Over 50s holiday operator Saga recently conducted a survey to research attitudes on owning property overseas.

Surprisingly, nearly a third of owners (28%) reckon miles don't matter and claim they spend more quality time with their nearest and dearest than they did back in the UK, with only 5% of owners saying they see their families less often.

More than two-thirds (69%) of overseas homeowners invite family members to use their holiday hideaway, with nearly half (47%) laying out the welcome mat twice a year or more.

Asked about their main concerns regarding overseas home ownership, nearly one-third (31%) of prospective purchasers said "dealing with legal issues" was their biggest worry. Other issues included dealing with town hall bureaucracy, local taxes and language barriers.

Of the survey respondents who already have overseas properties, 56% own in Spain or the Spanish islands, and 29% own in France. More than half (52%) own villas or apartments, and the vast majority (85%) paid less than £200,000. 19% even managed to pay less than £50,000!

New overseas home service

The survey results were published to coincide with the launch of Saga's new Overseas Homes service - see www.saga.co.uk/overseashomes for details.

With Saga's new Overseas Homes Service customers can choose from a range of hundreds of hand-picked properties in Spain and take advantage of great value bonded inspection trips led by hand picked agents such as Chesterton and Medsea Estates.  Saga are also offering the services of independent English-speaking lawyers, a building guarantee similar to the UK's NHBC guarantee and end-to-end financial protection. To avoid the risk of any hard sell there will be a seven day cooling off period following the payment of a deposit.

"Saga Overseas Homes offers a safe and simple way to find your ideal home abroad, helping you through the process from beginning to end," said Andrew Goodsell, Chief Executive of Saga. "We're giving customers six free return flights* to use between the payment of the deposit and the completion of the purchase and we also offer a comprehensive after-sales service - including property management if customers choose to rent out their new homes."

(* The free return flights offer excludes travel during the holiday periods, in particular Christmas, Easter and half term. The flights are subject to Saga's booking conditions at all times and are restricted to SAGA's flight availability.)