great site you guys have got here - very informative.

i have a general question on purchasing property in budapest - first venture overseas. i will be buying with the help of a hungarian friend as an individual. got solicitors sorted but need advice on mortgages/financing - best arranged in the uk or in hungary? which currency?
what stages of the purchase would i be advised to be in budapest, if at all?
any pitfalls experienced by those who have been there done that....
thanks.

Why did you choose Budapest? I'm not saying it's a particularly bad choice, but the market has been very flat for a while and I don't see any signs of a massive upturn any time soon although prices do seem undervalued on a long-term basis.

Did you consider Bratislava instead?

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EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Author of: Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Riviera Real Estate

i went for budapest for my first overseas purchase primarily due to the fact that my hungarian friend and their 'network' will have a reassuring presence on the ground in budapest and using hungarian agents etc might provide a more competitive price on entry.
also 2011 euro convergence might drive things in years to come..... thoughts welcome also info as per first post please.
thanks

You can find my analysis of the Hugarian market here:

Hungary Property Investment: Buy Hungary Real Estate Resources

It's worth comparing it with some of the competing markets in Central Europe on the site.

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EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Author of: Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Riviera Real Estate

I think there is a lot to be said for having a close friend located near your property that will agree to keep an eye on it.

your website was a good read propertastic - thanks. was slightly alarmed by some of it although some encouragement for the future. would you say things have remained similar since you wrote the article?
olly - thanks for tax info. i thought that if you intend proceeds to come back to the uk in the long run then you will have to pay uk tax anyway and you don't get double taxed. therefore i would end up with no bigger a tax bill in the long run? not sure on this though??
i can certainly can see great potential in the other countries, but am wary of being too ambitious on my first venture. my friend being in budapest would provide some reassurance.
am i being too careful?

From what I understand, 2007 was another flat year in the market.

The question is, over what term are you looking to invest?

If you are looking for a mid to longterm (5 years plus) I think it is a good investment as Budapest looks very cheap by the standards of other Eastern European cities.

If you want to nip in and out in a couple of years though, Bratislava or Bucharest would be better.

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EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Author of: Propertastic's Complete Guide to Hurghada Property and Egypt's Red Sea Riviera Real Estate

there are many banks that offer you a 70 per cent mortgage i have a 1 bed in district 6 in opera development in o street rented out at 450 euro a month and am looking for a 107 k euro

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i aggree if you had the apt more than 4 yrs i think the cgt is 0 to 5 per cent so quite small