A great many of our deals are in foreign countries; from Bulgaria to Cyprus, Sri Lanka to New Zealand, Dubai to the Caribbean, the opportunities are many and the deals are innovative.

What worries many investors, however, is the unfamiliarity: we all prefer to stay within our comfort zone, speaking English and paying in £ sterling. And “abroad” is such a long way away!

But is it really all that different? Don’t the basic concepts of reservation, exchange and completion remain the same?

In practice … yes … the procedures are pretty much the same, though there are always local idiosyncrasies, which is why Viceroy Invest always engages a first rate local solicitor who translates contracts and speaks English.

Buying property abroad, often without seeing it, perhaps without ever seeing it, is an act of faith which many would consider reckless. Whilst we would always recommend you visit the local area before committing to any purchase, the majority of our clients don’t in fact do this, trusting Viceroy Invest’s due diligence procedures to uncover any potential problems.

Whenever we do find something unsatisfactory, we simply don’t do the deal, so members would never know the opportunity existed. Unless we are sufficiently confident to invest our own money, we never recommend a development to our members.

The issue of foreign currency is also quite simple. Whilst the natural inclination is to go to your local High Street bank to make the transfer of funds abroad, this is a fairly expensive way of doing it. Instead, we recommend a specialist currency transfer company which handles the entire transaction and saves you potentially hundreds (sometimes thousands) of pounds compared with conventional banks’ charges.

Most investors buy property abroad (not surprisingly) as an investment and therefore need the services of a letting or managing agent. As well as finding tenants, they handle the collection of rent, the formalities of checking tenants in and out of the property, cleaning between tenancies, and of course depositing the rent in your bank account.

Using local contacts, we find the best agents, interview them while we are in the country, and arrange a special deal for Viceroy Invest members. You can have the confidence that your property will be well managed and your interests taken care of.

Finally, you should never enter a contract unless you have considered your likely exit route, even though that may take place many years in the future. For that reason, we often set up a sales programme for our members, so they have the confidence that when (if) they want to sell their investment, there will be a company dedicated to getting the best possible price for them.

So, even if the locals don’t speak much English and don’t carry English pounds in their pockets, you can still invest with confidence in their country, wherever it is.