Property
Buying property overseas
Understand the legal, financial and practical checks to make before committing to a property in another country.
Title, tax, financing, currency, planning rules and succession can all matter before the keys are handed over.
Buying abroad is not simply a property decision. It is a legal, banking, tax, currency and succession decision at the same time.
Countries do not share one conveyancing process. A deposit that is casual in one place can be hard to recover in another. The useful order is purpose, independent legal advice, title, then money.
Financing is on expat mortgages and property finance. How the name on the title matters is on ownership structures.
Purpose
Decide what the property is for before you search
A holiday house, a home you will move into, a rental and a family purchase share a building and little else. Residence plans, who will use it, how long you expect to hold it, whether you need to borrow, and which currency you earn in all change the later questions. Write those down before an agent’s timeline becomes yours.
01
Purpose
02
Lawyer
03
Title checks
04
Contract
05
Funds
06
Completion
07
Registration
Title
Legal title is the right you are actually buying
Freehold, leasehold and local equivalents are different rights. Registered title, where a register exists, is the record to read — not the floor plan in the listing. Beneficial ownership can differ from the name on the register when a company, a nominee or a co-owner is involved. Encumbrances are claims already on the property: a mortgage, a court order, a right of way. Co-ownership can decide who must sign, and who inherits. Ask which of these applies here. Do not assume the pattern from home.
Checks
Due diligence is a list, and it belongs before a deposit you cannot lose
- Title and who is selling
- Planning and permissions
- Building condition
- Utilities and access
- Service charges and community fees
- Debts or other claims attached to the property, where the local system records them
Visit, or have someone competent visit. A survey, planning papers and the community accounts are part of the same file as the title.
Commitment
A reservation, a deposit and a purchase contract are not the same step
A reservation agreement can take the property off the market. A deposit may or may not be refundable. The purchase contract is the document that sets price, timing and what happens if either side does not complete. Cancellation risk is in that wording. Have it read by a lawyer who acts for you, before the money moves. A lawyer tied to the seller is not that person.
Borrowing
Financing has to be an offer on this property
A decision in principle at home is not a loan secured on a house abroad. Lenders look at the property, your income, the deposit and, often, the currency. If you are paying cash, you still have a timing problem: the funds have to arrive, in the right name, before completion.
Read expat mortgages for the borrower questions and property finance for cash, local loans and other funding.
Currency
The price, the deposit and a later sale may not share your income currency
If your savings are in one currency and the contract is in another, the amount you must send moves with the rate. The spread you are offered, and the time a transfer takes, matter as much as the headline rate. Some buyers convert in stages. Any forward arrangement is a contract with its own terms — ask what you owe if the purchase falls through. This page does not suggest trying to time a market.
Moving money across borders and the FX cost comparison are for the payment, not for a property valuation.
Source of funds
Banks and lawyers will ask where the money came from
Bank statements, sale proceeds from another property, an inheritance, a sale of investments and business proceeds are different stories, and each needs papers. A local account is sometimes required to complete. Expat banking covers account questions. Start the explanation before the completion week.
Costs
The negotiated price is not the cost of buying
Ask the lawyer for the costs on this purchase. Typical categories — not rates — include transfer taxes, registration, legal fees, notary fees where a notary completes the sale, local taxes, and agent fees. After you own it, ongoing property taxes, community charges, insurance and utilities continue. On a later sale, a capital gain can be a separate question in the country of the property and in the country where you are resident. Property tax sets out those questions. It does not calculate them.
Cover
Tell the insurer how the property will actually be used
Buildings, contents and liability are the usual pieces. A holiday home that stands empty, and a property that is let, are often different wordings from an owner-occupied policy. A policy that assumes you live there may not respond. Arrange cover for the point you take risk, which is not always the day you get the keys. The questions to ask are on property insurance.
Letting
A rental plan is a local permission, a tax filing and an insurance question
Local rental rules, licensing, occupancy limits and tax on the income are national or regional. A promised yield in a brochure is not those rules. Management, voids and the insurance wording belong in the same conversation. Income may also be reportable where you are tax resident. Confirm both before you treat rent as the way the purchase pays for itself.
While you are away
Someone has to be able to deal with the house
Utilities, a leak, a community vote and a tenant all need a person with authority. A manager’s contract should say what they can spend, how often you see statements, and how the appointment ends. Keys and access codes are part of that file.
Succession
The title, the will and local succession law need to agree
Co-ownership, a company name on the title, and a will written at home can each send the property down a different path. Some countries reserve a share for certain relatives. Ask a lawyer in the country of the property, and ask how that sits with estate planning where you live.
Before completion
A short list for the week the money moves
- Independent legal review is finished
- You know whether any deposit is refundable
- Financing, if any, is an offer on this property
- The currency and the arrival of funds are planned
- Insurance is arranged for the handover
- Wills and co-owners have been discussed
After completion
Registration and records start the ownership, they do not end it
- Registration of title
- Utilities in the right name
- Buildings insurance in force
- Any local tax registration the lawyer says is required
- Management instructions if you will be away
- A file of the contract, costs and surveys
Due diligence
Questions worth asking a lawyer or agent before you commit
01Who owns the property, and is that the person selling?
Ask for the registered owner and whether anyone else must consent. Do not rely on the brochure.
02What kind of title is it?
Ask whether the interest is freehold, leasehold or a local equivalent, how long it lasts, and what is registered.
03Are there debts, charges or disputes on the title?
Ask what the register shows, and what a search would not show.
04Who should act as my lawyer?
Instruct someone who practises in that country and is independent of the seller and the agent.
05Is the deposit refundable, and when?
Ask before you send money. A reservation and a purchase contract are often different documents.
06What happens if I do not complete?
Ask what you lose, and what the seller can claim. Cancellation risk is local.
07What planning or licence position applies?
Ask about building permission, use, and any restriction on holiday letting or foreign ownership.
08Has the building been surveyed?
Ask who instructs the survey, and whether you can rely on it.
09What are the community or service charges, and are there arrears?
Ask for the current charge and any special levy under discussion.
10Can I finance this purchase, and in which currency?
A decision in one country is not an offer on this property. See expat mortgages and property finance.
11In which currency are the price, the deposit and the loan?
Ask how a move in the exchange rate changes what you must send.
12What evidence of source of funds will the bank and the lawyer want?
Ask early. A completion deadline and a compliance question often arrive together.
13Which taxes and fees sit on top of the price?
Ask for a figure for this property. Categories include transfer taxes, registration, legal fees, notary costs where a notary is used, and agent fees. This page states no rate.
14What will I pay each year?
Ask about local property taxes, community fees, insurance and utilities, separate from the purchase costs.
15Can I let it, and what permission does that need?
Ask about licensing, tax and insurance before you rely on a rental figure.
16Who manages it when I am not there?
Ask what a manager can authorise, and how you will see the accounts.
17How does this property pass if I die?
Ask whether a will from home will be accepted, and whether co-ownership changes the answer.
18Are there restrictions on who may buy?
Some places limit foreign ownership, or certain zones. Ask before you reserve.
19What does completion actually involve?
Ask who must attend, what is signed, and when you can occupy.
20What should I keep afterwards?
Ask for the contract, proof of payment, registration, tax papers and improvement invoices. You will want them on a sale.
Watch for
Signs to slow down
- Pressure to sign quickly
- A lawyer tied closely to the seller or the agent
- Title that cannot be explained in writing
- Planning documents that are incomplete
- Rental income described as assured
- No discussion of source of funds
- A price with no full cost beside it
- A deposit requested before legal review
A potential issue is a reason to confirm the document. It is not, by itself, a reason to walk away or to proceed.
Common situations
Purchases that look similar and are not
Holiday home
Empty periods, insurance and a will that may not cover foreign land.
Relocation home
Residence, schooling and whether you need to sell before you buy.
Rental property
Licensing, tax in two places, and a manager.
Retirement property
Healthcare, how long you expect to hold it, and succession.
Family co-purchase
Who signs, who pays, and what happens if one person wants to sell.
Bought before the move
A property you own while you are still resident somewhere else.
Tools
Related tools
These tools compare a transfer cost or organise a move. They do not price a property or a mortgage.
Explore property
Explore other property topics
- Expat mortgagesBorrowing when income and the property are in different countries.
- Property financeCash, local loans and the currency between them.
- Ownership structuresWhose name goes on the title, and what that changes.
- Property taxThe tax questions at purchase, during ownership and on a sale.
About to reserve a property abroad?
Get the title, the full cost and the currency straight before the deposit moves.