If you have ever considered buying your dream holiday flat or house in a foreign country, then various factors need to be considered.
Based on what I just read on this post Property Sales on Lanzarote, the market is down on houses and villas. Buyers have become more cautious as the trend with any kind of investment is a tricky thing.
If I had to give any kind of advise, I would say – don’t buy, just rent. You will have fewer headaches, fewer bills, and fewer frequent must-visits.
The headaches begin with the purchase (contract details, notary office, etc.). There will be items not quite comprehensible to the foreign buyer and one always has to rely solely on professional advice.
We have bought real estate in Germany and, being German, it was a feasible thing to do. I was familiar with most of the procedure and could question unclear items right away.
Then the bills sometimes can get out of hand as well. Hidden improvement costs looming around the corner, unexpected charges, rising costs, and economic turn-downs can turn your dream home into a money pit as well.
We have had our share of extra financial responsibility in owning an apartment in Germany. But we are right here and nothing gets decided over our head or in our absence. I would imagine owning a flat in Spain, while living in Germany, would be quite a different story to handle.
Also owning a place out of the country can not get used that much if you are part of the regular work-force. You will feel obligated to rent it out or use it yourself whenever possible.
In our case – we would rather travel to different places each chance we get for a holiday. I have not seen that dream place yet where I would return to every year.
When we were younger, we looked into buying something in Japan and it was fun while we were dreaming. When we moved to Germany, we looked into buying something across the border in France (I had always dreamed of owning a little stone house there) and I am so glad we never did. Well, I also heeded my father’s advice: “It is better to regret NOT having bought, than regret having bought something.”
As a pensioner I could imagine sharing my time between a home in a sunny place for half a year and the year’s remainder spent in Germany. But this would be way down the road in my life. This might be an option once we get there in age.
For right now – it is so much better to rent our dream home. We have found ours on the island of Crete for this summer. This will be fun – no obligations beside the rental fee, no obligatory return visits, no headaches about getting tenants for the next season, and no mortgage payments.
We will be able to sit back, enjoy this lovely dream home on Crete and have our 12 days all paid for. We will leave with good memories and without paperwork to take of and future repair estimates.
Buying is good for those who are willing to put in the extra effort. But for me, a holiday also means knowing nobody in holiday location. I don’t want to be friends with the local plumber, memorize the electrician’s phone number, nor do I want to have repair people coming into my home while vacationing. To me, a holiday means to recreate myself without any thought of daily life. I can have that at home.
i was recently in nicaragua, and saw the tsunami of foreign investors – individuals and real estate giants alike – monopolizing beautiful “properties” everywhere… not just beach front, but inland piece of land with great views.
i hope i am not too bitter in my expressing the opinions, but i have difficult time separating this trend from colonialism. and i am saying this specifically in terms of nicaragua and not other places. and i want to make it clear that i cannot give a sophisticated argument, but instead only offer from what my heart felt about what i saw.
in nicaragua, too many people live day to day. it is true that tourism does support nicaraguan economy, but even then many service establishments are owned by foreign entities.
i personally do not know how those investors can build and live in unfittingly gorgeous mansions that seems like out of LA hills next to a neighbor living in a shack with no infrastructure that are recognizable as roof, wall, or floor, and be happy. they zoom by local pedestrians driving huge SUVs. their dogs eat and sleep far better than most of the local human.
their presence create some jobs such as ground keepers, gardners, etc. but they are so keen on privatizing everything including beach front and views. they are virtually the only people who can afford beautiful colonial houses in cities like Granada and Leon. the important pieces of history as well as breath-takingly beautiful nature are in hands of foreigners instead of belonging to its people. consequently the opportunities for job and money heavily depend on what those landowners need.
my opinion may sound judgmental, but it just felt so wrong to see such power dynamics in a county that i fell in love with.