U.S. tax dollars are helping finance a $30 million residential mortgage program in St.Petersburg, Russia for workers eligible for five-year loans of up to $100,000 at 15 percent -- provided the borrower can come up with 30 percent down.

In Beijing, $1,500 to $3,000 rental prices reflect apartment prices that are trending cheaper for expatriates. Not quite to "western standards" they are "livable" and a "step up from Beida dormitories," according to BSH Estates, Ltd.

Plop down a cool $3 million and the 25,000 square foot Los Portales Estate, near San Jose, Costa Rica, is yours. Inside the helicopter accessible estate you get two master bedroom suites, four junior suites, six baths, three with sunken tubs, one with an indoor Jacuzzi, two "fully equipped" bars. You also get a 1,500 square-foot "servant home" in the deal.

Surfing the Web's global village for a dream home can clue you in on the lifestyles in other nations and turn up some real estate gems from Anguilla to Zimbabwe, but actually shelling out U.S. dollars to close a deal is another trip altogether.

The Internet has shrunk the global real estate market, bringing to desktops worldwide residential real estate opportunities, but many customs, foreign real estate laws and language barriers make it difficult, if not impossible, to actually buy your dream home abroad.

Vicariously shopping for a home through your Web browser may be as close as you get to "buys" like a 4,800 square foot pastoral "cottage" on a half-acre of suburban land near Leningrad for only $100,000 -- U.S.

"In some cases you can't do it, but that's changing," says Miriam Meyer-Lowe, the National Association of Realtors vice president for international operations, which has agreements with 40 foreign realty associations in 36 countries.

"There's a wide range. Some European countries are pretty far ahead. The French have a very sophisticated advertising system. Scandinavian countries too, 70 percent of them are on-line," Meyer-Lowe added.

In 1992, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recognized the global real estate market when it created an international division. It has since grown to 1,500 members, 570 of whom carry or are pursuing the coveted NAR Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation.

NAR's international Web page features links to the CIPS specialists, international real estate research tools, links to realty organizations sharing agreements with NAR, information for new immigrants in this country and World News.

Surfing The Globe

If you've got a yen to launch a global search for your dream home, here's a list of beginner's tips for buying abroad.

Published: July 29, 1999

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