Flickr Creative Commons: Karen Roe

If you want to get more international experiences by picking up and moving out of the country, or if you just want to purchase a retirement property to rent out that is out of the country, we have some useful tips for you. Ultimately, by purchasing elsewhere, you are diversifying where your money is going to., but it requires an ongoing management and administration.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of U.S. buyers searching for homes abroad has risen about 30%, Canada and Europe are still popular international home buys. In addition, the US dollar his risen 23% to the Euro  and 12% to the Canadian currency over the year. So if you are thinking of purchasing an international home Europe and Canada are two great places to think about.

Flickr Creative Commons: Matthias Ripp

When buying overseas, there are a couple things to keep in mind. In contrast, to the US mortgage, in some countries like the Caribbean, you may need to put a larger down payment ranging from 30% to 40%, and you may need to pay your loan back within 15 to 25 years, instead of the US’s 30 year. Not to mention, if you have credit cards, lenders there presume you have carried a balance of 5% of your spending limits, even though you may pay it off any balances every month. In this case, you may have to provide three years bank statements. Although, in many countries, you might need to pay cash only, since financing structure might not be as sophisticated as in the U.S.

When buying property abroad, make sure to research the market and make sure you know your legal rights. Also, hire a professional real estate agent and a legal representative to help you with the process; make sure you have all the needed documents with you and that they are all translated. Remember, buying property overseas is no small task.

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