The Real Cost of Buying Abroad
Published guides put buyer costs anywhere from about 1% of the price in some places to about 15% in others.
Picture a woman named Trudy, 66, a widow. She found an apartment in a coastal city abroad and loved it. The listing said US$250,000, and that was the amount she had set aside from the sale of her house. She had walked the neighborhood three mornings in a row with a coffee in her hand. She was ready to make an offer.
Her daughter asked one question on the phone: "Is that the whole price?"
Trudy said yes. Then she realized she did not know.
She paid a local lawyer for one hour. The lawyer wrote the costs of buying on a sheet, line by line: a transfer tax, a notary, a registry fee, legal fees and sometimes an agent. The list was different in each country, and sometimes in each region. Trudy copied it onto her yellow pad.
Published guides put buyer costs anywhere from about 1% of the price in some places to about 15% in others. Many fall between 5% and 12%. Three points on that range would mean this for her.
| Buyer costs | On US$250,000 | In months of a US$900 rent |
|---|---|---|
| Low end (3%) | US$7,500 | about 8 |
| Middle (8%) | US$20,000 | about 22 |
| High end (12%) | US$30,000 | about 33 |
The sheet also listed yearly costs: property tax and often a monthly building fee. In some places, foreign owners near the coast also pay for a bank-trust arrangement, with a setup fee and a yearly fee. The lawyer did not have exact amounts for her building yet. She wrote "ask" beside each one.
Trudy looked at her pad. If her place sat in the middle case, the real total she needed was US$270,000, and she had US$250,000.
"So the listing price is the start of the bill," she said.
"It is the start," the lawyer said. "Most buyers like to hear it before the offer."
That evening Trudy could have stretched past her savings, or looked again. She looked again, and found a smaller apartment two streets over that fit the full amount, costs included.
You could…
- Ask a local lawyer for a written list of every cost, before you make an offer.
- Add the yearly costs to your monthly spending, using real quotes.
- Divide the buyer costs by your monthly rent, to see how many months of renting they equal.
- Ask an accountant what owning abroad could mean for your taxes at home.
What did the listing price leave out for you, or for someone you know? Share it with us below. A reader about to make an offer on half the numbers could ask better questions.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data.
Sources: published buyer-cost guides from lawyers and property-information sites in several countries. The US$250,000 price and the US$900 rent are illustrations.
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