About Offshore Properties
Offshore Properties is a UK registered company assisting buyers with the purchase and management of overseas property. We specialise in the sale of 'off-plan' properties throughout Europe and beyond, covering both emerging and more developed markets including ski resorts, coastal properties and city apartments. In addition, we help more seasoned investors build and manage overseas property portfolios.
We select our developments very carefully and unlike many agents we know our developers personally, having fostered close relationships built on many successful years of operation. Such relationships provide you, the buyer, with many tangible and intangible benefits such as our ability to negotiate more favourable purchase terms or provide pre market releases of new developments.
Although we are now (certainly in the UK) a great deal more educated about the pitfalls associated with buying overseas property there is still a natural degree of uncertainty when purchasing an off plan property in a foreign location. We therefore feel it is useful for you to understand the process we go through prior to marketing any development.
You can be assured that all overseas property marketed by Offshore Properties Ltd has undergone a rigorous selection process and that our consultants have also visited each site we market. Please review the way we select all our new developments below:
Development Selection
How we choose locations
Assessing any new location, especially property in an emerging market, always presents a challenge. Properties located in more developed markets tend to be more of a second home purchase, rather than a pure investment decision.
So, from a property investment perspective there is only a finite amount of factual evidence that can be obtained, from which a certain level of speculation must be applied.
For example, we now know that Bulgaria has now joined the EU, but what tangible affects will this bring and how will it affect property prices? It is our job to make informed decisions about these factors and select developments in areas we feel are most likely to perform. However, this is often where fact and opinion become confused and buyers are led to believe an agent's opinion as fact.
This is where we differentiate ourselves in terms of offering buyers a completely transparent service . A large part of our business is obtained through repeat custom and is certainly the foundation of our portfolio service.
We are currently in the process of redrafting our investment guides which will shortly be available again free of charge. We have individual guides for Bulgaria, Turkey, Spain, France, Cyprus, Dubai, Morocco and The Caribbean. To register for an investment guide please email us, mentioning the location/s of interest.
Taxation
 We usually work with PWC or KPMG to advise on general taxation legislation and tax avoidance structures for professional investors.
However, if you are planning to retire to a particular location or are an investor with no preference on area, then tax may become a key factor in where you choose to purchase your property.
Find out more in our Retiring Overseas Guide
Finance
 We routinely meet with local banks in person to assess lending criteria and rates (they are also a good source of information on local development companies).
Where mortgage rates are poor, or where there are no mortgage products at all, buyers may need to finance 100% of the acquisition themselves.
Whilst on the one hand this may be seen as a bad thing (as it limits buying power and ease with which one can purchase property) there are huge benefits to investing in a market on the verge of introducing a mortgage to foreign buyers as we have recently seen with Turkey's property market.
Please refer to the finance section of our Investor's Guide to Turkey
Culture/Planning/Foreign investment
Will a particular culture adopt and accept a large increase in property ownership by foreigners?
What is the prevailing governments view on planning and foreign investment?
For example, Croatia has enjoyed a huge amount of foreign interest over the past 4 years but due to planning restrictions it has been impossible for any new build developments to get
started.
Accessibility
 This is extremely important. For example, Bodrum on the Aegean Coast of Turkey is a fabulous destination which is becoming a very popular and sophisticated 2nd home destination for North Europeans.
However, due to a lack of direct flights (and no off-season direct flights - yet) it has been difficult to organise viewing trips for those wishing to visit over a weekend.
Without viewing a destination like Turkey it is difficult to appreciate what it has to offer. Turkey is in our view one of the best kept investment secrets which has been blighted by unfortunate recent events, comparatively poor accessibility and lack of mortgage market. Have a look at one journalist's view of Turkbuku from the New York Times.
Investment Infrastructure
 Emerging markets usually have a poor infrastructure. This is reflected in the price of property and is a key factor to consider.
What needs to be ascertained is whether or not this infrastructure will improve, over what period of time and how this might stimulate the property market.
Political Stability
 This is usually of more importance in emerging markets as the reason they are classed as emerging often relates to a previously imperfect economic and political environment.
It is an important consideration as governmental policy and legislation has a huge affect on many other factors including, Economic Stability, Taxation, Tourism etc.
Assessing how a particular government will affect these issues during its term is a full time job, so we are only looking for an overall impression.
Economic Stability
 Obtaining good data on a country's economic forecast and performance is relatively straight forward.
There are a huge number of resources to help us achieve an overall picture of how an economy has previously performed and we feel it might perform in the future.
We need to consider how this will affect property prices.
Local Housing Market
This Local Housing markets can perform very differently from other housing markets in the same country and are sometimes at odds with general economic performance.
Again, it is our job to make an in depth analysis of a location which can only be achieved by spending a great deal of time 'on the ground'.
We try to document and absorb as much information as possible, meeting with local lawyers, planners, architects and anyone who can offer an informed view or the market.
In addition to information about the local property market, these professionals can also offer invaluable off the record advice.
Currency
 Whilst the volatility of a particular currency is certainly of relevance (and often a good indicator of economic health though not always!) it is of more importance on short term investment properties.
We look very closely at currency speculation where we are acquiring property in bulk to resell.
Please see our Investor Services for a more detailed analysis and refer to our Finance section for more information on buying currency.
Tourism
 Tourism has an enormous affect on a property market and a property owner's ability to rent and resell their property. Clearly, where large numbers of people visit a particular holiday destination, property within that location is more likely to enjoy a higher demand for rental and resale.
However, you can not simply assume that because numerous foreigners visit a particular location any development will either resell or rent. For example, large numbers of people have bought off-plan properties in both Dubai and Spain but have found difficulty achieving high rental levels or reselling (though the effects of this could be mitigated against by remortgaging the property and withdrawing available equity).
This could be for a variety of factors such as poor choice of development/location within an already saturated market, a development may have become compromised through surrounding build out, holiday makers may choose to stay in hotels rather than apartments (whilst this is not true in Spain the existence of so many new and well specified hotels in Dubai has reduced rental demand from tourists).
In emerging markets we look for factors, many mentioned above, which are likely to stimulate tourism. Natural beauty, a long summer season, the advent of cheap flights are just some of these factors. We also think it is wise to question when a market is suddenly flooded with tourism: are these levels sustainable and what is driving it?
Legal System/Foreign Ownership
This is more important on countries lying outside the EU and is
simply a review process we undertake on your behalf.
This will involve consulting with local lawyers and accountants to assess foreigners' entry and exit strategies from a particular market.
Legal System/Foreign Ownership This is more important on countries lying outside the EU and is simply a review process we undertake on your behalf. This will involve consulting with local lawyers and accountants to assess foreigners' entry and exit strategies from a particular market.
|