having read most of the above i must agree that many selling overseas property only want One thing ... YOur Money..and they will do anything for it without caring about you...
I have invested in the USA and have my own real estate license , has it helped me sell more or invest , well NO... I become a REALTOR now you would think being UK based and able to provide a full Realtor service I would be snowed under with clients , NO I have not had one client close on any deal .
i own the websites with the string "usalocations" and again Not one client .
It is to my cost i have learnt that UK people just dont care what you can offer them , all they want to do is make MONEY and quickly and many pay out too much !!
I have seen several UK companies charge for admin , finders fees etc etc as well as due diligence service's often charging over £1000 I must congratulate those companies and good luck to every one of them .
The main problem in the uk Is just Lack of knowledge and falling for all those glossy magazine ads..Ignorance really is Bliss...
My advice is simple...
where ever you want to invest ..find out as much as you can about the Protection and guarantees , about local license's etc and check check check all the Facts yourself..
I invested in Georgia USA and it took me 2 trips and over 18 months to finally invest is a place called Valdosta...Talk about cautious...
I only invested when I got to know the agent and most importantly felt i could Trust them.. That is the Key... Good Luck and regards..