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12 Critical Questions You Should Ask Before Buying Real Estate Overseas

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Aug 07, 2008
in Real Estate
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Buying Real Estate In A Foreign Country
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12 Critical Questions You Should Ask Before Buying Real Estate Overseas

By Mike Cobb

  1. Is there year-round access to the area? And what is the drive time from the nearest airport? Not all roads are accessible year-round in Nicaragua, for example, or in any of the countries in this region. Understand not only how far a piece of property is from the nearest airport, but what road you must travel to get back and forth.
  2. How is security provided at the property? If you’re buying into a private development, you should expect 24/7 security at the entrance with back-up from local and national police.
  3. Where is the nearest medical care facility? How many minutes to get there by car in both the wet and the dry seasons?
  4. Can you buy title insurance for the property from a reputable title insurance company? If the answer is no, you should seriously reconsider the purchase. This is a big red flag.
  5. Is there a building requirement? This may or may not matter to you, but you should understand that if there’s no building requirement, you could be buying into a ghost town.
  6. What construction and design standards are in place? Zoning is almost non-existent in Latin America, and, unless covenants and building restrictions are put in place, you may not like what your neighbors decide to erect next-door.
  7. What is the current, existing infrastructure? Buy what you see. Do not take for granted that further infrastructure will be installed, and do not believe every infrastructure promise a developer makes. If you see paved roads, then there are paved roads. If you see a clubhouse, then there’s a clubhouse. I say again: Buy what you see. And make sure the price reflects that current reality. Don’t pay a premium for “planned infrastructure.”
  8. Is there enough water and water pressure? Is there hot water? What’s the plan for waste disposal? Either the developer has installed these systems and covered the costs…or he hasn’t. But if he hasn’t…who’s going to? (Here’s a hint: The answer is you.)
  9. What are the plans for a Home Owner’s Association? Are the fees realistic given the level of infrastructure and amenities? You should worry about low fees, because they may result in surprise assessments down the road.
  10. How will you build (if that’s your plan) from thousands of miles away? Who will oversee construction for you? And what’s included in the cost? You want to see written specifications, and you want to make sure they include 220v water heaters and air conditioners and hot water lines to the sinks and showers. And you want to confirm whether or not they include lights, fans, faucets, fixtures, and appliances. Assume nothing.
  11. What amenities and green areas exist? Pools, parks, golf, tennis, fitness, clubhouse, etc. Again, buy what you see. And ask about the plan for care and maintenance.
  12. Is the development company financially sound? Do they have a track record?

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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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