BUYING in Britain is hard enough, but if you want a second home in the sun you must really do your homework. Embassies can give basic legal and financial advice; and here are some general pointers if you are planning to buy in France or Spain.

Settle on a region: Be specific about where you want to buy. Research the climate and convenience of several places. Check what you can get for your money, how good transport is and what the neighbours are like. Remember, just because you had a magical holiday doesn't mean you could live there.

Expert advice: Negotiate only with an officially registered and licensed agent and ask to be shown a selection of properties in your price range. There are many excellent English-speaking solicitors in Spain and France, but choose whom you deal with carefully and do not sign anything without legal advice.

Be organised: Arrange translations of your birth and marriage certificates; in Spain, you'll need a fiscal identity number (available from the police via your solicitor); set up a foreign bank account for direct debits; apply for a residency permit or appoint someone as your local fiscal representative and sort out your finances. In Spain you can arrange for a gestor, or fixer, to arrange most of these things at a small cost.

Make an offer: With your solicitor's help, confirm the details in writing, ensuring that you cover the price, payment method and currency, fixtures and fittings and any extra costs.

In Spain, the solicitor will check the land registry and prepare a private contract. The public deeds will be signed in front of a notary and, when the balance of the price is paid and the property vacated, you can move in.

In France the whole transaction is dealt with by a notaire, a state official who acts for both parties. It is usual to put down a deposit of 10 per cent to take the property off the market, for at least three months anyway. If you break the contract, you lose the deposit. Professional surveys of a property's condition are unusual in France. It is customary, instead, to ask local builders for an opinion of the house's condition and to give quotations for any work.

There is usually a period of six to eight weeks in which environmental searches are carried out by the notaire before the balance is paid and the contract is signed.

Mind the hidden extras: You must budget for more than just the purchase price.

There may be annual real estate taxes, community fees, charges for rubbish collection, utility rates and property income tax. In Spain you will have to pay 7 per cent of the contract price in VAT or stamp duty, depending on whether it is a new or old property. Legal fees, land registry fees and title-deed tax will eat up another 3 per cent.

In France the buyer pays the legal fees and registration taxes -about 7 per cent of the purchase price. These fees are paid with the balance of the purchase price to the notaire when the act of sale is signed.

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