Finding Your Home Away From Home: A Guide to Housing Abroad

Finding Your Home Away From Home: A Guide to Housing Abroad

Now that you have explored the cost of living in the previous post and have a better sense of the cost of housing in your new location abroad, you must go one step further and examine other conditions relating to real estate that could significantly impact your ability to find quality housing in your new location.

Even if the rental or real estate market looks to have affordable housing in your location, there are factors such as availability and laws relating to renters and foreign buyers that could impact your housing search and are worth taking a few minutes to explore.

For example, there are housing shortages in many locations that are also popular with expats. These shortages lead to localized increases in rental and purchase prices, as well as a lack of viable options. For instance popular destinations for expats such as Italy and Germany have housing scarcity issues that could drive up prices. While countries like Ireland and Belgium are less impacted.

Therefore, doing some area-specific research is wise to make sure the housing market in your new location is not impacted significantly by these types of factors. The steps to take are listed below, and it is quite easy to get a sense of the housing in the area you are exploring so let’s take a look.

And be sure to check out this comprehensive article on how to find a house abroad!

STEPS TO TAKE…

1. Research real estate sites in your locations of choice. Do a detailed search using your exact needs and specifications to see how many options are available. Reach out to the listings to ask questions and make sure they are still available. A lot of agents will maintain old listings as bait. So be sure to call and actually make sure the listings are actually real.
2. Research and examine general housing trends, articles, and news about housing in your city and location of choice, both current and historical.
3. Research laws and rights pertaining to foreign buyers and renters in your location. Are the laws challenging to navigate for foreigners or do they favor the tenants?
4. Ask questions, research, and explore expat communities in forums like Facebook and Reddit to get first-hand accounts of what it is like to find housing in your preferred location. Ask questions specific to your circumstances where input from locals could be helpful.
5. When you first arrive, it can be helpful to have a temporary place while you get a feel for the area and look at longer-term housing options in person. So research the availability of temporary housing options through rental agencies and sites like www.VRBO.com, www.airbnb.com, and www.booking.com. Check out our post on how we found housing abroad and the steps we took for the most successful experience here.
6. Reach out to realtors and real estate agencies seeking their professional advice and support with respect to your search. Many real estate agents are happy to help provide assistance with your search, as the owner pays them a commission for helping both renters and buyers. But don’t sign anything that says you will work exclusively with them, as other agents or you yourself may find the right place.
7. Fill out the worksheet below with details and listings related to housing to help you keep track of the information you are gathering in your search for your new home abroad.

Looking for information on international health care?  Check out this post for helpful information.

Choosing Your Perfect Country to Move Abroad

Whether you want to move abroad for a career, to study, for love, retirement, or to raise your family, this engaging, easy to follow roadmap will help you find the perfect location to start your new life.

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