Six Tips to Help When Buying a Second Home Abroad

A lot of people see buying a second home aboard as an impossible dream, and one that’s well out of their reach. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. Here are a few tips to make owning your own little piece of foreign property a lot more attainable:

1. Choose your location wisely.
Before you make any major plans, your first consideration should be where you want to move. Start with the country. Can you imagine making another nation your second home? Do you like to travel to different places when you go on holiday, or would you be happy to spend a good chunk of your off-time in one place? If it’s the former, you may be better not buying a property at all. Similarly, consider your ability to fit in. Do you speak the language? Can you afford regular enough trips out to make it worthwhile? Similarly, make sure you know the region will suit you. Would you prefer a touristy area, or somewhere a little further from the beaten track? Pick a location that meets your needs, or you’ll likely struggle to find a home you like.

2. Prepare to double your costs.
Unless you’ve recently come into money, you’ll likely be getting a second mortgage to pay for your new property. Combine that with the payments you’ll have to make on both your old and new house on a regular basis (council tax, maintenance fees, utility bills and insurance, for example), and you could be looking at a considerable increase in your monthly outgoings. Set a budget, and make sure you can afford a second home.

3. Check regional differences.
France, Spain, Cyprus, Italy and Bulgaria all have regionally-specific additional taxes and fees that need paying for people hoping to buy a home abroad. Do the research, and be sure to factor these in when you’re working out your costs.

4. Go during the off-season.
It’s all well and good thinking you want a home abroad when the weather is fine and the place is swarming with friendly faces, but trying going back at different times of the year. After all, one of the benefits of owning your own home abroad is being to go there during all seasons, so it’s a good idea to make sure you like the area all year round. What’s the use in having a house you can only enjoy for a few months of the year?

5. Decide how long you see yourself being there.
You don’t have to keep your holiday home forever. However, how long you plan on staying in one location may determine what kind of property you go for. If you plan on being there for more than twenty years, stamp duty, mortgage application fees, solicitors’ fees, valuation and surveyors’ costs will likely only be a small percentage of your total expenditure. If, on the other hand, you plan to hold the property for ten years or less, they’ll make up a much larger chunk. As a result, you might want to consider going for a newer property, rather than a fixer-upper, as you’ll likely have less money free to play around with after you pay the necessary fees.

6. Consider your exit.
On the off-chance you’re not blissfully happy with your new home, make sure there’s an easy way out. Check the reselling laws for your region of choice, and ensure that – should the worst come to the worst – you can resell without paying too much in the way of taxes.

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