Top 10 international places to invest in real estate

If you could buy prime beachfront property at a bargain price, wouldn’t you?

Finding a steal in the U.S. is probably not going to happen. Housing affordability is diminishing, and in some markets homes are even less affordable now than they were in the heyday of the housing bubble. So investors, retirees and adventurous buyers are looking internationally for options that offer a better bang for their buck.

Homebuyers open themselves up to more options and a larger range of price points when they’re willing to look in countries other than the U.S. Plus, if a foreign market is experiencing rapid growth, there’s a greater likelihood that buyers will get a large return on their investment.

But house-hunting abroad comes with its own set of hurdles. Namely, home financing is a very different process outside our borders. Interest rates can be higher and in some places down payments need to be larger. Also, buyers used to scrolling through listing websites won’t find as much luck finding properties as they would in the U.S. — many other countries don’t have the multiple listing service to catalog available properties. And of course, there are language and legal barriers to face.

If you’re considering an international investment property, step one is to find a good real estate attorney who understands the country’s laws, especially if you’re not fluent in the local language.

But if you’re ready to take the plunge, consider these 10 places where your return on investment could be as nice as your coastal view. We worked with Live and Invest Overseas, a publication and research company specializing in international living, to determine the best international property buys for 2014. In culling the list, the firm considered many factors, including market events, currency fluctuations and tourism.

September 6, 2014

http://www.cbsnews.com/media/top-10-international-places-to-invest-in-real-estate/