Property investors looking to have an income from their investments are often advised to buy in locations with a strong tourist industry, but a thread on the Channel 4 overseas forum points out that research can come up with markets where good rental yields can be obtained that don't rely on tourists.

One such area is Romania. A thread reveals that buy-to-let investors see Bucharest as a good investment despite the fact that Romania is not a major tourist destination.

One investor reports renting out an interwar period apartment in a villa in the centre of Bucharest for short term lets and it was occupied for an average of 22 days per month over the last year.

It would appear that expats and business people are providing a steady stream of demand and although local people are becoming more affluent and aspiring to buy rather than let, this has a positive effect for the future as demand is likely to remain high.

The thread also reveals that overseas buyers might need to set up a Limited Company to purchase in Romania and the cost needs to be taken into account as it can be a long winded and costly process. One tip is to make the company 'inactive' as this reduces the annual cost of maintaining the company.

Getting a mortgage for a property in Romania might not be as easy as the traditional markets such as France and Spain. Information on the propertysecrets.net forum provides a lot of detail about the application process, translating documents, and whether to go through a broker or speak direct with banks in Romania.

A thread on the singingpig.co.uk forum indicates that investors are shying away from more speculative deals and looking at yield as a key indictor of where to buy at present.

The site provides information on rental yields in various locations. There are some companies in the US predicting good rental yields for those buying foreclosed property.

There is a lot of interest from investors looking to buy foreclosed properties and there is some vital information on buying and how local taxes can eat into profit if you are a landlord in the US. And every state is different so local research is needed.

'Foreclosures are a good way to make big money in USA at present but they present their own problems too e.g. trashed by outgoing owners, left to sit moulding for six months and in so doing brought the neighbourhood prices down with it. Who manages the property during the refurb? On the plus side, a well refurbished property, can rent well with the good renting culture in many states,' points out Robin.

Some of the deals sound impressive. Property selling for around $30k - $40k needing refurbishment of around $15k - $24k are then revaluing at $100k. Rental income for these is in the region of $850 - $900 per month.

A look at specialist US forum biggerpockets.com gives an insight into trends in foreclosures. Grass roots information indicates that the real estate market is nowhere near bottom yet. Many towns have three or four For Sale signs on every block.

And there are problems with new builds. 'I am overseeing some houses getting built in Austin, Texas, and when they started building last summer the value was $470,000 and now they won't sell for more then $375,000 and they are not even finished building,' warns one poster, seg_cost.

But wherever property investors are looking to buy it is clear from the forums that in the present economic climate every cost can eat into profits and these can often come as a surprise unless the investor has done his/her homework.

A thread on the propertysecrets.net worldwide forum reminds would be investors of  some of the costs that can be forgotten including the cost of setting up a foreign bank account (no free banking as in the UK), solicitors fees (extra signing fees are common place in some countries), brokers fees, penalties for missing a staged payment and registration fees.

Location is important for investors and everyone has, of course their own opinion. Those interested in Morocco might be interested to know Tangier has been voted the most desirable city to invest in according to a poll being run by a forum member on the totallyproperty.com website. It is 16km from Spain, easily accessible by ferry, good weather with cooling breezes compared with Marakech which is judged as being too hot. It is also being described as 'the gateway to Africa' from Europe.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)