Going once….going twice…sold to the man in the back. Get your Iraq real estate.
As far as bargain-hunters are concerned, Abbas cautions would-be investors to consider the difference in comforts one can expect in Iraq compared with real estate in Western countries.
First off, there’s the matter of toilets. Beware, Abbas warns, of homes listing only an “Eastern toilet,” which is essentially realtorese for a hole in the ground. Those who want a fixture that actually flushes will have to pay a premium for listings that feature a “Western toilet.”
There are other drawbacks as well.
“Of course, water from the tap will make you very ill unless you’ve gotten used to it,” Abbas warns. Electricity works about half the time, and nearly every Iraqi family who can afford it owns a backup generator. Air conditioning isn’t up to Western standards, and phone service is notoriously unreliable. Ensuring that the property owner is who he or she claims to be is also a tricky business, requiring some investigation by the buyer or buyer’s agent.
Other inconveniences — such as stray gunfire, kidnappings and roadside bombings — are well-documented in international headlines.