Hi merkat. I sympathise with your position, the sheer volume of opportunities out there is staggering and you’ll no doubt be finding it hard to determine what’s best for you when there are so many different tax laws etc. that apply in the different countries you are considering.

It’s hard to tell from the limited information you have provided, but I’d say you have made a good start. There will always be good opportunities out there, so don’t worry about not yet having taken the plunge. You need to become comfortable with the opportunity that you finally decide to pursue and you have been wise not to succumb to any pressure that agents have tried to apply.

Becoming comfortable with the investment, and risks it brings, is key. My recommendation isn’t to contact a single person or agency. You must remember that they will only put forward opportunities that they provide. That’s how they get their commission and earn their living. Instead learn to use them and only buy through them if you found them useful.

Here are some general pointers for investment:

- Get in touch with others that are considering the same areas as yourself (and also those that are buying there / have discounted investing there.) They will have information that you will find useful. They may be about to visit location and be willing to make some checks for you. (It’s in their interests to perform due diligence too.)

- Speak to agents that aren’t promoting where you are looking. They will give you negatives that you may not have considered in an attempt to persuade you to consider where they have opportunities.

- Your principal goal is to perform your due diligence as thoroughly as possible. Identify and write down all the risks associated with a possible purchase and see which ones you can mitigate for. It is always possible to reduce risk, but it won’t happen by accident.

- Once you have performed enough due diligence you should visit the area. Best to go under your own steam. That way you aren’t seeing the place with rose tinted spectacles. If you do go with an agent then do not be pressurised into a sale. Always visit the site a second time without an agent. (You will have questions that you forget to ask at the time, but will be able to get answers from a second site visit or will spot things you hadn’t before that you will now enquire about.)

- Consider spreading your risk rather than placing all your eggs in the one basket. You may think that’s not possible with your budget, but it might be. Buying jointly halves costs and may help.

- Don’t take agent’s word for cost of the property. Developer may be willing to take sizeable discount to make first few sales or be willing to knock a lot off the asking price if payments are front loaded.

- Consider possibility of developer going bust. I’m sure you have seen threads on this in here and other forums.

- Check contract several times before you sign it and don’t part with any money till you are happy with everything. Pin down as many details as possible. You don’t want anything vague in the contract. If property comes with swimming pool then get dimensions of pool in. (But don’t take this too far – you don’t need a complete inventory of cutlery etc if place is coming fully furnished.) Think about what is missing from the contract. It is very easy to see what’s in the contract, but not so easy to see what has been omitted. Think about he glossy brochures and sales blurb. Are details they provided in the contract? If you don’t pin down what you are buying then you won’t get it. (Developer will only deliver what has been agreed in the contract – it is not in their interests to spend extra money delivering anything more.)

I’ve only scratched on the surface with tips – enough to get the ball rolling.