Better still adopt me.
Stephen.

Astral.

Are you saying that your property abroad is subject to inheritance tax in that country and here in the UK on the same property.

I am almost sure that you can only be taxed once by what country though I'm not sure .
Stephen.

Thats what I thought.

Anything inherited above 275k is taxed at 40%

My advice. Spend it before you go.

That's the way to go, leave enough to give the kids a good start and then blow the rest.

You might find this interesting...........

http://www.lanzarote.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2738

Thanks for that Bawbee. Very interesting.

I'll have a good look at that when we get back.

Off to the airport now, plane to catch.

Diane and Colin,
Iwould stay clear of the Cape Verde islands if I were you. They are ex Portugese territory and are now independent, and have no ties with the EU. Should the president or whomever decide there were too many foreigners he could potentially just kick everyone out and reclaim their properties.

Joe90

Thanks for the advice.

We were not planning buying there, I was just looking at Horizon property details and they are pushing these at the moment.

Do you think they would have looked into this.
Do you know if this has happened in any other country.

Hi

I've been looking around for a Home abroad.

Requirements are..

Scenery.
Homely feel to the property.
Great beaches.
Sunshine.
Sensible prices.

Now the only place i've seen that has really ticked all the boxes is in the Messini area of Greece. I've actually found a lovely property much cheaper than the offering below and in a habitable condition with a big plot.. ..

Here's one i've picked out for top value for money if everything is as rosy as the property site states..

€ 60,000 renovation job with two other plots included..

http://www.mckellen-messiniakiproperties.gr/salesmain.asp?id=165

paul..

I own 2 apartments and 1 house in bulgaria,

and im currently holidaying in goa looking into buying a apt out there. Also, im thinking of buying a apt in altinkum, turkey.

I own a apartments in sharm el sheikh, egypt ( own it with my dad)
That is a thrieving investment.

Any, other good destinations you can think off?

Yours,
Brads

Hi all, just thought I'd clarify a few points on the presidential power (or not!) in the Cape Verde islands - and the more general situation too

Cape Verde is a multi-party representative democracy with a president (currently Pedro Pires), a prime minister (currently Jose Maria Pereira Neves), and a 72-member one-house parliament (the Assembleia Nacional") from which the cabinet is chosen. There are both presidential and governmental elections held under a proportional representation system: the last presidential election was held in February 2001, next one in February 2006; the last governmental election was held in January 2001, next one in December 2005.

The legal system is understandably based on, and similar to, the Portuguese system. There are local courts, but the highest legal authority is the Supreme Court (the "Supremo Tribunal de Justia") - not the president.

The islands are a member of the African Union, and actively co-operate with, and welcome the participation of, a wide range of international organizations. These include the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA - member of the World Bank Group), the World Tourism Organization (WTO), and Interpol.

Hope this helps.
Janet

Nobody has mentioned South Africa yet. I have no experience whatsoever apart from watching "a place in the sun" on TV and seeing a 6 bed, 5 bath villa with swimming pool and lovely gardens sold to 2 guys from the UK for £54,000. My wife and i worked out that if we sold our house here we could have bought that villa outright and had enough cash left over to live modestly off the interest, as the cost of living their is ridiculously cheap too. I know somebody will shoot me down in flames by mentioning the risks concerning crime out there, but at that price, you could afford to hire your own personal bodyguard!!

i.m off to goa in january , hoping to buy our first overseas property , i think we may have a go at living out there , anyone with any advice would be great
lynne

Hello balloonboutique

Have you checked the following thread as yet?

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=53252

Mark

Did anyone see the program on TV the other night about the terrible situation in the Valenciana region of Spain? It was about developers who purchase and build on land whilst the land is still classed as Rustic. In order for land to be built on in Spain it has to be registered as Urbanistic. These people have no interest in your well being, they are corrupt and will continue whilst people are foolish enough to think that when they go abroad, they "know" what to look for and would never get caught.

Agents sell the property, developers build and make nice fat profit and you, the new home owner, get left with all the problems which result in you losing your home and your hard earned cash. And all because the land was bought by the developer as it was cheap due to the fact it was only supposed to be used for animals to graze in or flowers to grow in. In England we call it arrable land and it sells for about £2000 an acre as you cannot build on it. If you could it would be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The same applies abroad but us gullible Brits fail to do the simplest of tasks.

Please, take the best advice i can ever give on this forum. If you want to invest in any country anywhere in thw world, obtain the services of a lawyer. Do your research and ask around in the UK. Someone, somewhere will know of a reutable firm who will look after you. Ask how much they will charge at the beginning for consulation and then if you proceed, purchase costs.

......the Valencia "land grab" situation has been going on for a number of years now...originally it was meant to enable the regeneration of inner city areas by giving more power to access suitable places to rebuild, in a similar way to our compulsary purchase and "brownfield" system.

......but developers have been able to take advantage of some very poor legislation to legally aquire land which is nothing to do with city housing, and everything to do with building fancy villas.....and if it means taking part of your garden, or sticking apartments right in front of your sea view......then so be it, that's what will happen......and to make it worse, the developers are entitled to charge you for part of the cost of laying utilities over your land....

....all this has been well publicised over the past few years....there can't be many interested in property in that region of Spain who would be unaware of the situation, whether they are brits or not......yes, take good advice....and/or avoid buying anything with a large garden or plot of land.....

Sunowner,

You are correct in the Valencia situation and as you point out, it has been going on for a number of years. All your points are vaild but the program was not about land grab. It was about fraudulent developers building on Rustic land and then once built and sold, going AWOL with agents concerned shutting up shop and gone. This is a new sinister problem in Spain which has been allowed to happen due to the original situation whereby developers could build without license and pay a "fine" and have the plans past.

The law has recently changed in order to protect the people buying but, this resulted in the situation which was shown on the program, where the "legal" owners were refused planning permission and the properties were then pulled down and the land returned to Rustic.

That is why my point on instructing a solicitor at the beginning prior to parting with any money is sound advice.

Hi paullord Yes, I saw that programme too, and the houses they were shown were great. The two lads from Blackpool, with a load of children between them? I sometimes thinks these programmes have a lot to answer for, a Place in the Sun is supposed to be for people buying holiday homes, right? Yet they go to SA, or New Zealand etc etc. How many people will be able to afford the airfares to make much use of these houses as holiday homes? What would those guys do with the house for the other weeks of the year they are not there? Security, I imagine, will be a major issue!!! What long term plans had they made?

Which leads me onto the other discussion between danzacurt and sunowner. I totally agree with their views. It never fails to amaze me how many brits just buy houses/land in spain (and here in the canaries) on what almost seems to me to be a whim. The problems in Valencia province have been highlighted, as is said, for a few years. I feel very very sorry for those who are likely to lose their homes after so many years, or have to pay a fortune, but for goodness sake, would they have done the same deal in the UK, or would they have any sympathy for a spaniard who had been "caught out" doing the same thing in UK?

There is rustica land for sale here in Lanzarote very cheaply, and if I had the money I would buy some and sit on it until such time as it is reclassified. But I am already hearing visitors telling me they have bought this land and are going ahead with building and that "I must be stupid if I don't do the same" Just because you don't speak the language or understand the rules does not make anyone exempt!!!!!!!

Sorry rant over