IRISH buyers of property overseas are putting little or no thought into their purchase other than the location . . . a practice they wouldn't ever consider at home. That's according to Catherine O'Sullivan of CEO Overseas Property Law which offers legal and tax advice to Irish investors buying or selling throughout Europe, Dubai and the USA.

"We have already seen a number of cases where investors have signed documentation without taking any legal advice and have subsequently run into problems. While some buyers bring their contract to their own solicitor, Irish solicitors cannot be expected to carry the required overseas local legal knowledge to enable them to properly assist Irish clients."

Black Sea beauties

BULGARIA continues to become a focus for overseas investors looking for good value properties. An obvious attraction is the Black Sea coastline, and a new five-star holiday resort there, the Garden of Eden, offers beach front properties from as little as 50,000. The resort includes a hotel, fitness centre, saunas, swimming pools and underground car parking, all located outside the fishing village of St Vlas and 10 minutes from the Unesco world heritage site of Nessebar. Blue 10 Property Developments has incorporated some of that heritage into the Thracianstyle architecture of the lowrise properties which range from studios to two-bed apartments with sea views averaging from 120,000.