Hello Welcome to yours2share's February 2009 newsletter. Happy New Year Ten top tips for sharing gardens Creating income or releasing capital Plus a selection of recent ads to whet your appetite. Happy New Year My best wishes to you for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2009. I’m sorry that my New Year good wishes are rather late, but my 2009 has only just started. I woke up on 3rd January with what can only be described as flu, have had no voice for four weeks, and no brain for at least three weeks. I’ve not been this ill for many years and I’ve spoken to so many other people who have been similarly struck down. If you’ve had a similar lurgy, you have my sincere commiserations. This is why there was no January newsletter: you haven’t missed one! Ten top tips for sharing gardens If you are thinking about allowing someone to grow vegetables in your garden, here are ten top tips to ensure a successful sharing arrangement. Make sure there is a water source, if there isn’t one, you will need to provide one. Work out where the composter will be located and what is to be done with non-compostable rubbish. Ensure there is reasonable access to the vegetable plot. Can a car be parked nearby? If there is more than one access route, can they all be used? Decide the times of the day and days of the week when the gardener can have access. Agree exactly who other than the gardener is allowed on the vegetable plot. Establish how long the arrangement lasts. Don’t go over a year, but the gardener will need the whole season. 364 days may be the answer. Agree the rent or amount of fruit and vegetables in kind. Determine any favourite fruit and vegetable that must be grown if payment is in kind. Can the gardener have a bonfire? Or hold a BBQ and invite some friends around? Finally, and most importantly of all, write down whatever you both agree and sign it. These points, and a few more, are covered in more detail here. For me point 8 is particularly important and often forgotten. If I was a landowner, I’d hate to get to broad bean season only to find the gardener doesn’t like broad beans and hasn’t planted any! Creating income or releasing capital The New Year has seen a significant increase in website traffic, which is up by over 50%. Over 200 new members registered in January taking us over the 2000 members’ mark and we are still going strong even though it sometimes feels like the world is disintegrating around us. I have spoken to several members who have suffered a considerable reduction in income, particularly due to the collapse in share prices and the reduction in income from savings. They are looking at all their assets and considering ways of creating some income or releasing some capital by fractional renting or selling a share. Fractional rental of property is attractive to many members because they don’t want permanent lodgers, or a stream of holiday lets. They want to know who they are letting to, effectively vetting them as suitable, and they will accept a smaller income on a monthly basis in return. In fact many prefer a lower but defined income to the sporadic earnings of holiday lettings. Other members are considering buying or renting a share. Often they would previously have simply bought outright, but are now unable to obtain credit at a reasonable cost, or are simply unwilling to make such a major purchase in such an uncertain world. Suddenly they see the advantages of buying a share. And finally, here are a few of yours2share's recent ads that I really like. Selected ads are entirely my choice and I favour interesting ads which have good quality photos.

1/5 share, luxury 5 bed villa & pool, Palma, Mallorca 1/2 share, Sunseeker Mustique 42, Puerto de Soller, NW Mallorca 1/5th share in sailing yacht, Atlantic 31, Lefkas, Greece Share Brabus, a 17'0"hh registered Irish Sports Horse, Guildford, Surrey Join our friendly Piper flying group, JohnLennon Airport, Merseyside Wanted - Site for Keeping Honey Bees, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

If you enjoyed reading our newsletter, please forward it to friends and colleagues. We are always delighted to receive feedback. Kind regards Sophie Garrett yours2share share valuable assets with like-minded people