Looking for Help Overseas

Is Your Overseas Investment in Trouble

One of the questions I get asked most often these days is no longer ‘where in the world should I purchase an overseas property?’ No, it’s now normally ‘how in heaven’s name am I going to get assistance getting my deposit back/completing my property/organising or financing my mortgage/renting my property/delete where appropriate. With agents and developers dropping like flies there are a lot of people looking for assistance with no idea where to get it.

It is difficult to argue against the general criticism of the print media for abandoning investors in their hour of need. Despite being a cash-cow for most of the noughties property topics have been dropped like a hot-potato since the downturn and it is quite alarming how swiftly property stories have been ushered from property sections to the newspages – leaving property sections free to promote the property sector if and when it does recover.

In any case it is important to highlight that most overseas investors are far better off than they would be if they bought in Ireland and the plight of those with problems isn’t entirely a hopeless one. The purpose of this piece is to point people in the direction of help, should it be available.

The first thing to remember is that nobody is going to help you for free, almost all cases involve legal action and solicitors are expensive, so there will be a cost attached. But beware of scam-merchants with substantial upfront charges feeding on the fact that people are desperate. It is still a completely unregulated marketplace which calls for a lot of care and due-diligence on your behalf because nobody is looking out for you. Look to speak to some satisfied clients at the very least.

Below are a few of the companies and services that may be of assistance to those with problems overseas. Because the print media has been uninclined to help, the first port of call for a lot of people is the internet, particularly forums. Just be aware that some are quite informative and others are downright misleading. You’ll need to be somewhat discerning.

There are significant problems with French leaseback properties in a number of locations – www.frenchleaseback.net/forum may help you contact others with similar problems.

Bulgaria has also bred significant problems. If you are one of those suffering a visit to www.bulgaria-property-action-group.com may be in order.

If you need to sell a Bulgarian, French or Spanish property then visit www.appreciatingassets.ie. Don’t expect to make a huge profit thought, this is a firesale service.

If you’ve run into problems in Spain you may find useful information from Mark Stucklin at www.spanishpropertyinsight.com and www.spanishpropertyactiongroup.com may be able to help.

If you’ve put a deposit on a property that has failed to materialise or is very badly delayed then you could visit www.reclaimyourdeposit.com.

Anyone that has had issues with MRI Overseas Properties can access www.mri-sg.org and those with Cypriot problems can get invaluable information from www.news.cyprus-property-buyers.com.

If you’re having problems in Calabria, southern Italy, this website may be of some assitance – www.calabriahomes.com.

This is not, by any means, an exhaustive list, but I’ll continue to put links to companies and organisations in my Resources section as I come across them.

If you’ve found any of the information contained in this piece, or on the site in general, of assistance do please use the ‘Donate’ button on the right hand side of the page to show your appreciation – anything you can offer is gratefully accepted.