If you have your heart set on buying property in another country, you have many important things to consider first. You may have different reasons for wanting to buy property in another country. Maybe you want somewhere to travel out of the way of your full time home. Maybe you want to rent it out to make a lucrative second income. Whatever your reasons, here are the things you need to be thinking about to ensure that you get it right. This can either go really well for you, or have disastrous consequences depending on how thorough you are!
Finding a Place to Buy
You may already have an idea of the kind of property you’d like to buy and which country you’d like to buy in. If you don’t, it’s time for you to do some extensive research to make sure you’re making the right decision. You’ll need to spend some time in the area you’re considering buying to make sure it’s right for you. You’ll want to check out the amenities and try to live like a local to see if it’s the right place. When you know for sure that it’s the type of place you want to buy in, you’ll need to talk to any advisors and accountants you may have. You’ll also need to consider carefully the other people who will be living close by. Will they be like you? Old couples? Young families? How will this affect your experience? How will it affect anybody renting the property? Make sure you’ve considered everything there is to consider!
Buying a Vacation Home
If you’re buying a home for you to vacation in, you may be excited about the benefits. Putting down roots in a nice sunny place will mean you get to go there time after time. You can travel without luggage too, as you’re setting a second home up, essentially. However, will you be able to use this home enough to justify how much you’re spending on it all? Will you feel good about vacationing here time after time? You might want to travel different places, but feel obligated to come back to the one area as you pay for the property year round. If you’re the kind of person or family who like to explore different areas, you might want to put off buying a vacation home for a while. At least until you’re sure you don’t mind travelling to one area again and again.
Buying to Rent
Buying a property rent out can be a tricky business. It all depends on where you’re buying, but you may need to have owned the property for a good few years before you are even allowed to consider renting it out. You may not even be able to allow your own family to visit unless you’re there too. Plus, if you are allowed to rent it out, you need to worry about finding a tenant, handing over keys, making sure the property is in a fit state to rent, and more. How will you do this? You always have the option of hiring someone to take care of all of these aspects for you, but it will cost you even more money.
Buying as an Investment
Maybe you want to buy a property in another country as an investment. You could sell at just the right time and make a good amount of money back on your initial investment, leaving you free to purchase a better property somewhere else. However, you need to make sure you’re prepared to sell the property at just the right time. You also need to be aware of all and any changes that could take place while you own the property! You will need to completely understand the buying processes of another country, and make sure you’re in keeping with all of the legal requirements.
What Can Go Wrong?
Although you won’t want to believe that anything could possibly go wrong, you need to consider it all to make sure you’re well prepared. What could go wrong buying the property you’ve chosen to buy? You can then come up with solutions and action plans to help you work through them if any issues to arise. Be smart and think of these things before buying!
Borrowing Currency
If you need to take out a mortgage, it makes more sense to borrow the money in the same currency your home is being sold in. This will protect you from fluctuations, so you’ll need to speak to a financial advisor who specialises in this kind of thing.
Your Budget
When considering your budget, you aren’t just taking the cost of the property into account. You need to take into account any transaction fees, local taxes, and anything else that could be added on for you. This may change the price of the property you’re looking to buy considerably.
Running the Property
Will you be able to afford and run the property after you’ve bought it? Make sure you know how much it’s going to cost you and that you’re realistic in your workings out. You can’t be too careful when working things out. Make sure you’re completely thorough to ensure that you’re not missing anything. You won’t be in the area all of the time, so who will run the property for you? How much will it cost? Maintenance is very important!
Property Deeds and Planning Permission
It’s absolutely essential that you check out the property deeds and planning permission. People who have not done this and gone ahead with buying property anyway have found themselves with nothing due to laws not being kept to. Properties have actually been demolished in countries such as Spain! Imagine how you’d feel spending all of your savings on a luxury property in another country, only to have it demolished in front of you a short amount of time later? Make sure a property is totally legitimate before you splash your hard earned cash.
Buy for the Long Term
Buying a property in another country is a good idea if you plan on staying there for the long term. You won’t make a profit straight away when buying in another country, so don’t buy if that’s what you want to do. Come up with another idea to make money rather than buying a property. If you really want to buy a property, you’ll need to wait before you can make a profit.
The Location
We can’t emphasize enough just how important the location of your property is. You should never buy in the middle of nowhere, so don’t try to be smart by doing so. Instead, make sure you buy in a thriving area with lots of amenities. Buying a luxury villa in Cannes will have so many advantages. You’ll have a better time and so will the people who rent your property. You can’t go far wrong buying in a place like that!
Exchange Rates
You could either get a great deal depending on the exchange rates, or your costs could end up going through the roof. Buying when the pound is strong could make your property so much cheaper.
When you’ve considered all of these important things, only then will you know if you’re ready to buy property in another country. You may decide against it afterwards! Buying property is a big deal, but you need to be prepared to spend a lot of money and work really hard. What will you do? Leave a comment!
Very helpful info and worth for reading.