Investors dreaming of a property that will offer high rental yields and high capital growth at the same time can now turn this dream into reality by being part of an exciting new revolution about to sweep Eastern Europe.

Experts predict that when the 'Eastern Eight' - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia - join the European Union in May this year, Europe will enjoy the biggest economic and property boom it has experienced in at least the last 10 years.

And the secrets of how you can take advantage of this virtually untapped market are revealed in a unique new book - East European Property Secrets . This exciting new publication explains, step-by-step, why investing in the 'Eastern Eight' now has the potential to make you huge profits - a chance to enjoy high rental yields and high capital growth!

Property expert and publisher of East European Property Secrets Neil Lewis explains: "Think of East Europe and most people will immediately conjure up images of under-developed, poverty-stricken, uninspiring places. However, this image is very wrong.

"Investors in the know consider this zone to be the hottest around - and East European Property Secrets confirms this. A revolution is about to happen in the Eastern Eight - firstly, joining the EU means investing in this area is a fantastic proposition. As happened to UK, Spain and Ireland, when they joined the EU, these countries received huge amounts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for over eight years after they had become EU members.

"Already, foreign and EU money is already pouring into Eastern Europe to stimulate economic growth, competitiveness and new jobs, and is set to increase massively.

"Secondly, with post-war communist housing - which was built cheaply to deal with the large number of homeless - literally starting to crumble away, the building of new properties will be encouraged (and property taxes slashed) to bring these countries in line with the rest of the EU.

"And, demand for property will be high...it is estimated that around a staggering third of the total population of the Eastern Eight will need to be re-housed in the next 20 years - that is around 24,116,000 people looking for somewhere new to rent or buy".

A top economist has predicted the states awaiting EU enlargement in the spring will experience an "economic miracle". Hans-Werner Sinn, head of the IFO economic institute - one of Germany's top think tanks - says economic growth in the Eastern European accession countries will be comparable to that of West Germany after the Second World War.

The countries can expect an economic boost from increased trade and inward investment after May 1 - with a recent poll of top US firms revealing that 46% consider Eastern Europe as their favourite location for investment.

The Wirtschaftwunder that began in (old) West Germany in 1945 and ran for 15 years until 1960 saw the country transform itself from a burnt out wreck, to a leading western economy. In the decade from 1950 to 1960, German worker productivity grew at 6% per year compared to just 2% in the USA!

And, worker productivity translates into higher wages and that translates into higher property prices. Which means big property profits are coming the way of the East European property investor.

East European Property Secrets explains why the East European property market can be the hottest place to invest right now and shows you the strategies to use when deciding where in the Eastern Eight you are going to invest your property money...plus much more!

Features include:

12 insider tips on How to find your dream home in Spain - and avoid the common mistakes that might turn your dream into a nightmare!"

By Neil Lewis, editor of Spanish Property Secrets 2003 (written by Peter Jones), the up to date report and advice on the Spanish Property scene.

Spanish property can make your dreams come true (but it can also turn into a nightmare if you are not careful).

Do your homework first! Don't go to Spain without knowing how the buying system works. You'll need to know how much you can borrow or spend and preferably have a mortgage agreed in principle.
Don't buy the first property that you see! Even if you fall in love with a property right away, make 3 or 4 or 5 visits (if possible) before you buy. Visit at night and in the morning for nightlife and traffic. Also, try to imagine what the house would be like at the height of the summer!
Look to buy in Spring - certainly before July when the hoards arrive - or after the summer rush.
Look for the new hot spots! Costa del Sol is expensive! Look at Costa de la Luz, The coast around Murcia and the Northern Atlantic coast.
Be prepared to buy off plan - even if it means a wait. At least you can secure your buying price at today's exchange rate and prices.
If buying in a traditionally Spanish area (ie Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia) it might be worth renting for a while first - as these areas are unlikely to see massive growth and you might as well take your time to get to know the area.
Towns on the coast dominated by German owners (eg Denia in Costa Blanca or Neja Coasta del Sol) may be a little cheaper, as the german property market has not performed strongly in the past 10 years, and hence the prices have not moved forward as fast as areas dominated by the Irish or Dutch.
Understand the full costs of buying and maintaining your property before you sign anything
Use an English speaking lawyer to check your purchase contract.

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But the costs of buying in Spain will continue to rise in the years ahead, so now is the time to get on with your purchase.

Here are 3 reasons why you should get a move on:

Prices will continue to rise - Spanish property is still cheap relative to most north European cities - the euro makes it easy to see the 'cheapness' of Spanish property and also removes the currency risk for many European buyers.
Communications - more and more working people are based in Spain, either commuting back to northern Europe or running their businesses via the Internet or by phone. Working in Spain is no longer the sole preserve of the English as a Foreign Language teachers.
Currency - the Pound won't be strong for ever - so now is a great time to buy if you are transferring cash or deposits from sterling to euros.

So, in summary, if you are thinking about a dream home in Spain, now is the time to move fast. However, its important to do your research and get it right.

In the long run we expect French property to keep increasing in value. A positive influence of the switch to the Euro is that it now allows a direct comparison between prices in different parts of the European Union.

Please see French Property Secrets for a detailed report on where I think the best opportunities lie...
However, I recommend that you don’t leave it too late to look. The Germans and the Belgians are already buying up properties.

If you are looking for a second home which you would use only for holidays, consider buying with friends and relatives and owning it through a SCI. If you do this with proper legal advice it can help circumvent future tax and inheritance tax law.

Alternatively if you are looking for a holiday home which doubles up as an investment, I recommend you consider buying a property on a new development which you can put into a Leaseback Scheme - more details in French Property Secrets.
Then you are guaranteed a minimum return, which will assist with the mortgage if you require finance, and you can still use it free for holidays. Also you retain the benefit of any capital growth.

But best of all you can reclaim any TVA included in the purchase price, meaning you get a whopping 20% instant discount.

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Are bricks and mortar investments as safe as houses?

However, warns specialist website, www.buy-to-let-secrets.co.uk , property investment - like any other form of investment - is a skill, and currently, many ‘quick-fix’ investors are choosing the wrong properties, the wrong finance and buying too many properties while managing them badly – meaning their bricks and mortar may not be as safe as houses!

Neil Lewis from the website and himself an experienced property investor says: "The recent increase in interest rates equates to a more stable property market, and there are a bunch of offers from developers now – meaning some good priced properties are up for grabs! However, an all-too-common mistake that private landlords make is to buy a property in the wrong area, meaning they could lose money; be unable to resell the property; or possibly, may not be able to find a suitable tenant.

"And many private landlords do not fully understand their legal obligations, meaning they are faced with an unhappy tenant and, even a legal battle!"

Buy To Let Property Secrets 2004 covers everything you need to know about property investment, such as:

Buying

Off Plan

If you haven’t got this amount available, you may be able to raise it from the equity in your home, or another investment property. Mortgage specialist will be only too pleased to arrange this for you. Let’s assume you raise the money by a re-mortgage and you borrowed £44,000 with interest at say 6%. Remember, if you’re buying off-plan, you would normally expect to sell on your property in ten months to a year, so you’d only pay one year’s interest of £2,640. After including remortgage and legal fees of say £360, your total investment is therefore just the interest and fees of say £3,000. And even this would only have to be paid at £250.00 a month.

Providing the developer has arranged a banker’s guarantee and you should only deal with developers who have such an arrangement, your reservation deposit will be kept in a client’s account. However, the bank will advance money to the developer against these reservations so he can finance the building costs and buy land for future development.

Why good builders are not necessarily good renovators!

The builder after all is intrusive. He comes to their house, makes a mess, uses the toilet, the sink and the kettle and makes the garden inaccessible to the kids. He also (often) looks a little scary and intimidates the wife. He is sometimes reputed to be unreliable. Not turning up without even a word of explanation is apparently common!

So, where’s this all going. Well, it goes to the heart of my argument. You can be a great builder in terms of laying foundations and bricks, pointing, cutting mitres and running twin and earth. This does not make you a professional renovator. You certainly need the hard skills (plus a few more) to be a renovation professional. If you intend to corner this market however there are a few other things you must also do well.