Foreign investors are flocking to Florida, Miami in particular, this year in search of bargain condos - and they are not being disappointed. After new construction almost ground to a halt in Miami in 2008 and 2009 and many newly built condominiums stood empty, the Miami Association of Realtors reported in a recent article [...]
Spain’s property market remains firmly in favour of buyers as figures by a leading Spanish portal showed that on average in January house-hunters there offered 23 per cent less than asking prices. According to idealista.com, in January the biggest difference between asking prices and offers was in Malaga, home to the Costa del Sol, where [...]
If your second home abroad sits vacant most of the time, you could be throwing money away unknowingly. With a little thought and attention, letting your property to holidaymakers could bring in some welcome extra income or help you cover its mortgage repayments. A new guide to letting your second home, written by The Overseas [...]
Property-owners in Greece with illegally built areas, typically in the basement or garage area, are being advised to apply to have these areas legalised, needless to say at a cost. One way the cash-strapped Greek government is trying to raise money is by encouraging town planning offices to check on transgressors and impose fines on [...]
The Overseas Guides Company helps readers with their questions about buying and living in Italy Can you please advise whether it is acceptable to restore your own property in Italy? Some companies seem to be saying it is illegal to undertake major works without a registered builder. I appreciate that any work must comply [...]
Too many Brits are buying property in Portugal without using a surveyor, despite being unfamiliar with Portuguese construction methods and the risk of their properties being susceptible to damage. “The method of construction in Portugal is completely different from northern Europe because a lot of Portugal is liable to earthquakes,” said Robert Levin, a surveyor [...]
Hiring an English-speaking lawyer to protect your interests when you buy property abroad has just got easier with the launch of a London based international law firm. The legal team at Kobalt Law, which opened for business at the start of February, includes foreign lawyers from a range of popular destinations, including Spain, France, Italy, [...]
No one would dream of buying a home in the UK without employing a lawyer to protect their interests and oversee the purchase. Which makes it baffling how British people even today continue to buy abroad without independent legal representation, and in so doing risk falling victim to a number of pitfalls and losing large [...]
2012 could be the second consecutive year that British tourists and holiday homeowners help pull the Costa Blanca out of economic hardship, according to the tourism council in Valencia. Findings by the regional tourism council show that bookings made by Brits to this popular stretch of coastline are already up on last year's figures by [...]
Remember the halcyon days of 1.5 euros to the pound? When Graham Causton and his partner Donna first moved to France that was about the rate they could expect to get when sending money over from the UK. But that was back in 2001 and since then the economic crisis has seen the pound’s [...]