Day 5: The Property Question II—Buying

Dear 40 Days To Your New Life In Europe Student,

As we covered yesterday: Rent first. And maybe rent forever in your new life overseas.

That’s our best advice for all the reasons we’ve been discussing.

However, it’s understandable if, eventually, you decide you’d like to put down more permanent roots in your overseas haven of choice.

There are two reasons to establish a base of your own in your new place of residence…

First because you want to. You want to nest. You want a place you can decorate and furnish as you like, where you can make a garden, install a swimming pool, store your keepsakes…

The second reason to purchase a piece of real estate in another country is because you have reason to believe that investment will make you money.

These are two very different agendas—buying for personal use and buying for profit or yield.

The best case is when they coincide, when you find a piece of real estate in the place where you want to spend time that also holds out the potential for an investment return (in the form of capital appreciation and/or a yield from rental).

If you’re buying straight-up for profit, every decision is based on the numbers. We’re going to assume that’s not the case here, as this isn’t a Global Property Investing Course… but a How To Move To Europe Course.

Assuming, therefore, that you’re buying for personal use, at least part-time personal use, you want to make your choices based on many things, including some that can’t be quantified in a spreadsheet.