In this article we are going to focus on what you should think about before and while buying a house. If you want to know more about what you should think about when looking for a house then I recommend you read my article here.
Financing your purchase
Most of us can not afford to buy a vacation property with the help of some type of financing. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy a house without the need for a loan you might still prefer to finance your house since that might be more beneficial then using your own money. This is especially true of you can earn a higher return on your savings than you have to pay on the loan. Another situation when you might want to consider a loan despite being able to afford the house is when you want the house to be an independent investment that hopefully will finance itself through rental income.
I recommend that you read more in the article here if you want to know more about what you should think about when looking for financing to buy a property abroad.
Using an agent
There are agents that offer to help you find your dream house for a fee. They offer to make it easier for you to find a good property due to their extensive market knowledge. I generally do not recommend using an agent.
There are many agents who are knowledgeable and that does a good job. There are situations when an agent can be a good choice. Mainly if you are looking for something very specific that can be hard to find the.
The truth is however that most people do not need an agent and in most cases it is wasted money to hire one. Internet has made it very easy to find properties in most developed countries. A large percentage of all listings are available online and you can find them from the comfort of your home. If you are looking for a property in a third world country then it is different. It will still be easy to find a good property to buy online but a larger part of all properties will be by local word of mouth only.
Buying through a broker
If you are buying a property that is being sold through a broker then the broker will deal with most of the practical matters. You will only have to show up to sign and to wire the money. I do however despite this recommend that you do as much independent verification as possible to make sure that everything is as it should be. Trust but verify.
Buying directly from owner
If you buy directly from the previous owner then there are a lot more that you need to think about before you buy the house. The house owner might not give you the same information as a broker would have given you and it is therefore very important that you make sure to ask all pertinent question and do your due diligence before you buy the house. Do not forget to make sure to ask if the person owns the property outright or if it is on leasehold land. Are there any liens on the property etc.
That a property is leasehold might not be a deal breaker but it is important that you know that it is before you buy it. You need to have all pertinent information when you make the decision
Always hire a lawyer to do the ownership transfer. Always have your own lawyer look at the documents and make sure that they are correct. Never use a lawyer that the seller recommended for this.
Always do an inspection
It is very important that you always do an inspection before you decide to buy a house. How a house looks does not always tell you the condition of the house. I have seen great looking house that was in very bad condition once you looked at it a little bit closer and I have seen near ruins that have been in excellent structural condition. Ruins that required less work to fix than the seemingly perfect houses.