There is no substitute for front-end research when making sure you are looking for the kind of property that suits your needs. And when looking for a foreign home it is essential...

Research comes in many forms and non is less important than spending time in your chosen location. But it’s all too easy to sit on a sun drenched terrace in Tuscany and talk about how wonderful it would be to have somewhere abroad to call your own: a home-from-home to come back to from time to, or perhaps retire to a permanent home in the sun.

Come the cold hard return home and you’ve some real research to do.

Existing second-home émigrés can be a valuable source of help so it pays to search them out and listen to their stories. Some experts like good lawyers, architects, surveyors may cost you more up-front but could save a fortune later. Websites too can be a valuable source of information and books are easy to dip into at any time and place.

One reference source is the Which? book ‘Buying Property Abroad’ by Jeremy Davies. As well as reporting enlightening case studies from real émigrés, Jeremy covers the research you need to undertake both generally and in depth by splitting the book into two halves.

A substantial paperback book of over 250 pages might look like daunting reading when all you want to do is get on and make your dream a reality, but maps, tables and fact boxes split up the text into very readable chunks and real case studies help illustrate not only the text, but give an insight to buying property abroad at a very human level.

Part one looks at the many and varied ways you could join the growing phenomenon of British people buying homes overseas, examines the factors to consider when thinking about where to buy, and offers advice about the issues you need to weigh up.

Part two looks at the most popular countries for British buyers. It offers brief descriptions of areas you might consider and what you might get for your money in each region, provides a step-by-step account of the buying process, and looks at some of the issues you might encounter as a temporary of permanent resident in your new home. A number of emerging property markets of interest to British buyers are covered in brief.

Jeremy starts by investigating the overseas property boom, asking how many of us are buying, where and why. Some of these questions are tricky to answer: the latest UK government statistic of 150,000 migrations a year does not, for instance, indicate how many go to Spain, nor indeed how many don't emigrate but own second homes there. Most migrations are people moving lock, stock and barrel.

Moving on to the reasons for buying abroad Jeremy starts using case histories to illustrate how important it is to do your research rather than just buy ‘on the spot’.

Londoners Dinah and Marcus Oliver have three children and bought in south-west France. Dinah says: “We came into some money and bought the place on a bit of an impulse, to be honest. We thought we’d be there all the time but go there for a fortnight in the summer and, if we’re lucky another week or two in the year perhaps…its not how we envisioned things…it’s quite a trek to go there for less than a week. I think if it had been nearer, in Normandy or Brittany perhaps, we’d have gone there more often.”

Very telling, and there are plenty more that illustrate some of the pitfalls - and successes.

People who have made a success of buying abroad, points out Jeremy, say it’s important to be as clear as possible in advance about what you are doing and why. There are different reasons for buying an overseas property and it is essential to be focused about what you want a property to achieve for you.

Avoid rushing into things and make sure your choice of property springs from your head as well as your heart. Read up as much as you can about the area, visit as often as you can and talk to as many people who have already brought abroad – preferably in the same region or at least the same country – as is possible.

Most crucially, take advice from the professionals. Buying abroad, if done properly, is no more risky than buying in the UK – but it is just as complicated, involves just as serious a decision and is often achieved in another language. There are many issues to consider, which you need to think about before you start looking. For example can you afford it, whose name should you put it in, and how many weeks might you be able let it out for?

As to where to buy abroad Jeremy realises that some will buy for quite impersonal reasons and others will have a highly defined target area or reason to be in a region. But research is not limited to just one area. It is good to understand - particularly in the case if investment - just what is going on elsewhere. Jeremy’s general comparisons of countries with tables of flight times from the UK, building costs, rent levels and relative costs of living make informative reading as does his last section of general advice, covering lawyers, architects, government bodies, living and working abroad as well as drawing pensions abroad.

Most people thinking of buying property overseas will already have a good idea of which country they want to be in. Spain for instance has been the traditional holiday home location since the 60’s and still the most popular country for second homes although chased by France. But it's good to look at what you might find elsewhere and this book allows you to do just that. In part II ‘Buying Property Abroad’ swings into country by country mode so you can slot into an ‘in depth’ mode and research the details.

In these sections Jeremy runs a format:

• Where to buy: with what you can get for your money in a range of districts for each main location.
• The buying process: finding property, agreeing to buy, legal terms, fees and taxes, typical building costs, restoring old property.
• Financial matters: mortgages, renting out, inheritance issues, capital gains tax.
• Living in the country: red tape, work, banking, pensions, schools, health, insurance.

With outlines on the sorts of property to consider, information on local law and how this impacts on areas such as insurance and land searches through to the true costs of holiday homes - including maintenance charges and utility bills, the guide aims to realise the dream of a home away from home.

As you’d expect, the in depth study format varies a little from country to country. Jeremy concentrates on France, Spain and Portugal, Italy, Florida while also considering emerging markets in the Mediterranean, the Balkan States and Eastern Europe.

Buying Property Abroad can be ordered on Freephone 0800 252100 (£10.99, p&p; free) or at www.which.net or bought from bookshops.