Chatting to people about buying property abroad, I find that one of the main concerns is how to chose a good and trustworthy developer if you are buying off-plan.
This problem has been made worse by the current economic climate – many developers are going under, and sometimes taking unwary buyers and their dreams with them. It is therefore absolutely crucial that you have a really god look at the credentials of your developer before signing on the dotted line..
An email that I received recently bears this out. It tells of the endless problems encountered by one of the OGC readers who had failed to do his homework – and he really paid a heavy price, both in financial terms and in the stress that such things bring with them.
The property he bought was about one third completed at the time he paid his deposit to the developer. All went well until the house was ready for the final finish and, at this point, the developer sacked the builders and employed his own low paid and unskilled labour. The result was that the finish was very poor and, although the complex was completed, only 7 or 8 properties have been sold to date.
Financial penalties for late completion were not paid although there was a six month delay. The unhappy owner only discovered when it came time to address this problem that his solicitor also represents the developer!
All this could so easily have been avoided. I am going to outline a few essential and non-negotiable points for you to think about:
- If possible, move into rented accommodation nearby BEFORE you plan to buy and chat to locals about the developer/s you are thinking of buying through
- Search the Internet for expat forums on your town or city of choice. Some highlight poor practices and name and shame shoddy developers
- Google in the name of the developer you are thinking of using and see what comes up
- Get a developer that is a member of a regulatory body if at all possible
- Consider using a reputable estate agent instead of going to the developer direct – to protect themselves they will have done the checks
- Insist on visiting a couple of the developers’ previous projects and on talking to previous buyers
- Retain a solicitor independent of the developer so that there can be no conflict of interest
- Make sure your solicitor draws up a contract that protects YOU
- Make absolutely sure that the developer’s financial staged payments (stipulated in the contract of sale) require you to pay according to completion of build stages and not simply by date
- Buy a bond or take out insurance to protect yourself if the developer goes bust or there are any major issues with the build
- Take your time and refused to be rushed
If you follow the above to the letter the chances of anything going wrong will be dramatically reduced.
Chatting to someone in the property business abroad, she told me that she was stunned by how many people simply abandoned all the normal checks and balances that they would apply if they were buying property in the UK – don’t be one of them!
Speak to you soon – and I’d love to hear from you.
Kim
http://www.emigrationguide.com/
Showing posts with label selling in. Show all posts
Showing posts with label selling in. Show all posts
Friday, 28 May 2010
Friday, 7 May 2010
A ray of light in the gloom...
The news from The Euro Zone is not good this week, to say the very least. In an assessment of the crisis gripping Greece and the eurozone, Moody's the international rating agency warned that banks in the UK and Ireland as well as those in Portugal, Spain and Italy all faced challenges if the countries suffered the same fate as Greece in being downgraded by the credit-rating agencies.
Moody’s warned on Wednesday it may downgrade Portugal’s government bonds in the next three months because of deteriorating public finances and “long-term growth challenges”. The warning came as the Lisbon Stock Market fell for a second consecutive day and the cost of government borrowing rose amid market fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread to Portugal and Spain.
Strike action against the new measures instituted at the insistence of the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has started in Greece, leading to three deaths. There have also been strikes in Portugal.
It does seem that there is a singular lack of forethought as to how strike action and protest marches will effect the economy – mind you, I suppose the same could be said about the BA strikes at a time when BA is struggling to keep afloat. Add to this the natural disaster of volcanic ash making travel to Europe less appealing and it really does seem a recipe for financial disaster that may well see holiday makers staying away in droves.
Many are predicting that the wealth of nations is shifting, with the new economic giants predicted to be China, India and Brazil. Who knows? But one thing is for sure – we are living in volatile times…
All this would seem to be unremittingly gloomy, but interestingly enough, if you are in the process of buying property abroad right now it may not be.
On Wednesday sterling hit €1.16/£1 against the euro. If there is one single thing that you can do right now to protect yourself, it is to sign up with a reputable currency company like Smart Currency and consider ‘forward buying’ your currency. As Smart mentioned in an email sent out to all clients, and I quote: ” Even though the European Central Bank and the IMF say they have agreed a debt rescue package for the Greeks the markets remain unconvinced. And problems are spreading to other European countries such as Spain and Portugal, whose debts are much greater than the Greeks.”
You can buy currency at today’s rate for up to a year in the future. This means effectively that you will know in advance exactly how much your currency transfers will cost you. You will not have to be in the hands of whatever financial disaster may arise, and that includes any problems that may hit the UK. Frankly, the wisest course of action would be to pick up the phone and have a chat to a currency expert about this. Right now! Go to www.smartcurrencyexchange.com
Let me know how your plans to emigrate are going. Times may be tough but perhaps this is a good time to really have a good think about where you want to be in a few years. Careful planning will get you where you want to be…it may just take a little longer than you thought.
Bye until next week,
Carol.
www.emigrationguide.com
Moody’s warned on Wednesday it may downgrade Portugal’s government bonds in the next three months because of deteriorating public finances and “long-term growth challenges”. The warning came as the Lisbon Stock Market fell for a second consecutive day and the cost of government borrowing rose amid market fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread to Portugal and Spain.
Strike action against the new measures instituted at the insistence of the EU and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has started in Greece, leading to three deaths. There have also been strikes in Portugal.
It does seem that there is a singular lack of forethought as to how strike action and protest marches will effect the economy – mind you, I suppose the same could be said about the BA strikes at a time when BA is struggling to keep afloat. Add to this the natural disaster of volcanic ash making travel to Europe less appealing and it really does seem a recipe for financial disaster that may well see holiday makers staying away in droves.
Many are predicting that the wealth of nations is shifting, with the new economic giants predicted to be China, India and Brazil. Who knows? But one thing is for sure – we are living in volatile times…
All this would seem to be unremittingly gloomy, but interestingly enough, if you are in the process of buying property abroad right now it may not be.
On Wednesday sterling hit €1.16/£1 against the euro. If there is one single thing that you can do right now to protect yourself, it is to sign up with a reputable currency company like Smart Currency and consider ‘forward buying’ your currency. As Smart mentioned in an email sent out to all clients, and I quote: ” Even though the European Central Bank and the IMF say they have agreed a debt rescue package for the Greeks the markets remain unconvinced. And problems are spreading to other European countries such as Spain and Portugal, whose debts are much greater than the Greeks.”
You can buy currency at today’s rate for up to a year in the future. This means effectively that you will know in advance exactly how much your currency transfers will cost you. You will not have to be in the hands of whatever financial disaster may arise, and that includes any problems that may hit the UK. Frankly, the wisest course of action would be to pick up the phone and have a chat to a currency expert about this. Right now! Go to www.smartcurrencyexchange.com
Let me know how your plans to emigrate are going. Times may be tough but perhaps this is a good time to really have a good think about where you want to be in a few years. Careful planning will get you where you want to be…it may just take a little longer than you thought.
Bye until next week,
Carol.
www.emigrationguide.com
Friday, 30 April 2010
UK pensions abroad
Hello there.
It looks as though the economy is still floundering worldwide doesn’t it? Greece is in a really bad way, with Portugal also having a hard time of it too. Plus of course us here in the UK…
Are you still thinking of moving abroad? If you are, and you are of pensionable age, you need to bear in mind that some countries have reciprocal social security agreements with the UK and you will qualify for the annual rise in pension. However in other countries the government does not give cost-of-living increments to expats living there and your pension will be ‘frozen’ at the initial rate you received for your first pension payment.
It really is important to look at your pension status when making this decision to see how your country of choice handles this, and also how other countries stack up if you are wavering as to where to move. If you would like a complete list of a country’s pension status incidentally, I am able to let you have a comprehensive list on this: just phone Elaine on 0207 898 0549 and ask for it.
What I have found over the years that I have been working for The Overseas Guides Company is that many people start off intending to buy in one country and end up actually buying in another. The reasons for this are varied – it could be cost, input from a new partner, the cancellation of cheap airfares or simply a desire to be nearer the UK.
Many Brits living abroad are saying this is a moral rather than a financial issue. Over half a million British pensioners are currently having their pensions docked because they have chosen to live abroad - this applies mainly to Commonwealth countries, with almost half of affected pensioners living in Australia. What really outrages people is that any MPs now living overseas do not have their official pensions frozen – this in a time of enormous disenchantment with MPs generally, and with their financial shenanigans in particular!
What is so unfair is that the cost of unfreezing is not great, less than 1% of the annual cost of paying pensions. Says James Nelson of the British Australian Pensioner Association “This is not just a financial matter. The main argument for unfreezing is a moral issue, a question of justice. Pensioners in frozen countries have met the same conditions as those in unfrozen countries.”
This effectively means that thousands of pensioners who would love to be living nearer their family or friends abroad are unable to do afford to do so because of this and are forced to spend their old age alone in the UK. Of the Commonwealth’s 53 nations, 48 are adversely affected in this way. As someone who lived most of her life in South Africa, may I add that it seems an unworthy response to retirees living in countries that fought in two World Wars for Britain. Now folk are penalised for living there – go figure! We need to get Joanna Lumley on to this!
However, some are not going down without a fight - they have taken steps to have this very unfair system rectified. In November, a lower court of the ECHR rejected the applicants’ case in a 6-to-1 decision, but a referral subsequently was granted. A group of expat pensioners charged the British government with discrimination over its policy of "freezing" the state pensions. The case was heard on 2 September 2009 before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and was subsequently thrown out, but my guess is that we have not heard the last of this.
A spokesman for the UK's Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said the decision whether or not to "uprate" UK pensions paid to expats has to do with the "reciprocal agreements" that Britain has with some other countries - including other EU members - but not with others. Pensioners who live in countries with which Britain does not have such reciprocal arrangements do not receive these upratings, he added.
Peter Kennan, chairman of the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners, disputes the DWP argument, noting that some countries with which Britain does not have such agreements - such as Canada - nevertheless boost the pensions of their own nationals living in the UK. "It has nothing to do with reciprocal agreements, and everything to do with saving money," he added.
If you have any questions or queries about pensions abroad you can go to the link below for all information. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/BritonsLivingAbroad/Moneyabroad/DG_4000013
The section dealing with pensions is:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/Basicstatepension/DG_10026714
You can write to:
The Pension Service, International Pension Centre (IPC)
Payments - Room TD 111
Tyneview Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1BA, England
and the email address is:
tvp.internationalqueries@thepensionservice.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone Number - 0191 21 87777
Fax Number - 0191 2183305
There is plenty of useful information on The Pension Service website at www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
You may be wise to consult an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) before venturing abroad. If you need any help with finding someone perhaps try phoning the Overseas Guides Company Resource Team on 0207 898 0549 – there is no fee associated with their services yet and they do have people they may be able to recommend.
http://www.emigrationguide.com
It looks as though the economy is still floundering worldwide doesn’t it? Greece is in a really bad way, with Portugal also having a hard time of it too. Plus of course us here in the UK…
Are you still thinking of moving abroad? If you are, and you are of pensionable age, you need to bear in mind that some countries have reciprocal social security agreements with the UK and you will qualify for the annual rise in pension. However in other countries the government does not give cost-of-living increments to expats living there and your pension will be ‘frozen’ at the initial rate you received for your first pension payment.
It really is important to look at your pension status when making this decision to see how your country of choice handles this, and also how other countries stack up if you are wavering as to where to move. If you would like a complete list of a country’s pension status incidentally, I am able to let you have a comprehensive list on this: just phone Elaine on 0207 898 0549 and ask for it.
What I have found over the years that I have been working for The Overseas Guides Company is that many people start off intending to buy in one country and end up actually buying in another. The reasons for this are varied – it could be cost, input from a new partner, the cancellation of cheap airfares or simply a desire to be nearer the UK.
Many Brits living abroad are saying this is a moral rather than a financial issue. Over half a million British pensioners are currently having their pensions docked because they have chosen to live abroad - this applies mainly to Commonwealth countries, with almost half of affected pensioners living in Australia. What really outrages people is that any MPs now living overseas do not have their official pensions frozen – this in a time of enormous disenchantment with MPs generally, and with their financial shenanigans in particular!
What is so unfair is that the cost of unfreezing is not great, less than 1% of the annual cost of paying pensions. Says James Nelson of the British Australian Pensioner Association “This is not just a financial matter. The main argument for unfreezing is a moral issue, a question of justice. Pensioners in frozen countries have met the same conditions as those in unfrozen countries.”
This effectively means that thousands of pensioners who would love to be living nearer their family or friends abroad are unable to do afford to do so because of this and are forced to spend their old age alone in the UK. Of the Commonwealth’s 53 nations, 48 are adversely affected in this way. As someone who lived most of her life in South Africa, may I add that it seems an unworthy response to retirees living in countries that fought in two World Wars for Britain. Now folk are penalised for living there – go figure! We need to get Joanna Lumley on to this!
However, some are not going down without a fight - they have taken steps to have this very unfair system rectified. In November, a lower court of the ECHR rejected the applicants’ case in a 6-to-1 decision, but a referral subsequently was granted. A group of expat pensioners charged the British government with discrimination over its policy of "freezing" the state pensions. The case was heard on 2 September 2009 before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and was subsequently thrown out, but my guess is that we have not heard the last of this.
A spokesman for the UK's Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said the decision whether or not to "uprate" UK pensions paid to expats has to do with the "reciprocal agreements" that Britain has with some other countries - including other EU members - but not with others. Pensioners who live in countries with which Britain does not have such reciprocal arrangements do not receive these upratings, he added.
Peter Kennan, chairman of the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners, disputes the DWP argument, noting that some countries with which Britain does not have such agreements - such as Canada - nevertheless boost the pensions of their own nationals living in the UK. "It has nothing to do with reciprocal agreements, and everything to do with saving money," he added.
If you have any questions or queries about pensions abroad you can go to the link below for all information. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/BritonsLivingAbroad/Moneyabroad/DG_4000013
The section dealing with pensions is:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/Basicstatepension/DG_10026714
You can write to:
The Pension Service, International Pension Centre (IPC)
Payments - Room TD 111
Tyneview Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1BA, England
and the email address is:
tvp.internationalqueries@thepensionservice.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone Number - 0191 21 87777
Fax Number - 0191 2183305
There is plenty of useful information on The Pension Service website at www.thepensionservice.gov.uk
You may be wise to consult an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) before venturing abroad. If you need any help with finding someone perhaps try phoning the Overseas Guides Company Resource Team on 0207 898 0549 – there is no fee associated with their services yet and they do have people they may be able to recommend.
http://www.emigrationguide.com
Friday, 23 April 2010
My 10 Top Reasons To Emigrate...
Trawling through the Internet, I picked up on an article on the top reasons that people emigrate. Reading through their list, there were some that coincided with the reasons I had for moving abroad, but many that didn’t. And my guess is that everyone’s list would differ slightly…Here is mine - tell me what you think. Are these much the same as you would give for planning such a dramatic move?
1. Move to be near family: Actually, without wanting to appear overly sentimental, this would probably cover at least one through five for me! As far as I am concerned, there is nothing more important than family. I decided to move back to the land of my birth in a heartbeat because my children had moved here
2. Move to a family-orientated area: Strange as it may seem, I find my London district far more family orientated than South Africa, where I had to padlock the door behind me when I got home. Here we have an annual street party and people greet one another at our local corner shop or as they walk their dogs – or cats! Italy, Greece, Spain – people have given the same reason to move to these countries…
3. Safety: This is a difficult one to explain to those who have not actually felt threatened on a regular basis. I am blown away daily by the fact that I can stroll along the Thames, here in London, without having to cower when I hear running footsteps behind me – it took me a while to adjust!
4. Public transport: Coming from a country with absolutely no public transport, you will seldom hear me complain about tubes and buses here. I had a nasty car accident a while back that left me very reluctant ever to drive again. This meant that, before I moved, I was a virtual prisoner in my own home. Now, with my beloved Freedom Pass, I am as free as a bird!
5. Health care: You won’t hear a word of complaint about the much-maligned National Health Service from me. I am sure that there are many justifiable complaints, but I have not experienced anything but wonderful service and massive help and support. As one gets older this is an absolute must…
6. A caring society: I personally find it strange that people in the UK are not grateful for the many opportunities they have available. By this I mean help with getting jobs, job-seekers allowances, dole, NHS, help to get qualified for a job, council houses and so on. Where I come from there is absolutely no help AT ALL – you could starve in the street and no one would notice
Do my reasons to move have any similarities with yours? Why don’t you do what I have done: put a list together and see what is REALLY important to you? Will the country of your dreams fulfil your expectations? It may be a good idea if you can to go to your dream country and stay a while before committing yourself to a permanent move. Perhaps go on to an ex-pat website and ask what those who have moved feel – will it be as you think it will?
I had friends who moved from South Africa to Canada – the wife wanted to be nearer her sister. To do so they had to leave an older married child behind, he had to close his legal practice and they had to find schools for two kids in Canada. They returned to SA a year later, financially far worse off than when they left and with one child having chosen to remain behind in Canada. Not what you might call a success story…My move however has been utterly successful, and so can yours be – you just need to give the matter sufficient thought.
I’d love to have your thoughts on this – take care and I’ll be back soon!
Kim
http://emigrationguide.com/
1. Move to be near family: Actually, without wanting to appear overly sentimental, this would probably cover at least one through five for me! As far as I am concerned, there is nothing more important than family. I decided to move back to the land of my birth in a heartbeat because my children had moved here
2. Move to a family-orientated area: Strange as it may seem, I find my London district far more family orientated than South Africa, where I had to padlock the door behind me when I got home. Here we have an annual street party and people greet one another at our local corner shop or as they walk their dogs – or cats! Italy, Greece, Spain – people have given the same reason to move to these countries…
3. Safety: This is a difficult one to explain to those who have not actually felt threatened on a regular basis. I am blown away daily by the fact that I can stroll along the Thames, here in London, without having to cower when I hear running footsteps behind me – it took me a while to adjust!
4. Public transport: Coming from a country with absolutely no public transport, you will seldom hear me complain about tubes and buses here. I had a nasty car accident a while back that left me very reluctant ever to drive again. This meant that, before I moved, I was a virtual prisoner in my own home. Now, with my beloved Freedom Pass, I am as free as a bird!
5. Health care: You won’t hear a word of complaint about the much-maligned National Health Service from me. I am sure that there are many justifiable complaints, but I have not experienced anything but wonderful service and massive help and support. As one gets older this is an absolute must…
6. A caring society: I personally find it strange that people in the UK are not grateful for the many opportunities they have available. By this I mean help with getting jobs, job-seekers allowances, dole, NHS, help to get qualified for a job, council houses and so on. Where I come from there is absolutely no help AT ALL – you could starve in the street and no one would notice
Do my reasons to move have any similarities with yours? Why don’t you do what I have done: put a list together and see what is REALLY important to you? Will the country of your dreams fulfil your expectations? It may be a good idea if you can to go to your dream country and stay a while before committing yourself to a permanent move. Perhaps go on to an ex-pat website and ask what those who have moved feel – will it be as you think it will?
I had friends who moved from South Africa to Canada – the wife wanted to be nearer her sister. To do so they had to leave an older married child behind, he had to close his legal practice and they had to find schools for two kids in Canada. They returned to SA a year later, financially far worse off than when they left and with one child having chosen to remain behind in Canada. Not what you might call a success story…My move however has been utterly successful, and so can yours be – you just need to give the matter sufficient thought.
I’d love to have your thoughts on this – take care and I’ll be back soon!
Kim
http://emigrationguide.com/
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