10 Things To Ask Yourself Before Buying Your Dream Home Overseas
When you’re starting out on your overseas property search, one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is…
Who will use the property?
Maybe the answer is yourself—you’re looking for a home to live in (at least part of the year) and won’t be renting to others.
Maybe it’s a pure investment—you aren’t looking to spend any time in the property yourself.
Or maybe it’s somewhere in-between. You want to live part-year in a place and rent the property when you’re not in residence. Or you want an investment property in a city you love… and hope to spend the odd vacation there as time allows.
Each scenario requires a different approach to your search—which the experts at this year’s Global Property Summit here in Panama City will help you understand.
But, today, let’s talk about the first scenario—shopping for your own home overseas.
In this case, you only need to think about your own requirements. Here are 10 questions to consider as you shop:
- How much space will you need? Do you want an apartment or a house? One bedroom or two? (You probably won’t need more than two.) Two levels or only one? A guest room or even a guesthouse? Will you have guests often, for example? Will you want them to be able to stay with you, or would you prefer if they came and went from a hotel nearby?…
- Do you want a front yard, a back garden, or a swimming pool? All of these things require care and maintenance…
- Do you want to be in the heart of downtown or out in the country?…
- Do you want a turnkey, a renovation project, or something in-between?…
- Do you like the idea of living in a gated community, or would you prefer a more integrated setting, such as a neighborhood where you could become part of the local community? This is a key consideration. Going local means you have to learn the local language (if you don’t speak it already). Or perhaps you’d prefer to be off on your own with undeveloped acres between you and your nearest neighbor. In this type of rural setting you will need to build your own in-case-of-emergency infrastructure…
- Consider traffic patterns and transportation. Where you base yourself determines whether you’ll need to invest in a car, which is an important budget consideration…
- How important is the convenience factor to you? How far is it to shopping, restaurants, nightlife, parking, and the nearest medical facility?…
- Do you want a furnished home? You may have no choice but to buy unfurnished (unless you buy, say, from another expat who’s interested in selling his place including all contents). Buying unfurnished means you’ll need to purchase furniture locally or ship your household goods from home…
- What’s your budget? This is the most practical guideline of all, of course. Be clear on your finances before you start shopping, and, if your budget is strict, don’t be tempted to consider properties outside your price point. You’ll only be disappointing yourself unnecessarily…
- What kind of view would you like from your bedroom window each morning? This can be the most important and telling question of all, for it forces you to think very specifically about what’s important to you.
Whether you’re looking for a quiet country retreat, a home by the ocean, or to be part of city life, at our 2019 Global Property Summit, you’ll be presented with dozens of opportunities from among our top lifestyle havens overseas—including Panama, Belize, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Colombia, and Portugal.
Not only will Lief Simon and his team of international property experts walk you through everything you need to consider in buying your dream home overseas… but they’ll also introduce you to the latest investment opportunities—from opportunities in short-term rentals… to long-term agricultural investments (including organic fruit, aquaponics, and hardwood).
And, if you’d like the upside of qualifying for residency through your investment, they’ll introduce you to the best places to do that today.
It all happens this May 22–24 at the Westin Playa Bonita Resort just outside Panama City. As of this writing, we have a few remaining complimentary VIP Packages. (I expect these to sell out by the end of the week.)
To join Lief and his team of experts for this once-a-year event, go here now to claim your VIP seat.
Valentine Fouché
