Buying Property Overseas

Do your background research first. Decide the who, what, where, when, how and why before you go overseas. If the idea of a holiday home appeals to you, consider it logically now, not when you're relaxed and in a holiday mood on a Spanish beach. That's when you'd be most vulnerable to property con-artists!

Think what you can afford - always the starting point for any possible property purchase.  Decide where you want to buy. You'll probably have some idea of the country already - France, Spain, or wherever. Read up as much as you can. There are loads of books and magazines in W.H. Smiths.

Get some background information on particular parts of the country you have in mind. One of the best sources of information is ex-pats living in that country who know what it's really like. There are lots of web sites with discussion boards etc - try a Google.com search using the word expat.

Create a checklist of must have, should have and must not have criteria for your ideal property purchase. You might want to consider size (number of bedrooms, living rooms etc), features (garden, swimming pool, parking space), immediate neighbours (quiet properties, hotels, clubs etc) neighbourhood (upmarket, young and lively, in development etc), climate (at different times of the year), the proximity to public transport (international airport, port, road, rail etc), leisure facilities (beach, hills, shops, sporting and fitness complexes etc).

Combine a cut price holiday with an inspection trip. Trawl through the property sections of the upmarket weekend newspapers and you'll see lots of ads from property developers in different countries. Many of these developers will set you up with an inspection trip to any property complex that interests you. These can cost anything up to about 33% less than you'd expect to pay for the equivalent holiday. Note that these inspection trips are rarely advertised - if they were, the property developers would be subsiding holidays for lots of time-wasters.

If you see property developments that appear to meet your criteria, ask if an inspection trip can be arranged. A word of advice - it's worth asking how their quoted price breaks down between accommodation and flights. You'll often find that flights are the major cost. It's sometimes worth seeing if you can arrange the flights yourself - phoning round early or taking last-minute flights can minimise your costs dramatically.
   
Know how to handle the property developer. The trade-off for a free-ish holiday is that the property developer wants you to buy this property. You'll normally be shown around the complex on arrival. Fortunately, bona-fide developers rarely try hard-sell tactics - they're much more subtle these days. For example, the bathroom and the kitchen are the key sellers so the developer will make you linger longer there so you fall in love with the property. And don't forget that magnificent view...and the golf course nearby...and so on.

Expect a very smooth sales pitch. Your response should be to gather up as much bumph as you can to go through with your professional advisers back home. You do need to get all the nitty-gritty details of the offer together to show to your solicitor etc before you sign anything. If you ask for all this on that first show-around, you can go through it with the developer during the usual last-morning sales pitch.               

Make the most of your holiday - look around, talk to estate agents, catch up with ex-pats, and compare your findings to your checklist. Estate agents are a good source of information and local property prices. If you're seriously interested in the developer's property, you'll want to be sure it's competitively priced.

A word of warning - do avoid timeshare offers that are absolutely everywhere at the moment. If you do your sums, you'll find it's often cheaper to buy than to purchase a timeshare in the height of the season. A package holiday each year can be cheaper than the annual maintenance charge of a timeshare.

Don't agree to anything on your holiday - even the most hard-headed person can be tempted by sun, sea, and signing for a so-called exclusive discount. It's a good idea to talk to a local solicitor before leaving so you have someone on the spot. Word-of-mouth recommendation from ex-pats can be helpful here.