Hectic lifestyles, house prices, heavy taxes, poor schooling and bad weather are forcing 200,000 Britons a year to move abroad

However, time and again we are hearing about people buying a home abroad which ends up besieged with structural, regulatory, geographical or financial problems.

And they are finding themselves saddled with these properties largely because they have not taken the same cautious approach they would have taken had they being buying a property at home.

Russell Wilson, managing director of Cyprus property development Royal Bay Oroklini, is concerned about this trend.

He said: "Warm weather coupled with a two-hour or more plane journey seems to influence people into buying a property they wouldn't think twice about in the UK."

He says many people are buying property all over Europe and the Mediterranean which are prone to damp, subsidence, structural cracks and cost a fortune to heat in the winter and air condition in the summer.

"In foreign countries, I have heard of people signing up for the wrong house, signing contracts written in a foreign language and even handing over cash deposits, returning to the UK to say goodbye to family and friends only to find when they return to move into the house of their dreams, it doesn't actually exist and the so-called agent has scarpered. It sounds unbelievable British people could be that gullible but the frequency of these occurrences is frightening."

But if you feel put off, you don't have to shelve your plans of acquiring your dream home in the sun just yet because Russell has put together this basic list of questions, which are not linked to financial or legal issues, which buyers often overlook:

  • What will the house be like in winter? Is it insulated and how much will it cost to heat? Similarly, in summer, what will it cost to run the air conditioning?
  • What is the area like out of season?
  • What land is the house built on? What was there before the property was built? Is the Title guaranteed?
  • What materials is the house made of? Be aware that concrete houses fail to meet most EEC building regulations.
  • Does the property meet any building regulations?
  • Is there any kind of security system?

The basic message is make sure all your bases are covered when searching for your home in the sun and your move abroad is bound to be a successful one. For more information about property ownership abroad, visit ok50.com