Hello there. How are things going with you? Still planning on buying abroad?
Chatting to people about buying property abroad, I find that one of the main concerns is how to chose a good and trustworthy developer if you are buying off-plan.
This problem has been made worse by the current economic climate – many developers are going under, and sometimes taking unwary buyers and their dreams with them. It is therefore absolutely crucial that you have a really god look at the credentials of your developer before signing on the dotted line..
An email that I received recently bears this out. It tells of the endless problems encountered by one of the OGC readers who had failed to do his homework – and he really paid a heavy price, both in financial terms and in the stress that such things bring with them.
The property he bought was about one third completed at the time he paid his deposit to the developer. All went well until the house was ready for the final finish and, at this point, the developer sacked the builders and employed his own low paid and unskilled labour. The result was that the finish was very poor and, although the complex was completed, only 7 or 8 properties have been sold to date.
Financial penalties for late completion were not paid although there was a six month delay. The unhappy owner only discovered when it came time to address this problem that his solicitor also represents the developer!
All this could so easily have been avoided. I am going to outline a few essential and non-negotiable points for you to think about:
- If possible, move into rented accommodation nearby BEFORE you plan to buy and chat to locals about the developer/s you are thinking of buying through
- Search the Internet for expat forums on your town or city of choice. Some highlight poor practices and name and shame shoddy developers
- Google in the name of the developer you are thinking of using and see what comes up
- Get a developer that is a member of a regulatory body if at all possible
- Consider using a reputable estate agent instead of going to the developer direct – to protect themselves they will have done the checks
- Insist on visiting a couple of the developers’ previous projects and on talking to previous buyers
- Retain a solicitor independent of the developer so that there can be no conflict of interest
- Make sure your solicitor draws up a contract that protects YOU
- Make absolutely sure that the developer’s financial staged payments (stipulated in the contract of sale) require you to pay according to completion of build stages and not simply by date
- Buy a bond or take out insurance to protect yourself if the developer goes bust or there are any major issues with the build
- Take your time and refused to be rushed
If you follow the above to the letter the chances of anything going wrong will be dramatically reduced.
Chatting to someone in the property business abroad, she told me that she was stunned by how many people simply abandoned all the normal checks and balances that they would apply if they were buying property in the UK – don’t be one of them!
Speak to you soon – and I’d love to hear from you.
Take care until next Friday – warm wishes,
Carol and Kim
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com
Friday 28 May 2010
Friday 21 May 2010
Owner of all you survey…!
Hello there – how are you? Peering out of my window it is gloomy and overcast: I cannot get over how quickly the weather changes here. One moment it’s blue, clear skies and the next – rain! Oh well… I guess that’s why people buy homes abroad!
I have been working for the Overseas Guides Company for a number of years now – I must have spoken to hundreds of people buying property abroad; most of them have gone on to find the home of their dreams and have absolutely no regrets. However, I do sometimes hear of disasters and, on analysing the problem, it all comes down to one thing: they have not checked the property and its surroundings adequately before signing on the dotted line.
Two cases spring to mind here. I received an email a while back from a couple who had purchased a farm from an estate agent and were told that it was just over 2 hectares in size.
All the official paperwork confirmed this. To their enormous surprise, when measuring the land some while later, they found it was only 1 hectare. The estate agents deny liability, saying that the official papers confirm that the land is 2 hectares and that they go by the official figures. Needless to say, their query to me was how they should set about recovering half their money.
Hindsight is 20/20, but there is only one way to make sure that this does not happen to you and that is to get an independent surveyor, or an architect licensed to survey, to perform a survey and make their findings a condition of sale. You also need to make sure upfront exactly what will be included in the survey and demand a full report on all findings. A full structural survey should include the condition of all buildings, particularly the foundations, roofs, walls and woodwork; plumbing, electricity and heating systems; and anything else you want inspected such as a swimming pool plus its equipment…and the size of the land of course.
Sadly, the only route for this unfortunate buyer to go is probably to litigate, but this can take a very long time, may cost a lot of money and who knows if the owner is still around? And still has the money to reimburse? Or will even be found guilty - once all the contracts are signed you pretty much accept the property as is – ‘Voetstoets’ is the term used in South Africa. The seller may even have sold in good faith and not be aware of the discrepancy… a really thorny issue, isn’t it?
The second disaster I was made aware of was an apartment with spectacular sea views, bought by an older couple as a holiday bolthole for their grandchildren. Trouble was, when they arrived at their holiday apartment after an absence of a few months, an enormous block of flats had been erected, totally blocking their magnificent view of the sea.
Strangely enough, some months before I had planned a trip to Crete, in Greece, and one of the OGC readers had asked me to have a peep at a sea facing apartment he was thinking of buying. I asked the agent I happened to be travelling around the island with, and his immediate reply was that his company were building a huge block in front of it…Needless to say – one lucky escape!
Make sure you are not caught out in this way - a professional survey may cost a bit but it really is money well spent.
Let me know how your plans are coming along. Have you heard any stories where a survey saved the day – or perhaps the reverse, where disaster struck because no survey was completed?
Take care and see you next week. Best regards, Carol (and Kim)
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com
I have been working for the Overseas Guides Company for a number of years now – I must have spoken to hundreds of people buying property abroad; most of them have gone on to find the home of their dreams and have absolutely no regrets. However, I do sometimes hear of disasters and, on analysing the problem, it all comes down to one thing: they have not checked the property and its surroundings adequately before signing on the dotted line.
Two cases spring to mind here. I received an email a while back from a couple who had purchased a farm from an estate agent and were told that it was just over 2 hectares in size.
All the official paperwork confirmed this. To their enormous surprise, when measuring the land some while later, they found it was only 1 hectare. The estate agents deny liability, saying that the official papers confirm that the land is 2 hectares and that they go by the official figures. Needless to say, their query to me was how they should set about recovering half their money.
Hindsight is 20/20, but there is only one way to make sure that this does not happen to you and that is to get an independent surveyor, or an architect licensed to survey, to perform a survey and make their findings a condition of sale. You also need to make sure upfront exactly what will be included in the survey and demand a full report on all findings. A full structural survey should include the condition of all buildings, particularly the foundations, roofs, walls and woodwork; plumbing, electricity and heating systems; and anything else you want inspected such as a swimming pool plus its equipment…and the size of the land of course.
Sadly, the only route for this unfortunate buyer to go is probably to litigate, but this can take a very long time, may cost a lot of money and who knows if the owner is still around? And still has the money to reimburse? Or will even be found guilty - once all the contracts are signed you pretty much accept the property as is – ‘Voetstoets’ is the term used in South Africa. The seller may even have sold in good faith and not be aware of the discrepancy… a really thorny issue, isn’t it?
The second disaster I was made aware of was an apartment with spectacular sea views, bought by an older couple as a holiday bolthole for their grandchildren. Trouble was, when they arrived at their holiday apartment after an absence of a few months, an enormous block of flats had been erected, totally blocking their magnificent view of the sea.
Strangely enough, some months before I had planned a trip to Crete, in Greece, and one of the OGC readers had asked me to have a peep at a sea facing apartment he was thinking of buying. I asked the agent I happened to be travelling around the island with, and his immediate reply was that his company were building a huge block in front of it…Needless to say – one lucky escape!
Make sure you are not caught out in this way - a professional survey may cost a bit but it really is money well spent.
Let me know how your plans are coming along. Have you heard any stories where a survey saved the day – or perhaps the reverse, where disaster struck because no survey was completed?
Take care and see you next week. Best regards, Carol (and Kim)
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com
Friday 14 May 2010
Information I hope you won’t need!
Looking out of my window today, it is a lovely sunny day. Can it be that summer is finally on its way?
Are you planning to visit Portugal this summer? I am hoping to, and chatting to people who are planning to either visit or relocate to Portugal I am frequently asked about the medical system there and how Portugal compares to the NHS.
Comparisons, they say, are odious, but what I do recommend is that you look very carefully into the level of medical care when you are buying anywhere abroad, and this includes Portugal. Make a concerted effort to pick an area that will fulfil certain requirements and don’t fall hopelessly in love with a home BEFORE you have made sure that there are certain necessary requirements that the area can provide you with.
One of those requirements is adequate health and medical care. Don’t sign on the bottom line and later find that there isn’t a doctor or hospital within miles if one of your family has a heart condition for instance. If you have small children it’s also rather comforting to have medical help relatively close by. It is also very difficult to form a trusting relationship with your doctor if they don’t speak a word of English – check this out with the expat community perhaps.
The standard of health care and health care facilities in Portugal is generally considered good, but variable. What I mean by that is in rural areas you may find that they are not as good as in the UK. Nursing care and post-hospital assistance for instance are below our standards.
Portugal has a public health system, providing free or low cost health care for those who contribute to Portuguese social security (segurança social), their families and retirees from other EU countries. There are subsidised prescriptions for members aged over 65 and charges of from 40 to 100 per cent for non-essential medicines plus substantial contributions for many services including spectacles, dentures, dental and other treatments.
If you come from a EU country, and providing you have your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), you are covered for emergency health treatment as a visitor to Portugal.
You should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving the UK – you have to present this to get free or rebated medical expenses as mentioned above. The EHIC is available free of charge through most UK post offices or apply online at www.ehic.org.uk You can also contact them on 0845 606 2030 and get them to send you one. Every family member (individual traveller) needs their own card - that includes children.
Remember, your EHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance. It won't cover you for repatriation or losses due to crime or natural disasters. Only comprehensive travel health insurance cover, which you'll have to take out privately, would cover you for that.
Only state-provided treatment is covered, and you'll receive treatment on the same terms as 'insured' residents of the country you're visiting. Private treatment isn't covered, and state-provided treatment may not cover all of the things that you'd expect to receive free of charge from the NHS.
If you don’t qualify for health care under the public health system, it’s essential to have private health insurance - in fact, you won’t get a residence card without it. This is often recomended in any case if you can afford it, due to long waiting lists for specialist appointments and non-urgent operations in many areas.
There are 24-hour emergency hospitals in major towns and private hospitals and clinics in major towns and resort areas (including small British hospitals in Lisbon and Porto).
I hope this helps – and that you won’t need to use the information! See you soon – have a great week.
Carol
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com
Are you planning to visit Portugal this summer? I am hoping to, and chatting to people who are planning to either visit or relocate to Portugal I am frequently asked about the medical system there and how Portugal compares to the NHS.
Comparisons, they say, are odious, but what I do recommend is that you look very carefully into the level of medical care when you are buying anywhere abroad, and this includes Portugal. Make a concerted effort to pick an area that will fulfil certain requirements and don’t fall hopelessly in love with a home BEFORE you have made sure that there are certain necessary requirements that the area can provide you with.
One of those requirements is adequate health and medical care. Don’t sign on the bottom line and later find that there isn’t a doctor or hospital within miles if one of your family has a heart condition for instance. If you have small children it’s also rather comforting to have medical help relatively close by. It is also very difficult to form a trusting relationship with your doctor if they don’t speak a word of English – check this out with the expat community perhaps.
The standard of health care and health care facilities in Portugal is generally considered good, but variable. What I mean by that is in rural areas you may find that they are not as good as in the UK. Nursing care and post-hospital assistance for instance are below our standards.
Portugal has a public health system, providing free or low cost health care for those who contribute to Portuguese social security (segurança social), their families and retirees from other EU countries. There are subsidised prescriptions for members aged over 65 and charges of from 40 to 100 per cent for non-essential medicines plus substantial contributions for many services including spectacles, dentures, dental and other treatments.
If you come from a EU country, and providing you have your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), you are covered for emergency health treatment as a visitor to Portugal.
You should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before leaving the UK – you have to present this to get free or rebated medical expenses as mentioned above. The EHIC is available free of charge through most UK post offices or apply online at www.ehic.org.uk You can also contact them on 0845 606 2030 and get them to send you one. Every family member (individual traveller) needs their own card - that includes children.
Remember, your EHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance. It won't cover you for repatriation or losses due to crime or natural disasters. Only comprehensive travel health insurance cover, which you'll have to take out privately, would cover you for that.
Only state-provided treatment is covered, and you'll receive treatment on the same terms as 'insured' residents of the country you're visiting. Private treatment isn't covered, and state-provided treatment may not cover all of the things that you'd expect to receive free of charge from the NHS.
If you don’t qualify for health care under the public health system, it’s essential to have private health insurance - in fact, you won’t get a residence card without it. This is often recomended in any case if you can afford it, due to long waiting lists for specialist appointments and non-urgent operations in many areas.
There are 24-hour emergency hospitals in major towns and private hospitals and clinics in major towns and resort areas (including small British hospitals in Lisbon and Porto).
I hope this helps – and that you won’t need to use the information! See you soon – have a great week.
Carol
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com
Friday 7 May 2010
A ray of light in the gloom...
The news from The Euro Zone is not good this week, to say the very least.
An estimated 100,000 people took part in the march in central Athens to protest austerity measures being pushed through by the government and sadly three people died in the ensuing mayhem. The measures were instituted at the insistence of the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and it looks as though Portugal and Spain may follow hard on Greece’s heels…with many wondering whether the UK will face similar problems.
Moody’s, the international rating agency, warned on Wednesday it may downgrade Portugal’s government bonds in the next three months because of deteriorating public finances and “long-term growth challenges”. The warning came as the Lisbon Stock Market fell for a second consecutive day and the cost of government borrowing rose amid market fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread to Portugal and Spain.
The Portuguese government has promised that it would immediately implement austerity measures initially planned for 2011-2013 in response to “speculative attacks against Portugal’s sovereign debt.” The measures are part of a stability and growth programme that aims to cut the budget deficit from 9.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 to 2.8 per cent in 2013.
Portugal's great weakness, however, remains its slow growth as competition from elsewhere in the world makes their traditional industries redundant. Factories have closed while new industries, such as renewable energy, have not yet been set in operation. Unemployment is at 9.7 %, lower than Spain, but unlike Spain, Portugal failed to create growth or get its public finances under proper control after it joined the euro in 1999.
The Government has however decided to work with the opposition party in an attempt to persuade the markets that Portugal is serious about controlling its deficit. Measures already announced include higher taxes for the rich, rising from 42 to 45%, and later retirement for civil servants, where retirement age has now been set at 65 instead of 62 ½ - strange to set it the extra half isn’t it? Public sector workers in hospitals, schools and courts went on strike last month to complain about this change…
It does seem that there is a singular lack of forethought as to how strike action and protest marches will effect the economy – mind you, I suppose the same could be said about the BA strikes at a time when BA is struggling to keep afloat. Add to this the natural disaster of volcanic ash making tourists wary of travelling to Europe and it really does seem a recipe for financial disaster as it may well put holiday makers off.
All this would seem to be unremittingly gloomy, but interestingly enough, if you are in the process of buying property abroad right now it may not be.
On Wednesday sterling hit €1.16/£1 against the euro. If there is one single thing that you can do right now to protect yourself, it is to sign up with a reputable currency company like Smart Currency and consider ‘forward buying’ your currency. As Smart mentioned in an email sent out to all clients, and I quote: ” Even though the European Central Bank and the IMF say they have agreed a debt rescue package for the Greeks the markets remain unconvinced. And problems are spreading to other European countries such as Spain and Portugal, whose debts are much greater than the Greeks.”
You can buy currency at today’s rate for up to a year in the future. This means effectively that you will know in advance exactly how much your currency transfers will cost you. You will not have to be in the hands of whatever financial disaster may arise, and that includes any problems that may hit the UK. Frankly, the wisest course of action would be to pick up the phone and have a chat to a currency expert about this. Right now! Go to www.smartcurrencyexchange.com
Let me know how your plans to visit or buy in Portugal are going. I am planning a visit in August and I can’t wait! Any ideas out there – what’s your favourite place? I’m toying with the idea of Lisbon which, believe it or not, I have never visited!
Take care…bye for now!
Carol.
www.portugalbuyingguide.com
An estimated 100,000 people took part in the march in central Athens to protest austerity measures being pushed through by the government and sadly three people died in the ensuing mayhem. The measures were instituted at the insistence of the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and it looks as though Portugal and Spain may follow hard on Greece’s heels…with many wondering whether the UK will face similar problems.
Moody’s, the international rating agency, warned on Wednesday it may downgrade Portugal’s government bonds in the next three months because of deteriorating public finances and “long-term growth challenges”. The warning came as the Lisbon Stock Market fell for a second consecutive day and the cost of government borrowing rose amid market fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread to Portugal and Spain.
The Portuguese government has promised that it would immediately implement austerity measures initially planned for 2011-2013 in response to “speculative attacks against Portugal’s sovereign debt.” The measures are part of a stability and growth programme that aims to cut the budget deficit from 9.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 to 2.8 per cent in 2013.
Portugal's great weakness, however, remains its slow growth as competition from elsewhere in the world makes their traditional industries redundant. Factories have closed while new industries, such as renewable energy, have not yet been set in operation. Unemployment is at 9.7 %, lower than Spain, but unlike Spain, Portugal failed to create growth or get its public finances under proper control after it joined the euro in 1999.
The Government has however decided to work with the opposition party in an attempt to persuade the markets that Portugal is serious about controlling its deficit. Measures already announced include higher taxes for the rich, rising from 42 to 45%, and later retirement for civil servants, where retirement age has now been set at 65 instead of 62 ½ - strange to set it the extra half isn’t it? Public sector workers in hospitals, schools and courts went on strike last month to complain about this change…
It does seem that there is a singular lack of forethought as to how strike action and protest marches will effect the economy – mind you, I suppose the same could be said about the BA strikes at a time when BA is struggling to keep afloat. Add to this the natural disaster of volcanic ash making tourists wary of travelling to Europe and it really does seem a recipe for financial disaster as it may well put holiday makers off.
All this would seem to be unremittingly gloomy, but interestingly enough, if you are in the process of buying property abroad right now it may not be.
On Wednesday sterling hit €1.16/£1 against the euro. If there is one single thing that you can do right now to protect yourself, it is to sign up with a reputable currency company like Smart Currency and consider ‘forward buying’ your currency. As Smart mentioned in an email sent out to all clients, and I quote: ” Even though the European Central Bank and the IMF say they have agreed a debt rescue package for the Greeks the markets remain unconvinced. And problems are spreading to other European countries such as Spain and Portugal, whose debts are much greater than the Greeks.”
You can buy currency at today’s rate for up to a year in the future. This means effectively that you will know in advance exactly how much your currency transfers will cost you. You will not have to be in the hands of whatever financial disaster may arise, and that includes any problems that may hit the UK. Frankly, the wisest course of action would be to pick up the phone and have a chat to a currency expert about this. Right now! Go to www.smartcurrencyexchange.com
Let me know how your plans to visit or buy in Portugal are going. I am planning a visit in August and I can’t wait! Any ideas out there – what’s your favourite place? I’m toying with the idea of Lisbon which, believe it or not, I have never visited!
Take care…bye for now!
Carol.
www.portugalbuyingguide.com
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