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    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
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    • 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
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    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
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  • 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

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Live and Invest Overseas
 Homes Under $100k
The World’s Cheapest Real Estate Investments In 2025 Revealed
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Home Investing

Top Things To Know Before Buying Property Overseas

Learn All You Need To Consider Before Buying Property Overseas

by Live And Invest Overseas
Aug 03, 2024
in Investing, Real Estate
0 0
Real estate concept with icons of location, contract and price diagram. property overseas

iStock/anyaberkut

Negotiating a real estate deal in another country—both the purchase and the sale—is likely to be different for you than any experience you have with real estate in your home country. But buying property overseas can be a little different.

For example, in the United States you typically fill out a purchase agreement with your offer price, contingencies, and any other details and sign.

Your offer overseas won’t be as formal… at least to start. You may just tell your agent the price you want to offer, and he will call the owner or the other agent. Once you agree on the price, you might then list out your contingencies if you have any.

Whereas in the States you generally expect a counteroffer if the seller doesn’t accept your price outright, in Latin America you might just hear back from your agent that the seller just declined your offer. That’s not unusual, especially in a seller’s market.

The seller expects you to then come back with a higher offer even though they’ve given no indication they are willing to settle at a price lower than the list price. In fact, don’t be surprised if the seller comes back with a price higher than the list price…

Buying a property overseas—be it a new property, a pre-construction, or already owned—always has an element of risk. But you can minimize your chances of getting burned by slowing down and taking the time to do your research.

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Slowing Down Is Key

Developer Mike Cobb advises to treat an overseas property purchase like a marriage.

“Did you meet your spouse and marry them all in one day?” Mike asked.

For most of us, that would be a resounding no.

The same level of caution we exercise during those first sparks of a romantic relationship needs to be applied to an overseas property purchase.

Sure, a property may give you goose bumps. That’s a good start. But no matter how good a deal, no matter how credible a developer, the decision to put your money (or borrowed money) on a piece of foreign real estate should not be made in a day.

Before you take the next step with your prospective new home or investment property, you need to ask certain questions —things that will signal whether this is a match for you…

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1. Is there year-round access to the area in both the dry and rainy seasons?

Car with headlights run through flood water after hard rain fall. property overseas
iStock/chokchaipoomichaiya

This is especially important in Latin America. If you plan to live on your property only during the dry season, it may never be an issue. But, if you plan to rent your property—and the roads are impassable for months of the year—it will cost you.

2. Does the existing infrastructure include underground utilities, stormwater management, paved streets, and sidewalks?

Underground utilities for stormwater management
iStock/artzenter

I repeat, existing infrastructure. You don’t want to buy your property before these basics are in place. Again, in many parts of Latin America, it can rain 20 inches in 24 hours. Where does the water go? Ask to see the stormwater engineering plan.

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3. Buying Property Overseas: Is There Enough Water And Water Pressure?

Faucet with low water pressure.
iStock/Pornpak Khunatorn

A drip shower, anyone? Not something you want to experience every day in your new home in paradise, right?

4. Is the home plumbed for water in all the bathrooms?

Plumber working
iStock/AndreyPopov

It’s not uncommon to walk into a luxury home overseas and find cold water running from both taps. We’ve heard of defensive developers saying that, in tropical climates, you don’t need hot water… or that cold showers are good for you. Would you accept that?

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5. Will there be a community?

Neighbors talking. property overseas
iStock/Koldunova_Anna

If what you’re looking at is a naked piece of land, could you survive if nobody else bought on the property? Sometimes, though you’ll pay more coming later to the table, it’s better to wait until some community exists. Also remember that the future value of your property is based on a community and amenities developing around it.

6. Is there a building requirement?

Remote home. property overseas
iStock/shannon1978

In planned communities, many investors buy the land to flip later… when all the amenities are in. Worst-case scenario, if nobody else ever broke ground, would you be happy living in paradise surrounded by empty lots?

7. Is there any kind of zoning?

Zoning plans for city. property overseas
iStock/scanrail

You think you’re in a beautiful place… until your neighbor shows up and builds the house from hell. Not only that, but it gets in the way of your ocean view. It happens more often than you’d think.

8. Buying Property Overseas: How Much Are The HOA Fees?

HOA Rules And Regulations Document. property overseas
iStock/AndreyPopov

Outside of the United States, HOA fees are unregulated—they are whatever the developer says they are. Sometimes, developers will make them attractively low to bring buyers in… but be forced to raise them later to keep up with maintenance… or, even worse, neglect to maintain the common areas. Make sure the fees line up with what you think.

9. Is the development company financially sound?

Concept of developer being financially sound. Man hand pick house shape wooden model with virtual dollar sign. property overseas
iStock/whyframestudio

When a developer tells you he’s going to build a clubhouse, a golf course, etc., ask him to show you where exactly that money is coming from (if in doubt, ask to see a bank statement). Often you’ll be told that the money will come from lot sales. Sometimes developers will take that money to buy more land without putting it into the promised amenities. Which leads us to the next point…

10. Does the company have a record of success?

Successful company concept. Businessman pointing arrow graph corporate future growth plan. property overseas
iStock/marchmeena29

How long has the developer been in business? Do they have a competent team? Track record is crucial here. Though no property purchase comes without risk, it can be minimized when you work with a competent team with a list of past successes.

11. What’s the real cost of the investment?

Hand holding coins and tree look like as planting. Good investment concept. property overseas
iStock/Dilok Klaisataporn

For the most part, the deals that you’ll receive in your inbox will give you the minimum investment amount or the starting price and that’s it.

Developers are notorious for not including the cost for furniture and appliances in their promotional brochures so you’ll need to ask. Get an idea about the closing costs that you’ll be responsible for (taxes, broker’s fees, attorney, notary). What about the ongoing costs such as the before-mentioned HOA fees, property and rental management, and utilities?

Some of these questions may seem nitpicky. Or you may be afraid of getting on the wrong side of a developer. But, in overseas markets, developers expect these kinds of questions.

It’s how you protect yourself. By asking these questions, you’ll be able to quickly filter out offers that don’t make sense for you, and focus your time and energy on the deals that do.

Tags: 'investment''real estate overseas''real estate'communitydeveloperhoahoa feesinfrastructureplanned communitiespurchase property overseasrent propertyzoning
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Live And Invest Overseas

Live And Invest Overseas

Live and Invest Overseas is the world's savviest source for top opportunities to live better, retire in style, invest for profit, do business, and own real estate overseas. Established in 2008, the Live and Invest Overseas' editors and correspondents have more experience researching and reporting on top opportunities for living well, investing for profit, doing business, and owning real estate around the world than anyone else you'll find.

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Top Countries

  • Spain
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  • Cyprus
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Best For:

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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

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