Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Dear Your Overseas Dream Home Reader,
At the weekend I asked you “where should we scout?”
Your response has been phenomenal…
I’m still combing through the hundreds of emails to determine where to send my team based on your preferences.
Tomorrow, I’m going to reveal which destinations came out on top. So, stay tuned…
For today, however, I’ve plucked out a handful of your emails to respond to.
If you still want to offer me your suggestion, send it to: feedback@realestatetrendalert.com.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
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Ronan McMahon, Real Estate Trend Alert
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Frank says: Ronan, how about Belize and the Caribbean coast of Panama or the Caribbean coast of Colombia? The water is warmer and clearer in the Caribbean than the Pacific.
Ronan says: Hi Frank. A member of my research team was on the Caribbean coast of Colombia last week and will be reporting back soon.
Panama’s Caribbean coast is much less developed than its Pacific side…and likely will never be as developed as a lot of the land lies inside comarcas (indigenous reserves). There are also issues with land title, especially in areas like Bocas del Toro, and there simply aren’t as many real estate projects as you’ll see on the Pacific. What you will find are typically not high quality. For these reasons, Panama’s Caribbean is not ripe for investment.
The Pacific has the added advantage of being right on the doorstep of Panama City.
More than half of the population lives in and around the capital city…and when they want to go to the beach, they head to the Pacific coast.
That’s where we’ve had our incredible Pacific Riviera deals. By owning on the nicest-white-sand beach within an hour of the city, RETA members who bought here are sitting pretty.
For instance, in 2017 RETA members bought beachfront condos from $199,000 in Playa Caracol, and by August 2019 a similar condo, farther from the beach, listed for $299,000—a paper gain of $100,000 in two short years.
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Georgeanne says: I’m interested in Sicily, around the Cefalù area. My family comes from there and I would be interested in taking my retirement where my roots are or a place closer to the U.S. where I could go in the summer months to escape the heat of Arizona.
Ronan says: Hi Georgeanne. A member of my team took a whistle-stop tour of Cefalù in late 2019 while scouting for opportunity in Palermo. You can read his report here.
As Paul writes, Cefalù is expensive in terms of what you can find in Sicily, but it’s still good value.
For instance, I came across this apartment for €180,000 that puts you right at the heart of the town, a few steps from Piazza Garibaldi and a seven-minute walk to the beach. It offers restaurants and wine bars steps from your door.
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And don’t forget, having Italian ancestry is one of the best routes to European citizenship there is. It’s the broadest Citizenship by Descent program. It doesn’t have any limit on how many generations back your Italian ancestry goes, provided they were alive after the unification of Italy in 1861.
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Marc says: Hola Ronan! I was just wondering if you’re going to put The Gathering back on the calendar this year. I’ll be back in Playa del Carmen anyways in October to check out our Santamar condo, which will be nearing completion, and if I could tie it in with a RETA Gathering it would make it a perfect trip.
Ronan says: Hi Marc. Unfortunately, due to uncertainty around travel and the difficulty of organizing an event under current circumstances, we’re not going to be hosting a Gathering this year. However, we’ll be back in the same hotel in Playa in next year.
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Jodi says: Hi Ronan. My husband and I are heading down to the Akumel and Puerto Morelas area in Mexico this November. We like a more authentic Mexican feel with a small-town vibe and plan to look for a condo that we can enjoy and also use as a rental when we aren’t there.
Another place we’d really like to visit and could potentially see ourselves in is Roatan, Honduras. Have you been there?
We’ve been watching some travel shows and think the islands off of Honduras seem gorgeous and relatively inexpensive.
Ronan says: Hi Jodi. I’ve been to Roatán many times, but my last visit was in 2013. It’s on my list of places I want to return to.
Find a motivated seller on Roatán and you can get great value on a second home. But as to whether I expect RETA deals here, it’s unlikely. Roatán is a relatively mature market with quite a bit of inventory cycling through, in part due to a construction boom in the early 2000s. It also lacks the ease of accessibility I look for in a market that’s set to explode.
Regardless, it’s definitely affordable Caribbean. If getting away from it all and island time is for you then, it’s a worth a scouting trip. But the truly “convenient Caribbean,” with huge potential for profit, is still Mexico’s Riviera Maya…
For instance, in our recent RETA-only deal, members get a luxury two-bed condo in a lush, private master-planned community right on the doorstep of Playa del Carmen and only 35 minutes from the international airport from just $192,800. I figure these condos will be worth $300,000 three years after delivery and command a rental income of over 12% gross a year. With plenty of time for you to enjoy it.
Those kinds of deals just don’t exist anywhere else in the Caribbean…
RETA members can read my full report on the deal here.
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Chanel says: Hi Ronan, I just wanted to let you know that I especially enjoyed Jason’s recent video in Mexico. I think that was probably the nicest, most engaging, high-resolution video I’ve seen and I really thought he did a great job.
I am still determined to find my right RETA deal soon! I also really appreciate the single-family homes you’ve highlighted as well. I wish I could have acted on the Costa Rican villas but the timing—again—was off for me. I am in the process of liquidating some assets so I’ll be ready next time.
Also, as I said previously on Instagram, not everyone enjoys condo or apartment living. I like the idea of a little garden and some privacy while still being close enough to walk to shops, restaurants, etc. A smaller less flashy (but still upscale) low-rise condo would appeal to me with maybe three floors maximum.
I can’t wait to see what’s coming!
Ronan says: Hi Chanel. Jason will be chuffed.
For RETA members who haven’t seen it, I urge you to check out Jason’s video from the Mexican city of Guanajuato here.
He was there scouting undervalued colonial real estate for my latest issue of RETA‘s Dream Homes Digest.
There will be a new issue each month, each one bringing you mind-blowing dream-home bargains from around the world…
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J Vogl says: How about Belize? I have loved my trips to Belize in the past. A great spot is in Hopkins. Laidback atmosphere, nice beach, easy access to all sorts of eco-tourism activities and great snorkeling and diving.
Ronan says: Hi J. I couldn’t agree more. Belize is one of the few unspoiled destinations left on earth. Hundreds of pristine Caribbean islands dot its 240-mile coastline. Its rich marine life is complimented by the lush, wild jungles of the Maya Mountains, with tumbling rivers, mysterious Maya ruins, and awe-inspiring rainforests.
And it’s a place where the right real estate buy can deliver big returns…
I’ve been following the Path of Progress in Placencia very closely.
For those who don’t know, Placencia is a little peninsula with 16 miles of sandy beaches. It’s a locale that I believe is set to grow strongly, creating opportunity for savvy investors.
This is a relatively tiny peninsula, where most of the land is in single family home plots. Demand to own or rent a home in Placencia is rising…but there’s a lack of inventory.
It’s only in recent years that the highway to Placencia from Belize’s capital city was paved. That was a huge step forward, making this destination much easier to get to. It’s opened access up considerably for tourists, snowbirds, and expats alike.
Big-brand hotel chains haven’t made it to Placencia…yet. You can make strong rental returns from a vacation condo (while still getting plenty of time to enjoy it yourself) and there are pure investment opportunities, too, from guesthouses to multi-unit properties, that offer attractive yields.
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Bryne says: Hello, I would like to see investment properties that are turn-key in or near the Cognac region of France, more along the coast of Spain, properties in Greece, and Ireland. I am also interested in living abroad with places that have business potential.
Ronan says: Hi Bryne. You’re going to love what we have planned for summer 2021. My team and I plan to fan out across Europe before the crowds and bring you the best bargains and opportunities.
A flood of more crisis deals is on the way. In Spain and Italy this crisis has been longer and deeper than I predicted and we’ll be on the heels of motivated sellers. We can also expect to find deals resulting from Britain’s departure from the EU as expats pack up and return home…deals among the vineyards of France and the olive groves of Greece.
Stay tuned…
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