Top 7 Benefits of Buying Property Abroad

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This article explores seven basic reasons why people nurture the dream of owning foreign property

The ebbs and flows of foreign property rules in many countries have caused an influx of foreign buyers into their real estate markets. The current trend is that many countries are more accepting of foreign property buyers, unlike before. In some countries, like Australia, it is becoming a malaise, where the overpowering of foreign currency is causing an affordability crisis for residents. Hopefully, this would balance out soon. But, the fact still remains that more people are drawn to global property. In many cases, when countries have modified their laws to be more accommodating to foreign buyers, there have been real estate boom. The historical constitutional change of Thailand's foreign property laws in 1979 brought an influx of foreign investors and few months later, Thailand began experiencing its first real estate boom.

Motivations For Buying Property Abroad

It's not just about wanting to fulfill the lust for adventure. Recently, there have been an increased number of British buying foreign properties. Many of them buy for many reasons, let's just examine three:

·         Cost. Will you buy a house in Britain if you can buy two houses for the same price in Brazil? The principal motivation is pricing. The appeal of buying property abroad lies in the fact that you can buy a home conveniently and still have enough money left to have a whale of a time in your chosen country. For most people, cost is the strong motivation for buying overseas.

·         Possibility of an investment. Some property investment hotspots abroad are experiencing influx of foreign buyers. While these areas may not be the first choice for people who want to slash price in half; it is a catch for those who are seeking investment opportunities.

·         Second home. A personal reason for buying property abroad is to own a vacation property. For many affluent individuals, having a place, maybe a seaside location in Turkey to retire from the hustle and bustle, is important. With lower cost of living and interesting destinations, expats can live the good life abroad. These vacation properties also offer sound return on investment.

 

 

 

 

Benefits Of Buying Property Abroad

Broadly speaking, let's take a quick look at the 7 benefits of buying property abroad:

1.      Diversify your portfolio.

Buying property abroad is a great way to diversify your portfolio. Having all your investments, stocks and all, in your country of Birth, is like putting your eggs in one basket. Also, you can invest in a hard asset, real estate, which is proven to be more reliable than stocks.

 

2.      Diversify currency. Having all your investments denominated, in your local currency, is also 'putting your eggs in one basket'. You don't want to be at the mercy of the local economy.

 

3.      Reinvent your life. Apart from building your net worth, owning a home abroad is a way to gain a rich cultural diversity and more momentum, especially during retirement.

 

4.      Own a second home.  Instead of spending your life savings on a second home, buying a second home abroad can be 5 times cheaper. There could also be a chance to make good vacation rental income as your vacation home increases in value.

 

5.      Retire overseas. You can take advantage of the low cost of living abroad to enjoy your retirement.

 

6.      Tax deductible travel. In the US, the cost of traveling to manage your overseas property is tax-deductible.

 

7.      Earn income. A rental income overseas will generate an income that is not determined by your citizenship country's economy. For instance, rental returns in Medellin, Colombia can be up to 10% and the cost of property ownership there is low.

 

Buying property abroad is a smart move. But, anybody who wants to take the plunge must be ready to put in work. Don't just expect to sit and wait for your property to grow in value. An investment in real estate requires active and ongoing management.

 

 

 

 

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5 signs youre cash flow negative on your vacation rental property

  • 17, October 2023

Spending money consistently on a cash flow negative rental isn't smart. It might be time to change your strategy.

 

Vacation rentals are a great way to make extra income from your property investments. Short term rental provider, HomeAway https://www.homeaway.com/info/getting-started/income reports that the run-of-the-mill vacation rental property owner nets $11,000 a year.

 

But if you consistently have to spend rental profits on roof repairs, vacancies, regular maintenance, bad tenants etc, you probably have a cash flow negative property on your hand. And there are two approaches to dealing with this problem. You can either wait it out and hope things will somehow change or kickstart an exit strategy to move on.

 

While cash flow doesn't have to be a decisive factor, especially when you have a vacation rental property in an up and coming neighborhood with strong potential appreciation rates. Many times, you might be spending more than you bargained for with your rental. And the faster you discover this, the better.

 

This article outlines five signs of negative cash flow vacation rentals but before we proceed let's see a simple formula for measuring cash flow on an investment property:

 

Cash Flow = Total Income (Application fees, Rent, etc.) - Total Expenses (Monthly mortgage (if applicable); General Maintenance, Electricity, HOA, Property Management, vacancies etc.)

 

As a rule of thumb when buying an investment property, it is wise to set aside an emergency fund to cover at least first six months of expenses. So let's dive right in and see some of the signs to watch for.

 

1. High vacancy/Low occupancy rate in a location: What's the occupancy rate for your neighborhood? An important sign of a cash flow negative property is high vacancy rate in the neighborhood. According to Turnkey VR https://blog.turnkeyvr.com/much-money-can-make-vacation-rental/ specializing in the management of turnkey vacation rental homes, "Occupancy rates for vacation rentals can be all over the map. For instance, a vacation rental home in a big city might create more demand than a rental property at a seasonal location like the beach". Location is key when buying real estate, especially for investment. Hence it's wise to spend time researching a neighborhood before taking the plunge.

 

2. High Maintenance property: Are you doling out high monthly fees for property maintenance? Then you might be dealing with a cash flow negative property. A 30-year-old property might offer a great deal but when you have to spend considerable time and money on maintenance and fixes monthly, you have to ask yourself if it's worth it.

 

3. Declining Rental Property Market: How strong is the rental property market? There is a strong correlation between a thriving property market and low vacancy rates. Many times a declining rental market is a sign of underlying economic issues, most times accompanied by high unemployment rates and slow growth. Sticking around in such a neighborhood would be unwise. Unless you're confident about a significant development in the neighborhood in coming years.

 

4. High Property Taxes: Did property taxes go up? Taxes can get tricky, especially when you're buying as a foreigner. However, when sudden tax changes are eating up your income, then you have a negative cash flow property.

 

5. Problem Tenants: Are problem tenants eating up your profits? You have two options, regarding managing your rental property. You can either hire a property management company, which means more expenses but better management. Or you can just ride it solo. While this offers you the chance to take an active role with your property, dealing with problem tenants (tenants who break things, tenants refusing to pay rent or pay promptly, tenants causing disturbance etc.) is a major headache and can eat into your profits.

 

Hence the importance of having a screening process that's hard to bypass. However, if you deal with problem tenants a lot, it might be time to consider setting an exit strategy in motion.

 

You can take advantage of short-term rental cash flow with sites like HomeAway and AirBnb. While tenant turnover rates can be high in the short term, short term rentals can be profitable, especially in a popular destination such as a ski resort or beach community.

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3 Types of Content Real Estate Agents should consistently Blog About

  • 02, September 2023

The most important aspect of agent-client relationship is communication. A house seller or buyer can find it stressful dealing with an agent or buyer who is not a good communicator. An agent that stays in constant contact with clients and answers their questions proves his or her proactivity.

 

Yes you need to let buyers and sellers know where they stand quickly so they can move on to another property or potential buyer. Real estate is time sensitive. Buyers and sellers need the right information and need it fast. Hence, one of the qualities of a good agent is the ability to give the right information to the right kind of buyer at the right time. What an experienced agent might deem insignificant information might be important information to clients who are new to the real estate game. Putting the right information in front of clients communicate that you're an agent who puts clients first.

 

It's the responsibility of a good agent to sort out what clients need to know and provide this information. Hence it's important that an agent has a well updated website complete with valuable information. You don't really need to pressure your clients with too much information. Just the right information will do. Here are five content types that real estate buyers and sellers find valuable.

 

REAL ESTATE CONTENT TYPES THAT WORK

 

When correctly done, real estate content marketing can be a game changer for your real estate business. You have the chance to attract thousands of new leads through well-researched, helpful content. This is why effective real estate bloggers put a lot of plan and effort into creating the right content for their real estate website. Here are some of the real estate content types you should be posting for your real estate business.

 

1. Market Reports. Writing a recap of real estate activity in your community for the month shows you as a knowledgeable real estate agent in the community. Buyers and sellers want to be informed about the real estate market in their area of residence. Even if they aren't going to take action immediately, when you post fact-based market reports, they know whom to approach for questions. Also, Google ranks market reports high. Since few realtors are posting them, your posts have less competition.

 

2. Local Community Information. A local community guide includes details about a neighborhood such as detailed information about the local real estate market, local economy, housing and population, local school information, parks and restaurants and attractions. This type of content is important because it increases your real estate website's SEO value and helps the area residents see that you have strong knowledge of the community.

 

3. Home buyer and seller tips. Both buyers and sellers have a lot of questions on their minds about real estate. Providing helpful information on your site can be timely and help you gain more leads. However, when covering the questions, your visitors would find it much more helpful if you cover the topic in 'extreme' detail and they'll love you for it.

 

Cold calling for sale by owners or door knocking is old school. A much better way of gaining trust and new leads is through helpful content.  When you consistently post content that real estate buyers and sellers love, you'll start reaping the benefits of real estate content marketing.

 

 

By Bebuzee Admin Read More
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How Much Should I expect To Pay in Stamp Duty Fees When Buying Foreign Property?

  • 20, May 2023

When you hear stamp duty, don't run for cover! Stamp duty fees are only applicable in the Commonwealth of Nations countries, Singapore, Australia and a few states in the US. It is a tax that arises from the transfer of property, usually, you pay when you sell. In this case, there will be a transfer of documents. Stamp duty legally requires that these documents are stamped, this shows the amount of tax paid. This means you’re actually paying for government stamp. Where enforced, stamp duty is placed on transfer of lands, homes, buildings, copyrights, patents and securities.

Facts About Stamp Duty fees

Stamp duty can be one small additional cost to your home, especially if you're dealing with a second home or investment property. Here are some things you should know about stamp duty:

* In the UK, the government levies stamp duty tax on all share transactions, currently at 0.5%. This generates £4bn for the treasury.

* In the European Union, Germany, Sweden, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have no stamp duty.

* France charges stamp duty only for transactions above £5,000. In the US, stamp duty is more or less insignificant, only 0.003 percent is charged.

* When you deal with really big money, it becomes a problem. Stamp duty is the reason why influential fund manager, Fidelity, moved half of its £6bn UK special situation fund offshore in 2016.

* Stamp duty came into being 200 years ago in the UK and some people believe that it was the sparking flame for American Independence Movement. When it was introduced to the American colonies in 1765, it was met by protests.

* Stamp duty is only paid on brick and mortar of the house. It shouldn't feature fixtures and fittings, white goods or items of furniture as they are exempt. You pay stamp duty on land and property purchases.

* You also pay the stamp duty when you buy shares valued at more than £ 1,000, although it is a different system, and the rates are different as well.

* You do not pay it on properties in Scotland. Instead you have a Land and Buildings transaction tax on properties costing more than £ 145,000.

* In the UK, just because your property is below £ 125,000 does not mean you can ignore Stamp Duty. You still have to submit a Stamp Duty land tax return.

 

* Even though your lawyer usually takes care of it, it is your responsibility to make sure that the return and payment are shipped on time. If it is late, you will pay a fine of £ 100, plus any interest.

* If you are transferring a portion of your home to an ex-partner after divorce or separation, or if you are giving the deeds of your house to someone - as a gift or in your will - you do not have to pay stamp duty.

How Much Stamp Duty Should I Expect To Pay?

In the UK, there are several price bands for Stamp Duty. The tax is calculated by the part of the purchase price of property that falls within each band. For example, if you buy a house for £ 275,000, the tax on the stamp duty (SDLT) you owe is calculated as follows:

0% on the first £ 125,000 = £ 0

2% on next £ 125,000 = £ 2,500

5% in the final £ 25,000 = £ 1,250

Total SDLT = £ 3,750

In this case you pay £ 3,750. This will not be the case in other countries. So, it is important that you contact a lawyer in your destination country who’d give information on how stamp duty is calculated.

By Bebuzee Admin Read More