Buying Coastal Land From Abroad: A Diaspora Checklist

Most of our diaspora buyers commit to a plot before they have stood on it. That is workable, provided the checks a visit would have covered are done another way. This is the list we work through with every buyer abroad.

Before you pay anything

1. Official search certificate. From the land registry where the parcel sits. It names the registered owner, the tenure and any charge or caveat. If a seller will not allow a search, stop there.
2. Survey plan and beacon status. Ask for the survey plan and a statement of the beacons: all present, partial, missing or disputed. Missing beacons can be re-fixed by a licensed surveyor before completion.
3. The setback, measured. On beachfront, ask for the buildable area in writing, not the total acreage.
4. Rates and land rent. Arrears must be cleared before transfer. Establish them at the search stage so they are negotiated into the price.

Seeing it without being there

• A live video walkthrough on your clock: the access road, the neighbours, the beacons, the view.
• Recorded footage and photographs dated on the day, not reused from an old listing.
• Where a listing has one, a 3D model or 360° tour you can explore yourself.

Signing from abroad

A power of attorney lets someone you trust sign on your behalf. It needs to be properly drafted, executed and registered; your advocate will advise on the form. Keep its scope to this transaction.

Paying safely

Pay into your advocate's client account against documented milestones, never into a personal account on the strength of a phone call. Confirm account details by calling a number you already hold, not one sent in the same message.

Questions to ask any agent, including us

• Can I have the search certificate before I pay a deposit?
• Who has walked the plot, and when?
• What is unresolved, and what is the plan to resolve it?

If the answers are vague, so is the plot. Talk to an advisor about the area you are considering.