With the rise of COVID-19 cases and seemingly endless political strife, many Americans have been looking to move abroad. In fact, from May to early August of this year, International Living, a website dedicated to living and retiring overseas, says its site’s “How To Move Out of the US” information page saw an increase in traffic by 945% compared to last year. It’s clear that Americans are seeking new surroundings in record numbers. However, for those either looking to escape, invest, or both, the actual process of settling into a new country can be anxiety-inducing, especially without the proper support.
Australian expat turned real estate guru Nikki Taylor moved to Italy in 2014 to follow her dreams and fascination for living La Dolce Vita. An experienced traveler – having spent 12 years exploring such places as the United Kingdom and South America – she eventually concluded it was time for a change of scenery. “When I moved back to Australia, I never felt settled. I had a fantastic job working in investment banking, a really great lifestyle, but I was on corporate burnout,” Taylor explained in our recent interview. “I reached the point [where] I’ve had enough, and I knew I wanted to make some changes.”
Having visited Italy several times on previous holidays, Taylor made the decision to permanently relocate. But despite her lifelong love of different cultures making the choice seem like an obvious one, there was still one small problem. “I had no idea what I was going to do for work,” she exclaimed. Admittedly leaving a six-figure corporate income to move to a country infamous for its economic instability, Taylor mentioned her decision to commit as the most important factor for following through. “I think the fear of not taking action was bigger than the fear of actually doing it,” she said.
After jumping into her new surroundings, Taylor built six years of experience in the holiday rentals and real estate industry where she found the inspiration to launch her business, Italy Property Consulting. Recognizing the many potential investors looking for skilled agents who would keep their best interests in mind, Taylor designed a course and program called Purchase the Dream.
“During my time working in the real estate industry, I was dealing with a lot of international investors looking to purchase property in Italy, and they all had the same fears, doubts around the buying process,” Taylor recalled. “It’s so daunting buying a property from overseas. They don’t know who’s the right person to turn to for advice and property law perspective, accountancy, currency mitigation, visa and immigration.”
As the first person to market this kind of course in Italy, Taylor takes her clients through an eight-step process. From research through purchase to helping them get adjusted after moving, she’s with them every step of the way giving the expert advice necessary for easing their transition. Clients are even given guidance on ways they can generate an income to support their new Italian lifestyle.
With her proven process, Taylor has successfully grown into her business and is thriving in a place that is not traditionally easy for foreigners to navigate. “I know how hard it can be to move to a different country and the obstacles you can face” she started. “My mission really is to take out the confusion and the chaos and replace it with the excitement and the joy and the ease of what it is really to move to a different country and have a completely life-changing experience.”
With this extensive knowledge of the real estate industry as it stands, Taylor shared her top three tips for those women interested in presently taking their chances at buying abroad.
Be Prepared To Take Rejection
“The competition is very strong right now,” emphasized Taylor concerning the current real estate market. She mentioned that globally, the holiday rental industry exceeded $31 billion in 2019. “People are wanting holiday rentals more and more as opposed to a traditional hotel. I would say be prepared to take rejection.”
Taylor’s general clientele is mixed. She shared that she routinely works with retirees, investors, holiday home seekers and people just looking to make extra money renting. With no real age bracket and a slew of categories, it’s a good idea to become acquainted with the competitive market without getting intimidated.
Build Resilience In Creativity And Flexibility
“I had to really abandon every sort of thought process about how I think things should work because in Australia, things are black and white, same with the UK. Here in Italy, everything’s grey matter,” Taylor illustrated as she spoke of her initial transition to her new home country. From learning the language to adapting to the bureaucracy and all the little nuances of a new culture, Taylor was candid about her experience of becoming adaptable to change.
“Having to have a lot of flexibility and being able to pivot mentally and not get fixed on how things should work,” she said. “That’s something I’ve really had to throw myself into.”
With her love for all things real estate, Taylor, who recently appeared on an episode of HGTV’s Mediterranean Life, is now creating a new project for women working in the corporate landscape. “My mission is to help guide [them] to unleash their skillset to generate themselves the big money instead of the companies they work for.” Allowing her expertise to easily flow through multiple outlets, Taylor has proven she is highly qualified to give lessons.
Taylor additionally revealed the importance of embracing the internet for both buying and selling. “We’re in a world right now where the real estate market has to go completely online,” she declared. Taylor shared that any online forums, like the ones most of her clients find her through, can be immensely helpful for those looking to buy overseas. Quickly acknowledging the amount of horror stories connected to online scams, she also communicated that being able to speak the language in which the information is shared is crucial to avoid getting lost in translation.
Play A Long Game Instead Of Chasing Quick Results
“Don’t sign any kind of offer on a house without getting a survey done, with the legal due diligence done, because that can open yourself up to a big can of worms if there’s a problem with the property. If the property has an illegal building on it or if the owners of the property aren’t legally able to sell, it can be quite complicated.” To prevent disastrous issues like these, Taylor urges potential buyers to have a team of specialists behind them, especially a property lawyer.
Taylor also firmly advised that for anyone undertaking any sort of continental or country move, preparation is key. “Have a sequence of steps that you follow in order to make sure that you’re covered, your investment’s covered and you’re not buying a property that is full of problems. You’d want to make sure that you’re being connected to the right people beforehand. People who have followed this path, people who have made the mistakes and can tell you, ‘Hey, try it this way, not this way because this way doesn’t work.’”
Rather than searching for a cure after the fact, Taylor stated that prevention is much better. Because when it comes to real estate in any region, jumping in quickly becomes something only appropriate for swimming pools. And since you might want to buy a home with a functioning swimming pool instead of drowning in repairs, having a solid plan in place before rushing into anything can be considered the most important step of the entire process.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
