recognised governing body such as the Federation of  Overseas  Property 
Developers,  Agents  and  Consultants or The Association of International Property Professionals

The costs of buying property vary tremendously from country to country. As a basicrule of thumb you should allocate around ten per cent of the purchase price to cover costs. These will be broken down into the following categories:

* Legal fees
* Notary fees
* Land registry fees
* Stamp duty/transfer tax
* Structural survey
* Mortgage arrangement/administration fees

Depending on where you buy, you may also need to budget for residency visas.

Unfortunately, selling property isn’t a cheap process either. The following costs
are likely to be incurred when you come to sell:
* Capital gains tax
* Estate agents fees
* Legal fees

Making a permanent move to another country means that you must look at all of the issues surrounding where you are living, from the established infrastructure of the are with regards to Healthcare, cost of living and work or residency visas to weather, local culture and the proximity of airports. Make a list of what is important to you and put in the hours to do some research. This will make making the move easier and also help you to clarify what it is that you want from your new home, now is not the time to make compromises.

Buying Abroad Do’s and Don’ts

• Don’t rush. This is an important move, with processes extremely different to those of the UK property market, take your time and impulse buy.
• Do your research, remember forewarned is forearmed
• Budget carefully and have a ‘contingency fund’ for the things that can go wrong. Rules and regulations vary from one country to another, on top of the purchase price, you can expect to pay valuation and legal costs along with regional taxation and fees. In France and Italy this can add 20% to the price, in Spain and Portugal 10% and 4-5% in Florida.
• Use people who know what they are doing and be prepared to pay a little more for their expertise. This initial outlay could save a lot of heartache at a later date.
• Before you sign anything get a British lawyer to check over the paperwork