| |
| |
|
Real Estate Information |
|
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What's Your Style? A Guide to America's Most Common Home Styles Styles of houses vary across the country. From the New England Cape Cod to the Victorians of San Francisco, the choices are almost endless. Real Estate Investors - Red Alert How's the real estate marketing doing? Is the huge jump in home prices that is evident in some areas symptoms of a value bubble? Good questions, yes?Two things to keep in mind when surveying the market:1. All real estate is local,2. Give Your Home A Timeless Feel In the world of real estate, there is a huge difference between an old home, and a classic home. It's comparable to the idea of used clothing versus vintage clothing; only on a much grander scale. A $100,000+ Discount On Miami Condos By this point and time, many people have heard about buying preconstruction condos and some of the amazing profits that have been generated by these investments. What many people don't understand is that there is another way to play the preconstruction investing game, especially for those investors with solid financial resources. Selling Your Home on Your Own - Examples of Problems and Solutions What can go wrong? About a gazillion things, but this is true if you're working with a broker, too. A broker is probably more experienced than you, and may well have confronted and solved your problem on a previous home sale. Buying A Holiday Home in Rural Ireland Ireland has recently witnessed an upsurge in the number of investors buying holiday homes in some of the country's most scenic areas. With stars like Jeremy Irons and Daniel Day-Lewis popping up in the quaint villages of West Cork, prices in many of these areas are at a premium. Customer Service - The Real Estate Revolution Traditionally, real estate has been viewed as a sales industry. But perceptions are changing. A Difference Between Appraisal, Assessment, Home Inspection Every one should have a home inspection before purchasing any property, including new construction. You may think that's rediculous but there are too many cases that prove otherwise. Finding Structural Problems During Escrow - Small Rural Home Example In rural home purchases, the transaction is often subject to a satisfactory home inspection being done. Any imperfections are usually corrected during escrow. Real Estate Lease Option Danger Why are real estate investors having so much successoffering "rent to own" homes?Lease-options offer home ownership opportunitiesto folks with little cash and not so hot credit.Oh boy, there are plenty of those around. FSBO - Selling Your Home FSBO (for sale by owner) - Is It Worth It? FSBO, what is it? FSBO means For Sale by Owner, and it's a term that's generally referred to when you're selling your home without soliciting help from a Realtor.FSBO, what's the benefit to you? You'll save thousands of dollars in commissions if you sell your home this way. Directionals Move Properties One of the most effective and frequently overlooked methods of filling or selling a property is the use of directional arrow signs. I'm guilty of it myself, although usually I'm merely lazy instead of overlooking this great marketing technique. Achieving Positive Cash Flow from Your Real Estate Investments Even if you're counting on rising property values to eventually make a profit on an investment property, it's far more desirable to have a positive cash flow each month. If you're losing money on a property every month, it may not take long until your future profits will have been lost. Sell Your Home Without a Realtor and Save Thousand$$$ A typical real estate commission on a $234,000 home (national median price for all existing homes as of July 2005) is over $16,000. In many areas the cut a real estate broker gets is much higher. The Bubble Effect Turn on the TV at almost any time day or night and you will find news and talk shows informing us that there is a Real Estate bubble. What is a "bubble" and how do they know? The simple principle of what goes up must come down is being applied in general thought now and many in the public are starting to buy it. Feel At Home Faster After You Move Moving to a new community can be a great adventure, if you go with the right attitude and a sound strategy for settling-in. Incorporate these tips into an action plan, and you'll stay focused, organized and proactive-just what's needed to put roots down fast. Selling Investment Houses: Psychology of Mirrors Discover new interior Design Psychology strategies to increase your real estate profits. One technique, using mirrors as props for staging houses helps you sell your investment properties for more money, and fast. Investment Real Estate: An Inexpensive Way To Get Started If you are considering getting involved in investment real estate, let me offer some of the amazing information available in my wealth-building system, Winning the Mortgage Game. In several parts of my system, I outline a strategy for getting started in investing in real estate, without being a landlord. Alicante to Mar Menor - You can Still Find Cheap Property in Spain The Murcia region in Spain benefits from some of the most beautiful coastlines of Europe. Nowhere else will you find so many fascinating contrasts - with Spanish Mediterranean architecture, magnificent mountain ranges and beautiful long sandy beaches. How Can the Average Person Build Wealth in Real Estate? Books on real estate are a dime a dozen-and most focus on taking advantage of someone else's misfortune. They frequently describe lofty methods for buying and selling properties no ordinary citizen can be successful using.
|
| home | site map | |
| Realty Web Services © 2007 | MesaSky Services |
