As advised by John Howell from the firm of Solicitors, John Howell & Co., when people buy properties in a foreign country, they should act with care and legal advice from the right professional must be taken to avoid potential problems which may crop up when signing documents, they do not understand, ie. may be in a foreign language. In fact they have to be absolutely sure that they are dealing with a reputable organization whom are specialized in the international property development trade.

Although there are agents who are willing to sell properties in Briton or in foreign lands, regulations of their activities are few and they may not adhere to a code of conduct. Pauline Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Federation of Overseas Property Developers Agents & Consultants ( FOPDAC), says because of the large commissions paid by property developers to the agents, mis-selling of properties at higher prices are being done. The FOPDAC takes care of the interests of the people who wish to purchase or sell a property overseas.

Another reputable agent is the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). This organization provides names of the members in UK who are reliable in overseas property development. They are also in link with the International Consortium of Real Estate Agents (ICREA) who has a code of conduct for its members worldwide.

If you wish to finance an overseas property and if you do not have the money, you could re-mortgage your property in UK or you could take out a mortgage on the foreign property.

Main lenders such as Banco Halifax Hispania and Royal Bank of Scotland International in UK lend on properties in popular markets, ie. Spain, while Leeds Building Society and Norwich & Peterborough Building Society lend in Gibraltar and also in Spain. HSBC lends only in France and Barclays lends in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. Lloyds lend in TSB in Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

Conti Financial Services is a UK based mortgage broker who specialises in international loans and according to their senior partner, Kevin Fleury they could arrange the money locally in a wide variety of countries. Therefore, taking a mortgage on your overseas property would be practically advantageous for you.

When buying an overseas property with the UK money you are fortunately assisted by currency specialists. As Mark Bodega, Marketing Director at HIFX explains, you are offered a better exchange rate than the banks, without being charged an extra fee. Caxton FX, Currencies Direct, Foreign Currencies Direct, Money Corp, Travelex, Capital IFX are some of the other currency specialists in UK.

Kevin Fleury of Conti suggests consulting British Solicitors to get good legal advise as it is a critically important factor in these transactions. Such Specialists are the John Howell & Co, which has several foreign lawyers, and Goldsmith Williams, which has developed relationships with reputable overseas solicitors in many countries. The Law Society could also be contacted for names of other solicitors in the UK as well as abroad.

According to Bill Blevins of the Chartered Accountants and International Tax Specialists, Blevins Franks, tax liabilities of overseas holiday homes are often overlooked by people when they sell their properties.

Anita Monteith, Tax Manager of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales advises prospective owners about their tax positions and also are the UK accountants. Through the ICAEW, the buyers could also access specialists for necessary advising on other countries.

For insurance coverage, it is advisable to deal with an agent in UK because you will be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service regarding any problem that may crop up, ie. when a claim arises and if you have to deal with a foreign language.

Another guide is the Saga Insurance which focuses on popular areas ie. France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. HIFX’s policy, underwritten by Norwich Union, extends their services to Greece and Cyprus, while Andrew Copeland Insurance’s Europlan includes Malta and Northern European countries such as The Netherlands and Denmark.

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