A look at what you can buy for up to £200,000.
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It's at this time of year that many of us start thinking about sunshine and blue skies and escaping to foreign climes. But while most people will only venture abroad on a summer break, some of us are looking for a more permanent base overseas.
For those seeking a home abroad, Spain is still the number one destination, according to new findings from "A Place in the Sun". This is followed by France in second place and Portugal in third.
Eurozone destinations continue to dominate, with Italy taking fourth place, Greece taking seventh and Malta taking 10th; nearby Turkey and Cyprus have also made the top 10, in sixth and eighth place respectively.
Looking further afield, the US has made it into the ranks in fifth place, while the Caribbean is the only new entry in this year's top 10, taking ninth place.
For those looking to find their perfect home overseas, we look at what you can buy for a budget of up to around £200,000.
I believe that before anyone buys abroad they need to be realistic with themselves. Spain is great as many Spanish area carer to a large ex-pat community like Tuscany does in Italy but if you really want to live with the natives you can save a lot more money as the prices haven't be inflated by the North Europeans in these areas.
Beware I can't speak for the rest of Europe but in Italy the costs of buying are high and the process is never straight forward best use an English speaking Agent and Solicitor (notaio)
In Italy you need to make sure that the conveyancing is done well as once you sign the contract your liable for any illegalities the property may have for example building work not done with planning permission etc.
The laws recently changed, previously it was normal practice to do work then pay a nominal fine and get the work legalized. Now you must get the permission before and you can normally extend your property by 20%. The risk now is you can buy a property then find you own a
150 sqm property that at the council is only a 50sqm property and there nothing you can do about it.
My best advice is find someone who can oversee all this. In the Uk it's rare you find an issue with a property in Italy especially in the country it's more usual. You need a certificate Urbanistica from the council that says how much of the property is living space how much garages etc. otherwise you may find you have brought a Stable or workshop which you will never be able to sell as a house or for the price of a house in the future.
Anyway the list is endless "let the buyer beware" and remember people aren't stupid outside the Uk they just speak a different language!!!!!
Hi there
Let me give you some advice on buying abroad.
I used to sell property in Turkey and other places. The thing about Turkey its a great place to invest if you know what you are investing in.
I would suggest to anyone - before you buy do your research. The biggest thing of all is learn the local language.
So many times in places like turkey, greece, cyprus etc etc you will notice that there will always be two prices. one for you and one for them.
So many times people are trying to rip you off, speaking in their langauage bumping up the price because they think as your british you can afford to pay more.
Always get your tittle deeds before the final payment is made and get a british or english speaking layer to go through your contract.
Some developers are scammers too. They may be on the verge of bankruptucy but still trade. They can take your cash and tell you that your property will be ready in 6 months time.... they may not be here in 6 weeks time let alone 6months.
FInally.... there is NO such thing as guaranteed rental... this is always added to your purchase price and drip fed back to you as so called rental AND no such thing as example ten year build warranty onproperty etc ... example.... if u buy a property and the developer tells you that it has a 20 year building warranty then goes out of business after 6 months do you still have a warranty?? NO YOU DONT....
Just beware so many scams lead to so many people hurt and put off buying property abroad.
In my experience, you would never buy a rolls royce and leave it for 10 months out side a council estate would you .... then thing about what you are leaving behind after making your purchase abroad. is it secure or left to others to live in as they await your return....??
Think about it ..
You know I have read about so many despondent people and how they have lost everything ---I also lost due to misleading empty promises and bad judgement.---I have had to bite the bullet and get on with life. I lived and loved all my time abroad and was a very lucky girl working with a good company who looked after me and enabled me to see the inside view of the international property business....and boy it can be cutthroat ,but what we are slightly forgetting is the fact that some of the sales companies are themselves taken for a for a ride ...be it by builders or the couple who want a viewing trip just for a weekend away ...who seem to forget that the poor sods (us) are trying to make a wage ....but to get back to reality we the general public are at fault for not doing enough homework on the country ,properties or buying laws ,it really is a jungle out there.
The old adage "Buyer Beware "comes to mind ....ask around ,or people who have already bought or lived in that particular country ...DO YOUR HOMEWORK .
I so miss the lifestyle of the Med ...I would return tomorrow , but with a much wiser head , where would it be for me ......at this moment without doubt Spain ,albeit Italy is a close second .
If I can help anyone regarding the countries of Cyprus Italy or Turkey do let me know ......as I still have so many friends and contacts there ...
Happy House hunting.
Well said Peter Issacs, I have visited Cyprus 6 times and was on the verge of buying a property near Paphos, but on my last visit it became evident they had two prices one for the Greeks and another for the visitors to get into their attractions, at least in Great Britain our system is fair for all. got ripped of with car insurance my hire car broke down i had to pay another insurance premium on the replacement.
I HAVE NOT GONE BACK TO CYPRUS AGAIN
I am not surprised Greece are nearly bankrupt.
Benjamin pool, I would like to point out that a British passport gives free passage and protection to Uk citizens, people serve this country in the forces to allow the shallow and uninformed to make comments under the freedom of speech act.
Great Britain is suffering from a gutless government that will not protect its own citizens and people like you who in times of hardship do your neighbour down rather than support them.
The social security system saves people having to steal or kill each other to survive and the UK has a moral worth as opposed to other country's where if you have difficulty and you die that's it.
I suggest that you read more and get out more and then give a more interesting opinion about the world.
Your shallow comments and opinion are the exact reason the working population is looked down upon by the gov of the UK.
If considering buying in Turkey then buyer beware!!!
You could end up losing all your hard earned money/investments.
If you think it might be a good investment then please please think again, there are so many cons and scams going on it is likely that you won't realise until it is far too late.
Also if you want to sell it could take a long time (like most countries at the moment) and if you relocate you could be stuck for years.
There is a lot of information on various sites with a lot of tales of woe, and believe me most people who write these warnings do so to help others not to make the same mistakes.
If you are considering living in another country, my suggestion is to rent and take your time to understand what is really going on there...
