Q. Having recently become benefactors of a family inheritance, we would like to buy a property abroad which we can visit as well as rent out during the summer months. We quite like Morocco. Can you tell us a little about the typical prices and sales taxes we might have to pay?

A. Morocco has a lot to offer tourists and investors alike – and, as a hotspot, is becoming a major attraction for those wishing to invest in holiday rental property due to its excellent climate and relative close proximity to mainland Europe. The topography of Morocco also lends itself perfectly to beach resorts which give excellent rental potential, with a number of high-end developments having been constructed in recent years.

The process for purchasing property in Morocco is fairly straightforward. The buyer, once an offer has been accepted, is usually required to pay a deposit of around 30% to secure the property and freeze the price. For property costing £100,000, expect to pay around £2,500 in transfer tax, roughly £1,000 in lawyer’s fees and a further £2,500-£3,000 for notary’s fees which include land registry and other certificates. My best advice is to do lots of research, visit your target area several times before buying – as well as talk to UK investors who have already bought property out there to find out the pitfalls. One of the key benefits of owning Moroccan property is that there is no inheritance tax.

There’s encouraging news for anyone trying to claim back overpaid capital gains tax from the Spanish Government, as a British couple become the first successful claimants to win back their money.

It’s nearly a year since Spanish lawyers Costa, Alvarez, Manglano and Associates (CAM&A), and currency brokers HiFX, together exposed the Spanish Government Capital Gains Tax scam. In March 2008, the two organisations revealed that non-Spaniards who sold properties in Spain between March 2004 and December 2006 were charged a hefty income tax rate of 35% on any Capital Gains, despite Spanish nationals only paying 15%.

They claimed that the charge contravened the European Community Treaty rules on discrimination and that it was against the rules for the Spanish Government to have made the charge. Plus, the Spanish Government could have made up to £350 million as a result of it.

To help bring justice to all those affected by the overpayment, CAM&A and HiFX launched Spanish Tax Reclaim last year and encouraged anyone who could have been affected to get in touch with them.

Many people did and, in addition to the successful claimants, 600 other British people are in the process of having their cases put forward to the Spanish Court. Between them they could be in line for reclaiming about £8.4 million, plus interest (the average tax reclaim is £14,100, plus interest). However, it’s thought that as many as 10,000 Brits could still be affected by the tax issue and entitled to claim up to £140 million.

If you sold a property in Spain between March 2004 and December 2006, then check out the Spanish Tax Reclaim website for more details of how to register a claim.