International Real Estate: What You Should Know Before Buying Abroad

Written by Phillip Townsend


1. Do your homework. Familiarize yourself withrepparttar laws and customs ofrepparttar 148773 country. Researchrepparttar 148774 tax codes, currency restrictions, andrepparttar 148775 qualifications for residency. Having a local attorney is a must. Ask your real estate agent or a fellow expatriate to recommend an attorney. The local American embassy can also provide a list of referrals. If you plan of purchasing property in a place where English is notrepparttar 148776 official language, you should insist on a bilingual lawyer who is able to translate all relevant legal documents.

2. Research. Find outrepparttar 148777 specifics about your new home-to-be: fromrepparttar 148778 local political and economic situation torepparttar 148779 daily cost-of-living. The last thing you want is to sink money into a place that's unstable. Check outrepparttar 148780 U.S. State Department's site, www.state.gov, for up-to-date assessments of virtually every country.

3. Finding a realtor. Once you're ready to look at property, you'll need to find a competent local real estate professional. There are many horror stories of people who have either dealt with either unscrupulous or misinformed parties, costing them thousands of dollars (and in a few cases, their entire investment). Don't be one of those who learnrepparttar 148781 hard way. Some U.S., UK and Australian firms have representatives or prescreened affiliates abroad. In some countries (Mexico, Honduras and Bali, for example), real estate agents are not required to be licensed and con artists abound, waiting to prey on cash-rich foreigners. A good resource for competent real estate professionals isrepparttar 148782 International Real Estate Contacts list, which is available at: www.thegloballife.net. 4. The process. While every place has it own set of rules and nuances,repparttar 148783 process of buying abroad generally works like this: First,repparttar 148784 buyer andrepparttar 148785 seller to agree on a price, a security deposit (generally, 10 to 25 percent) will probably be required to takerepparttar 148786 house offrepparttar 148787 market. Your attorney should then receive a copy ofrepparttar 148788 title and verify thatrepparttar 148789 property is free from any liens or claims againstrepparttar 148790 property. They should also advise you of any strange archaic laws, like those in parts of Canada that allow anyone to fish on your land, those in England and France that allow sheep to pass through your property, those in rural Italy that give your neighbors first-refusal rights on any land used for agricultural purposes (which could leave someone else withrepparttar 148791 fruit inrepparttar 148792 vineyard or olive grove on "your" property), or historic construction bans that prevent you from making any external changes to a property (even installing a pool). Also, if you are buying anything in need of restoration (or more than a hundred years old), have a structural survey done.

5. Mortgages? Financing your dream home may not be possible abroad. Your U.S. bank will only lend yourepparttar 148793 money for your foreign abode if you're willing to use other assets for collateral, like your exisiting home or automobile, CDs or brokerage account. Some foreign banks will extend a mortgage once you've opened an account, but most likely, you will have to pay cash. If you decide to open a foreign bank account, you must report its existence torepparttar 148794 U.S. Treasury Department. The IRS recently warned U.S. expatriates that they risk up to a $10,000 fine or 50 per cent ofrepparttar 148795 value ofrepparttar 148796 account if they fail to report overseas bank and financial accounts. For details, get IRS Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad online at www.irs.gov/publications/p54/index.html.

What you need to know about – students travel

Written by Mansi gupta


When traveling acrossrepparttar globe can be edgy forrepparttar 148738 adults, what to say ofrepparttar 148739 students! However traveling abroad for learning or picnic can be entertaining for students too.

·The reason of your trip The foremost task is to mull overrepparttar 148740 raison d'ętre of your trip for this determinesrepparttar 148741 destination,repparttar 148742 monetary issues, accommodation etc. for your tour.

·For Holidays With Pals Ifrepparttar 148743 sole motive is enjoyment then your destination should gratify your desires. If cartoons and rides fascinate and beguile you, place like Disneyland is just what you want. If along with merriment you crave to enhance your learning and art and architecture absorb your attention, Germany, Barcelona andrepparttar 148744 like should be ascend your list.

Subsequent to deciding a perfect destination, collect information aboutrepparttar 148745 expenditure that is likely to befall your parents’ pockets. Rummage around for some beneficial packages that can take you roundrepparttar 148746 world in least overheads. Try to go in groups for that might save good bucks. But individual traveling too can be economic if you know how to govern your outlay corresponding to what little you have.

·The Age Factor The age ofrepparttar 148747 student makes lot of difference. If a student is quite young he should be associated with a chaperone. If a young student takes onrepparttar 148748 flight forrepparttar 148749 first time without parents, packing and reservations should be considered in detail and significance. Allrepparttar 148750 medicines, warm clothes etc, should be vigilantly packed. It is always better and prudent to pinrepparttar 148751 I-Card ofrepparttar 148752 student on his shirt. Along withrepparttar 148753 phone numbers ofrepparttar 148754 hotel whererepparttar 148755 kids will take a breather, parents should haverepparttar 148756 complete itinerary.

·Travel For Purpose Most often students travel abroad to participate in some international competitions or to enhance their educational qualifications like going to States for a doctorate program. If studies have hogged your attention, searchrepparttar 148757 university that can live up to your expectations. Surfrepparttar 148758 Internet; collect every small and big detail. Consult your teachers and other bigwigs in that area that which university will be an ideal one for you.

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