Questions to ask when buying abroad

Many of the questions you will find yourself asking when you buy a property abroad will be the same as those you would ask when buying anywhere.

Many of the questions will be about the location, but when buying abroad it is particularly about the location: and for many Brits buying abroad, location basically means being close to the post.

Surveys of those buying abroad have shown the trends for buying in coastal areas, near beaches, and generally close to the seaside. The other extreme is that many like to be, if not quite in the wilderness, then embrace a rural or country setting.

So the first two questions are to ask whether you want to be in the town or in the country (or a halfway house) followed by how close to the coast you want to be. Expect to pay a premium for anywhere that is in a particularly tourist area, close to a very nice beach or indeed actually has sea views from the property.

If you do buy in the middle of nowhere, then do consider the practicalities of it. Specifically remember you will need to get food, drink and all the items you want in the house there, and tradesman etc if you need any repairs also need to be able to get to the property and may charge considerably more in very remote areas.

If you are buying in a city location, then make sure you know what the noise levels will be like from surrounding bars, shops and so on. Different countries have different rules and opinions about acceptable noise, opening hours, the days on which establishments are open and so forth.

If you have any particular interests - perhaps playing golf for instance, or squash, then don't forget to check out how close those facilities are. Likewise if you like going to the cinema and watching films (most films in English are shown in a wide range of countries, either dubbed or quite often sub-titled) then check out how far away the nearest cinema is.

Finally, there are the usual questions about the neighbours: do they seem pleasant enough. If you are buying in an area that has a particularly high number of overseas residents buying properties then bear in mind there can occasionally be resentment at prices being pushed up for locals.

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