Portuguese estate agents must be licensed and qualified, so ask to see their INCI certificate and AMI licence. With typical agent fees of more than 5%, private sales are common – look out for boards saying vende-se or para venda. By Christopher Nye Among Portugal’s largest online property portals are casa.sapo.pt and imovirtual.com, or a...

The property buying system in France is completely different to what you might experience elsewhere. It is better regulated than in many countries, making a purchase safer, but more expensive. For a start, agents (immobilier) are licensed. They will have a Carte Professionnelle, be professionally insured and work under the Loi Hoguet, their code of conduct. They may...

The property market in Portugal experienced a turnaround in 2015 after several years of recession, which saw property prices fall by 30% on average in the Algarve. Spurred on by property prices that are still around 13% below their 2006/07 peak, British buyers – who have long been the keenest of overseas buyers – were...

When moving to Australia there are several options for where to live and in what type of accommodation.  It is often necessary to find temporary accommodation while you decide where you want to live long-term. While you find the solution there are a number of options: Traditional hotels– This can be an option if only needed...

The small Mediterranean island of Malta is proving attractive to property buyers and features tax advantages to those who come to live, invest in a home and retire. Having registered the highest GDP growth rate in Europe in 2015 and the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the EU, Malta is making a name for itself...

Featuring high on the list of Britons’ favourite retirement destinations, Italy has a highly varied property market for you to choose from in mountains, fertile valleys and seafronts. It is best to begin your home search in Italy as soon as possible. Although good housing is available, it may take some time to find the...

Buying a home in Malta is made easy by the short distances – the island is only 30 kilometres at its widest – and the fact that English is an official language. Estate agents speak English, newspaper ads and many property websites are in English too – try maltaproperty.com Malta is...