/euro-money-house-lg.jpg)
Amanda Lamb gives her thoughts and advice on making your money go further when purchasing a property abroad, as well as ensuring the deal is concluded as quickly and smoothly as possible...
/amanda-lamb-md.jpg)
When you're a Brit buying abroad, one of your biggest worries might be that you'll be overcharged for a property, simply because you're a foreign buyer and don't know that particular market.
In countries where there are registered agents and an official valuation system in place, this is not normally a problem. That said, I have come across places in France and Spain with three different prices: one for locals who know the area, one for people who live in the country but not in the region, and then another for British and other foreign investors.
It's a tricky subject to tackle. I think there will always be the risk of people trying to 'pull a fast one' (as my dear old granny used to say). In countries without official valuation systems, it's a good idea to make sure you carry out a lot of research on the Internet before you get out there, so you at least have an idea of what to expect to pay for your chosen property.
However, we had a case on A Place in the Sun that completely stumped me. It happened when we were filming in the middle of Sardinia in Italy.
Now, although a lot of the coastal resorts in Sardinia have registered estate agents, it's a completely different story in the centre of the island. Estate agents simply don't exist, so to find out about properties for sale we spoke to the local mayors, bar owners and even, at one point, a priest!
This can lead to all sorts of problems as the owners of the properties decide how much they want for them - or, rather, how much they think they're worth.
What you have to remember is that some of the properties have been in the same family for generations, and there is an awful lot of sentiment attached. With one particular property we showed our house-hunters, the council told me it was worth around £105,000. However, the owner said he wanted £140,000 – then, overnight, when he found out that the buyers were English, that figure went up to £170,000. He argued that if the house was in England it would be worth a lot more than £170,000.
/sardinia-md.jpg)
I said that we weren't in England, we were in the middle of the Sardinian countryside and nobody would pay that amount for it. But he was absolutely adamant and refused to budge.
So, if you are thinking of buying in a country where the owners have the final say in the sale price, bear in mind that a property is only worth what you're prepared to pay for it. Don't pay over the odds - when you come to sell it at a later point it won't have increased in value and you could stand to lose a lot of money. Ask around and find out how much other people have paid for their properties in the area - as always, the more information you have, the better.
Our house-hunters in Sardinia upped their offer to £120,000 because they loved the property so much - but when that was refused, they walked away. In my opinion, that was very wise - they might have lost the house they really wanted, but if they'd given in they could have lost a lot more than that in the long term.
Why not see how far your money might go if you buy abroad? Search for your dream overseas property on aplaceinthesun.com
.jpg)
Amanda Lamb is on her travels finding you the ideal location for your new house
.jpg)
Your Comments
Post your comment
Please note: In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in to Channel 4:
Sign In Here or Register Here
Comments closed
Comments are closed at the present time
Comments
Thank you for your comment!
Your message will be reviewed and the best ones will be published below.
If you intended to make an official comment to Channel 4 please contact us.
Comments