Hi:
The National Post has a large article this morning about retirees moving to other parts of the world and buying real estate there. Just what I write about, to be sure. I had a problem - a huge problem - with the article however. It advised that Spain was a good area, and neglected to point out that an estimated 30,000 homes bought by British ex-pats are about to be torn down because they were build by shady developers who didn't follow zoming regulations, were in cahoots with city officials, and all sorts of other shenanigans.
This is only one trap you can fall into. Another article mentioned Florida's triple property tax charged to non-state residents - a gouge to be sure. There are other bubbles all over the world fueled by people not doing their research. It's partly human nature - falling in love with a gorgeous sunny beachside location, with costs much cheaper than home.
We are planning to buy elsewhere in the world. However, the first thing we are going to do is travel to many places and see what we really like - in other words, compare. Then, we are going to live in the areas we have narrowed down and see if we really like it.
The bottom line is that flying into a place for a couple of weeks and then buying is simply not a good idea. The parameters that are in place at home may simply not be in place where you are buying. It is not that people are foolish; it's just that what we take as normal here is not normal there, and it simply does not even enter our minds that it won't be the same elsewhere.
North Americans have a large, traditionally very safe real estate market as far as the legalities of buying and selling, honest representation, etc. Even so, many in this country have been burned by leaky condos, buildings not able to complete at the pre-sold price, etc. The precepitous drops in real estate in the United States also shows us we must be aware of cycles, and credit.
Stepping off the North American property grid into foreign territory can be even more fraught with problems, especially if you are signing documents you can't read. Always buy title insurance and have independent legal representation.
This isn't fear-mongering - it's about good decision making, with as much due diligence as possible. In a foreign place, this takes time.
M.
RSS feed