• Be clear about what you want from your foray overseas: is it a holiday getaway or an investment wealth-generator?
• Buying a place in the sun that you can escape to for a couple of weeks a year is all well and good, but if you also harbour a vague idea that you will rent it out during the winter, don't bank on the yield covering your mortgage repayments.
• Some agents offer a guaranteed rental income over a certain period. Buyers should remember that these guarantees are usually paid out of an artificially inflated asking price.
• The photographs in the glossy brochure might show the perfect juxtaposition of blue sky and foliage-shaded white facade, but just out of shot are large vats of industrial waste from a city-sized hotel that will spew package holidaymakers into your back garden . . . Moral: it is best to actually visit the area before signing any contracts.
• What's that coming over the hill? Is it a construction crane heralding the arrival of view-spoiling, investment income-destroying new developments? It's best to be pessimistic: they're probably not building vital infrastructure that will make your villa more marketable.
• Advertisements purporting to offer guaranteed capital growth of 20 per cent or 200 per cent are just that: advertisements. Reputable property vendors know better than to guarantee anything.
• Don't ignore the tax authorities. It will be no use claiming you didn't understand the language in their final demand letters when they force you to forfeit your property.
• Remember that buying outside the euro zone, while it might seem more exotic, brings its own risks - namely a whole different set of interest rates and the possibility of being stung on the currency exchange market.
• Listen out for Irish accents. If your neighbours seem all too genetically familiar, could it be that there are no other takers out there? If average earnings in the area fall far below the level needed for local people to buy properties, then you may be forced to rely on your compatriots to buy your property when the time comes to sell.
• Don't assume an area is a sought-after destination with a vibrant local economy just because Ryanair flies there.
