Due Diligence and Overseas Property Investment

Posted on: August 28, 2008 Posted by: Real Estate We Blog Comments: 0

Due Diligence and Overseas Property Investment

Most property investors that have been active over the last few years have probably considered looking overseas in their quest for decent investment opportunities. I myself have, on countless occasions, looked into overseas property but most of the time find myself put off by what seems a very difficult and long winded process. One angle I do love the idea of is buying an overseas investment property in an area where you would enjoy holidaying but also getting the added bonus of good capital growth.

I know there are plenty of overseas opportunities out there which give you 30 days free use a year, but how strong are these as investment opportunities and should you be governed by this or not?

I think the first thing to look into is what you expect to gain out of overseas property investment?

  • Medium to long term capital growth
  • Rental Yield
  • Buy to sell opportunity
  • An investment to holiday in as well

Now if your overall aim is to make money from this overseas investment then you should probably take it that if you can get an element of “free holiday” a year it will be a bonus. As far as looking into the individual overseas investment opportunities available I will not go into specific countries now.

What I will say is that I have been investing in the UK for the last 4 years and can tell you that the tried and tested methods of spotting a good opportunity are really not that different wherever you invest. Look at the historical capital growth, the comparables in the area, rental comparables, speak to rental agents about the occupancy rate for these overseas investment opportunities.

All of these are points which are very easy to do in the UK but I think a lot of investors feel it is too hard to do the same on overseas property. If you start your due diligence with a list of points that you need to satisfy before you proceed, and not stopping until you fulfil all of these points then you shouldn’t go far wrong.

English is 2nd most widely spoken language in the world so you should be able to find someone that can help you with most overseas investments. Dig as far as you can into the history of the site you are looking at, if possible look on forums where overseas investors have purchased.

You really can do the same level of due diligence on overseas property as you can in the UK, it may take longer but it is possible. Don’t take any other person of companies word on the overseas opportunity you are looking at, remember due diligence is key!

This guest post was written by Dan Chamberlain. If you have any questions or responses to this article, please post a comment below.