This great post is courtesy of Louise Reynolds, the director of Property Venture.
So do you want to live the dream of having a holiday home but don’t want the hassle? Or not sure if you’ll know a bargain when you see one?
Some of the most time-consuming parts of finding an ideal 2nd home can be doing due diligence: finding the right location, right property and making sure it is all that it seems.
An Agent can do a lot of the due diligence work up front, whether your search is in the UK or abroad. Sourcing all the necessary third parties that might get involved in a second home purchase, can be more onerous abroad than in the UK. For example you might need: a “Sworn” or Certified translator (translating for legal equivalence is a legal requirement in some countries) an independent lawyer, a suitable bank that offers a decent mortgage rate and whose account you can operate remotely over the internet from the UK.
An Independent Agent can help an inexperienced buyer acquire an overseas property in up to a third of the time it might take them to do it on their own, thereby saving time.
In the UK, sourcing a property against a specific brief can save a busy, professional lots of wasted, “first-viewing” time. Are we talking year round facilities needed because holidays will be taken throughout the school holiday season? Or ease of access to beaches? If these are deal-breakers, better to get them checked out first before seeing the property yourself.
Saving money is often a key motivator, which drives some people to cut corners. One way of thinking about this, is as an inexperienced DIYer. Doing a job properly first time round can save a lot of time, money and aggravation.
A good Agent can guide on what is and is not, a good purchase for a Second Home or an Investment Property. Are you looking for a renovation project, but not sure what state “irreparable” is? A decent Agent will be able to check out and advise on whether a project may be biting off more than you can chew, or will blow the budget for post-completion work.
So the “point” of a professional Agent or Buyer’s Agent is to save:
- Your time, particularly if you have a full-time career
- Your money, so that you buy within your budget, including any work that might need to be done post-purchase
- The amount of hassle involved in acquiring the property you intended to.
Written by Louise Reynolds – Director, Property Venture
Property Venture, a UK-based agent who helps people buy holiday homes and investment property in Europe, more easily and safely than they can on their own. http://www.property-venture.com
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