Why Invest in Real Estate Abroad
International real estate can provide affordable living for retirees and solid income and appreciation to investors. It can offer a hedge against the inevitable falling US dollar, and it can spread investment risk by owning assets outside your home country. Best of all, international real estate is fun! So, whatever your financial goals, international real estate might be the best part of your portfolio.
Retiring Abroad Has Many Benefits
Many current and future retirees are mixing travel with their search for the ideal retirement property abroad. By looking beyond the U.S. they are finding places to live with better health care, lower cost, and beautiful surroundings.
Investing Internationally is Easier Than You Think
Many people are investing with international real estate companies that do all the work for the investor. Some companies offer agricultural participation or actual title to farmland, and then they manage the operations and share the profits with the investor. Other companies sell interests in various types of short term rental properties. They handle the management and share the profits with investors.
There’s Just One Main Challenge
How do you know if the investment company is legitimate and is providing accurate investment information? What other risks might they not be telling you? And how do you go about exploring a country for a retirement property if you know little about the buying process and even less on the risks, legal issues, taxes, bureaucracy, and political situation?
Our Solution
These challenges are what this web site is designed to address. We hope to provide ‘boots on the ground’ evaluations and recommendations for many types of international real estate investments. The more knowledge you have, the more fun and profitable the process will be.
Getting Started
A good place to start is to read some of our blogs and get an idea of what factors to consider when investing in international real estate.
If you have an interest in a particular country, check out the Country Guides menu and see if there is information on the country you are targeting. It will provide you with a good overview of what it might take to buy and sell properties in that country.
Also check out the Resources menu and view the Companies and Publications page. Many companies offer really good information and investment offerings on a variety of international investment projects. They also are a great resource for getting ideas on various types of investments, places to consider for retirement, and articles on how to buy and renovate properties abroad.
Finally, always consider the tax aspects of any investment, especially real estate. You can find a country’s tax laws in the country guides, and the US tax laws in the U.S. Tax Laws page under the Resources menu.
Any company we find that is too risky or has lost us money, we showcase what we learned under the ‘Avoid These Investments’ menu. If we lost money in an investment, we try to analyze what we did wrong so you don’t make the same mistake. That’s really the whole reason for this website and blog.