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Have you ever thought about buying a second home overseas?
You'll not be the first! - indeed there are over 500,000
Britons who own homes in France. It's actually something
that many do, whether as an individual or as part of
a consortium of friends.
So why might you want to buy a home abroad? After all,
buying a home overseas is, in many ways, more difficult
and more stressful than buying your very first home.
For a start, the laws and purchase procedures are likely
to be quite different from here in the UK - and there
are fewer people around who can offer advice based on
their own personal experience! It's also harder to view
the properties, and harder still to understand what
it's going to be like in your overseas home at different
times in the year.
Even so, the advantages can be considerable. Those
who buy abroad might do so because they are looking
for :
- a place in the sun to retire to;
- a regular holiday home to enjoy;
- an investment, to rent out to others at times to
suit.
Whichever category you are in yourself (or perhaps
you fall into a different category, in which case let
us know!), you will need to do a fair deal of planning.
This will need to include:
- money matters. "How much can I afford to pay?" "How
much will the monthly repayments be?" "If the value
of the pound changes, will the repayments change?"
"If I retire there, what will happen to my pension?"
"What are the tax implications?" These elements all
change depending on your individual circumstances.
- location. "Whereabouts do I want to buy?" "What
is the local weather like throughout the year?" "Will
I get on with the locals?" "How long is it going to
take, and how much is it going to cost, to get there
from the UK?" "What's the local health service like,
in case I fall ill?"
- advice. "Which estate agents can I trust?" "What
about legal advice?" "Am I paying more than the market
value because I am a foreigner?"
It doesn't appear that easy, does
it! But, with good planning and research - and, perhaps,
with help from Off Duty's "Homes Abroad" service - you
can end up with a "home abroad" that will make you wonder
why you didn't take the step years ago.
You can express interest in purchasing
property in one of these countries, with the assistance
of the Off Duty Homes Abroad service, by completing
our enquiry form
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