Imagine yourself relaxing by the pool in your own villa. You can hear the waves crashing on the beach while enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea. Don’t you want this to come true? You can actually make it happen by buying real estate overseas. Countries like Europe as well as the Mediterranean have plenty of luxury properties available. Buying a home in an area you love is simply amazing. You can definitely be immersed in the culture and people of this country when you stay there. Enjoying your favorite hobbies such as biking, skiing, golf or simply pampering yourself at the spa, can be done without the rush of time when you own property abroad.

Having property abroad can be a meeting place for all your family members and loved ones and this can be a time where everyone can enjoy each other’s company. Also, if you have kids, it’s always better if your own home abroad can be a place where they might be exposed to new things and experiences. Outdoor activities is an easy method for kids to appreciated and respect nature. There are a range of properties to select from. There are villas, junior villas and also apartments. These properties may include swimming pools, kiddy pools and sunbathing patios. The style and architecture also varies. Aside from this, choose a property that offers an appealing payment scheme. Some of them have an agreement with local banks and can accept Euro’s, Swiss Francs or other currencies. Make sure that you check their property management. With some properties, the homeowners are given landscaping, maid and gardening services.

Also, when buying property abroad, the legalities are different, which is why it’s important that you seek advice from a lawyer before making a decision. It is important that a real estate agent is present who will assist you with all the processes. Once you’ve finished everything, decide what you want to do with it. You may want to keep the property or sell it for a much larger profit in the long run. In short, buying real estate abroad is an effective measure.

If you live in the US now, you’ve probably noticed that the real estate market is a bit sluggish (an understatement!) – and if you live in the UK now, you’ve probably noticed that everyone seems to want to sell their home to realize the significant amount of equity that has been created. they earned over the last ten years or so when the market was on a high.

The unfortunate truth is that neither the US nor UK property markets are heading for a positive upswing again any time soon and so you will just have to ride out the stagnation period and put up with it…or, you could sell out now, get out now, avoid the boom bust cycles and the boring day to day talk in the office or at the pub of house prices, crashing markets, mortgage interest rates and how much your neighbour managed to add to the value of his home with that tasty bathroom upgrade!

What am I talking about – well, I’m talking about moving overseas and exploring new and international real estate horizons basically!

The US and UK housing markets are in a cycle all of their own and the whole world isn’t affected no matter how much we Brits and Americans like to think our nation’s are the only ones on earth occasionally – usually when we’re winning at international sport!

But to get out and buy real estate overseas for retirement, for a whole new life abroad or just as a vacation home requires financing…those who sell their principle residences and quit their country altogether may be happy to place all their money into a new home, others may not be so quick to commit all their savings though. And of course others of us will require some form of mortgage to buy our overseas real estate…so how on earth do you get a mortgage when you live in one country and want to buy a house in another country?

It’s actually quite simple. There are three or four main ways of getting mortgages to buy overseas real estate and they are: –

1) Re-mortgaging your current home – as with all real estate finance options there are upsides and downsides to this particular path. This path is best taken when you have significant equity in your current property that you can release to buy a home abroad – but it does mean your home overseas will effectively be secured on your principle residence. You need to consider that fact carefully, you need to consider interest rates as well as your long term ability to afford to keep up mortgage payments too – because you don’t want to default, risk losing your home and ‘just’ having your overseas property safe if you only want to vacation in it!

2) Getting a mortgage from a lender in the country in which you’re buying real estate – many nations in the world have sophisticated and mature mortgage markets where banks and lenders will lend on property to citizens of any nation as long as they meet various criteria such as financial stability and the ability to make a certain percentage of the asking price in the form of a down payment. Arranging a mortgage locally can also make sense as the mortgage will be in the currency in which the property is being sold and will of course be secured on the real estate overseas.

3) Getting a mortgage from an international lender – some international lenders have a presence in both your country of residence and the nation in which you’re thinking of buying a home. This is incredibly convenient – it can mean you are able to put all your banking and finance affairs in the hands of one company thus streamlining your finances, it can mean the lender in questions understands both your needs and situation as well as the local laws and ways of doing business overseas thus making it much easier for you to buy abroad and working with such a lender can also reduce currency fluctuation risks when you transfer the deposit and monthly mortgage costs.

4) Approach a broker – if you think all of the above methods are too messy or confusing for you to master, there is one other alternative you may want to consider. That is to use a broker who can assess your situation, terms and options and go out and find the best deal for you.

For investors looking to explore foreign real estate, some of the best opportunities are south of the border in vibrant Latin America. The market looks very poised to pick as Latin American governments implement programs to attract foreign investment and increase their economic growth potential.

Investors can also take advantage of the growing number of available resources to find and buy real estate in Latin American countries, with Argentina being one of the top destinations. According to Argentine real estate trading group Camara Inmobiliaria Argentina, house prices have increased 50% since 2002. Even though real estate prices have soared, they still look very cheap.

The results for renting apartments in Buenos Aires are great! You can expect to buy an apartment in Buenos Aires and achieve a net return of 7% to 8% annually. Better than low bank interest rates, which will make life difficult for those forced to live on 0% to 3% interest on ‘safe’ cash investments while the world spins counterclockwise out of control.

Even when our property sector at home is at its knees, it’s strange to feel so close to saturation and our aspirations to buy cheap properties, renovate, and rent out properties are hampered by cost and of course competition. Even in the buyer’s market, our money-rich European and US counterparts and property investment specialists find only one or three projects each year. Buenos Aires is still the ‘new world’ for property investment and remains one of the most desirable and affordable cities to buy real estate in, even in the most exclusive neighborhoods of Recoleta and Palermo.

Real estate transactions are mainly in cash. That means meeting somewhere safe and counting piles of banknotes before pushing them across the counter to the seller. Then, the other party counted the money. Therefore, easy credit and excessive leverage did not form the basis of the Argentine real estate boom.

In other words, it’s almost bubble-proof. The country as a whole operates without credit (10% national average). Residential property investments are mostly cash, mortgages as we know them don’t exist, and funding is never more than 50% of the value of the property backed by assets and in terms as short as 3 to 15 years.

Tourism in Argentina has grown by more than 52% from 2003-2007. Government agencies forecast 47% growth over the next 6 years. With the financial stability of the market and the future growth prospects of the country, investing in real estate in Argentina can be a great opportunity now.