Investments in other countries

OlegHelg

Interesting to hear the experiences of people who have been involved in investing in other countries. Especially in real estate or land.

InvesterJones

OlegHelg said:

Interesting to hear the experiences of people who have been involved in investing in other countries. Especially in real estate or land.

What do you mean by experiences? Like many people, I invest in other countries via funds, which is very easy, low cost, and have been a good experience so far.

eskbanker

Most investors will hold at least some investments based outside of their home country, but if you're looking for feedback about the actual investing process as conducted elsewhere then it's likely to be a more productive exercise if you clarified which country you're thinking of and what you're hoping to achieve....

Linton

How do you propose to invest in foreign real estate and land?  Do you really mean buying physical assets? 

Bostonerimus1

OlegHelg said:

Interesting to hear the experiences of people who have been involved in investing in other countries. Especially in real estate or land.

If you mean actual cross border investing ie investing with foreign brokers and fund houses or buying real estate in a foreign country, I would not do it - whatever glowing stories of fantastic returns you might have heard. The taxation can be complicated and you are often outside of regulatory systems and so open to fraud with out any protections. I am a US citizen and I can tell you that it's a pain in the neck to own investments in one country and live in another. This is a situation that is very hard to avoid for US expats, so I see no reason for anyone to actively set up that situation. My Aunt and Uncle, who lived in the UK, bought a flat in Florida because some financial advisor thought it would be a good investment and they could use it in the Winter and rent it the rest of the year, it was a bit of a disaster.

It might be good for people who transferred their pensions to QROPS based in places like Malta to give their opinions of offshore investing. I imagine the stories will not be that happy.

lr1277

Are you investing for income or capital gains? 

Things to be wary of:
Changes in exchange rate which applies to getting money out of the country for both income and capital.
For certain developing countries, they put (export) controls on their currency leaving the country. Then how do you get your money out? There are ways but you won’t get a competitive rate. And the way you chose might be illegal in the UK or your target country.
Certain countries restrict what property/land foreigners can buy. One country says (I think) only locals can buy a flat in a block above the 4th floor.
What if there is political unrest in your target country? Your property might be destroyed? Or there might be other problems on which I can’t speculate. Can you get property insurance in your target country? Will the insurance payout if your property suffers misfortune.
Do you need a local bank account to deposit any money; either income or gains? Sometimes Wise just won’t do.
Will you have to pay local and/or Uk taxes?
Is somebody going to manage the property/land for you? Are they trustworthy? What happens if you get squatters? Are you prepared to deal with the local police and legal system?
Look into local inheritance rules. If you die whilst owning the property, it may not go to whoever you intended. I read, in France, property is divided between all descendants irrespective of your wishes and what you might have written in a will.
Will there be a time difference between the UK and your target country? Will that make it more difficult to manage, especially contacting relevant people?
If you directly own property, it would be advisable to visit the property more than twice a year. You need to factor the time and money required to visit your property. Even if you have a reliable person managing the property.
That’s it for the moment.
In my view if you really want to do this, let a professional (fund) manager deal with it for you.