Gringo Dollars
Date: 02/15/2008Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008
Read more about buying foreign real estate in International Living Postcards—Saturday Edition
A fellow investor friend moved to Latin American four years ago and started buying land. The first year he thought he was getting the “local price,” as he was paying only three-quarters what local real estate agents were asking for comparable land. In the second year, he was buying land for about half the agents’ list prices. By the third year, he wasTips paying 60% less than the going Gringo rates.
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Uruguay’s Highest Rental Returns
Date: 02/12/2008
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008
Punta del Este, Uruguay
Read more about investing in foreign real estate in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
High rental returns: that’s why many buyers have entered the Punta del Este real estate market in Uruguay. And with returns sometimes in excess of 10%, it has paid off nicely for them in recent years. What’s more, property investors have seen returns of 30% on their pre-construction investments, according to one Punta del Este real estate firm. But will it continue?
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$40,000 Lots in Panama’s Best Mountain Location
Date: 02/11/2008
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008
Panama City, Panama
Read more about Panama in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Sora gets my vote for best place to retire in Panama for three simple reasons:
Read OnDouble Your Money in Uruguay
Date: 02/08/2008
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008
Montevideo, Uruguay
Read more about foreign real estate investing in International Living Postcards—Saturday Edition
The auction was split between two rooms with as many as four properties scheduled every 15 minutes. But there was no sense of urgency...except for one auctioneer, who didn’t spend any time working the crowd and retired his property with no bids. The house was in a bad part of town, but you could have bought it for $6,000 plus the auction costs of $2,000. Still sometimes cheap is cheap for a reason (as Lee Harrison mentioned recently).
Read OnMérida’s Abandoned Colonials: Bargain-priced and Going Fast
Date: 02/06/2008
There are many opportunities in Mérida to turn a house like the one on the left, priced at $40,000, into one like on the right. It’s slightly bigger, and under contract at $265,000.
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008
Merida, Mexico
Read more about Mexico in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Many of the old colonial-style homes in the heart of Mérida’s historic center—some have been in families for generations—have been abandoned.
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Double Your Money in 3 Years in Eastern Europe
Date: 02/05/2008
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008
Bucharest, Romania
Read more about foreign real estate investing in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Some Romanian-based real estate commentators have made bold forecasts that prices in Bucharest will grow for another 15 years. I wouldn’t dare to make such far-sighted claims, but I do believe the property market will continue to rise for at least the next two to three years.
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A Paris Pied-a-terre…for $103,000
Date: 02/03/2008
Monday, Feb. 4, 2008
Paris, France
Read more about bargain real estate overseas in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Basement bargains are thinner on the ground these days in Paris, but you can still find properties for less than €100,000 (about $150,000) —just don’t dream of anything spacious with a view of the Eiffel Tower or the Seine.
Paris properties are still reasonable compared with similar homes in London, Zürich, or Rome, but prices have not stood still.
Read OnFour Tips to Help You Get a Dream House
Date: 02/01/2008Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
Read more about buying foreign real estate in International Living Postcards—Saturday Edition
I’m always on duty. I can’t even watch a movie without wearing my investor’s hat.
My wife Kathie introduced me to a movie called Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Cary Grant is Mr. Blandings, a big-city ad exec. who decides to head to the country in search of his dream home. He’s confident and sure of himself…at first.
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