The Big Four
How to buy property in Italy, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
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UNITED KINGDOMCottages in the Cotswolds, manor estates in Kent—vacation homes
in
the United Kingdom are more than just the settings for fairy tales and
Merchant Ivory films. The island nation 3,500 miles across the
Atlantic
is
becoming as accessible a second home destination
for Americans as it
is for the
Brits.
A five-bedroom home in London’s Chelsea district is
offered through Sotheby’s International Realty for $12.4 million. Photography by Tony Murray. (Click image to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Once you have found a local lawyer, have him steer you to real
estate agents in London, the Lake District, Devon, Cornwall,
Wales or
Scotland—all popular second home destinations with
foreigners.
After you have found your hideaway, your lawyer will present the seller with a formal offer, subject to surveys and contracts. Lawyers for both parties then draw up private contracts, leading to a binding sales agreement. When the agreement is signed, a deposit of 10 percent is placed in an escrow account with the seller’s lawyer; escrow is generally 15 to 30 days. Following the final sale, new ownership is recorded with the Land Registry.
Costs include stamp duty (between 1 percent and 4 percent
depending
on the price of the property), legal fees (roughly 1 percent)
and
registry fees (approximately £200, or $372). Real estate
brokers’ commissions
(generally 2
to 3 percent of the purchase
price) are paid by the
seller, though buyers are
sometimes
represented at their own expense.
Capital gains tax is charged at
income tax rates, generally 20 to 40
percent. (Click image to enlarge)
