Buying abroad?

[brian]

Anyone been even remotely tempted to buy abroad?

Sometimes I feel like just dropping everything and going to the US and buying there - even though I've never visited.

Sure, the challenge would be significant, and then there's the suggestion that it's best not to buy somewhere unless you know you could be comfortable there.

But somehow the risk of doing so seems like a general crazy good thing to consider doing.

Then again, if moving abroad, surely there are better places - the Med for instance?

[Jayne]

I am obsessed with house programs on TV and moving abroad, which did tempt me a one point of moving to France, I even bought a tape to learn french, but got fed up of that idea and started to focus on Scotland instead. I spend most of my spare time looking at houses on the Scottish boarders. Does that still class as abroad...lol

Anyway, what put me off was a program that I watched on how many people from the UK were ripped off by people when buying abroad. It's like the UK people were easy pickings to get rid of all those houses they couldn't get rid of to the locals. Therefore I'm stopping here, better the devil you know and all that!

Jayne

[brian]

It certainly has to be a danger that - I often wondered how people got around the inevitability of getting taken advantage of by local merchants?

[Jayne]

They don't, the ones I watched lost everything. I'm not willing to chance it, at least we have UK laws here to protect us a little bit more.

Jayne

[hand]

I think it all comes down to who you deal with. Of course no matter what you're going to run into the criminal element. But, if you could lock onto someone and get a good rapport with them you might find that they are actually honest people.

[John]

A lot of people who move abroad actually hire UK builders, and whilst you must be careful to ensure you fall in line with foreign building regulations, speaking the same language as the builders is a huge advantage.

Buying property abroad is an appealing prospect, and you can pick up entire houses for the cost of a new car here in the UK, but the challenges of fitting in to a new way of life are huge and put off most people that consider the idea. Life here is very different say from life in Italy, and whilst great weather and better food appeal to me, I don't speak a word of Italian nor do I fancy competing on the roads with them, so for me somewhere along those lines is a no no.

France or Spain isn't too bad though, and whilst you might have to learn a bit of French/Spanish, things aren't quite so different which is why many Brits choose to go there.

[OneofaKind]

Originally Posted by brian

Anyone been even remotely tempted to buy abroad?

Sometimes I feel like just dropping everything and going to the US and buying there - even though I've never visited.

If you don't have any commitments here - why not? the key is to make sure that you're not making force assumptions about the benefits

[vicki2]

It's one case where I believe in renting for a few months (or a year) in an area where you think you might want to live. The outlay of rent money is minor compared to making what could be a huge mistake. One, you work out if it's really what you want to do, and two, you learn the real estate ropes in that country. I've had friends who jumped into what looked like great deals only to find all sorts of problems which not only lessened the true value of the property, but they ended up hating the lifestyle and were stuck!

[OneofaKind]

I guess the other option is to talk to people you know that live in the area - especially if they are close friends.

People I moved to the area where I now live I half moved here - staying at a friends most weekends. Reading the newspapers and asking questions.

[vicki2]

Good ideas, Oneofakind. It takes a lot of research, if not more than usual, if moving abroad. It's certainly harder than moving to the next village over!