Where to buy property abroad?

[Deep]

Not really business I know but seemed the most appropriate forum.

Need that perfect mix of

1) Decent legal/land rights

2) As much year round sunshine as possible

3) Max 5 hrs flying time

4) Sea

5) Rentability

Plan would be to have a rent potential of 30 weeks a year and then use it 4-5 times a year myself for 'long' weekends. Sunshine and sea a must

Any ideas??

[srebbe64]

Let me give you two little secrets; Croatia and Bulgaria. Seriously, in ten years you'll thank me!

[darrent]

North Cyprus is quite a hot spot at the moment. You speak to some people and they worry over the land rights issues and yes that can be a problem but simply buy orginal Turkish land which there is no dispute over. My brother runs a consturction company out there - lovely place. He built a mini palce for myself and my sister - huge 4 bed/4 bathroom place overlooking sea and mountains with a 10x5 metre pool.

[Deep]

Was thinking about Bulgaria, how long is the 'sunny' season there? Are the beaches nice?

Is Spain saturated with 'buy to let' ?

Thanks I'll look into North Cyprus

Anymore?

[Eric Mc]

Has Bulgaria any beaches ? Black Sea?

[Deep]

I never asked if it had beaches I asked if they were nice

Thanks

[Eric Mc]

Warped logic

It has a Black Sea coastline so it probably has some very nice beaches.

It's also becoming popular with the winter ski-ing fraternity too.

[Grebbo]

It all depends on what you're looking for. Is it more of a holiday home than an investment?

I work for www.worldwideinvestments.co.uk who specialise in overseas property. Have a surf around and drop me an e-mail if you have any q's. (Feel free to remove this plug if its against forum rules - I couldn't find any rules)

Whovever you buy from, go and check out their company. There are lots of fly-by-nights etc. Make sure the company is well established, have an appointment with them in their offices etc. If you buy from a company abroad its very easy for them to ignore you if something goes wrong!

Luke

[HiRich]

One thing I learned from my parents is to consider travelling time. They found Florida too far (which would be especially so if you are thinking in terms of long weekends) and it became a chore. They are now in a fantastic place in the West Algarve:
- 3-4 hours door-to-door.
- EasyJet flights available (and being so organised tey are the ones who get £20 advanced bookings)
- Easy to get back rapidly if there's a problem.

You might also consider a managed club/estate. They are not all rubbish, you can easily integrate with a part-British community, and they will deal with a lot of the hassle (renting, repairs, etc.).

[markbigears]

deep, what do you want to know about bulgaria? I can help.

[thepeoplespal]

Grebbo said:

I work for www.worldwideinvestments.co.uk who specialise in overseas property. Have a surf around and drop me an e-mail if you have any q's. (Feel free to remove this plug if its against forum rules - I couldn't find any rules) Luke

Blatant spamming is quite rightly not tolerated by Ted, but someone asked a quite reasonable question and you have responded with more than just a (relevant) plug for your website. So I'm sure he and the folks using this forum are quite happy for you to quote your site.

I on the other hand can't think of how my site would be relevant in anyway so I won't plug it :-)

Back on topic - I'd advise you to choose somewhere you really want to visit time after time rather than on a purely investment orientated purchase, especially if the bottom falls out of the market and you don't make any money for years and years.

[Deep]

Thanks guys

Luke I will have a browse

Mark, tell me anything. What are the beaches like? Infrastructure? Food? Rental potential? Not ski resorts as I'm a sun worshipper and would like to enjoy the property myself

Agree must have shortish flying time so USA/Caribbean is out.

Ideally need

Sunshine, as much as possible

Nice beaches

Be able to rent it out enough to say cover 70% of the cost and use it the other 30%

Thanks, Deep

[Antwerpman]

Just remember that your property will have the highest potenital earnings during the peak holiday times. if you are free to go anytime it is great as you can fill in the gaps between clients. However if your work or kids or pure desire means you want to have use of the property during these peak times expect to see your potential for income drop dramatically

[Eric Mc]

And don't forget that you are liable to UK tax on any profits earned from the rental of property - whether the property is in the UK or abroad.

[Wacky Racer]

How about Malta....??

Around 2.5 hours from the UK, (London), everybody speaks English, they drive on the same side of the road, and property is appreciating around 10%pa at the moment,plus the weather is very acceptable...

90f here at the moment......

[Deep]

W'ont have to pay tax in Dubai unless I bring the money back here

Malta does'nt appeal. Weather not really all year round

Deep

[Eric Mc]

You will pay UK tax on moneys earned in Dubai - unless you are actually resident in Dubai and not resident in the UK.

[Deep]

Are you sure?

If I earn money in Dubai and it stays in Dubai why should I have to pay tax here? Is'nt that the whole point of these places??

[Eric Mc]

Common misconception I'm afraid.

A UK resident is liable to UK tax on their WORLDWIDE income.

You can only escape UK tax if you are not resident in the UK for tax purposes for a set minimum period in any given tax year. Therefore, if you spend most of the tax year living and working in Dubai, you will not pay any UK tax on that income. However, if you have property in Dubai but are resident in the UK, you are liable to pay UK tax on any income deriving from that Dubai property.

>> Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 30th June 11:44

[Rich25]

Be very careful about buying property in Dubai. I deal with lots of foregin investment of all sizes on every continent, but Dubai is one place I will not touch. Reasons:



1/ Restrictive purchase areas

2/ No clear title

3/ 3yr rolling residence which can be revoked at any time.

4/ If a client wishes to rent out there property they have to have an Arab national partner

I think the mistake that most investors make is to look too many gift horses in the mouth in search of the "perfect" deal. Personally areas such as Estonia and Portugal are top of my list at the moment as they both have foreigner friendly financing set-ups - Mail me for details as quite long-winded for a thread.

In particular, Estonia is very low buy-in and has the benefit of 0% CGT. Yields typically c. 10%.
Obviously this is not the best area if you want to visait several times a year (unless you are a single male). Portugal perhaps?