| Offshore Property Ownership |
A Special Report from International Living Valuable Tips to Manage Your Overseas Property By Porter Scott When you buy property abroad, you can be sure of one thing: many of the procedures, methods, requirements, and taxes are different than at home. Laws, customs, and traditions all vary from country to country, sometimes, even within the same country. To thrive in a foreign culture, you have to be prepared to be flexible and to adapt your thinking to local realities. Regardless of whether you are keeping your property exclusively for your own use or putting it on the local rental market, there are certain obligations that you, the property owner, must fulfill. Owning foreign property: the legalities, obligations, and responsibilities Taxes Wherever in the world you are, you will most likely pay taxes annually on the land, the building, the garbage collection, and the sewerage system. In France, for example, when you buy a television set, you pay an annual audiovisual tax on the use of the television. The amount due depends on the size of the set, whether it is black-and-white or color, and on the number of television sets you own. Before you buy a property, be sure you understand these obligations. Insurance According to your location, you should insure yourself against natural disasters like hurricanes, in addition to standard catastrophes like storm damage, water leaks, fires, etc. Your insurance policy should be activated the day you sign on your property and take possession. If you intend renting your property to third parties, then your insurance policy needs to cover your tenants, and the policy should specify that they are covered. Take photos of all of the items that you purchase for your property and keep copies of the purchase invoices along with the photos, preferably in a place that can survive a catastrophe. Permits You may not need any permits whatsoever, but if you want to enlarge or modify your property, building permits may be required. In the case of properties that are classified as historical monuments, often you cannot make significant changes without approval from the appropriate government ministry or local authority. |
| A Special Report from International Living |
