Real estate is a term used in legal circles to refer to any piece of land.

It also refers to all the developments done on the land. This includes all the building and the fencing around the land. If there are any other developments on the land such as boreholes or water wells they are also included as part of the property.

However, if there are any developments on the land that are movable, they won’t be considered as part of the real estate. This is because, when the immovable parts of the land are considered as part of it. If you sell or buy the land, you will get these parts.

However, the movable fixtures can be considered as property of the current owner. They can be sold or removed from the land at any given time.

Real estate is governed by a set of laws. They govern aspects such as jurisdiction, purchasing and development of land.

Real estate is mainly categorized into two main divisions. There is commercial and residential. Commercial basically refers to the financial aspect or business aspect of real estate. It entails the buying and selling for a variety of purposes.

Under this division, there are a number of professionals. For instance, to establish the worth of the land, there is the appraiser. There is also a broker who assists in the price negotiation between the buyer and the seller.

In some instances, there is the agent who helps in the buying and selling. This agent helps both parties in that, he helps the buyer to find property for sale.

On the other hand, he helps the sellers to find buyers. These agents are normally licensed and in most cases are paid on commission basis. In place of an agent, a marketer may be put in charge.

In this division land may be constantly developed so at to increase its value in the markets.For this purpose, there are land developers.
There are also property managers who are normally in charge of managing property on behalf of an owner. They have to ensure that the property is well kept at all times.

Residential normally refers to property that has been set aside for occupancy. There are many types of such properties that fall under this division. These include condominiums, apartments, family homes and town houses.

Real estate investment – This mainly has to do with the commercial real estate. It involves the leasing, renting, buying and selling of the property. Apart from the acquisition, it also involves the ownership of the property.

The main aim of this kind of investment is to make profits. For this reason, investors will develop and manage their property really well so as to ensure that they get good prices for this.

Investing is not cheap by any means. The capital to get started is normally substantial. However, there are a number of options that investors can use to enable them to invest. One of these options is the mortgage loan.

Like any type of investment, there are a number of risks involved in the investing in real estate. If one is not careful, they could easily lose their investment all together.

If an investor lacks adequate cash flow, they may be forced into selling their property at a price much lesser than the actual value of the property. For this reason, to invest in real estate, you have to have adequate cash flow at all times.

Another risk involved in this investment is fraud and corrupt practices. If you are not careful, you can easily lose your money by getting duped. There are many people posing as agents selling “ghost houses’ or damaged property.

The profits that come with the right investments are very high. This is why business moguls such as Donald Trump have a lot of such investments.
There are a number of ways to get some real estate property. For instance, you can look for market listings in order to find the properties on sale. You can also find available property by contacting the agent.

Property is also sold through public auctions and private sales. However, whichever method you select, you have to ensure that you search and ensure that the acquisition process is legal.

You’re travelling in a foreign country and you get arrested for something that you didn’t even know was against the law. The potential fine is huge, more than you earn in 10 years. Would you represent yourself in front of judges who might not even speak your language? Not if you had any sense you wouldn’t. You’d probably hire a lawyer.

Let’s think about that. Most people are not willing to risk 10 years salary when they’re in front of the judge, yet those same people are willing to risk that same amount of money, or more, whenever they buy real estate in a foreign country.

What’s the risk? There are plenty.

Not being fully aware of the laws that affect the ownership of real estate for starters. In some cases, you’re not only subject to the laws of real estate ownership which affect any property owner in that country, but there may be special laws which affect only foreign owners as well as local laws which differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Perhaps you’re not an expert at reading the language that the purchase and sale agreement is written in. Maybe you’ll overlook terms or conditions that would be a deal-breaker if you were aware of their presence.

And then there are all of the considerations which affect any buyer whether they are a foreign national or not. Things like zoning or permitted use laws, neighborhood or condo association by-laws, environmental restrictions, tax issues, and all of the other little gremlins that can pop up and turn a great deal into a great deal of misery.

Those are the kinds of things that a Real Estate lawyer is trained to handle. It’s not good enough to have your family lawyer or corporate lawyer review the deal. If you want an iron-clad real estate purchase and sales agreement which addresses all of the unique and common issues that you face as a real estate buyer in a foreign country, then you need to hire a real estate lawyer who is licensed to practice in that country. Nothing else is “good enough”.

So, if the advantages of hiring a Real Estate lawyer are so obvious, what, if any are the disadvantages of using one for your foreign real estate transactions?

First, a Real Estate lawyer will add cost to the transaction because of his or her fees. While these costs are usually not excessive, they are a consideration.

If you are a seasoned buyer of real estate in a particular country then you may not need a Real Estate lawyer to guide you through the intricacies of property ownership.

Using a Real Estate lawyer may cause the deal to close at a later date due to his or her need to review and revise the purchase and sale agreement.

I’m not really sure, however, if these can be labeled as disadvantages considering the amount of money that you are about to invest in a deal where legal ramifications that pop up later could haunt you for life and drain all of the equity and more out of your foreign property.