A Desk In The Sun

This is part of a series of tips and hints that may prove useful if you're thinking of buying a house or apartment overseas

When Barbara and I first came to Ibiza it was never our intention to settle here permanently. The idea was that we rent an apartment for a year which would give me time to research the novel I intended to write. We’re still here, but the novel remains unwritten.

But our accidental decision to rent a place before buying was the best thing we did. Let me explain why,

If you are planning to live in a foreign country you really need to get to know your chosen area of residence in all seasons. I know there are villages, complexes and what the Spanish call "urbanisaciones" which are lively during the summer, but are completely dead in the winter. Equally, if you've only seen a place in the off-season, you may find it unpleasantly noisy, crowded and devoid of parking spaces during the annual tourist invasion.

Another thing which happens when you live in a place is that distances increase. That scenic 20 minute drive from your idyllic cottage in the country to the nearest little shop becomes a boring trudge on a damp February morning when you've run out of milk.

It also takes time to discover what you really want in your new foreign home. On holiday you never notice the absence of storage space or the size of the kitchen. That romantic old-fashioned fireplace or wood-burning stove looks lovely, but is it really adequate for the winter?

Much of this information will come from the network of friends and acquaintances that you'll build up. I know many people say they'll never become part of the ex-pat community and instead they'll join the "real" locals. That's a lot easier said than done. Beyond the language barrier there's an even tougher cultural barrier. Outside of cities the locals' social life revolves around the extended family. You may be welcomed, but you'll always be an outsider. After all you've left your extended family behind.

The ex-pats will also be able to help in ways that the locals can't. When you buy or sell property abroad you'll find that you've subconsciously absorbed a certain British way of doing it. Whether it's haggling over the price, paying the deposit or dealing with banks and lenders, you have expectations.

When we bought our house, for instance, we knew there would be various Spanish property taxes to pay on the deal. However, as the haggling over the precise details of the transaction carried on until we were actually signing the papers at the official notary, we assumed the tax bill would come through at least a few weeks later. Instead, that day the bank took from our account the amount of money it thought would be needed to pay the taxes and other bills. The small amount left over was returned to us sometime later. Our bank manager and lawyer didn't tell us about this because it's the way property transactions are always carried out in Spain and they assumed it would be the same if you were buying a house in any country. But it's the sort of thing a fellow British ex-pat could warn you about.

I'm going to be adding more tips and hints about buying a foreign property. I'd welcome your comments and suggestions.