Buying a house in another country

Yeah. If you visit Laura Lawless' newsletter on french.about.com, it seems that she and her boyfriend bought a property in France and the French government refused her a reentry visa and wouldn't respond to her inquiries as to why.

Check it out for yourself. I might have gotten any part of that wrong.

The French have little regard for the Anglo-Saxon. Furthermore, we Americans have this idea that we can do pretty much whatever we want, from the freedoms we enjoy in this country, and when we go into another country, it would seem that tend to forget that we are required to live under their rules, mores, and whims, not ours. (There are the inevitable exceptions, like where Americans' money is welcomed, or if you are rich and famous, or if you have powerful friends. Like Ginger Rogers owned a house on Capri, in Italy, and many other celebrities have bought properties in Europe.)

It depends on the country (sorry for being obvious). Last I heard, Australia allows 100% ownership by foreigners of residential property. Thailand doesn't allow it, but there's a complicated loophole you can exploit if you have a very close Thai friend to put on the lease... lots of foreigners thus effectively own property in Thailand. I think Dubai also has lots of foreigners who own apartments and houses there. But it really depends.

Some countries are really pro "expatriates", knowing that these people will bring more money into the country. It really varies from country to country. My husband and I have done extensive research and have purchased property in other countries. You must do a lot of research to avoid problems, and there are great web-sites and newsletters devoted to this subject which will do a complete breakdown of cost of living and comparision of quality of life...Try a web-site like "Retirement Wave" and "International Living" to find out about living anywhere in the world. It is a large globe, and there are a lot of great places to be!!!