Hi Nick,
I advise on property, mortgages and investments - just so you know!
I tend to stick to the areas I know a lot about and have visited a lot or in many cases actually lived in.
I have a pool of investors I have dealt with in the past who I get a fair bit of repeat business from - I also acquire new business and I have many past clients who have bought holiday home and retirement/lifestyle properties - there is a huge difference between the two.
I know a lot about Caribbean and Central/South American markets as well as Spain. I know a bit about a lot of other places but generally not enough to give great advice. So when I am asked about somewhere outside of my area I generally run into the same problems as you.
I am asked to source something on their behalf - which leads me to the very same websites you have mentioned - looking for good local agents to work with.
But there is where i generally find the flaw...
What I generally find is - international or multinational agents with 20 or 30 countries and 100 to 200 developments are basically resellers/promoters and have little or no knowledge of the properties they are selling. They are not really advising - they are selling.
I have found this time and time again by calling up - as a client - and just asking the questions that clients ask me - about the country - about local taxation laws etc.
So, if you need ADVICE - avoid resellers and sales agents. Pretty much avoid most of the UK based agents. They are almost all just resellers who have swallowed a pitch.
If you do all your own due diligence and research and are an experienced investor - then you should quite easily be able to source developments yourself and go direct.
If you do need help - search property forums INSIDE the country you are thinking about purchasing in.
There will usually be a lot of expats there who have been down the road you are about to tread.
I wouldnt suggest jumping in and asking for a recommendation there and then but you can read up and acquire a bit of "local knowledge" before you even think about approaching an agent.
So in a nutshell - the more "international" and "generic" a site is - the less useful they will be to you information wise - in my experience.
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