Dealing With Estate Agents if You Want to Buy Property Abroad

You may think that the overseas property market, as an investment concept, has died a death – but you’d be wrong, because there are bargains to be bagged, there are properties that make a good long-term investment purchase, and there are even locations suitable for those who want to make a solid investment that will provide them with rental returns.

What’s more, if you’re a first time buyer in your home nation and you’re struggling to find a mortgage to allow you to purchase, or you have a lump sum investment in the bank that’s earning you less interest than you’d ideally want, the overseas property market can be a solution to either of these issues potentially.  You could buy abroad with your deposit and watch it grow until the mortgage market in the UK is healthier, or you could put your lump sum into a tangible asset such as real estate that will hopefully give you better returns than a bank.

So, if you are venturing overseas to look for real estate, here are some top tips for dealing with estate agents if you do want to buy property abroad.  Our top tips should help you to make the right choice for your own buying objectives, and steer you well clear of the rogue agents who are self serving, whilst giving you strategies to cope with genuine agents who want to make a sale.

Making Good Use of Estate Agents Abroad

Estate agents make many people cringe, they have developed themselves a reputation as being slimy lie merchants who will sell their clients anything just to get the commission they want to fund their lifestyle.  Overseas property agents have perhaps got an even worse reputation too, as in many countries they can’t even be held accountable for their actions.  So, if you do decide to use an estate agent, you need to be in the driving seat, you need to make them work for you, and you need to ensure that you double check up on anything they claim!

When buying abroad it is unfortunately often the case that you need to use an estate agent to help you find the properties that best suit your requirements and criteria.  This is simply because they know the lay of the land far better than you do, they know who’s building or selling what, and they have the contacts that will get you to the developments and sites that will best meet your purchase criteria.  So, accepting that you have to embrace the idea of using an agent is the first thing to get your head round…the next thing to do is have a plan and a strategy in place to make sure they deliver, and that you remain in control.

How to Find a Good Overseas Estate Agent

Finding a good agent is the first step.  You can ask friends and family whether they have ever had positive experiences with agents overseas, and if so, which agents and why.  You can also try looking on the Internet at trade association sites such as the Association of International Property Professionals and the Federation of Overseas Property Developers & Consultants to see whether you can find anything out about a given agent that you’re considering using.

Whilst these bodies cannot assure you that the people you will be dealing with are totally reputable, you can take some comfort from the fact that any company that has made the effort to become listed wants to be taken seriously, and intends being in business for the long-term.  Therefore, they are less likely to be fly-by-nights, and more likely to care about the business they are in.

Which is Best, an Estate Agent of a Property Developer?

A property developer will only show you homes that he is building, or projects that he is directly involved with.  An estate agent on the other hand is likely to be far less biased as they will be selling homes from individuals and multiple developers.  You can therefore see a wider choice of property from an agent – what’s more, they should be able to negotiate on your behalf with a developer if you do decide to go for a new build property abroad.

And Finally – Get a Lawyer!

Your estate agent may well promise you the world, they may advise you that they can help with financing, that they will sort out all the legalities of the purchase and that you need go no further than them for an all-in solution to your property buying dilemma – however, no matter how comfortable you are with your agent, and no matter how confident you are in their abilities to cover all angles of the purchase for you, you need your own independent lawyer to assist with the buying process.

They will make sure you’re going about everything in the right way, they will make sure that everything is in order with the sale, they will check title deeds and permission and they will also advise you about how the buying process should be managed.  Make sure you find a lawyer independent of the vendor or the estate agent – as that is the only way you can make sure the lawyer is acting in your best interests.  Whilst you may not foresee any issues arising with the sale, you still need to ensure you have independent legal representation for the long-tem security of the sale.