Singing Pig

Tips On Investing Abroad

Overseas property investment is becoming increasingly popular, with the lure of cheap house prices in sunny locations. Whether you are looking at property overseas as a second home, to move away, or as a rental property, then there are a number of things you need to take into consideration. Some good tips for overseas property investment are:

Research

Before getting into overseas property investment, you need to carry out extensive research on the area you are looking to buy in. You can visit overseas property investment exhibitions, as well as buy books and magazine. Looking on the Internet is also a good avenue for foreign property investment research. The more research you do, and the more information you have, the more successful you will be when looking for a property. Research is important because many people have unrealistic expectations or have false beliefs about a certain area.  Research is a good way of knowing about problems before they happen.

Be patient

Overseas property investment should not be rushed into. As much as the agents and sellers press you for an answer on a property, the most important thing is that you are satisfied and ready. This is particularly important in countries where the first language is not English, as you want to make sure all the elements of the deeds and contract are to your satisfaction.

Learn the language

If you are planning on spending a lot of time in a foreign country, then it is a good idea to learn the language. Even if you are not going to live there, if you do not learn the language you may find yourself agreeing to things that you do not understand or know about. Also, try and think in terms of the people of the country you are moving to. Although something may seem obvious to you, it may be different in another country.

Get your finances sorted

Make sure your thoroughly research any finance issues before looking at properties. You need to look at whether or not you can get a mortgage in that country for your overseas property investment, or whether you need to get one back in the UK. It really is a good idea to get all your finances in order before viewing, because if you find the perfect overseas property investment you might lose it whilst trying to arrange a deposit or finding out about mortgages. If you are financially prepared, then you can move straight away on any property you really want

Get a good lawyer

One of essential of overseas property investment is to hire a good independent lawyer who has knowledge of the local property market. Never sign anything or hand over any money before your lawyer has approved it. Perhaps the best thing to remember is to abide by the same rules that you would in the UK when buying property. For example, you would not buy a property without having it properly surveyed, so do the same for your overseas property investment.

Check out the area

If you find a property to your liking, make sure you check out the local area before committing to anything. Look at the local amenities and transport links. For example, if your overseas property investment is going to be a holiday home, you probably don’t want it to be a difficult or very long journey from home, as you will not use it that often. The same is true if you are using your overseas property investment as a rental property, in that you need to think about the needs of your tenants.

Have a strict budget

Before looking at overseas property investment, set yourself a strict budget, and try to stick within that budget. Although it may be tempting to go over that budget if you see a great property, you need to remember that there are always extra costs. Stamp duty, fees and legal costs will usually add another ten percent on top of the asking price. If you do not think about these additional costs from the start, you will end up being financially over-stretched.

Visit at different times

Before committing to buy a property overseas, try and view the property at different times of the day and night. This will allow you to see if there are any problems that you did not know about before. For example, the house might seem great at one time of the day, but might be near a loud nightclub in the evening or on the airport flight path in the day. Although these might seem like minor concerns, they can soon become annoying, and can make you or your tenants stay away.

Get a survey

Just as you would in the UK, you need to get a full survey carried out on your overseas property investment. Although it may be hard to do this in some countries, it is always a very necessary step before putting pen to paper. If you cannot find a good surveyor in the country, then bring one over from the UK. This may seem expensive, but it could save you a lot of heartache if you later find out something is wrong with the property.

Visit in different seasons

Although you may want to rush into buying a property, it is advisable to visit the area you want to live in at different seasons in the year. It may seem like the perfect place in summer, but if in winter everything is shut down and there is nothing to do, this may affect your ability to rent the property, or might make you want to stay away. You need to make sure the property is practical all year round, so you get the best value for money from your overseas property investment.

Check out the neighbours

Find out who your neighbours will be, and try to make friends with them. It pays to have friends locally, especially if you plan to leave the property unoccupied for long periods, as you then have somebody to watch over the place and make sure everything is OK.

Take a friend