Wiping Your Face
Date: 12/29/2007In this Saturday Edition from the vaults, originally published June 10, 2006, Lief Simon considers the circumstances that might cause you to walk away from international real estate investing altogether…
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007
Learn more about investing in foreign real estate in International Living Postcards--Saturday Edition
"I know that Lief Simon is still advertising that he has never lost money in a deal,” says a reader, “ but I'll tell you that I have lost a lot of money following his advice. This is a very risky business if you are not where the investment is and an expert in that local real estate. And it's especially dangerous if it's one of the pre-construction deals that this operation loves to hype. One never knows what the situation will be a year or two in the future. I would avoid these enticements like the plague!"
Read OnWhere to Find Low-risk Real Estate Investments
Date: 12/22/2007Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007
Read more about investing in foreign real estate in International Living Postcards--Saturday Edition
You have watched others do it, and you have read about the opportunities in these dispatches. Now you’re ready to make money investing in foreign real estate.
But you also want to be able to sleep at night. So you must ask yourself a key question:
How strong is your stomach?
Read OnGet a Big Discount on a Piece of Spanish Coast
Date: 12/20/2007
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007
The Costa del Sol, Spain
Read more about Spain in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
Following my last rubbishing of Spain’s most famous stretch of concrete coastline, some readers accused me of being unfair. So I returned to the Costa del Sol to see if I was being unreasonably harsh…
Read OnBeware: Guaranteed Rental Returns Exist in Only One Place
Date: 12/15/2007Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007
Learn more about overseas real estate in International Living Postcards--Saturday Edition
I’ve been recommending the French leaseback program for 10 years. I continue to believe the idea can make sense, though you should view a leaseback as a financial instrument, not a real estate investment. In my mind, when you buy a French leaseback property, you’re buying a bond…a bond backed by the real estate. Your return comes from the annual rental yield, not capital appreciation.
Read On
An Italian Home for Less Than $50,000
Date: 12/12/2007
December 12, 2007
Paris, France
I’ve just heard about a sustainable tourism project in Italy with restored properties selling for less than $50,000. The houses are in a cluster of abandoned medieval villages, the Borghi Nascosti in the Abruzzo region, and prices start at 29,000 euros ($42,530) for a studio or one-bedroom apartment. The price tag includes new wiring, plumbing, furnishings, and restoration work; some of the houses have antique floors or vaulted ceilings. The whole project is backed by the village councils. Labor and materials are largely locally sourced.
Read OnThree Questions You Must Ask Before Buying a Piece of Real Estate Overseas
Date: 12/08/2007Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007
Read more about international real estate in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
You’ve decided it’s time to invest in foreign real estate…or maybe you’re ready to expand your existing portfolio. You’ve identified the amount of capital you’d like to place…and now you’re wondering:
Where is the best place to buy right now?
Read OnPay a LOT Less for Property at the Uruguay Auction
Date: 12/07/2007
Friday, Dec. 7, 2007
Montevideo, Uruguay
Read more about Uruguay in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
There were about 10 of us assembled on folding chairs in the small second-floor gallery above Peatonal Sarandí, the pedestrian walkway that runs through Montevideo’s colonial historic center. A few people were laughing and joking as they waited--obvious regulars at the auction.
Read On