Our partner in Romania is Tavi Bota. Tavi, a Romanian entrepreneur with British residency, has studied the Romanian property market for many years and is widely recognised as the country's best-informed independent property market analyst.

Tavi was instrumental in the production of the Property Secrets Romanian Market Forecast report two years ago, which correctly predicted a number of property investment opportunities in Romania.

With all our deal finders, the first thing we do when they put forward a deal for consideration is to subject them to the Elevator Test; can they convince us in a minute or less that this is a great deal? Here are our questions and his replies:

Could you describe the outstanding feature of the Platinum Towers deal, please?

I think actually there are several outstanding features, and I don't think they can be separated to provide one over-riding feature.

First and foremost, you have Bucharest - this has simply got to be one the most exciting investment locations in the whole of central and Eastern Europe right now.
Romania represents the possibility of being as important a market as Poland, I believe. Sure, there's no doubt that Bucharest cannot really offer exactly the same degree of low risk as, say, Warsaw - but it has just moved up a big, big notch in terms of stability.

You're referring to the EU and the fact that Romania will join next year?

Definitely, definitely. This is going to have a very big effect on the market - on the country as a whole.

Ignore people who say it's all been factored in - it's simply not true. Nothing was taken for granted in Romania before the EU made its announcement. This is going to provide a tremendous boost to the Romanian economy and a tremendous boost to the population's confidence and optimism about the future.

I believe Romania will turn out to be one of the most enthusiastic EU members of all.

What about back to Platinum Towers?

I realise this is macro stuff and people always like to know the numbers; but it's important to understand this optimism because it is going to drive the economy forward and also drive forward such things as major infrastructure and development projects.

And Platinum Towers is right slap in the middle of a regeneration area. The district's mayor is very dynamic and there are very ambitious plans to completely revitalise this residential part of Vitan.

Regeneration areas can be great opportunities - and they can be white elephants...
Of course - but this area is simply a jewel. It's a site on the doorstep of the city centre - you can walk to the parliament buildings from here - and it's been overlooked up to now. It has great transport links to the centre and Platinum Towers itself will be less than two minutes away from a metro station.

Anyone who knows London knows what an underground station does for property values. It's the same in Bucharest and this premium is going to continue to become increasingly important because congestion continues to worsen.

In Bucharest, this is a massive plus.

So, imagine this place as being, say, a part of London's docklands, perhaps Wapping - it was overlooked for years and yet sat immediately next to the City. The area Platinum Towers is in is like that.

It is a residential area on the doorstep of Bucharest's centre, in an area that is going to be revitalised by a large regeneration project and yet it is also just ten minutes from the city's biggest park.

Great location then. What about the deal itself?

Well, anyone can do a search on the Internet for this development and they won't find it yet. That's because we really have moved early on this one - and in this market, and with this development, this was essential.

Further down the line I don't believe anyone is going to achieve the kind of terms we've managed to negotiate. The leverage we've had - apart from Property Secrets' members' buying power - is the fact that we're in so early.

Because of this we've not only got an excellent arrangement on prices, but we've also been able to really handpick the best units.

On top of this, again because we've moved in early, we've also been able to negotiate an excellent average 7.6% discount on the pre-launch price in a very hot market.

As you say, this is a very hot market - what about verifying the prices and the discount?

Absolutely. In such a market, it's vital to carry out an independent valuation and we have. These valuations are not 100% foolproof, of course. No valuation in any market ever is. But they are the best guideline that's possible.

And in the case of Platinum Towers, the valuation was very favourable.

In fact, unusually, the valuation report singled out the rentals market and was very positive, pointing out that there is a dearth of good rental stock, like Platinum Towers, aimed at the middle class - young professionals and better off students.

I think we are going to see a lot of growth in the rental sector as more and more younger professionals look to rent before they buy, simply because they won't be able to afford to buy initially. And, given the choice (which they haven't had up to now), they are going to choose to rent modern, well-designed apartments rather than the old communist-style blocks that were the only choice previously.

What about capital growth?

This is hard because this is such a hot market and as such it is very difficult to predict how spectacular the gain will be in the short term!

But, my view is that the market as a whole will grow long term at around 15% a year. I would expect a development like Platinum Towers to exceed that by some margin.

Let's just say, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with the price growth of well-selected new builds in the right area of Bucharest in the next few years.

The other factor here, besides simply the percentage growth, is the finance available and therefore the return on the investment. This situation is changing fast. Already we have gone very rapidly from a position where no finance was available for foreigners to now, where you can get mortgages of 75% LTV.

The availability of money for foreign investors will become even more sophisticated. Recently I was in conversation with someone who is in partnership with a major US mortgage broker and their focus is going to be on lending to non-residents. I think it's only a matter of a short time before the finance market for foreigners is transformed.

Meanwhile, 75% LTV is not bad. And I think what is also very attractive about this deal is that it provides for a low entry level into this market - as low as £23,577. As I said earlier, I don't think anyone taking the plunge into Bucharest by buying into this development is going to be disappointed.

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