How to Buy Overseas Property Safely - Turkish Connextions

DEALS, DEALS, EVERYWHERE
erhaps the biggest generalisation
one can make about overseas
property markets in 2012 is
P that they are deluged with deals.
In the drawn-out wake of the
global downturn most major markets – with some
notable exceptions such as Switzerland and
Scandinavia – have a hefty proportion of homes
worth at least 10-20 per cent less than they were
fi ve years ago.
It is clearly a buyer’s market right now and if
an overseas property purchase is on your agenda
and you can afford it, the current climate puts
you in a strong negotiating position.
But when faced with such volumes of “bargains”
buyers can easily be fazed. How do you tell a
genuine good deal from something that is not?
How can you be sure you are buying something
that will recover its value in fi ve or ten years?
There is a certain amount of truth in the mantra
of the downturn: “if it sounds too good to be true,
it probably is.”
Even if you are buying for lifestyle reasons,
you should still think of your exit strategy (will it be
sellable in a few years and who is likely to buy it?) as
you never know what might happen that might mean
you need to sell it sooner than originally planned.
So, you need to sort the wheat from the
chaff and make sure you make a sound – and
safe – investment.
14 AIPP CONSUMER GUIDE
First of all, at the risk of repeating ourselves,
you must always use independent legal advice.
Secondly, when dazzled by drastic pricereductions,
you mustn’t forget the most
basic of rules of buying a property – location,
location, location!
A cheap price doesn’t always mean a good
deal, and, just as if when contemplating buying a
half-price coat in a high street sale, ask yourself
whether you’d still want to own it if it was at its
original price?
Let’s take Spain for example, where there are
around 330,000 repossessed properties in the
hands of banks alone, never mind the ones being
sold by agents or individuals desperate to sell.
Bear in mind that banks have got properties
because owners can’t sell them, so they are
unlikely to be in prime locations, and any great
buys have probably been cherry-picked by
their employees.
Don’t try approaching banks yourself – unless
you are fl uent in Spanish – as they are not very
well geared to dealing with foreign buyers.
If you are offered bank-owned properties
There is a certain amount of truth inthe
mantra of the downturn: “if it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is.”