Checklists

Two working documents our readers use most: the all-in cost checklist that keeps a budget honest, and the viewing-trip checklist that keeps a sunny afternoon from becoming an expensive decision. Print them, scribble on them, bring them.

Checklist 1

The all-in cost checklist

Every line that turns an asking price into what you actually spend.

  • Purchase taxes: transfer tax or VAT for your exact region and property type (new build vs resale often differ)
  • Notary and registry fees, and who customarily pays them in that country
  • Legal fees: an independent lawyer, never the seller's or agent's, typically 1 to 1.5 percent
  • Agency commission: confirm in writing whether the buyer pays any part
  • Survey or technical inspection, non-negotiable on older stock
  • Currency conversion costs: banks can cost 2 to 3 percent more than specialists on a large transfer
  • Mortgage costs if financing: arrangement fee, valuation, insurance requirements
  • Furnishing and immediate works budget, realistic not hopeful
  • Annual running costs: property tax, community fees, utilities, insurance, non-resident income tax where it applies
  • If renting out: licence requirements, management fees (15 to 25 percent for holiday lets), void months, platform commissions
  • Exit costs: capital gains rules and selling fees, before you buy, not after
Checklist 2

The viewing-trip checklist

How to spend one week on the ground and come home knowing, not hoping.

  • Book 5 to 7 days, not a weekend; see each shortlisted area at different times of day
  • Line up viewings with at least two different agencies so you hear two versions of the market
  • Visit the neighbourhood at night and on a weekday morning, not just in sunshine
  • Walk your real routines: supermarket, pharmacy, beach, school gates at pickup time
  • Test the commute to the airport you would actually use, with luggage logic in mind
  • Ask every agent the same three questions: time on market, last price reduction, why selling
  • Check phone signal and internet inside the specific property, not the street
  • Meet one independent lawyer while in town, before any deposit talk
  • Collect community fee statements and minutes of the owners' meeting for any building you like
  • Visit the town hall or cadastre if anything about boundaries or licences is unclear
  • Do not sign anything or hand over money on the trip itself; enthusiasm is the seller's best agent
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