What to Know: Buying in a Golf Community Overseas

Thinking about a casa in Cabo, a house in the Highlands, or an apartment in the Algarve? You’ve got your work cut out for you.

It’s probably happened to you.

After coming home from a golf trip overseas—or while still on one—you wonder: “Could we buy a place here and live this life whenever we want?”

The answer is yes. But it’s a qualified yes. Because depending where you want to buy, you’ll find countless customs and regulations governing everything from lining up financing to dealing with realtors, the number of days you can be in residence to whether or not you can rent to others, opening a bank account to paying taxes. Those and other rules make buying overseas very different—and more complicated—than buying here at home.

overseas golf community
Illustration by Pete Ryan

Still, it is doable. Just expect to make a serious investment of time, energy, and some money over and above the cost of the property. We’re here to help, offering a taste of what it will involve, based on conversations with brokers, bankers, and those who’ve bought in some of the most desirable golf destinations around the world.

Within any country, the process is largely the same whether or not you’re buying in a golf community. With one exception: Communities usually have people on staff to help you manage the process. The requirements also are different if you’re planning to live abroad full time—and even more so if you’re thinking of changing citizenship—so we’ll concentrate on second homes. (If you are thinking of going native, go to the website of the respective consulate or embassy for details.)

You’ll find loads of information online about buying overseas, including helpful guides to every country you can imagine. But a word of caution: Laws change, websites make mistakes (consider the sources), and as everyone told us, nothing is truly done until the paperwork is signed. The other advice that came through loud and clear was to do your homework, hire good advisors, and be patient.

Apes Hill, Barbados

 

FINDING IT

“The biggest mistake people make is seeing a place on vacation, falling in love with it, and thinking ‘that’s it,’” says Alistair Brown, Founder and CEO of ABI Group in Scotland. “But it’s not. You have to hire someone who really understands the area.”

“The buy process is completely different, so it’s best to have an idea of how it works before getting too deep into it,” says Jim Hajek, a PGA professional who lives in Spain most of the year, but whose advice applies everywhere. “Selecting a broker who has been recommended by others in your area is as important as the local law firm you choose to conduct your business.”

If you’ve fallen in love with a community—golf or otherwise—you’ll probably deal with one of its brokers. It’s when you’re interested in a flat in Edinburgh, a house in Puerto Vallarta, or a condo on the Costa del Sol that things can get overwhelming.

Few countries have an equivalent of the MLS—multiple listing service—that we have in the States. So you may have to deal with a number of different agents, contacting them individually when you see an interesting listing. In some countries, brokers are loosely regulated, which includes how the commission structure works.

In France, for example, the broker, “typically takes a percentage of the sale price, having negotiated it with the seller,” explains Max Baudouin, an accountant with EWP, whose specialty in France includes Les Bordes, a private golf community 100 miles south of Paris. “So it’s in their interest to push the price up! Find out who is paying the broker fee, the buyer or the seller.”

You may be more comfortable—and better served—working with one of the large international real estate brokers like Sotheby’s, Savills, and Knight Frank. Their websites show listings and agents all over the world and they are experienced working with foreign buyers. They also produce well-researched country guides and other materials.

 

LOSING IT

When is a deal not a deal? When it gets stolen out from under you. It’s so common in the UK, there’s a term for it: gazumping.

“We negotiated and agreed on a price with a seller on one house and thought we had a deal when we had a signed offer,” recounts Doug McLeod, who has lived in London since 2003. “However, an accepted offer isn’t binding until almost the end of the legal proceedings when contracts are exchanged. We were gazumped when another buyer made a higher offer days before we were to exchange. It happens a lot.”

“Deals falling through [in Spain] is unusual,” says James Stewart, a Savills broker in Sotogrande. “If you get your 10 percent down as quickly as possible, it covers both the buyer and seller. If the seller pulls out, they have to pay double the deposit. It’s legally binding.” Other countries impose penalties for breaking a deal, too.

Sometimes it can work in your favor. “I saw a house online that caught my eye,” says Robbie Gilmore, a PGA pro who has owned on the “Silver Coast” north of Lisbon, Portugal, since mid-2023. “However, when I reached out showing interest it was already under contract. As fate would have it, that contract fell through the day we arrived on our final house-hunting trip. It’s the house we ended up purchasing.”

les bordes
Les Bordes, France

 

PAYING FOR IT

No matter where you buy, whether you’re paying cash or financing, start lining up the money early. Maybe even before you begin looking for property.

Paying cash is easier and faster, but not without snags. Check whether you’ll need a bank account in your new country and if the cash has to come from it. In Spain, along with a bank account you’ll need a foreign identity number, which is easy to obtain but takes a few days.

Don’t wait until the last moment to move money. “You can’t transfer a million dollars today if you never did it before,” says Ayrton Fielding, a financing expert for SPF Private Clients. “Foreign exchange from the U.S. to the UK, unless you do it regularly, isn’t quick.”

Fielding raised another money issue: “Have someone watch the foreign exchange market for you. If you’re purchasing, say, within a month, a broker who can react quickly to changes in the currency market can save you money. If you do it yourself, you’ll probably be stuck with that day’s exchange rate.”

Financing? The rules are all over the map. Literally.

UK: “Only a handful of lenders can help Americans purchase in the UK,” explains Fielding. “Think of the major banks over here—Barclays, NatWest, Halifax—none of those would be able to help. Savills is an intermediary; we know who supports Americans who want to purchase here. Someone in the U.S. will have a hard time finding the right home for their financing requirements on their own.” Even within the UK, he added, 90 percent of home buyers use an intermediary rather than going directly to a bank.

UK interest rates can vary based on how you plan to use the property—owner-occupied or as an investment. And even though you may get, say, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, in the UK that 30 years is divided into fixed rates for two to five years with regular renewal windows during which the rates could change. Plus, there are other fees to pay such as “stamp duty,” which is a government tax on the purchase of the property: Overseas buyers will pay the standard rate plus an “additional dwelling supplement,” which can be up to 6 percent of the purchase price depending upon where you buy.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: “You can get financing, usually up to 70 percent of the purchase price, but most sales are in cash,” explains owner Crista Ryan and associate Jose Calzada of Casa de Campo Real Estate, which handles about 90 percent of the transactions in the world-famous community with more than 3,000 ownable properties. “Local banks will give financing, but the interest rates are usually higher than in the U.S. Right now, rates are 9–9.5 percent.” It might be easier, and cheaper, to finance through a U.S. bank.

SPAIN: “Non-residents can usually finance around 60–70 percent of the property value—not the transaction price,” says Stewart. “There are half a dozen prime banks and some savings banks to go to if you can prove you have the funds to do it.”

PORTUGAL: “Some of our American clients have refinanced in the States rather than trying to refinance here,” says Jamie Robinson, Savills’ man on the Algarve. “Yes, it’s complicated, but it might still be easier than trying to finance here.” Expect additional costs of roughly 8 to 8.5 percent of the purchase price for a property transfer tax and notary and lawyer fees.

BARBADOS: Along with a local attorney, you’ll need permission to buy from the Central Bank of Barbados, which also must register your funds. According to Kerri Goodridge, Resort Sales Agent for the Apes Hill Barbados community, financing can come from a local bank or one in the buyer’s home country. Also, most non-residents tend to own Barbados property through an offshore company for the flexibility it can offer on resale.

MEXICO: “Mexican banks are very restrictive,” explains Jorge Carerra, Partner and CEO at Querencia, a private community in Los Cabos, “and have very protective laws about repossession. If someone lends and the property gets into trouble, it’s hard for the lender to get the property back. Most developers can deal with U.S. financing: The money mostly stays in the U.S., giving the buyer a sense of safety.”

FRANCE: “A lot of French banks won’t touch American buyers,” says Baudouin of EWP, which, like Savills and other firms, arranges financing throughout the world.

casa de campo
Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic

 

TAXING IT

“I wish I had spent more time and effort researching taxes,” says Hajek. “Before doing anything, and although it can cost some money, meet with a U.S. tax advisor and a tax advisor in the country you want to buy in. Expect taxes to be higher in European countries, and capital gains can sting badly when you sell.”

American citizens have to pay U.S. taxes on foreign real estate, on top of whatever they pay in the country of purchase. All our experts strongly recommend talking to an expert in U.S. tax law.

And find a tax expert where you intend to buy. Some countries, like Mexico, have low property and capital-gains taxes. Others, like France, are not only complex but paperwork-intensive. A few countries have strict laws about renting out or buying through a business, while others tax new construction differently than old. For example, in the Dominican Republic, the CONFOTUR Tax Law is an incentive to promote tourism development that significantly cuts taxes and other expenses for the first owners of a new property.

 

PROTECTING IT

As with taxes, so with the legal system. You’ll definitely want a local lawyer to handle the paperwork and closing. You also may want to involve a U.S. attorney, depending on your personal situation and the other country’s mandates.

Expect to find further idiosyncrasies. For instance, some countries require title searches and insurance, others don’t.

In Mexico, not only do you need a permit from the foreign relations ministry if you’re investing more than $200,000 (it’s easy to get), foreigners are restricted by law from buying within 50 miles of the coast. To get around it, the purchase is made through a bank trust, which costs about $1,000 a year to maintain.

In France, all real estate transactions require engaging a “notaire,” a lawyer representing the state. They collect the taxes and capital gains, deal with issues of inheritance, and can set up a company to buy the property if that’s their recommendation. In theory, notaires are impartial, preferring neither the buyer nor seller, and most of their fees are determined by the state.

Many countries limit how many days a year foreign nationals can reside there. Within the Schengen area that covers most of Europe (excluding the UK and Ireland), Americans can stay up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Some countries also require visas.

overseas golf community
Querencia, Mexico

 

ENJOYING IT

Is the hassle of buying overseas worth it? These owners say yes.

DOUG MCLEOD, London, England. Having the best links golf in the world only an hour’s flight away in Scotland, Ireland, or even closer around the British coast and Wales has fundamentally enriched my love for the game.

TYLER FAIR, Les Bordes, France. There are many Michelin-star restaurants within an hour, beautiful wine country, and plenty to explore: beautiful drives, little villages and lakes, medieval towns along the way. Plus, we’re close to Paris and the airport, so we don’t have to keep schlepping back to the U.S. to see as much of Europe as possible.

RANDY GASTON, La Paz, Mexico. At the time we bought, Alaska Airlines had a direct flight from Los Angeles to LaPaz. That was a big deal. It actually took us longer to get to LAX than to fly to La Paz!

JIM HAJEK, Sotogrande, Spain. Things in the south of Spain are generally far less expensive than the U.S. There are amazing restaurants; bills for dining out are 25–50 percent less than at home. One gig of internet speed is €34 a month with mobile service at €29 for two lines.

ROBBIE GILMORE, Portugal. One of the reasons on our list to move was close proximity to other areas of Europe. We were spending two weeks over here every off season anyway, so with that in mind we just spent a week in Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast. It’s a short flight from Lisbon.

ALYSSA K., Apes Hill, Barbados. The staff at Apes Hill and the Barbadian people in general are some of the most welcoming and hospitable I have ever encountered. Embrace the concept of “island time” and try to enjoy the journey as each step will bring you closer to your dream home.

TIMME GUNDERLOCK, Villa del Palmar, Loreto, Mexico. We really enjoy Mexico, the weather is always perfect, we have a great experience every time we go and don’t want to leave. Plus, it’s so much easier to play golf every day compared to our two memberships at home.

 

Thank you for supporting our journalism. If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in our 2025 Premier Properties GuideClick here for more information.
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