5) Overseeing & Managing

If you self-build abroad or purchase to renovate you will need someone on site or in the vicinity of the property to oversee and manage the on-going build process. If you employ someone to take on the project management you need to be assured of their experience and credentials, you also need to comfortable with any language or cultural differences and that they will not affect the successful outcome of the project.

Ask for references, ask to see other properties they have managed, ask to see qualifications. In terms of language and cultural differences you need to make sure your words will be understood and interpreted correctly, you also need to be sure that any instructions are passed on correctly to the builders. Employing the right project manager is a very important task! Get it right and the project should be a dream, get it wrong and the concept of stress is one that you will become increasingly familiar with!

6) What You See Versus What You Get

If youre buying off plan or remotely (e.g., from the comfort of your arm chair back home) you need written confirmation that what you see is what you get. All too often agents will show you the top of the range property and finish when your budget is going to buy you something slightly different.

You need every detail confirming from the size and location of the plot, the size of the property with each room broken down, detailed floor plans with the location of windows, doors and integral items (from air conditioners to kitchens), the finish on doors, walls, floors, bathrooms, kitchens, external areas etc. And get some idea of the build quality. You might expect the quality to be on a par with what you have back home but you could be mistaken, what if there is no damp course or no cavity wall for example?!

If possible visit other sites that the particular developer or builder has already completed to see the standards to which he builds to, and have all important site completion details written in to the contract with a clause stating you do not hand over final monies until you are 100% satisfied. Please dont assume anything! So many people get caught out because they dont ask the right questions at the right time.

7) Overseas Mortgages

If possible have any mortgage agreed in principal before jetting off to find your dream home in the sun. You need to know exactly how much money you are going to have before making any form of commitment to buy even if that is a verbal commitment. In some countries such a commitment is as legally binding as a final contract!

Furthermore, make any real estate agent aware that you will be seeking a mortgage for the purchase of any property before setting out. Then, if you find a house you like make sure the purchase contract is conditional to you securing the finance you need.

8) Investment Potential

If youre looking to buy investment property abroad make sure you research the property market of the country youre examining. Look at it from the points of view of stability, growth potential and the liquidity of the resale market after all, its all very well buying a property that then increases by 30% but what if you cannot then sell it?

9) Tax

Find out about both the local and overseas taxation liabilities relating to foreign property purchase, rental, resale and gains. As taxation issues and liabilities change on a country by country basis you have to make sure you do your own detailed research but expect to face purchase tax in the country youre buying in, gains tax if you sell within a given period and profit from the sale, also expect to pay some form of income tax either back home or in the country in which the property is located if you rent it out for an income.

10) Property Purchase via an Offshore Company

The option to establish an offshore company for the purchase of real estate abroad is an option available to most people, but whether it is an appropriate course of action to take depends on many factors. Such factors include where in the world you wish to purchase, the value of the property and the laws relating to foreign ownership of real estate in that country.

By using an offshore company to buy abroad an individual can sometimes avoid or reduce their taxation liability, avoid certain expenses and even laws. But the applicability of this option is something that can only be determined on an individual, case by case basis.

Rhiannon Williamson is the publisher of http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ - the online resource for expatriates, international investors and those dreaming of a new life abroad.

Shelter Offshore features three main channels - offshore investment, property investment abroad and overseas lifestyle.