Most of us have been on holiday to a beautiful place and been tempted to buy a holiday home there and then. It's much safer, though, to come home and do some research before you take out a second mortgage or plough all your savings into a new property.

What do you need to research? Well, for a start, owning a property abroad is a very different proposition to renting a villa for a fortnight. There are legal, financial and cultural considerations, together with how you're going to use your property once you've bought it. Here are just a few of the things you need to think about:

Location

You might have had a great holiday, but is there enough going on in your chosen location to keep you occupied all year? If the tourists only arrive in the summer season, what happens in the winter? You need to travel to the area out of season to see what it's like and whether you could live in a property abroad when it's not hot and there are no tourist amenities available.

Legalities

The laws governing buying property abroad differ from country to country and, in some cases, from region to region. It's vital that you know what laws and regulations you need to abide by, and what rights and responsibilities you have as the owner of a property abroad. If you don't research this before you buy, you could end up in a legal jam later on.

Budget

Before you start visiting the country to view properties, make sure you know how much you have to spend. Remember that, just like the UK, there are costs on top of the property price, including legal fees, notary fees and other charges. If you find out in advance what these extra costs are, you can set a budget which ensures there are no nasty surprises when you're halfway through your purchase.