Live and Invest Overseas
The Best Places To Retire In 2025 Report
FREE REPORT: THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    Learn More About This Event
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    Learn More About This Event
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
 Moving Out Of The U.S?

THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

the 10 best places to retire in 2025

PLUS: A SPECIAL BONUS DESTINATION

Simply sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report… absolutely FREE

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

Home Investing

5 Best Options For Financing Property Overseas

5 Ways To Finance Your Property Purchase Overseas

by Lynn Mulvihill
Jul 26, 2021
in Investing, Real Estate
0 0
Lovely View from the Cliffside Village Positano, province of Salerno, Italy. Buying cheap real estate overseas

Alamy/Felix Andries

How can you fund the purchase of your second home or investment property in a foreign country?

First, you need to figure how much capital you have available to invest. If you don’t know this number already, take time right now to do the math. (Sorry, you’re on your own for this bit.)

Second, you should look at the kind of financing or purchase terms that might be available to you.

The bad news is, in much of the rest of the world, it’s not possible for a foreigner to borrow money locally to buy real estate. No bank will lend to you…

And, in places where it is possible for a foreigner to get a mortgage, you won’t find the terms as user-friendly as they tend to be in the United States.

The good news is, you do have options. Today I’m going to walk you through the top five options to look for in overseas markets.

You won’t find all of these options available in every situation, but they’re all worth considering…

1. Bank Financing

This one is hardest to find worldwide, but it’s often the best option where it’s available.

Here are four things to keep in mind:

  • Generally speaking, loan-to-value ratios will be lower than you’re used to. These days, it’s typically 50% to 70% at best.
  • Terms will be shorter, with 30-year loans fairly unheard of.
  • Interest rates will normally be floating rather than fixed.
  • Some lenders require life insurance to guarantee your loan. This can limit the term of your loan if you’re older, since many insurance companies will only insure you through age 75. So, the best a 60-year-old could expect might be a 15-year loan where insurance is required.

Bank financing for expats falls into two general categories: financing for residents (in the country where the bank operates) or for non-residents.

For Residents

For residents, most countries will treat the applicant like a citizen. But a word of caution is in order here. Just like local citizens, you’ll usually need to prove income when applying to local banks… same as you would with a U.S. or Canadian bank. The type of income they accept will vary, and it’s something you’ll need to discuss with the bank.

For Non-resident

Non-resident bank financing is much harder to find but not impossible. Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Portugal, France, and Italy are among the countries where non-residents can get financing.

France is one of the most attractive havens when it comes to bank financing. Right now, as a foreign buyer in this country, you can get as much as 80% LTV, up to a maximum term of 25 years, with interest rates as low as 1.2%.

2. Borrowing On Your Home Equity

One of the easiest and simplest ways to borrow for an overseas property is to take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on your North American property. This offers a couple of advantages:

One is that the interest rate you pay for a HELOC will be lower than you’ll get in most foreign countries. Bank of America, for example, is currently offering a rate of 2.49% for an intro period, followed by a fixed 4.7% rate for the life of the loan.

Also—from the perspective of the overseas seller—the HELOC makes you a cash buyer. So you can take advantage of any cash discounts offered and be in a better position for negotiation.

A HELOC is a line of credit. You don’t have to use it all if you don’t need it… and you don’t have to borrow it all at once. This works well if you’re making, for example, progress payments on a pre-construction purchase. You don’t have to pay interest until you actually use the money.

A traditional second-mortgage loan may also work for you, if you know how much money you need, and if you need most of it at the same time. It has all of the other advantages of a HELOC.

And don’t forget mortgage refinancing. This may be best if you’d like to lower your interest rate or change the terms on your first mortgage loan.

3. Seller Financing

When buying from a private owner, some sellers are willing to finance some of the purchase price. The terms will be whatever you agree on, but it’s typically a maximum five years.

Generally speaking, the longer the property has been for sale, the better terms you’ll be able to negotiate.

Just like a mortgage, don’t expect the seller to deliver the deed until you’re finished paying.

4. Developer Financing

Over the past few years, we’ve seen some attractive financing deals emerge from developers—sometimes with zero interest. Many of these financing packages are in locations where there’s no other financing available.

These terms are best when the developer is starting to sell—and usually apply to pre-construction deals. Once the “ice is broken” and the project is selling well, the best financing terms tend to disappear.

5. Use Your IRA Or 401k

Putting your IRA or Solo-401k to work overseas is one of the best ways to invest since your income and capital gains are tax-deferred.

One easy tactic is to borrow from your Solo-401k. The IRS limits the loan to US$50,000, but, if that’s enough, it’s the best way to borrow… since you’re paying the interest to yourself. If you take a loan from your 401k, what you buy can be used personally… the normal IRA/401k restrictions do not apply to loans or properties you buy with loans.

If you have an IRA (IRAs do not allow borrowing), or US$50k is not enough, you can simply purchase the property with your retirement plan. In this case, you can’t use the property personally, but you do get the tax advantages.

Lynn Mulvihill
Editor, Overseas Property Alert

Tags: 'IRA''real estate overseas'401Kbank financingDeveloper FinancingfinancingFinancing Property Overseashome equityproperty purchaseretirement homesecond-homeSeller Financing
Share83Tweet52
Lynn Mulvihill

Lynn Mulvihill

A native of Waterford, Ireland, Lynn Mulvihill has written on the topic of retiring overseas for nearly a decade, editing a variety of e-letters, newsletters, reports, and books. Lynn took a sabbatical in 2007 for the birth of her son…and, liking her new career, decided to stay home. Now moonlighting as a freelance writer and editor, Lynn continues to contribute to Live and Invest Overseas covering the beat of living and investing overseas. Though firmly rooted to her native soil, Lynn enjoys traveling…and has spent time in Europe, Asia, the U.S., and Central America.

Start Your New Life Overseas Today!
Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on The 10 Best Places To Retire In 2025.

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
Our Expertise Unlocks The World

quick links

  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

LIOS Resources

  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs
the 10 best places to retire in 2025
Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2025

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

As seen in

US Media Logos

© 2008 – Live and Invest Overseas™ – All Rights Reserved.

About Us / Contact Us / Privacy Policy / Terms / Unsubscribe
Facebook-f X-twitter Youtube Linkedin-in Instagram

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
HOME

Top Countries

  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
  • Retirement Living
  • Cost Of Living
  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
  • Gun Ownership
  • English Speakers
  • Safety
BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

Budgets

How Much Will It Cost
To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
  • La Rochelle, France
  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Kotor, Montenegro
  • The Panama City Beaches
  • Paris, France

Resources

Global Living

  • Living & Retiring Overseas
  • Raising A Family Abroad
  • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
  • Offshore & Diversification

Making Money

  • International Real Estate
  • Banking
  • Employment
  • Investing
Meet Our Experts

Real Estate

Overseas Property Alert 

 

How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

VISIT SITE

Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

 

Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

READ MORE

Explore Our Latest Posts

 

Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

EXPLORE

Conferences

Live and Invest In Spain Conference

VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
Learn More About This Event

Offshore Wealth Summit

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER

GREECE WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
Learn More About This Event
PRE-REGISTER
MORE EVENTS

Contact Our Events Team:

Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
1 (888) 627 8834

From Outside North America:
1 (443) 599 1221

Working Hours
Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

Store

Overseas Havens Reports

  • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

Conference Kits

  • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

Services

  • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
  • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
  • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
VISIT OUR STORE

Free Report

THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

LIBRARY

Follow Us:

© 2008 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

Sign up for FREE to learn how. Plus, check out our FREE report on THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE


We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.