Such is the popularity of buying second homes in other countries that in order to meet demand, new developments are going up at an amazing rate all over the world in popular locations, many of which are specifically designed for second-home owners.And by far the greatest proportion of these new buildings are apartments, rather than houses or villas.

In Marbella, for instance, intense activity has been focused on the apartment sector since 2004, as houses and villas have become too expensive for the average market, according to estate agents Knight Frank.In America, too, the demand from investors for apartments is at an all-time high – and the most popular apartments are high ones, too, with mid-and high-rise flats being overwhelmingly the most sought after. But, buying a flat or apartment in another country is emphatically not the same kind of transaction as buying in England and Wales.

For one thing, in most other countries the idea of leasehold is unknown.You may say this is because their country did not have the misfortune to be invaded by William the Conqueror in 1066, and have all land annexed by the new ruler.Whatever the reason, most other countries have made a success of apartment living which the British should envy – and maybe copy.When you buy an apartment in most countries, you buy it in perpetuity, and you become a co-owner of the building.

The way you buy apartments in other countries is much like the new common hold idea outlined in earlier chapters, in that you buy into a self-governing community.But this does not mean you can do as you like once you own the apartment. Far from it. All apartment buildings in other countries, in common with those in England and Wales, are governed by their version of the lease or the community statement. This is a long, legally-binding document which you have to sign and agree to on purchase, and which restricts you to certain kinds of behaviour and also to pay service charges as demanded.

So if you are interested in buying an apartment in another country, you first need to get hold of the lease, or equivalent, and read it carefully, or get a bilingual lawyer to read and interpret it for you, if you are not fluent in the language.This is most important, as many apartment blocks have very strict rules governing conduct once you are inside.

In fact, most blocks in other countries have even stricter rules than those pertaining in the UK, so you must be aware of this in advance. For instance, in some buildings you are not allowed to choose your own curtains or blinds, but must put up exactly the type as defined in the lease, so that the entire building looks the same from the outside.In the UK, we are still not quite sure how we want to treat apartment owners.

Should they be regarded as houseowners and allowed free rein over their individuality, or have their every movement strictly controlled by the Residents’ Committee? In most other countries, there is no such dilemma: your behaviour is strictly controlled and policed by the Residents’ Committee.

Apartments In America

The USA is probably the strictest country in the world as regards what you are allowed to do in an apartment building.

One major difference between the USA and the UK is that with the former, you will almost always have to appear before a selection panel made up of other residents who will ask you some tough questions before they decide whether you are a fit person to buy into the block.

Most of these questions will take the form of a searching interrogation about your finances, as the Residents’ Committee do not want to admit new owners who cannot pay their way and thus put the rest of the building at risk.

They will want to know, not just whether you can afford to purchase the apartment, but whether you can renovate it to the required standard, if you are able to pay the present and future service charges, if you have enough income or reserves to pay your share of major works and whether you can afford to pay the local taxes.

You will also find that there are extremely strict rules on whether pets or children are allowed. It is unlikely that anybody would ever be allowed to ban children from a flat in the UK, but they have no such qualms in the USA.

In one block where I stayed in Miami, Florida, children were emphatically not allowed, under any circumstances, except for brief visits. And no pets of any kind were permitted, not even caged birds. There were also many rules about sunbathing, use of the pool, outside barbecues, car parking, taking drinks into the pool area (only plastic cups allowed) and hanging out washing no way is that allowed!