Luke Cloherty
The Need for Property Abroad
High-net worth individuals rather clearly understand the need to invest their money into profitable and sensible assets and schemes. For high-net worth Arabs this is, of course, no different and investing in real estate abroad is a fantastic way to get a financial foot on foreign sands and also a fantastic way to attain citizenship abroad. Sensible investment in property in a country that best suits the investor’s needs can be a very profitable venture indeed, just ask any of the Arabs who’ve invested in Monaco, London and Switzerland over the past ten years.
Most Citizenship by Investment programmes offer an option whereby the purchase of real estate is available as opposed to a purely monetary investment in a country, providing the investor with all the returns that buying property can bring.
Types of Investment
When looking to invest in real estate abroad, the options are myriad and the returns are thusly varied. An investor may choose to buy a holiday home, which can be rented out to visitors to the country of choice when the investor isn’t there and obviously used for stays in the country by the investor. The monetary benefits of this are the incomes gained from both the rentals to holidaymakers and any rises in price the property takes. From a personal viewpoint, it gives the investor a base should he or she wish to holiday regularly in the country regularly.
Alternatively, the investor may look to live in their chosen country of investment. The monetary benefits are, at least instantly, less rewarding than renting out to holiday visitors, but provide the personal benefits of being able to live in the desired country and oversee any business interests there.
Commercial property is another option, which could be used to house business offices or leased out to companies who may wish to use the premises. The benefits here in the monetary sense can be increased global sales for your own business, were it your company housed there or, clearly, the rental income from the leasing company(s).
The Legal Bit
Property owned abroad is almost, if not completely, impossible for the investor’s native government to seize, repatriate or interfere with. This serves to make it one of the most highly-covered assets that any overseas investor can own.
Investment in overseas property can be, however, somewhat legally tortuous and therefore can incur extra expenses. At the high end, though, these costs are minimal compared to the returns that can be gained. Legalities are rather complex, so a good lawyer or law firm is obviously a huge advantage.
Conclusion
Arabs looking to invest in an asset overseas could well do worse than to seriously consider real estate. High returns coupled with serious citizenship opportunities make property a palatable and highly desirable form of investment.
