As with the purchase of property in the UK, there are many legal issues to consider and it is vital that local legal advice should always be taken. The same applies to local taxation advice; there are often issues arising of which the outsider, even with a reasonable working knowledge of the tax system, will be unaware. There will always be other expatriates with plenty to say in the local bar or at the 19th hole on the golf course. Such advice should be politely listened to but there can be no substitute for good, local, independent professional advice. A few hundred euros spent on that advice could save many euros and many tears later.