And while buying off-plan can be a sound investment, and potentially save you thousands of euro, when it comes to selling, how much can you really get a buyer to pay for your second hand home when there's the possibility that they could get a brand new home for the same price . . . perhaps even less with more added extras thrown in?

So when chasing capital appreciation and hoping to reap the investment on your property in the sun the first thing you may think of is to approach an Irish agent in Ireland who is selling overseas property. But think again. In most cases Irish agents will not take on resales. Niamh Walsh from Lisney Overseas Residential for example points out that they only sell investment properties, which are sold mainly off-plan, so therefore they do not take on second-hand resale. This is generally the case with agents in Ireland.

In some cases large agents working abroad have dedicated resales departments that will look after selling your home, such as MRI Overseas Property. However there is a catch . . . they will only handle properties that they originally sold. Helen Faley from Savills Hamilton Osborne King however reports that, while they do not handle overseas resales, Savills has an extensive resale division in London whom they refer people to and they do necessarily have to be ex-Savills properties.

If you decide to sell the property yourself the options open to you are mainly on the internet. You can sell your property on the overseas sales section of Daft. ie or on Myoverseasproperty. ie which has a facility where users selling second-hand properties can log on and upload their resale properties. Similarly, new Irish website Overseascafe. com will have a separate FSBO . . . For Sale By Owner . . . section, but they do point out that the site is not involved at all and all legal aspects are sorted between the seller and buyer. Both sites currently offer the facility for free.

The legal aspects are important to remember, especially as you will be dealing with intricate tax and financial details abroad. Therefore it is best to gain advice from companies, such as Irish company Property Tax International, who has offices in the main hotspots or Overseas Property Law, who are based in Dublin and deal with legal issues in a range of overseas markets.

The majority of Irish overseas buyers own homes in Spain and with that market currently slowing down it is best to remember that a property is only worth what you can get a buyer to pay you. A popular and efficient option here is to sell at auction.

Direct Auctions Spain, based in Marbella, charge a fee of 232 to place your property in the live auction and a commission of 2.5% (plus VAT) on a successful sale. Auctions are generally held in Marbella but are also held in the UK and in May they held one in Dublin at an overseas exhibition in the RDS. The company can also take on resales in Portugal and Morocco.

While Irish agents will not take on your second-hand or resale property you can approach overseas agents in the area you have bought.

Apart from going down the main street yourself you can contact companies listed on the websites of organisations such as the Association of International Property Professionals or the Federation of Overseas Property Developers, Agents and Consultants.

Alternatively two good sites for listings of local agents are the Global Property Guide and WorldProperties. com, which is backed by the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations.

"People buy homes based on emotions, and it is generally accepted that most buyers decide whether to submit an offer within the first 30 seconds of viewing, " says Irish interior designer Sinead Considine, who runs a company called Upstage, which can give your property a revamp in order to make sure that first impression is a good one and you get a good price.

Once the papers are exchanged and the cheque is in the bank all that's left to do is get your belongings safely back to Ireland. For many Irish overseas buyers this is a thorny and expensive issue.

Thankfully there are now several Irish companies who can safely get your belongings home in one piece, such as Wicklow-based DJ Hanley International Removals & Storage Ltd, who operate worldwide and have a weekly service to Belgium, France and Spain, or Bishop's Move, who have been moving and storing clients belongings for over 150 years and can get your belongings anywhere from New York to New Zealand.

USEFUL CONTACTS

>> Savills Resales Division:

0044-20701 63740

>> Property Tax International:

1890 930 393;

www. propertytaxinternation al. com

>> Overseas Property Law:

01-872 6910;

www. overseaspropertylaw. com

>> Direct Auctions Spain:

0034-952 859 913;

www. direct-auctions. com

>> Association of International Property Professionals: 0044-207409 7061; www. aipp. org. uk

>> Federation of Overseas Property Developers, Agents and Consultants: 0044-1926 496800; www. fopdac. com

>> Upstage: 01-634 8118;

www. upstage. ie

>> DJ Hanley International Removals & Storage Ltd: 01281 0416; www. djhanleys. ie

>> Bishop's Move:

www. bishopsmove. net