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SPECIAL FEATURE: Jet-to-Let

Jet-to-Let: a good bet?

Buying property to let abroad can be an attractive option. Prices may be substantially less than in the UK, budget flights abound, and there is certainly no shortage of companies throughout Europe promising that their lowcost region will be the next French Riviera.

However, it's advisable to do your research before you prepare to return with a suitcase stuffed with new property title deeds as well as straw donkeys, bottles of grappa, or similar fare.

Buying abroad requires careful financial planning, particularly when it comes to questions relating to local tax, legal fees, travel costs and the impact this type of investment will have on your UK tax liability. You should also consider carefully the implications of managing a property at a distance and the challenges of doing business in a country whose culture and language are unfamiliar to you.

Buying Abroad: The Essentials

Once the preserve of the elite, owning overseas is now a popular prospect; in the period 2000-2004, the number of Britons buying an investment property abroad increased by around 250 per cent.

For many years, France and Spain have been popular destinations with one and a quarter million Britons owning second homes there. With the UK looking unlikely to switch to the Euro in the near future, and budget airlines proving resilient, the Western European market seems to be staying put. It certainly merits consideration if you are thinking of investing overseas.