Government should allow foreign owned properties below the legal threshold on a case-by-case basis, says the United Bermuda Party.Charles Swan, one of the only two remaining UBP MPs told The Royal Gazette yesterday that he sympathised with Canadian homeowner Larry Marsland who said that a policy change on foreigners owning Bermuda property had reduced his options for the disposal of his property, and made it “more likely” that he will leave the Island taking his economic contribution with him.Mr Swan said that while Mr Marsland’s case is not unique, Government should be careful not to alienate those who would invest in the Island.“The UBP takes the position that, in this particular case, Mr. Marsland has a point. His home was above the threshold, and he brought it, now it is not,” said Mr Swan.“Once property becomes foreign owned by being above whichever threshold is in place at the time, legally, it should be available to foreigners (and locals) if resold.”Mr Marsland’s complaint is that when the revised rules on foreign property ownership became effective in June this year, his house became inaccessible to foreign buyers as its ARV fell just below the threshold.He argued that as a good faith investor, the property should have been grandfathered.“These new restrictions complicate our succession planning and make it more likely that we will move on,” he said. “I think that Bermuda will be the loser.”Mr Marsland also recommended lowering the ARV threshold to $150,000 and allowing “entire neighbourhoods” like Tucker’s Town to be sold to foreigners.Mr Swan warned that grandfathering could be abused.“We would support grandfathering on a case-by-case basis,” he said.The One Bermuda Alliance did not respond by presstime last night when asked its thoughts on the issue.But Government issued a statement yesterday saying that the current policy, which allows foreigners to purchase homes as long as they had an ARV above $177,000, had achieved its objective of allowing only the top 250 homes access to the foreign market.But an additional 170 homes would be available to foreign ownership if Mr Marsland’s recommendation of lowering the threshold to $150,000 were followed.“To reduce the ARV and broaden the scope of properties available would cause undue competition in the market at a level where many Bermudians also participate,” reads the statement issued by the National Security Ministry.“At the $150,000 limit recommended by Mr Marsland there would be 422 properties available for purchase by non-Bermudians today.”The statement added that Mr Marsland was in a position to sell his Tucker’s Town property to non-Bermudians until June 22 this year.And the Ministry noted that property owners had six month to challenge their valuations when properties were last assessed — in 2009 — and can also have them revaluated to reflect any alterations and improvements.The next revaluation is set for 2014.“The Ministry of National Security has implemented changes in the area of land policy to stimulate the market at various levels and the revision to the ARV threshold is one such measure,” National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief said.“Residents like Mr Marsland are an important part of this community’s economy and their contributions are varied and significant.“This Government continues to work with private sector partners to maximise Bermuda’s attractiveness to high net-worth individuals whose support of local causes and involvement in this community is highly valued.”