Saturday, December 1, 2007

INVESTMENT PROPERTY ABROAD: BUY TO LET

When someone invests money on buying a property and lets it out for rental it is termed as ‘Buy to let property’. Chiefly, buy to let property is bought as overseas property and serves as both a holiday home and as regular source of income.

Buying property abroad has become a good investment venture for the following reasons:
  • It is a long term investment
  • Non-residents wish to buy property and use them as holiday homes
  • It saves tax deduction
  • It yields regular rental income
Due to the above mentioned reasons, there is a higher demand for overseas property. Investment property abroad also thrives because of the government’s supportive plans and benefits. It has been made easy for a non resident to buy property as it serves as a source of foreign investment in their country. All one needs to buy property abroad is a fiscal or tax number, regular source of income, an account in the local bank and a valid passport.

The property can be an off plan or a resale property. An off plan property is a new development which is bought from a property developer or property management company. It is a property that is sold based only on the development plan of the property. A resale property is a used property which is bought directly from the owner. Both off plan and resale property markets are high.

Investment on property abroad has been made easier with the availability of mortgages from banks. Based on the value of the property one can secure loan for buying it. A bank representative evaluates the property and fixes a value for it. One can generally secure upto 80% of a property’s value. In some countries, few banks offer even 100% mortgage for property investment. This percentage might slightly vary for a non-resident. The loan period might also vary from 5 years to 30 years approximately.

Most of the banks offer international mortgage and encourage investments on property abroad. Most of the banks which have branches in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Florida, South Africa, Bulgaria, Australia and New Zealand finance for investment on overseas property. Overseas mortgage is easily available from these banks.

Mortgage is available for all kinds of properties such as studios, villas, apartments, leaseback and buy to let properties which might be off plans or resale properties. However mortgage interest rates and the method of payment might vary according to the type of property and the place of investment. For example, for off plan property the loan is available only after the completion of the project.

It is always advisable to have a legal representative during overseas investments. As it is essential to run a background check on the property and other legal documents like whether there is any unpaid mortgage on the property, debt, etc. In addition, the legal advisor can take care of insurance, tax payment and maintenance on behalf of the owner in his absence.

Buying overseas property is a biggest investment one can make. In most of the countries the availability of property is lesser than the demand, thereby creating a seller’s market.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home