Here are 20 must-know tips about buying property abroad:
1. Be under no illusions: buying property abroad is not a quick thing to accomplish. You should be prepared to spend up to a year from deciding to buy overseas to moving in.
2. Assuming you’ve decided to move to a particular country, go to the relevant country’s embassy or consulate. There should – should – be a number of things they can do for you, including advising you about work permits and taxation issues.
3. Check out the planning permission rules in the country you’re moving to. It may be that you’ll need extra permission to renovate the property or that there are restrictions on what you can do while living there.
4. Get a good lawyer in the country you’re moving to; he or she should be able to speak fluent English. However, do not rely totally on your lawyer: it is essential to do your own research – knowledge is power.
5. Consider renting a home in the region first so you can get a feel of how tenable living there will be. Transport links, shopping, leisure – all will become clear once you actually live there.
6. Don’t burn your bridges if you can afford not to. Keep some property back home until you know you will want to live abroad.
7. Do a seasonal try-out when buying property abroad. What looks like an attractive place to live in summer can be a very different proposition out of season.
8. Watch out for ‘local’ versus ‘foreign’ prices. A reputable estate agent will not discriminate, but some will.
9. If at all possible, talk to expats who have already bought property in the country. They will have the inside knowledge you need to make a sound decision.
10. Be aware of cowboy vendors – they do exist. For example, property agencies with stalls set up at airports or someone who comes up to you in a bar would need to be treated with extreme caution.
11. Don’t forget to include a contingency fund as part of your overall financial arrangements. You don’t know what will happen – burst boilers, leaking roofs – to your property once you’re there.
12. Set up a bank account in the country before you start looking to buy property. It will save time and hassle later.
13. If you are planning to buy a property to retire, check out whether the UK state pension is payable in full in the country you’re moving to. Sometimes it isn’t.
14. Having property in a country does not mean you will necessarily qualify for residency or domicile in that country. Residency and domicile depend on other things, such as length of time in the country and where you earn your living.
15. If you are buying off-plan (i.e. from a property company’s prospectus for a house that has not yet been built) then make sure that insurance and indemnity clauses are included in case the worst happens and the firm goes bust.
16. All reputable international property companies will be members of the Federation of International Property Developers (FODPAC).
17. All countries – even those within the EU single market – will have slightly different regulations for foreign property purchases. Don’t assume that because the country is in the EU it will be like back home.
18. Make sure that the property you are buying has ‘clear title’ – meaning that the vendor is actually in a position to sell. Some properties in Northern Cyprus, for example, are in dispute following the Turkish Cypriot takeover and some Greek families in the south of the island have made claims on properties in the north.
19. Read newspapers – English-language ones, or local ones if you can – in the country you’re moving to. There is nothing like local knowledge to get a feel for the place.
20. If you’re planning to rent the property out, factor in the off-season.
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Reprinted with permission from www.investmentinternational.com - the longest running monthly magazine for the international investor (established in 1985).