Gran Canaria Estate Agents

Gran Canaria Estate Agents is a Blog run by Website and Design Company Sorted Sites base in Tenerife, Canary Islands, who specialise in Real Estate web solutions.

A recent article by Simon Lambert (21 July 2007) “Make your holiday home dream a reality”, discusses some of the potential pitfalls of buying your own dream property in the sun.

“Prospective purchasers are urged to apply the same checks to buying property abroad as they would at home, and not get carried away with the romance of owning a home abroad”.

After spending two weeks in the non-stop sunshine, who’d want to go back to gloomy northern Europe, with it semi permanent rain and ever present cloud…

The climate is the one of the main reasons UK homebuyers are looking to set up a new life for themselves abroad. Other factors like better standard of living are of course a welcome bonus.

But, before you take the plunge it’s very important that you thouroughly research the local market and the property itself. You need to find out about how the different laws and taxes will affect you.

Research
“One of the main reasons why potential buyers encounter problems with overseas home purchases is a lack of research and the temptation to follow the easy route of trusting legal advice supplied by estate agents or developers”.

Getting a bilingual solicitor is essential. A soliticor that’s independent of the developer or agent will (of course) give more impartial advice. Ideally you should get a British solicitor to check all the documents as well. Pay particular attention to permission for building work and contracts.

You need to fully investigate the legal and planning situations in your chosen country. If it’s a buy to let investment you need to find out exactly how much rent people in the area are really paying, despite what the agent might say.

You can check with the local tourist offices and councils. The internet (LINK) provides a wealth of information about most property investment areas and the buying procedures involved.

Emerging Markets
“Experts warn investing in emerging markets requires caution”.

More so than traditional markets like Spain and the Canary Islands, all emerging markets do need very careful research.

For example Bulgaria, which saw massive enthusiasm over the past few years is now experiencing difficulties. Like some parts of Spain, it has experienced mass overbuilding. People who got in at the beginning are now trying to sell their two bedroom apartments in Bansko and Sunny Beach and reinvest in more favourable areas.

Buying a home in Thailand can be tricky. If you’re a non-resident (which you are) you can’t legally own a freehold property in your own name. So, to get round this you need to actually set up a Thai company, where you can “only hold 49% of the shares, along with seven Thai nominees”.

Traditional markets
UK buyers can get 2 dollars to the pound at the moment, meaning greater spending power if you’re considering investing in Florida, a well established and popular homebuying area, but prices here are falling due to an oversupply of new homes, so if you’re thinking of buying in order to sell quickly at a profit, think again.

On the other hand if you are looking at the long term potential of the area, you need to ask yourself what fundamentals benefits does the area have, as property markets will invariably fluctuate.

Similarly, Spain has been affected by overbuilding (along with other factors). But the market has gone down before in the past, so is still widely regarded as a safe long term investment.

Spain and the Canary Islands have everything for the UK homebuyer – the sun, the beaches, excellent cuisine, vibrant nightlife, good infrastructure, good education system, a spectacular and diverse landscape, art, music and culture, as well as a massive expat community of English speakers.

But again, research is the key to a safe, secure and happy investment.