Buying overseas real estate often comes with increased responsibilities. Hence you need an efficient local real estate agent

While you might be a real estate guru in your home country, buying real estate in a foreign country can get messy without a knowledgeable local real estate agents

Here are just three ways things could go wrong when buying overseas property:

Over-the-top valuations: A foreign buyer probably doesn't have the stats on comps and recent sales that would help him make the best decisions on pricing. Locals might see this as a chance to price the property above market value. Without an agent on your side and banking on exchange rate advantages, sellers might feel justified to charge you more.

Taxes and paperwork omissions: In countries like Spain where there could be local rules and taxes regarding foreign home ownership, it's easy to ignore a few details. Not having the necessary licenses and permissions can be very costly.

Lopsided Communication: Sure your developer wants to come to terms quickly, which you find appealing as you don't want to hang around too long. However, you don't want to sign any form or contract without understanding what it entails. It's always important to get expert advice before signing on the dotted line.

You should have two people on your side when buying foreign real estate, a lawyer, to help with legal complications, taxes and paperwork and a real estate agent to guide you through the home buying process. You might want to ignore an agent's services as a way to save on agent charges. But here are six reasons why hiring a real estate agent for foreign property purchases is vital:

1. Full access to the market: Buyers in North America who work with agents have a full access to the Multiple Listing Service (A service that offers access to information regarding market value, comps and properties on the market). While some countries do not have a property listing service, a good agent will likely have a slew of properties and connections with other agents. This ensures he can secure a property that fits your criteria.

2. Detect overpriced properties: Where there is no MLS to set pricing, sellers and their agent often pad the asking price on their properties. Especially when the buyer has no agent on their side. Even in countries with MLS, ignorance can be a justification for an agent to charge you up to 40% above asking price. You can take advantage of an agent's market knowledge in this case. An agent has comps and data coupled with market experience and should be able to tell you instantly when a property is overpriced. However, do not neglect to do your own research about properties that catch your fancy. This will help you keep unethical agents in check.

3. Help with securing mortgage: One of the risky aspects of buying property abroad is getting financing. When considering going for a mortgage, your real estate agent can give you the low-down on mortgages for foreigners. He or she might also be able to connect you with bankers. An agent can also facilitate your loan by helping you with the necessary paperwork. This is one major reason why the services of a real estate agent are invaluable when you're buying a house overseas.

4. Negotiating and drawing up an offer: Negotiating tactics you have mastered in the US might fail to work when negotiating with sellers in Japan. The reason is that there are culture and language differences which can be difficult to fathom. So instead of trying confrontation or hard sell tactics, it is usually best to hire a professional agent who understands your situation and can persuasively represent this to a seller.

5. Help with finding good deals: You're probably trying to scoop up a good deal on a property. However, it's unlikely you'll find great deals by driving around a neighborhood. Agents have connections with other agents and access to a lot of properties. Hence it's much easier to find great deals by working with them.

6. Recommend trusted professionals: A trusted real estate agent would probably have a number of reputable service professionals in his network from inspectors, lawyers, handymen, mortgage lenders etc... This would be highly beneficial since you have little experience in the neighborhood and might be susceptible to pseudo professionals.

Caveat: When choosing agents to work with, work with vetted professionals. Don't just go with the agent down the street as that might turn out costly. This is why we periodically recommend agents in select communities who are vetted and have significant market experience to make your foreign property dream come true.

In the book Cross-cultural Business Negotiations by Donald W Hendon, there is this story about a US sales professional with years of negotiating prowess in the US, pulling down walls due to his aggressive negotiation skills. He was asked to negotiate a business deal in Japan and he failed because the same aggressive skills that brought home the bacon in the US was considered a sign of weakness and insincerity in Japan. So negotiating on foreign soil presents a little more challenge.

But whatever the reason for negotiating or the country in which you are negotiating, the important thing is looking beyond the surface and understanding the motivations of the other party. This might be hard to do when you have barriers like cultural, socio-economic, political and religious differences. But you can break through those walls and infer the motivations of the other party; study weak points, analyze your strong point and get a win-win result. Here are property negotiation tips to achieve these whether on home or foreign soil.

1.     Be respectful.

Being respectful and courteous tells the other party you’re calm and might signify you have the strong ground. This would make the negotiations an enjoyable ground for you. Moreover, everyone likes respectful people. Likability can work in your favor. But going in all firing with an aggressive attitude and you could be sending the wrong signals.

2.     Do not be afraid to ask for what you want.

Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything - they know everything is negotiable. Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to accept NO for an answer. (Check the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness). However practicing being assertive will take care of your interests while maintaining respect for the interests of others. When you put your own interests in front of others and with a lack of respect, then you are negotiating aggressively.

3.      Listen.

The most popular word in the English language (or any other language for that matter) is "I". Therefore, it stands to reason that most people love to hear themselves speak. Communication is imperative in any negotiation. Negotiators are looking for that point that will unite the two sides and create a platform for a result. Good negotiators ask questions and then listen. The other party will tell you everything you need to know - all you have to do is listen. Follow rule 90/10 - listen 90% of the time, speak 10% of the time. Make a lot of open questions sit back, relax and listen and you will be amazed at what you hear.

4.     Be Prepared.

It’s not a good strategy when you have to sit down at the negotiating table and think "I wish I'd known that" or "If I just found out before leaving the office. Know whatever there is about the house, the neighborhood and the state before getting to the negotiating table.

5.     Always be willing to walk.

Never negotiate without options. If you rely too much on the positive outcome of a negotiation, you lose your ability to say NO. When you say to yourself: "I will walk if I cannot secure a negotiation that is satisfactory," the other side perceives that you mean business. Their resolution will force them to make concessions.

Doing your homework is vital to successful negotiation. You cannot make accurate decisions without understanding both sides of the process. The more information you have about the people you are trading with, the stronger your negotiating power.

I’ve always been intrigued by the way surfers ride across the waves. The surfer waits long for a little sign, puts his gear in motion, gets into position near the peak and glides through with a small wave, trying to catch the big wave before it breaks. It’s a really risky game, requires a lot of patience. But he trusts his calculations, stays perpendicular to the upcoming waves and there he goes, riding the wave. Successful real estate investors have learnt to move like the surfer.

They have figured out that the best investment strategy as a real estate investor is to simply be on the lookout. That is, open your ears and eyes to the possibilities available to you. A lot of real estate investors built their real estate empires by being informed and proactive when they spotted opportunities. How do you adopt this same strategy and generate wealth by spotting hot real estate markets?

Yea, it’s true. Too much information may be disadvantageous in some cases. All you need may be a stroke of intuition. Alas some real estate investors fall into the trap of making ‘educated guesses’ and filling their heads with too much details. Eventually, what could appear to be a ‘hot property’ ends out being a deal turned sour. Looks may be deceiving. But you need to look at the obvious signs and trust your instinct at the same time to ride the big wave of global property investing.

IDENTIFYING AREAS OF GROWTH

1. Gentrification.

These areas may have had poor reputation in the past, but now they are seeing homeowners moving in and changing the suburban landscape. Are there a number of renovation and improvement projects going on? Are new homes being built? Which means developers are turning their focus to that area. Are new cafes or retailers opening up? Most importantly, compare house pricing for a period of 2-3 years, if prices have grown steadily, look at the demographics. An increasing number of young residents with decent incomes is a strong indication that a suburb is about to gentrify.

2. Look for the ripple effect.

If you cannot afford to buy in a hot real estate market (you may have missed the mark this time), you may still be able to shop in the area by checking the surrounding suburbs. This takes time, so you need to know what phase, the local real estate market cycle is in. This will help maximize your chances of riding the wave of growth. How to analyze real estate market cycles.

3. Examine supply and demand

The relationship between supply and demand for property in an area is a key factor in price growth. If there is no more capacity to build in the suburb, but demand continues to grow, prices are likely to rise.

TIPS FOR FINDING HIGH DEMAND AND LOW SUPPLY AREAS.

·        Look for areas where rental performance is increasing. This indicates that an area is popular with tenants. When tenants become owners, they also tend to buy in the same area they are renting;

·        Look at the demographics of people moving in the area. For instance, suburbs where median age is around 35 or so tend to gentrify faster as these demographics tend to have better incomes and can thus afford to buy or rent more expensive properties;

·        Look for areas with increasing population. The population itself is not enough to boost prices, but when combined with other indicators such as increased incomes and low supply, this is a good indication that real estate prices will grow in the area.

·        Look for large ongoing infrastructure projects. This is a good indicator that the area is likely to see an increase in demand for housing as workers gather in search of employment. Projects that have already begun are preferable, as project pledges can fall through with changes in government and as budget priorities change.

Yes, you can be the one sitting on the next hot property. All it takes is a little knowledge, research and intuition.