IL Postcard

Four Tips to Help You Get a Dream House

Date: 02/01/2008

Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008

Read more about buying foreign real estate in International Living Postcards—Saturday Edition

I’m always on duty. I can’t even watch a movie without wearing my investor’s hat.

My wife Kathie introduced me to a movie called Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Cary Grant is Mr. Blandings, a big-city ad exec. who decides to head to the country in search of his dream home. He’s confident and sure of himself…at first.

Blandings and his wife go out one weekend with a real estate agent. They fall in love and buy the first property they see...big mistake, Mr. Blandings. You need to look around, get to know the neighborhood, see what is on the market. You won’t find multiple listing services in most places outside of North America...so you need to work with multiple agents. Otherwise, you may never see the type of property you want. Ask to see a Georgian manor house in the country and the agent will show you a newly built house in a suburb just outside of town.

But Mr. and Mrs. Blandings love the house, so they sign the purchase agreement...without speaking with an attorney...not so fast, Mr. Blandings. Besides reviewing your purchase contract, attorneys will check to make sure the title is clean for the property. Always use an attorney (or notaire) outside of the U.S. Find one before you start your real estate search, and you can move more quickly when you find your dream home.

When Blandings asked his attorney to review the contract after signing it, he learned a few things. The first one is that the price he paid for the land is multiples of the going rate. The locals will always try to stick it to the outsider...whether it’s a New Yorker buying land in Connecticut in the 1940s or an American buying land in Panama in 2008. Even if the price you are quoted seems good compared with prices back home, you still need to research and negotiate. It can take time to find out the price at which locals sell to each other, but it’ll be time well spent.

The other consideration before signing the contract should have been hiring an inspector. It isn’t always easy to find a home inspector in another country...and if you do, you may only get a report commenting on the decoration —this happened to me.

Mr. Blandings tries to stay upbeat throughout the ordeal, decides to give up a few times, and finally ends up with a dream home. Investing in real estate isn’t always easy.

Lief Simon
For International Living

Editor’s note: To avoid making the same mistakes as Mr. Blandings, come to IL’s Ultimate Event in Cancun, Mexico, May 28–31. Lief will be speaking about the “Pros and Pitfalls of International Real Estate,” and he’ll tell you about the best places to invest right now. You can register now…but hurry to avail of the early bird discount and free hotel room offer…only available until Feb. 8.

Read related articles:

- The Best Way to Buy in Romania

- The Best Deals in Montevideo

- How to Finance an International Property Investment