Overseas Investment: Strike While The Iron Is Hot

The real estate industry is pulling through the current economic crisis far better than almost any other. It’s a rock in an ocean with rogue waves and endless swirling winds. The lockdown should show you that investing in real estate is something that still holds true value. Despite the shock of 2007/8, it’s still one of the leading investment categories, wealthy people and first-time investors should be seeking to get into. But what about domestic versus foreign? Your overseas real estate investment opportunities have never been so varied and so open as now. Prices have dipped and some investors have chosen to bolt the stable, but that just means you need to seize on the chance to take over from them. In the midst of a pandemic, here are your best overseas property investment options.

An affluent demise

Seeing as many holidays have been canceled it’s a good time to invest in holiday villas, a personal holiday home. Wait, what? Should you really buy or lease a holiday villa in the current climate? Yes, absolutely. The reason being, holiday villas are usually hired or rented by affluent people. These are either rich professionals, wealthy seniors or companies looking to throw some kind of party for their clients. But, even they have decided that for the foreseeable future, nobody is going to want to gather together in a remote location where there are hardly any healthcare services. 

The question is, where is the best place to buy a holiday villa? Such properties are usually located in hot coastal nations. However, the Mediterranean nations of Italy, Spain and Portugal have been hit badly by the virus. Only Turkey seems to be the more viable option. The holiday villa prices in Turkey were already lower than any nation in Europe, but since there are fewer cases and less danger of COVID-19, this is the best place to invest right now. 

Buy another residence

What if you want to buy another property that can be used as your second home? As home prices have plunged in recent weeks and months, now is the time you seek options for a mortgage for another property. Think Plutus has an excellent and very detailed list of what your options are. Perhaps you would like to buy another property in order to lease it, in that case, you have the buy-to-let mortgage plans. You will need to make a minimum deposit of 25% and the interest rates are usually higher. This is because the mortgage lender expects you to be using the property to turn a profit and thus, the returns to you are much more rapid than a long-term scheme. Inherently, they want a piece of the pie and thus, expect higher up-front payments. 

If you would like to ‘flip’ a home then you can also use the development loan plan. It’s exactly what the name suggests in that, you will be given a loan and expected to fix up a home that has fallen into disrepute or just needs a quick makeover and will become an attractive property once again. For this type of loan, the length is usually around 12 to 18 months. This should be plenty of time to use the money wisely and make a good return on investment.

There are some limits to mortgages for second homes, however. If it’s going to be a home for a family member, this could put off a lot of lenders but if you can assure them that you’re not overextending yourself, it usually gets the green light. If you’re going through a divorce, you will need to show proof to be accepted. If you’re going to be making a property into your personal holiday home or perhaps renting it, this too may be accepted.

Commercial office space

There has been a recent decline in square feet of commercial office space in places like London and Manhattan. It’s obvious why businesses are trying to cut down on their physical footprint as more employees are working just as well from home. From their remote location, using a cloud based system, they are able to perform many if not all of their tasks. This makes the commercial office space industry ripe for investment. The decrease in office space has largely been down to large companies leaving, which will soon be taken up by small businesses looking to expand. 

Take a look at the square feet prices in offices in New York and Los Angeles, where there are some competitive opportunities. Portfolio reviews are happening right this second and this will lead to more and more opportunities which you should try to snap up as quickly as they are released. 

Rising giants

The two nations that are set to become powerhouses in this century are Brazil and India. These economies are growing consistently and due to their size in landmass and population, they will become very lucrative economies to invest in. the time is now, you have to get in early to reap the largest reward. But where do you invest?

Small businesses and entrepreneurs are your first test. As ever, in any rising economy the young talent that is leading in financial services, technology and local retail, are the best place to start searching. Brazil has some very interesting ETFs which you should seek to invest in,