantham to launch a new housing finance scheme.

The town was chosen as the launching site for the Assist scheme, which James says will help home-buyers in the area afford costs by stumping up interest-free loans to cover fees.

But before settling down to business, serial entrepreneur James shared his thoughts on the town.

Standing in Butcher’s Row, he said: “It’s my first time in Grantham and what a really lovely town.

“I couldn’t have picked a better day because it’s such a nice, sunny day.

“It’s showing the town in a very nice way.

“I’ve literally just come in by train on the commuter belt and here to do the launch.”

Newton Fallowell, based in High Street, was chosen as the only estate agent in the region to carry the Assist scheme, headed by Look4aProperty.com of which James is chairman.

The scheme is a £1 billion property loan fund which homebuyers apply for through selected properties marketed by Newton Fallowell.

The unsecured loans will be between £5,000 and £10,000 and are designed to pay for legal fees and stamp duty.

James said: “I believe it’s a very important time in the housing market where a lot of people are under pressure because they need bigger deposits because building societies are just not loaning the amount of money they used to.

“We’ve launched something that bridges the gap and makes a difference between buying now and waiting six months.”

Asked if there was a catch, James replied: “It’s a 0 per cent loan, you can’t get lower than that. Even as a Dragon that sounds like a great idea to me.”

Look4aProperty.com chairman James Caan talks about his visit to Grantham and the launch of Look4aProperty Money with Newton Fallowell.

Click below to view the video: -

James Caan in Grantham

James Caan uses launch of new billion pound property fund as Labour’s HIPs scheme is postponed

Serial entrepreneur and television star James Caan says the Government’s quick thinking in axing Labour’s controversial HIPs scheme is a step in the right direction.

Home Information Packs - Consigned to history

Caan, who was in the East Midlands to launch the second phase of his billion pound interest free loan scheme, welcomed today’s announcement by housing minister Grant Schapps.

“This is good news for people desperate to move up the property ladder. The HIPs scheme was a major barrier to fluidity in the housing market,” says Caan. “I believe this is a wise move by the Government and will bring much needed liquidity back.”

James Caan’s billion pound fund, called Look4aProperty|money, offers interest free loans to people buying or selling property.

Caan’s business partner in the venture, Aaron Turner, the CEO of Look4aProperty.com, says: “HIPs have proved to be prohibitive to property coming onto the market and movements within the markets is what is needed by the UK economy at this time.”

Despite ultra low interest rates the housing market has been frozen by fear since the economic crisis first gripped the country in 2007.

Caan, who runs a number of property investment businesses, says people have been holding back because they feel they aren’t able to fund many of those unavoidable expenses associated with buying and selling property.

“These items represent an expense too far for many people. The Look4aProperty|money product is designed to remove that obstacle,” says Caan.

The scheme is available to anyone through a network of estate agents who have signed up to the fund across the UK.

Interest free loan scheme from Caan the Dragon extended to sellers

Dragon Den star James Caan has launched a second major initiative to pump life into the UK housing market.

Last year Caan’s property portal, Look4aProperty.com launched a £1bn fund to offer interest free loans to people desperate to get on to the property ladder.  It is designed to help people afford stamp duty, legal fees and other expenses linked to buying a home.

Look4aProperty | Money Seller Poster

The idea has proved so successful look4aProperty is now funding a similar scheme to help property sellers.

The Dragon’s Den star is launching the new initiative at Newton Fallowell, a leading estate agency chain based in Mrs Thatcher’s former constituency, Grantham, Lincolnshire.

“We’ve had impressive take-up across the country from people wanting to borrow that extra money to cover the costs of moving or buying their first home. Now we are providing loans – interest free to people wanting to sell,” says Caan.

“It was the obvious next step to give the country’s housing market a boost. We set out to bring liquidity to the market. To do that, we need people buying and selling.

Despite ultra low interest rates the housing market has been frozen by fear since the economic crisis gripped the country in 2007.

Caan, who runs a number of property investment businesses, says people have been holding back because feel they aren’t able to fund many of those unavoidable expenses associated with buying and selling property. “These items represent an expense too far for many people. Look4aProperty|money product is designed to remove that obstacle.

The scheme is available to anyone through a network of estate agents who have signed up to the fund across the UK.

Despite signs that property prices are rising – one report from the Nationwide put the rise in the last year at 10 per cent – the market is not moving. Caan believes the more incentives to inject some liquidity into the market the more the economy will benefit.

Look4aProperty, one of Britain’s leading providers of financial help for home owners, says Alistair Darling’s decision to scrap Stamp Duty on house purchases up to £250,000 for first-time buyers, is good news for young people trying to get on the property ladder.

“The Chancellor’s announcement fits in with Look4AProperty Money’s efforts to put liquidity back into the market,” says Aaron Turner, the company’s CEO.

“The abolition of Stamp Duty on purchases up to £250k for First Time Buyers, coupled with our three-year interest-free loans for every other buyer will be a powerful incentive for first-time buyers to make their decision to go ahead and buy.”

Look4AProperty Money – which is chaired by Dragons’ Den entrepreneur, James Caan – allows every home buyer in the UK to apply for a three-year interest-free loan, (subject to status). All buyers need to do is to ask their local estate agent to arrange it for them as part of the offer they make on the property they wish to buy.

Look4aProperty.com Chairman, James Caan, is to join the esteemed judging panel for The Negotiator Awards 2010.

James Caan with Gordon Brown

James (pictured with the Prime Minister) is most famous for being a Dragon on the BBC’s business start-up show, Dragons’ Den. James is also founder of West London-based private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw, which has a portfolio of companies with a combined turnover of more than £400m, plus a property investment portfolio valued at £35m.

James was appointed Chairman of Look4aProperty.com in 2009 and is helping to kick-start the housing marketing with the successful roll-out of the Look4aProperty | Money funding products.

Caan is one of 11 judges on the panel for the most prestigious event of the residential agency calender, The Negotiator Awards 2010. Each of the industry experts will be tasked with judging readers’ submissions and nominating the potential winners for each of the award categories, which will cover all aspects of agency, from sales, lettings and land and new homes to auctions, block management and marketing.

Hosted in London’s glamorous ballroom at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London, The Negotiator Awards 2010 will once again help celebrate the excellence demonstrated by agents and firms in at least each of these areas over the last year.

This year’s event promises to be even bigger than the hugely successful ceremonies enjoyed by more than 500 guests in each of the last two years.

For the latest awards news see the printed edition of The Negotiator, as well as their weekly e-newsletters and on Twitter.

The award categories will be printed in the next issue of the magazine, out on March 19, along with the official entry form. A dedicated awards page will also be created on their website, www.negotiator-magazine.co.uk.

The production of our new Look4aProperty | Money “a boards” means that you may be bumping into our Chairman, James Caan, down your local high street soon.

The new a-boards are available to all Look4aProperty | Money members to help promote their businesses as part of our new £1 billion initiative to help kick-start the UK housing market.

Buyers: Move Now Pay Later

Sellers: Move Now Pay Later

Photos taken outside of Parson Estate Agent’s office in Diss, Norfolk.

The Look4aProperty | Money loans will be made available through a select number of nationwide estate agents including Parson Estate Agents based in Diss,

James Caan on how his new Look4aProperty | Money venture is helping to stimulate the housing market in Sheffield and North Derbyshire with the help of Blundells Estate agents.

Please click on the image below to read the full interview (PDF, 1.8mb) with James Caan, Chairman of Look4aProperty.com, in the Star Business Monthly.

James Caan Stimulates the Housing Market

Listen to James Caan, Charman of Look4aProperty discussing the new Look4aProperty | Money product.