Don’t just accept a single person’s advice, even if it’s your lawyer. He should be able to guide you along the way. Speak your language to make you feel safer in your purchase. Your lawyer choice can make or break your property deal. It’s now time to pick up your phone, call some agents, and then schedule a viewing. His responsibilities include breaking down your options, costs, and property/land taxes. Go for a weekend viewing off of work. Settle with the person you’re most comfortable with. Build some rapport with them. Most likely, the agent that gets you the best property options will most likely earn your trust, although it probably helps as well if he or she is personable too. Open up to them. You can get vacation homes or outright rental or resort properties. However, if you don’t want a pool villa you don’t need to get a pool villa.

Maybe you don’t like the hassle of maintaining or cleaning infinity pools when the beach is just walking distance from your property. Just don’t forget that you’re not allowed to hold the freehold of land in your own name. Is there one you particularly want so badly that you’re willing to save up for it or get a loan to buy it now then pay for the rest later? Or do you wish to maximize your investment on a fixer-upper that you can improve through the years given time and rental money, like a resort requiring renovation that it can pay for itself through customers and tourists? Cons of each of the short-listed properties. Make a mental list of the pros. Or acquire the most affordable one with great investment potential. Go with the ones with the fewest cons and the most pros. It’s all part of your due diligence. The main areas of consideration involve whether or not the property has legal right of access. You can have a gut favorite but don’t let your heart dictate your decision without your brain taking note if it’s a wise one or not. Also make sure that the property is unencumbered when it comes to debts, liens, and mortgages so you won’t end up inheriting all those too. You, your lawyer, and your real estate agent should have all of these discussed along with the percentage shares between agent and client, buyer and seller. The seller should obviously have legal rights of ownership to sell the property, whether it’s in their name or it’s an inheritance of sorts. Don’t get hit by any snags belatedly. It can double as a resort, timeshare, or vacation home that keeps your money from getting burned out in today’s economy. Fix everything now prior to making that paperwork! A villa or a home there makes perfect investment sense.

How does one buy a slice of paradise while maximizing their investment? Keep on reading to find out! As a prospective buyer, you need to collaborate with your agent and lawyer to familiarize yourself with the legal options available. It’s not just that the laws are different when buying properties in your own home country. You should have a purpose for embarking on such a property sale. If that purpose could be achieved much more easily and less expensively by other means, don’t go through with this. Do you wish to get a lifestyle holiday home? Then cross out properties that emphasize potential rental yields or don’t buy a whole resort villa you won’t be using as a resort in the first place! If it’s a 50/50 purchase for lifestyle and investment, then you should weigh-in your purchases based on this ratio. Don’t buy a too secluded property you wish to turn into a timeshare or successful beach resort in the future.

Have a realistic exit strategy included for any “off-plan” project you’re getting into so that your calculated risk has an accompanying damage mitigation plan if things were to go south. This is a universal law of real estate. Therefore, if you’re going to invest in such limited space, every dollar and cent counts. It also takes only 45 minutes or so to drive from one side of the island to the other. You should make sure the location within the island you’ve chosen is prime real estate indeed. You’re not buying acres. Do your research. Your research will reveal whether or not a short-listed property coincides with your investment purpose. Read about the different towns in the island to see which ones offer the best ocean views or sunset/sunrise views as well as beach accessibility. Survey the local area, know all the local hotspots, ascertain the proximity of restaurants and beaches, and find out from the start any issues or troubles that may arise in a given area (and whether they’re worth the price).