How to buy international real estate for the first time buyer

[Goldberg Global]

hi,

For people who are thinking investing for the first time or buying overseas, we include a guide to what you should do and not do.
Remember it is your money, and your financial health and wealth on the line.

1. Do research - Internet, desk, talk to friends/family, people you trust.
2. Choose destination you wish to be, or a destination that suits your goals.
3. Either speak to an agent or a variety of agents about this destination. If you speak to many you will get a more accurate and rounded picture.
or .. visit the country of your choice, ideally independently, rather than a highly monitored and regulated inspection trip, for example go on holiday in the destination and arrange to meet several agents once you are there.
5. If you find what you want, get it checked out by an INDEPENDENT LAWYER. THIS IS CRITICAL. THAT IS WHY IT IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS, DO NOT USE THE LAWYER RECOMMENDED BY THE DEVELOPER, THE AGENT OR ANYONE WITH A VESTED INTEREST IN YOU BUYING. INDEPENDENT LAWYER ONLY. for a selection of independent lawyers, go to the law society, bar of the particulary country, or go a legal directory like Chambers and Partners, click here to view Chambers and Partners : Home.
6. If all is correct, put down your deposit.
7. See the process through to completion.

Live happily ever after.

Other safeguards to protect you the buyer are
a. Use banks to assist in the purchasing. Banks have to do their own due diligence as they are using their savers and clients money, so they will do their own inhouse legal checks to make sure the purchase is secure.
b. Use good quality reputable agents
c. Follow your own instincts, you will know if something seems correct or wrong. Go with your own instincts. Not sales patter. eg. Buy now or it will be gone tomorrow, the developer will be increasing prices next week etc, which is buying on fear. Fear of loss rather than through sound reasons. Think things through, does it make sense.

Remember you do not have the same consumer protection laws overseas than you do in the uk. Once you are in, it is hard to get out. These are big decisions, think it through.

Good luck, happy wealth creation.

[Goldberg Global]

Please be kind enough to let us know if this is good information, and it assists. Of course if you have constructive comments to add and to assist please post.

The industry needs some fair, accurate content to assist buyers, buyers of all levels.

From speaking to people who buy, it still surprises me how few people use independent lawyers, ie. lawyers with no conflict of interest, and it also surprises me how many agents are in bed with their lawyers. Figuratively too.

This is one of the very serious elements of buying overseas that needs to be looked into. Your financial health could depend on this simple protection mechanism.

Its importance is critical. A lawyer who is representing you and only you.

They are or are probably more important that the agent themselves.

[propertastic]

It's excellent advice indeed.

I just wish that it was communicated to a much wider audience.

As I discussed in a recent blog entry, I have noticed that international property buyers tend to fall into two distinct groups.

The first are very savvy and spend hours and hours researching all possible markets before they make an informed decision. The majority of visitors to this board will fall into this category.

The second group tend to just 'go with the flow' or listen to the first semi-knowledgeable person they know and rush to buy the first property in the first market that they hear about.

The mass media seems to be very much at fault for pushing markets willy-nilly. It seems as if, at least once a quarter, there's a new feature in one of the international property supplements on some market or another being 'the next big thing'. A recent example of this was the Sunday Mirror's article from just two weeks ago entitled 'Is Turkey The New Spain?' written, as they all seem to be, as if the journalist in question was the first person ever to think of Turkey as a potential destination for investing in property!

I'm not saying that Turkey is a bad place for investment, but I can hardly think that many of us who frequent this board regularly would still consider Turkey as a 'brand new, up and coming market'.

It was as a result of reading loads of these 'Country X is the Next Big Thing' articles that made me start doing some research of my own to try and find somewhere where it would be possible to compare all of the territories that I thought could be potentially interesting side-by-side. After an afternoon of fruitless Googling, I just couldn't find anywhere online where I could see all of the information at-a-glance, and so I did it myself.

You can see the results of my labour here if you're interested.

So I agree with you fully when you say that people really need to research all of the potential markets. I think it's something that not nearly enough people do in sufficient depth, which is insane considering that the difference between investing in the 'right' market versus the 'wrong' market can be measured in tens of thousands of pounds.

[PeixeGato]

Good post. I particularly like the link to independent information about lawyers. Now I jsut have to wait for them to do a Latin America edition.

I think the hardest part baout international investing is finding the good (and independent) agents, lawyers, accountants, etc. This is really hard if you don't already know anyone in the country that you are looking at.

One CRITICAL thing you forgot to mention is determining your investment strategy, though I guess this isn't unique to investing internationally. If you are buying property to rent out, then finding a good property management company is crucial. Again, its the finding a good one that is independent of the real estate agent who is selling you the property that is the hard part.

In the end, it all boils down to research. The more you do, the better off you will be. These message boards are a great place to start.

Greg

[Gerry Pridham]

I got a really useful piece of advice on my third trip to Spain, from a respected real estate broker. He said:

"When you go fishing in unfamiliar waters, the first ones to take the bait are usually the sharks. If you escape without a total loss of life or limb, you usually then go out fishing with friends who know the local waters, and know where to avoid the sharks". Never have truer words been spoken.

[PeixeGato]

Yes, but what about those of us who don't have any friends who go fishing?

Greg

[Goldberg Global]

Interesting comments and analogies.

I guess there are places where you can talk to other fishing novices and experts eg. forums
or
join a club then you can go fishing together eg. investor clubs or speak with friends and families.

I think is true, there are many sharks in the international real estate ocean, the key is to have a good boat, and only go swimming where you know it is safe.

[infoberlin]

Originally Posted by Goldberg Global

hi,

For people who are thinking investing for the first time or buying overseas, we include a guide to what you should do and not do.
Remember it is your money, and your financial health and wealth on the line.

1. Do research - Internet, desk, talk to friends/family, people you trust.
2. Choose destination you wish to be, or a destination that suits your goals.
3. Either speak to an agent or a variety of agents about this destination. If you speak to many you will get a more accurate and rounded picture.
or .. visit the country of your choice, ideally independently, rather than a highly monitored and regulated inspection trip, for example go on holiday in the destination and arrange to meet several agents once you are there.
5. If you find what you want, get it checked out by an INDEPENDENT LAWYER. THIS IS CRITICAL. THAT IS WHY IT IS IN CAPITAL LETTERS, DO NOT USE THE LAWYER RECOMMENDED BY THE DEVELOPER, THE AGENT OR ANYONE WITH A VESTED INTEREST IN YOU BUYING. INDEPENDENT LAWYER ONLY. for a selection of independent lawyers, go to the law society, bar of the particulary country, or go a legal directory like Chambers and Partners, click here to view .
6. If all is correct, put down your deposit.
7. See the process through to completion.

Live happily ever after.

Other safeguards to protect you the buyer are
a. Use banks to assist in the purchasing. Banks have to do their own due diligence as they are using their savers and clients money, so they will do their own inhouse legal checks to make sure the purchase is secure.
b. Use good quality reputable agents
c. Follow your own instincts, you will know if something seems correct or wrong. Go with your own instincts. Not sales patter. eg. Buy now or it will be gone tomorrow, the developer will be increasing prices next week etc, which is buying on fear. Fear of loss rather than through sound reasons. Think things through, does it make sense.

Remember you do not have the same consumer protection laws overseas than you do in the uk. Once you are in, it is hard to get out. These are big decisions, think it through.

Good luck, happy wealth creation.

great advice, very useful. thanks.

[Goldberg Global]

Any other pointers for people who buy overseas properties?

What do people think of inspection trips? Are they a good way to see property, or are they a way for a sales company to control a client for 3 or 4 days and show them high commission low quality stock? Or are they a valid sales and viewing too.?