Land

Land is a precious commodity and many people believe it is one of the most valuable things worth investing in.

Clearly any land available in established markets such as Spain or Cyprus will be at a premium and will also be subject to strict planning conventions.  In the emerging markets such as Montenegro, Poland or Bulgaria land is still readily available at excellent prices.

The decision then is whether to buy land to bank or buy land to develop.  Prices for development per square metre vary dramatically between the European countries and then between rural or urban.

Key factors to bear in mind here are:

• Is the land rural, rustic or urban?
  
  
• Is it on the town plans for future development i.e. will you get the necessary permissions to build?
  
  
• Location is critical
  
  
• There may be taxes on this asset even if you chose not to develop immediately
  
  
• Is it fully usable?
  
  
• Is it registered with the land registry?
  
  
• Are all the title deeds in order?
  
  
• Is it unencumbered (no liabilities such as bad debts or outstanding mortgages)?
  
  
• Factor in the length of time it may make to get the necessary permissions to build