So you’ve decided to buy a vacation home or condo in a development or skyscraper outside of the United States. decided to buy and ended up retiring there.

While the dollar is still a bit strong against other currencies, this could be a great time to consider your purchase. Plus, interest rates have fallen to less than 3 percent again, so it may make a lot of sense to refinance your home to take out extra money for the purchase.

If your current interest rate is at least 1-2% higher, it will save you money as long as you stay in your home for more than 5 years or more. However, you will have to see what the total cost of the refi would be because you will have a payback period for those costs until you can really take advantage of your lower rate.

Obviously, your current business or employment income, your credit scores, your debt-to-income ratio are the key factors that will determine your borrowing power and your interest rate. Another consideration is how long will you be living in your home.

The younger your children, the longer you could stay there, at least until they graduate from college. So borrowing now, with these historically low rates, will be to your advantage.

Speaking with a qualified professional mortgage broker will give you a better idea of ​​whether or not refinancing will work for you. But first, you need to think about the financial strength and foundation of your business and the security of your job and position.

Amazon and other Internet businesses have had a marked effect on the way we purchased our groceries and our basic necessities and the negative effects on a large number of businesses across the United States.

Although infection rates have dropped significantly, we are still in a COVID-19 pandemic environment. The Delta hybrid virus is also having an effect on the majority of the United States and other countries, as infection rates have risen and increased over the past month. You should use caution when determining if you also have the ongoing and disposable income to purchase your vacation / potential retirement home.

On the bright side, my professional opinion is that you will probably have a great opportunity to buy a property at a much lower price and value now than if and when viruses go away.

Predicting this happy event is an enigma and at this point it is surely an unknown.
The following countries do not allow foreigners to own property or make it almost impossible to do so, such as:

Vietnam
Greece
 Thailand and other countries, so check any country’s policies before you do anything
There are many other countries where foreign nationals can own property and investing is sort of a solid bet, such as:
Turks and Caicos
 Mexico
 Barbados
Anguilla
Cayman Islands
 Bermuda
Costa Rica
Canada
Philippines
UK
Spain
France
Italy
Panama
Bahamas
Germany
Brazil
 China (you must have worked there at least 1 year and purchase for your own use)
 Belize
 Colombia
 Jamaica

You have to read and learn what the rules and regulations are so that you are better informed before looking for a property.

Hiring an experienced and knowledgeable local real estate agent who will be able to provide you with all the information you need to purchase will be to your advantage and thus have fewer mistakes and problems occurring.

By already having the necessary and necessary information, it will back up everything that the agent (s) forward to you so that you are all the more informed to minimize and eliminate problems, wasting money and time.

Additionally, hiring a local lawyer with a reputation and advice will have someone who will support you by providing you with legal representation, again to minimize potential issues that arise and to help resolve issues.

Philip A. Raices is the owner / broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 39 years of experience in the real estate industry and has obtained the Graduate titles of the Realtor Institute (GRI) as well as that of Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS).