Buyer's Guide - Consider the financing
When you’re ready to make an offer, you’ll need to consider the financing of the property. It is important that you remember the additional costs of buying a property, which soon add up: legal fees, mortgage set up, land registry fees, transfer tax or VAT and stamp duty. These costs are unavoidable and come to roughly 10% of the purchase price. As you decide on the offer you want to make, you may also want to include the furnishing and running costs of the property.
A further point to take into account is currency fluctuations – using bank or airport exchange rates can end up costing you a lot of money. Unless you wish to speculate on the rates fluctuating in your favour, it is more than likely worth your while to approach one of the big foreign exchange companies to fix the exchange rate.
You may need to apply for a mortgage to finance your purchase. Depending on your personal circumstances and market conditions, mortgages can be granted at 50%, 70% or 80% of the property value. Although mortgages at a higher percentage are a thing of the past, in some (rare) situations it may still be possible to achieve 100% financing for certain off-plan developments: in these cases the developer finances the shortfall between the mortgage that has been granted and the property value.
General Information - Do your Research
General Information - Consider the Financing
General Information - Legal Considerations
Property Purchase Process - An Overview
Taxes and Fees payable – An Overview