buying property abroad

alienhead

i had this posted in "after hours"

just wondering if anyone has bought property abroad for investment purpouses.

(not sure if this is the right place to post, is there a more relevant section)

i'm thinking of buying an apartment in budapest, just a short time investment, anyone done this? advice

voodoo

Hi there,

Had thought about this myself and actually gotten some information. Was looking at Croatia though as it was coming in a bit cheaper, the accomodation was alot nicer and by the sea and they are entering the Euro in 2007, so you would benefit from that also in terms of a single currency.

There is a show on in Croke Park Conference Center soon. Cant remember when, but it's been run by The Sunday Business Post. May be a good place to make the initial contact. They will have all the relevant people there to help on this.

Cheers,

Voodoo

alienhead

interesting, hard to know where to buy really, reason i'm interested in budapest is, there was a big profit margin last year, think property went up 35%!

thing is, the boom is more than likelly over.

where abouts in croatia were you looking? dubrovnik?

Originally posted by voodoo
Hi there,

Had thought about this myself and actually gotten some information. Was looking at Croatia though as it was coming in a bit cheaper, the accomodation was alot nicer and by the sea and they are entering the Euro in 2007, so you would benefit from that also in terms of a single currency.

There is a show on in Croke Park Conference Center soon. Cant remember when, but it's been run by The Sunday Business Post. May be a good place to make the initial contact. They will have all the relevant people there to help on this.

Cheers,

Voodoo

Bluehair

Originally posted by voodoo
Was looking at Croatia ....... they are entering the Euro in 2007, so you would benefit from that also in terms of a single currency.

Are you sure about that?

They are due to enter the EU in 2007 (all going well) which will undoubtably be of huge benefit from a propertys owners perspective anyway.

They aren't in line to join the single currency though and likely won't for at least a few years after joining the EU.

Victor

Originally posted by alienhead
interesting, hard to know where to buy really, reason i'm interested in budapest is, there was a big profit margin last year, think property went up 35%!

All that means is things are 35% overpriced compared to last year.

voodoo

Alien Head, Dont you think Budapest is very "old city" and run-down?

I was in contact with Aquarius Properties and they sent me on a prospectus and all! It was amazing to get it and see what they had for sale! The areas I was looking at was in the north - A region called Istria, and more specifically in the Porec area. You can find Aquarius at - http://www.aquariusproperties.com/aqua/properties/Republic_of_Croatia.asp

In terms of them joining the single currency, I must admit, I am not 100%, but it would seem that if they join the Euro, then the prospect of a single currency must be mouthwatering and only a formality (the UK of course being an exception

Anyway, hope this helps!

RainyDay

Don't expect to get independent advice from any of these agents or exhibitions. These are sales people, pure & simple, dependant on the commission from your purchase to survive.

Foreign property is a high risk investment. Make sure you really, really know what you are doing before you invest.

alienhead

ta for advice

Originally posted by RainyDay
Don't expect to get independent advice from any of these agents or exhibitions. These are sales people, pure & simple, dependant on the commission from your purchase to survive.

Foreign property is a high risk investment. Make sure you really, really know what you are doing before you invest.

shepthedog

Prague is an absolutely fantastic city with excellent value on property at the moment, alot of investors looking at it, due to enter Eurozone in May etc

alienhead

is it not a bit red tapey though?

Originally posted by shepthedog
Prague is an absolutely fantastic city with excellent value on property at the moment, alot of investors looking at it, due to enter Eurozone in May etc

shepthedog

No more so than anywhere else...
Plently of info and companies who will deal with the whole works for you..

The basics are:
you must either form a company to buy the property

or

have a czech person as past owner, can be as little as €1, just for regulatory purposes..

Tazz T

Buying overseas property can be a complicated affair especially concerning tax. There are different rules for each country. The overseas exhibition is coming up in the RDS at the end of the month. I went to it last year and found it really helpful. There are seminars throughout the day on different aspects of buying abroad and you can usually collar a speaker for a one-to-one. Start there...

Good luck.

alienhead

ta tazz

Originally posted by Tazz T
Buying overseas property can be a complicated affair especially concerning tax. There are different rules for each country. The overseas exhibition is coming up in the RDS at the end of the month. I went to it last year and found it really helpful. There are seminars throughout the day on different aspects of buying abroad and you can usually collar a speaker for a one-to-one. Start there...

Good luck.

shepthedog

You got any location or dates for this exhibition yet tazz???

shepthedog

Bulgarian Property links

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144994

Tazz T

Overseas Property Event takes place at the RDS, Dublin on the 20th & 21st March frm 10.30 am to 5 pm. Adm 6 euros. For seminar timetable, see
www.homesoverseas.co.uk/rds
Make sure you type 'homesoverseas' not 'homeoverseas' or you'll get diverted to a set of links.

RainyDay

At the risk of being boring, may I repeat my point from above;

Don't expect to get independent advice from any of these agents or exhibitions. These are sales people, pure & simple, dependant on the commission from your purchase to survive.

Foreign property is a high risk investment. Make sure you really, really know what you are doing before you invest.

shepthedog

I would say czech republic is well worth looking at..

anyone got a similar website for there? I had one great one but cant find the addy now!

Tazz T

@Rainy Day

The guy I talked to last year worked for a financial firm and had been employed to give the seminars. I talked to him after one of his seminars and found him very helpful - he didn't try to sell me anything.

RainyDay

Originally posted by Tazz T
@Rainy Day

The guy I talked to last year worked for a financial firm and had been employed to give the seminars. I talked to him after one of his seminars and found him very helpful - he didn't try to sell me anything.

Well that's just one step back. He's being paid to speak at the seminars by the organisers of the seminar, who are being paid by those earning commission from selling the properties. While it is useful to have these discussions, it would be lunacy to base a substantial investment decision on anything you pick up from those discussions. Seek independent advice - and pay for it if you have to.

alienhead

wise words

Originally posted by RainyDay
Well that's just one step back. He's being paid to speak at the seminars by the organisers of the seminar, who are being paid by those earning commission from selling the properties. While it is useful to have these discussions, it would be lunacy to base a substantial investment decision on anything you pick up from those discussions. Seek independent advice - and pay for it if you have to.

TommyK

Originally posted by voodoo
. . . and they are entering the Euro in 2007, so you would benefit from that also in terms of a single currency.

I know this doesn't really answer Alien Head's question but I was actually wondering about this recently. . .

Is the reason for rising property prices in Eastern Europe *soley* due to the fact that many of the countries there are about to join the E.U. (with resultant high interest from existing E.U.-based people for investment purposes).

Are there any other factors involved?

(Hope this doesn't seem like a silly question

Regards,
Tommy.

RainyDay

Tread carefully in Hungary

Victor

Originally posted by TommyK
Is the reason for rising property prices in Eastern Europe *soley* due to the fact that many of the countries there are about to join the E.U. (with resultant high interest from existing E.U.-based people for investment purposes).

It's a large part of it, but those countries are improving economically anyway and incomes are rising, this makes the properties theoretically good for appreciation in value.

Entry into the EU will tend to cause appreciation (also knwon as inflatiion) in those currencies and incomes as prices rise to EU price.

RainyDay

Originally posted by Victor
Entry into the EU will tend to cause appreciation (also known as inflatiion) in those currencies and incomes as prices rise to EU price.

Iwouldn't bet my shirt on this. Ireland joined the EU (or EEC as it was then) in 1972, and property prices stagnated for most of that decade. There are no guarantees with this kind of investment. Don't invest if you can't afford to lose it.

Victor

I'm only saying "tend to", no guarantees, no money back if the market is already over-inflated.