People from developed countries are more and more frequently opting to retire in a developing country. Germans, for example, love to retire in Turkey or Paraguay. The costs are lower and the weather so much better than Europe. Most of the time these future expats would visit the country of their choice before the time to look at real estate. This is when they are at their most vulnerable and should without doubt contact one of the local property agents for expats.

One of the first reasons for this is that very often the language will be a barrier. Property agents concentrating on German expats in Paraguay, for example, can speak the local language (Spanish) as well as the language of their buyers (German). This means that the agent fulfills both the role of a property adviser and an interpreter!

It’s also inevitable that the property agent will know more about local conditions than you will for a long time to come. When arriving in a foreign city such as Asuncion, you won’t have a clue which parts of the city are highly popular residential areas and which parts you should stay away from. Someone who knows local conditions and who can speak your language as well is therefore a highly useful asset in this situation.

When it comes to negotiations about the purchase price, you are once again better off with the help of an honest broker. Without him at your side, you could very easily end up in the hands of a ruthless local agent who will exploit your ignorance about price levels in the city. We have all heard about foreigners paying exorbitant prices for a property overseas which they then later find very hard to sell again.

Foreign countries very often have peculiar laws and regulations that can cause a foreigner to lose a lot of money if he is unaware of this. You might be under the impression that you are legally ‘buying’ a property from the owner, only to find out later that he sold it to five other customers at the same time. If you were using a top quality property agent, he would have protected you against something like this.

As someone who is not familiar with local development plans, you might end up buying a property next to a future industrial zone which will soon engulf your suburb in toxic fumes. This is one more reason why you need to use a knowledgeable property agent that can speak your language.

Property agents for expats are thus a vital link in the real estate chain for expats. Without them there would be many an expat that either pay too much for a property or end up being conned out of their money.

For more information and resources about Singapore Expat Living in Singapore, make sure you visit SingaporeExpatPropertyExperts.com.sg!