Buying a property abroad can be an exciting experience. We are here to ensure that you purchase your property with minimum aggravation and fuss. During the purchase process you will need to ask yourself various questions to know exactly what you want out of the property, and to enable us to proceed on your behalf.

Having decided to buy, the first major decision is where. Then having found the country and area, you need to find the property. Will it be a new purpose built apartment or a ruined barn with wonderful views ? There are professional firms that can assist find the home of your dreams, and we will work closely with these companies to locate the property of your specification.

As enthusiastic as you may be, once you have found a property to meet your needs, within your price range and almost certainly cheaper than a similar property in the UK, do not act hastily !! Often buyers get carried away and believe everything the agent or vendors say. Remember that the estate agent will be acting in the seller’s best interests and not yours ! We ensure your interests are always our priority.

Before you sign any documents or pay any money, as in some countries payment of a deposit commits you to the purchase, we will advise you of all the costs involved in the purchase. It is not uncommon for legal and land registry charges and transfer taxes to add up to 15% of the cost of the property, so this will need to be factored into the purchase price.

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Appointing a lawyer/attorney to act on your behalf is essential. There are usually many local lawyers who speak good English or have English workers in their offices. If you are busy and unlikely to be around for the purchase process it may be necessary to grant a Power of Attorney to the lawyer. We can advise of the best lawyers in the field of property purchase, in the desired country, and work closely with them to ensure a trouble free transaction.

Once you have bought – what then? Unless you plan to live in your new home full time you will have to find someone to look after it or rent it for you in your absence. Again, we have numerous professional worldwide contacts in this field, which we can advise to manage your property.

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Then what happens if you decide to sell up and move elsewhere? Well, properties abroad, generally speaking, can take longer to sell than in the UK and if the property was a second home there may be capital gains tax considerations to bear in mind and local tax advice should again be obtained.

As you may appreciate there are many potential difficulties and pitfalls in the purchasing procedure, and any oversights could prove extremely expensive !! We are able to manage and organise all aspects of your purchase, from the initial stages of the property search through to the management aspects of your property once acquired. Please contact us to discuss your requirements, or to find out more about our services.

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Buying property overseas stress free.... best buying overseas property advice ...

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