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Honored beach vacation

01.03.2007
Author: Peter CHERNOV
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In order to buy a property abroad, you need two things – money and time. The paradox is that those who have enough money to buy usually belong to that active part of the population who do not have time for a long stay abroad. This situation finds a solution only with the retirement of a person – the money is earned, time is unlimited, the soul asks for peace and warmth – it's time to buy a house by the sea. But do Russian pensioners often associate their well-deserved holidays with foreign shores?
By itself, buying a house abroad has not yet become as familiar for Russians as it is for Europeans. What can we say about buying a retirement home, if not all people who are well-off and prosperous today can be sure of their comfortable future? However, water does not flow under a lying stone, and if you do not take care of your own advanced years right now, then when?

Good bye, Britain
Nowhere in the world is the relocation of pensioners abroad as widespread as in the United States. However, Americans almost never leave the country, but are limited to moving to another state, specifically to Florida. They sell their house, buy something smaller and cheaper, but closer to the sea, and with the money they earn they live happily and travel the world. This is the final chapter of the book called The American Dream. Even those who don't have the money to buy a house somehow get out and move anyway. For example, in the famous American TV series Golden Girls, old girlfriends share one house for three.
As for Europe, no one can compare with the British in their desire to leave their native "foggy Albion" as soon as the clock strikes and the long-awaited retirement begins. About 1 million British people receiving a state pension live outside England. According to a survey conducted by YouGov, 55% of Britons said they were "seriously considering moving to another country." The fatigue of everyday life and gray everyday life is complemented by a heavy impression of the bad British weather. Naturally, their desire to leave can only be realized with retirement.
Most British pensioners settle in the south of Spain or France. Further down the popularity scale are the Canary Islands and Florida. The geography of purchases is much wider, but in most other countries, the British do not buy real estate in order to settle there "seriously and for a long time" in retirement, but to invest money and, possibly, receive an intermediate income from renting. For example, many British people have purchased apartments in Bulgaria, but almost none of them live there permanently.
Charles Weston-Baker, head of the FPD Savills international research group, says: "People now have much higher demands on quality of life, which is an incentive to buy a home abroad. When they retire, they don't just want to sit by the fireplace – many are active after 80. And now it is easier and cheaper to fly abroad than to travel by train to some areas in the UK." Weston-Baker gives a typical example. A husband and wife, each approaching the age of 60, are selling a large house in England and buying a smaller one. They take advantage of the weakened dollar, and the 200,000 pounds saved (about $400,000) is enough for them to buy a house in Florida. This house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms with its own swimming pool. From now on, they will spend all winters there.

What prevents our pensioners
How I would like to hear similar fascinating stories about Russian pensioners! But, alas, all this is not about us yet. Russians are more likely to buy real estate in countries that the same British would consider resort, but little suitable for long-term residence.
There is another problem – the language barrier, because of which many of our compatriots cannot fully adapt to Western Europe. They usually live in isolation or limit their social circle to a small Russian "community". And for retirement, this is not very attractive, because older people need not so much a beautiful life as communication.
Also, the option in which a pensioner spends the winter abroad and returns to his homeland in the warmer months does not take root. The fact is that Russians usually buy real estate in countries where, although it is warmer in winter than in Moscow, it is not so much that they can sunbathe or swim. The USA, Australia or South Africa are too difficult due to visa procedures, too far away and expensive for flights. In addition, the presence of real estate in the same America does not mean that a visa will be brought to you "on a platter" – and your friends or relatives may even be refused without explanation.

The answer to all questions is the same – money
Obviously, a pension cannot be a source of funds for buying real estate, not only in Russia, but also in the West. Of course, you can take out a mortgage loan, but only if the property is bought long before retirement, since the average pensioner does not have the income to pay off the loan. The most common source of funds is the sale of an "extra" real estate object or exchange it for a smaller one in order to get some of the value on hand.
One of the reasons why Russian pensioners so rarely buy houses abroad is that until 2000, the prices of our real estate did not allow, after selling an apartment in Moscow, to buy anything decent abroad. And then prices went up, but the growth rate was so high that no one just wanted to withdraw money from the rapidly growing market. On the other hand, right now real estate prices have increased so much that the idea of changing a typical panel apartment to a villa by the sea inevitably comes to mind. And much will depend on whether the Russian real estate market enters a long-term phase of moderate growth. If this happens, some pensioners will probably start selling extra apartments or square meters more actively at home and buying real estate abroad. But so far this is only a hypothesis.

To the country – to Europe
Today, in relation to Russia, we can talk about another story – about the purchase of real estate not by pensioners themselves, but by their children. Sergey Weinbrand, director of the Gradocomplex company, which works with real estate in Sicily, assures that such buyers make up one of the typical categories of his clients, although not the most numerous – this is something like buying a cottage abroad. The children send their retired parents there for the whole summer, providing them with grandchildren. And they come there, as far as possible, for two weeks or a month. Sicily is the southernmost province of Italy, so you can come there in winter, for example, for the New Year, and autumn is generally the most popular season for tourists."
This category of clients usually selects a house based on the accommodation of elderly people. The proximity of shops is taken into account, a not too steep descent to the sea is sought, etc. A reasonable "retirement" option, according to Sergey Weinbrand, may be the purchase of apartments in a residential complex with a swimming pool and professional service. For example, for 150,000-200,000 euros you can buy an apartment in a complex with a swimming pool and parking, located near the sea in an area with good tourist infrastructure.
However, pension and the sea are concepts that do not necessarily "go together". There are also those who prefer the quiet continental areas of Western Europe. For example, the company "Notra" said that recently their clients have been increasingly showing interest in Germany, especially Baden-Baden, which is located in the south-west of Germany. Back in the 19th century, it was a very popular resort among the Russian nobility, and to this day it is considered one of the most picturesque corners of Europe.
Of course, real estate here is very expensive, but the game is worth the candle, because for wealthy buyers one of the main advantages of this resort is a prestigious environment. In general, a house in Germany is perfect for permanent residence of the elderly, children can easily visit them here, and even weekend trips there look quite real.

Because it's warm there
And yet, most of our fellow citizens strive for warm seas. In the vast majority of cases, real estate is used for seasonal living. Nevertheless, pensioners have the opportunity to spend more time abroad than working people. Moreover, the cultural proximity of the country where real estate is purchased is not important for everyone.
For example, Valery Shakhanov, director of Turkish Riviera Property, assures that there are so many Europeans in the resort areas of Turkey that Russians do not feel like they are on foreign territory, and the local population is quite loyal to representatives of Christian civilization. "The answer to the question of why pensioners need Turkey lies on the surface – this country has the sun, there is the sea, there is no snow, there is the friendliness of the locals," says Shakhanov. "Such clients often do not live in Moscow themselves, but in oil and gas producing regions, where the problem of long and severe frosts is especially acute."
With regard to Turkey, it should be borne in mind that modern resort construction has begun to develop here recently, so when choosing an object, it is worth making sure that there is a sufficiently developed infrastructure. It is unlikely that life surrounded by construction sites, without a sufficient number of shops and restaurants nearby, will seem much better to a pensioner than in a suburban cottage. For example, if you read in an advertisement – "apartments for sale in Lara, a prestigious area of Antalya" – then you need to keep in mind that this area is not so much prestigious as developing, so you can safely put a dash in the "infrastructure" column. A specially built complex of elite villas (in our understanding, a cottage village) with its own infrastructure, or one of the areas where Europeans traditionally settle, is much more suitable for a pensioner.
When choosing a retirement home, it is important to consider whether a person will use a car – not all elderly people are ready to drive abroad. IfNo, it's better to settle on the shore. However, the proximity to the sea also has disadvantages – in Turkey it will probably be an apartment, not a house with a plot, there is more noise and fuss, besides, you will have to use the city beach, which is full of people and not always clean. A villa away from the sea is a more peaceful option, which is important for many pensioners. In addition, it is not difficult to get to a good beach by car. For example, in the Alanya area, you can buy a villa in the foothills, at a distance of 1.5 km from the sea. And in Kemer or Bodrum, where according to urban planning regulations it is forbidden to build tall buildings, villas generally prevail.
There are quite a lot of nuances when choosing and buying, so you need to proceed from a specific case and think not only about the price, but also about the comfort of your future stay. Valery Shakhanov believes that for an elderly person it is important that everything be the way he wants, and not the way it is "accepted" or profitable. At the same time, Turkey remains one of the cheapest options for buying a house or apartment by the sea.

One month — and home
Sergey Shvyndenkov, the head of the Golden Antelope company, believes that buying real estate abroad for "retirement" purposes is a very rare phenomenon among Russians: "So far we have had only one client who bought an apartment in the Comfort Mango complex in order to spend time there with his grandchildren. There is also such an important point – citizens of countries belonging to the Schengen area can live in any EU country. There are restrictions for non-Schengen EU members, but still not too strict. But Russians, alas, have to take into account visa and emigration circumstances. For example, to travel to Bulgaria, you can get a visa with a maximum entry period of three months and a maximum stay in the country of up to 30 days."
It is very easy to get a visa again, but you need to leave the country and go to the embassy again. The presence of real estate simplifies the procedure, but does not cancel it. Now that Bulgaria has joined the EU, it will obviously bring its legislation into line with pan–European standards: entry within 180 days, the duration of stay in the presence of real estate - up to 3 months. That is, the visa barrier will decrease, but it will not disappear altogether.
In most countries, the availability of real estate cannot serve as a basis for obtaining a residence permit. Sergey Shvyndenkov urges not to believe companies that, in an effort to sell real estate in Bulgaria, assure customers that it is easier to get a residence permit there. "In fact," he says, "for an average buyer who is not ready to invest large sums in the country's economy and do business there, it is almost impossible to obtain a residence permit. At the same time, the average Russian does not need it. Retirement and emigration are still slightly different things. In addition, it is the elderly people who have lived in Russia all their lives who are least ready to leave their homeland, which is not always friendly, but its own."

"We already want to go home!"
And yet, in conclusion, it is impossible not to give an example of a successful "retirement" purchase in a life-affirming "British" style. Maria Zhukova, the head of Medium Line, said: "One of our clients, elderly people (both over 60), successfully rented out their real estate in Moscow and bought a small apartment in the Montenegrin resort town of Budva. They have been living in Montenegro for two years now and come to Moscow only occasionally to visit their children and grandchildren. They also enter the Medium Line. Last year, they decided that it was too hot in Budva in the summer, and they wanted to go to Valdai, and so that the Montenegrin real estate would not stand idle, they asked us to find tenants for the duration of their Russian trip. On their way back, they confessed to me that they wanted to be home as soon as possible – and they meant their apartment in Montenegro."
Many other experts agree with Maria Zhukova – a significant number of Russians who have bought real estate in Montenegro do not just spend their holidays there, but move to live. What attracts them? Good ecology, beautiful nature, excellent recreation opportunities, warm climate, incomparably lower cost of living. All together, this is perfect for people of retirement age. Well, maybe a new trend is emerging right now?

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