What due diligence on a property abroad actually covers
Before signing on a property abroad, five checks decide whether you keep your money: the resale liquidity of the exact micro-location, what can legally be built on the neighbouring plots, the ownership structure and its consequences on capital gains and succession, an independent verification of the title — liens, boundaries, permits — and an independent valuation to avoid the foreigner premium. Every one of them is verifiable before you commit. None of them can be corrected afterwards without cost.
This is The Buyer’s Checklist — the five mistakes that cost seven figures, and the ten points to tick before you commit. It is the checklist we run ourselves, on the buyer’s side. The country-specific rules — costs, taxes, foreign-ownership limits — are linked at the bottom.
We are not the right fit for everyone
This checklist is written for buyers who intend to hold, and one day sell, a property in a country that is not their own. If that is you, the five checks below are the ones that decide the outcome.
- International families buying a second home
- Entrepreneurs and family offices diversifying
- Future residents and expatriates
- Developers of exceptional estates
What we do on the other side of the brief: sourcing, viewings and negotiation are ours, and so is the chain behind the purchase — lawyers, tax advisers, banks, and the coordination that continues after the sale.
The five mistakes we see most often
Buying a home abroad should be one of life's great pleasures, not a seven-figure lesson. Here are the five mistakes we see most often — and exactly how to avoid each one.
Falling for the view — and forgetting the resale
Why it costsA breathtaking view sells you, but it will not always sell the next buyer. Trophy properties bought on emotion can sit unsold for years, or resell below the price paid. The view is priced in the day you buy; liquidity is what protects you the day you exit.
How to avoid itBefore you fall in love, ask who your future buyer is and how fast you can reach them. Look at real resale data and rental demand, not the brochure.
Verify before signing- Comparable resales in the same micro-location, last 24 months
- Average days-on-market for similar properties
- Rental yield and occupancy, if income is part of your plan
- The realistic buyer pool for an exit in 5 to 10 years
The empty plot next door is your future neighbour
Why it costsThat open field, ruin or car park beside your villa can become a five-storey building, a hotel, or a two-year construction site — erasing the view, the privacy and the premium you paid for them.
How to avoid itTreat the surroundings as part of the asset. Check what can legally be built on every adjacent plot, today and under the plans already filed.
Verify before signing- Zoning and land-use designation of the neighbouring plots
- Building permits already filed nearby
- Height, density and coastline-setback limits
- Protected or classified status that could change
The wrong ownership structure — and tax explodes on resale
Why it costsHow you hold a property — personally, through a company, through another vehicle — changes your capital-gains bill, your annual taxes and how the asset passes to your family. Restructuring after signature is expensive, and sometimes impossible.
How to avoid itDecide the structure before the offer, with cross-border tax counsel, thinking about the sale and the succession rather than only the purchase.
Verify before signing- Capital-gains treatment on a future resale
- Inheritance and succession rules for non-residents
- Annual holding taxes: wealth, property, company
- The double-taxation treaty between your country and the asset's
Signing without an independent check of the title
Why it costsAbroad, a beautiful property can carry hidden liens, boundary disputes, undeclared extensions or an incomplete title. Discover it after signature and you inherit the problem, and the legal bill.
How to avoid itNever rely on the seller's lawyer alone. Commission independent legal due diligence and a verified, unencumbered title before any funds move.
Verify before signing- Clean, complete title in the seller's name
- No mortgages, liens or charges registered
- Boundaries matching the deed and the land registry
- Permits for every built structure and extension
- Guaranteed access, utilities and rights of way
Paying the foreigner price
Why it costsWithout local intelligence, international buyers routinely pay above the real market — because the only people advising them are paid by the seller. The premium is invisible until you try to resell.
How to avoid itGet an independent valuation and true local comparables, and work with a buyer-side advisor whose only interest is yours.
Verify before signing- An independent valuation, not the selling agent's estimate
- Genuine local comparables, not asking prices
- Buyer-side representation and negotiation
- A full breakdown of taxes, fees and closing costs
The money question, destination by destination
Due diligence is a fraction of what a purchase costs — and the purchase itself costs three times more in one destination than in another. These are our own published figures, each from a page we keep and date.
| Destination | All-in, on top of the price | Of which the independent check |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | ≈ 6.5% (cash purchase) | Bank valuation ≈ AED 3,000 |
| Mauritius | ≈ 6.5–7.5% | Notary, degressive ≈ 2% → 0.5% |
| French Alps | ≈ 7–8% | Notaire ≈ 1% |
| Greece | ≈ 9–11% | Lawyer ≈ 1.5% + VAT |
| Marbella | ≈ 10–13% resale · 13–14% new-build | Lawyer ≈ 1% + VAT |
| Seychelles | ≈ 18–19% | — |
Worked example — a €1,000,000 villa in Greece
Acquisition costs run to roughly €89,000–114,000 on top of the price. The independent lawyer inside that envelope is about €18,600 — 1.9% of the price, and around a sixth of the transaction costs. A technical survey adds from €5,000, a topographic survey €500–1,500. Put plainly: the checks cost under 3% of the price. The mistakes they catch are measured in hundreds of thousands.
Sources
- Greece, Marbella, Dubai, French Alps, Mauritius, Seychelles — acquisition costs — our own destination pages, last reviewed 9 July 2026
- Greece — technical and topographic surveys — KG Nordic Advisory and Greek practitioner guides, cross-checked 28 September 2026
- Spain — valuation (tasación) €250–600 — several Spanish conveyancing sources, cross-checked 28 September 2026
Figures are directional and never a quote: fees vary with the property, the jurisdiction and the scope. What is ours is dated and kept; what comes from outside is named.
Before you sign — ten non-negotiables
If you cannot tick all ten with confidence, you are not ready to commit. Your ticks stay on this device.
The rules that change with the border
Due diligence is universal; the rules are not. These pages carry the figures and the legal framework for the destinations we cover, and are dated.
Selling instead of buying? See our confidential sale mandate.
Luxury buyer's agent, on the buyer's side only — Mauritius, Dubai, Marbella, Greece, the Maldives and the French Alps. Every price and every rule on this page is sourced (developers, sales offices, official EDB/MRA texts) and dated; pages are re-verified quarterly.
Our editorial method →FAQ — Due diligence when buying abroad
It is the set of verifications made before signature, covering five areas: the resale liquidity of the micro-location, what can legally be built on the neighbouring plots, the ownership structure and its tax and succession consequences, an independent check of the title — liens, boundaries, permits, access — and an independent valuation. Each is verifiable before you commit; none can be fixed afterwards without cost.
It depends on the jurisdiction and on how clean the file is. A straightforward title check with a local lawyer is usually a matter of days to a few weeks; a plot with an incomplete title, an undeclared extension or an inheritance behind it takes longer. The right sequence is to start the checks before the reservation agreement, not after — or to make the agreement conditional on them.
You can rely on them for what they are paid to do, which is to represent the seller. In most countries the agent's fee is paid by the seller, which is legal and normal, but it means their duty of loyalty is not to you. A buyer-side advisor is engaged and paid by you, and negotiates against that interest rather than alongside it.
It is the premium an international buyer pays over the real local market, for lack of comparables and of an independent valuation. It is not usually a deliberate trap: it comes from buying on an asking price rather than on evidence. The premium is invisible on the day you buy and very visible on the day you resell.
Yes, and they do different work. The lawyer verifies the title, the charges, the permits and the contract in the local jurisdiction. The advisor finds and qualifies the property, runs the market checks, negotiates and coordinates the specialists — lawyer, tax counsel, bank, notary — through to signature.
Spain — Marbella and Sotogrande, France — the Alps, Paris and the Riviera, Dubai and the UAE, Greece, Mauritius, the Maldives, the Seychelles and the United States. A single team connects these markets, which matters when a buyer is weighing a chalet against an oceanfront villa.
Have this checklist run on your shortlist
Send us the properties you are considering. We run the five checks, tell you what we find, and show you the off-market opportunities most buyers never see. Confidential, and without obligation.
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