Let us create a 3D eBook for you!
Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com

 

Essential Buyer's Guide for Overseas Real Estate


It's been said many a time that overseas real estate buyers leave their brain on the plane when they step out into the sun in their overseas destination of choice. They've already fallen in love with the country, its people, climate and lifestyle and they've come to snap up that dream home.

The trouble is the real estate agents in these popular destinations know that they have a captive buyer and so the buyer is in the ultimate vulnerable position! Add to this the fact that legal and financial processes differ from country to country and many people don't appreciate this fact and you have a real estate disaster waiting to happen!

So, here's the essential guide to buying overseas real estate to protect the unsuspecting buyer from unscrupulous sales techniques or falling foul of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

1) Get yourself independent legal representation - do not take the recommendations of the developer or sales agent you're thinking of buying from, do your own research. Check out whether your country's embassy in your overseas destination of choice has a list of lawyers they recommend. If not then get on the internet, find forums and sites dedicated to your country of choice and ask the people on these sites for their recommendations.

2) Never assume anything! Purchase processes differ from country to country, legal processes differ from country to country and your rights as an overseas buyer differ from country to country. Find out from your lawyer what your rights are and how the entire process to purchase should proceed.

3) Have any financing you will require agreed in principal before you set out on your hunt for that dream home. That way you will have a fixed budget with which to work - do not be seduced by a salesman into extending that budget. He wants you to as he will make more commission but it will mean you put yourself in a potentially untenable financial situation.

4) Visit as many properties in your price range as you can in your time overseas. And before you even get on a plane to fly out contact as many real estate agents as you can find and insist they send you prospectuses of all properties within your price range across all the regions you're interested in. With this information to hand sit down and go through the properties carefully. Find out what your money will buy you at the bottom and top end of the real estate spectrum so that you know what you will be viewing when you get to your destination. That way an unscrupulous agent will be unable to convince you that an overpriced property is anything other than a rip off.

5) If something seems too good to be true it warrants serious investigation! Occasionally we can find a bargain in life, occasionally lady luck smiles on us and our fortunes change - but if you always remain a little suspicious and bring on board as many experts as you need to in order to research a seeming bargain you will avoid making a costly mistake and you might just prove that it isn't too good to be true, it's a genuine opportunity.

6) Get contracts officially translated before you sign them.

7) Get any conditions of the sale written into your contract.

8) If buying off plan insist you see previous examples of the builder's work and speak to customers who have already bought and find out about build quality, ongoing customer service throughout the build period and also about after sales care and the guarantees you get with the property.

9) Make sure the houses you're viewing are built to withstand any climate or environmental hazards, for example if you're in an earthquake prone country properties should be seismically reinforced.

10) And finally proceed with caution and don't enter into anything that you wouldn't entertain back home. Just because you're in a different country it doesn't mean you've become a different person, you're intelligent, savvy and wise back home so don't change!

Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose articles about buying investment property abroad have appeared in many investment and finance publications throughout the world. You can find more of her articles at: http://www.ShelterOffshore.com/


MORE RESOURCES:

Real Estate - Google News

Former real estate broker found guilty on 12 counts of forgery - Journal and Courier


Former real estate broker found guilty on 12 counts of forgery
Journal and Courier
A Tippecanoe Circuit Court judge has issued guilty verdicts for 12 counts of forgery in the trial of a former Lafayette real estate agent accused of falsifying sales disclosure records in order to avoid property taxes. Judge Don Daniel issued his ...
Real estate broker faces felony chargesWLFI.com

all 3 news articles »

Chris Griffith: Selling real estate of the dearly departed - Naples Daily News


Chris Griffith: Selling real estate of the dearly departed
Naples Daily News
By CHRIS GRIFFITH The only thing certain in life is death and taxes … and probably how emotionally taxing death is when liquidating real estate. Selling real estate is stressful enough for some folks without compounding it with the emotional burden of ...

and more »

It's time to kick off the local real estate market - Half Moon Bay Review


Property Magazine

It's time to kick off the local real estate market
Half Moon Bay Review
If you're a faithful reader of the Half Moon Bay Review real estate section, then you are familiar with “white death,” a term that Realtor Steve Hyman has used to describe the slow winter real estate market between Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday.
The Real Estate Book Includes Free Agent Mobile Websites in Advertising PackagesPR Web (press release)
REALTOR(R) University Granted Approval to Offer Master of Real Estate Degree ...MarketWatch (press release)
Web Winners: Navigating real estate industryNews & Observer
PR.com (press release) -Property Magazine
all 17 news articles »

Local real-estate developer shares his love of Mardi Gras - Houma Courier


Local real-estate developer shares his love of Mardi Gras
Houma Courier
Local real-estate developer SP LaRussa walks through the Krewe of Hercules' den making sure that the krewe is ready to roll Friday night. By Eric Heisig Local business owner SP LaRussa, 70, is known to many as “Mr. Mardi Gras” around this time of year.

and more »

Houston-Based Real Estate Developer Closes More Than $75 Million in Healthcare ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Houston-Based Real Estate Developer Closes More Than $75 Million in Healthcare ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Medistar Corporation is a full-service real estate development company that specializes in the design, development, financing and construction of healthcare real estate. The company focuses on medical office buildings, integrated medical plazas and ...

and more »

Many Homeowners and Real Estate Agents Plead Guilty in $20 Million Mortgage ... - LoanSafe


Many Homeowners and Real Estate Agents Plead Guilty in $20 Million Mortgage ...
LoanSafe
by Alex Ferreras on February 8, 2012 in Scams OAKLAND (Source: Kristin J. Bender The Oakland Tribune, Calif.) – Four people last week pleaded guilty in federal court to charges relating to a far-reaching mortgage loan fraud scheme involving at least 20 ...

and more »

Tossed® Hires Real Estate Veteran A. Michael Toroyan as Chief Development Officer - Sacramento Bee


Tossed® Hires Real Estate Veteran A. Michael Toroyan as Chief Development Officer
Sacramento Bee
Toroyan, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant real estate, and franchising, will bring even greater momentum to Tossed's strong and growing franchise development efforts across the US Toroyan comes to Tossed Franchise Corporation from a previous post as ...

and more »

Cole Real Estate Investments Executes Nearly 640000 Square Feet in Retail ... - San Francisco Chronicle (press release)


Cole Real Estate Investments Executes Nearly 640000 Square Feet in Retail ...
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Cole Real Estate Investments (Cole), one of the nation's leading investors in high-quality, income-producing retail, office and industrial real estate assets, announced it signed leases totaling nearly 640000 square feet at Cole-related retail ...

and more »

John Waggoner column: REITs might be good investment to land - Appleton Post Crescent


John Waggoner column: REITs might be good investment to land
Appleton Post Crescent
Peculiarly, the commercial real estate market isn't quite as depressed. In fact, funds that invest in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, rose an average 7.5 percent last year, beating the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's 2.1 percent gain.
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust announces ...DigitalJournal.com (press release)
Partners Real Estate Investment Trust closes public offeringCanada NewsWire (press release)
Best Performing REITs in 2012Seeking Alpha

all 14 news articles »

Real estate developer says he plans to make cash bid for Philadelphia's 2 ... - Washington Post


CBS Local

Real estate developer says he plans to make cash bid for Philadelphia's 2 ...
Washington Post
PHILADELPHIA — A wealthy real estate developer said Tuesday he and four partners plan to make an offer to buy the city's two largest newspapers, whose downtown offices he already owns. Bart Blatstein said he plans to pursue an acquisition of some or ...
Developer Blatstein seeking to buy Inquirer, Daily News companyBizjournals.com (blog)

all 168 news articles »

Click here for Best Buy In-Store Pickup

StreetSideAuto.com

Looking For Royalty Free Photos for your Website, Business or Advertising?

My Life Through The Lens

List4Sale Domain Is For Sale - $10,000 For Enquiries eMail Us

© www.List4Sale.biz 2011

home | site map | links

eXTReMe Tracker