Saturday, August 14, 2021
Dear Your Overseas Dream Home Reader,
Welcome to your Weekly Wrap-Up!
I feel a bit like a wartime general right now…
The reports are coming in fast and furious, at all hours, via Slack and WhatsApp. Written messages, videos, and photos from my scouts in the field. My phone hasn’t stopped pinging.
Here at my current headquarters in Ireland, I’m sorting through this raw intelligence for trends, opportunity, angles…
My scout Eoin Bassett was in and around the little historic hill towns of eastern Portugal near the border with Spain.
What he’s found aren’t typical RETA deals by any means—not the same double-you-money investment case like we’ve seen in places like the Riviera Maya—but interesting none the less…and perfect for the right type of person.
Here’s part of his dispatch :
“I checked out a place with two houses and a couple of acres of land. There are two wells and—what’s really cool—an old Iron Age house in your field. Priced at €75,000 ($87,918). Like most properties I saw around here it’s negotiable. It’s really close to an incredible hilltop fortress town and there are loads of cool hikes, walks…you can go swimming in the river.”
He also sent me the photo below of a fully renovated house inside the castle walls of his favorite town. It’s priced at €78,000 ($91,435).
|
|
Eoin explained: “The finishes are nice. Downside of these homes is that they are pretty dark inside but the owner did a nice job of creating a bright kitchen with sky lights. You have to park outside the castle and walk in of course. It would make a fairly turnkey rental. A lot of the furniture is included, and it’s good stuff. Also, a brand-new wood-pellet stove.”
He’s also been meeting valuable contacts.
“The broker speaks perfect English and she’s a straight talker. A local gal who has to show her face around here, so she tells it like it is with these old houses. A lot of potential buyers would be daunted by the work, but if you have some imagination and a modest budget you could have something very cool.”
The cheapest home Eoin looked at was at an asking price of just €22,000 ($25,789).
“It’s small, and you only have a Juliet balcony, but because it’s small the renovation costs wouldn’t be too bad. Back of a beermat, I guess you spend another €25,000 to €30,000 ($29,306 to $35,167), and you have the perfect little bolthole in your eagle’s nest of a town. You can stroll the battlements just outside your house, pop down to the main square for a 76 cents coffee (that’s U.S.). You get your fresh bread in the bakery…your meat in the butchers…but frankly, everything is so cheap here I’d probably eat out all the time.”
You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of Eoin’s dispatches on our website.
Other than a brief drive through, I haven’t scouted this part of Portugal…and it’s a place my contacts in the Algarve and Lisbon rave about.
I’ve been rivetted by Eoin’s reports. In fact, his dispatches have inspired me to change my travel plans so I can put boots on the ground there myself as soon as possible—aiming for September 4th to 7th.
Is there a profit angle? Maybe…but only by putting in the work to create something special and unique. There’s an opportunity here to create your own distinctive mini destination to compete with Tuscan villas and rural Algarve hideaways. For the right type of person, it could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
More on this next week…
Opportunity in the Algarve
From the region of Alentejo my scout traveled south to the Algarve to check in on some of our recent RETA opportunities.
This is where we’ve found some of the hottest, most profitable deals on our European beat.
For instance, in the historic beach town of Lagos one member bought two condos as investment properties about five years ago for approximately €430,000 each. They rented them both, bringing in an average of about €30,000 (a 7% gross yield) a year each and recently sold one for €650,000. Those are some serious gains…
And my scout has told me that he heard on the grapevine of someone last week selling a condo for a €275,000 gain. A condo they bought just two years ago in the range of €400,000.
|
|
Lagos in the western Algarve is an incredible proposition…
A walkable, safe, relaxed place…
Beaches, in different shapes and sizes…hearty local fare on the beach or the trendiest restaurant you can imagine…a historic core with a citadel, old churches…sleek cafés, craft beer hangouts…
A super peaceful and chilled out town now increasingly discovered by millions from all over the world.
Best-in-class property is in incredibly hot demand. Yet, by getting in early on the right condos, we can still do very well. We just need to use our contacts and move fast when we get the chance…
RETA members have done just that and bought in several stunning new condo buildings in the best locations in town. That’s what we want in Lagos. High-quality construction and big, livable condos. Nothing cookie cutter. Nothing old or dated…
This week, if you are a RETA member, you had the chance to jump on a hot and urgent opportunity that will give you just that—with a 5% discount to boot.
There’s awesome financing, you could get 80% at low, low rates. And there’s a host of other goodies…including a discount on the furniture pack and a year’s free rental management.
RETA members can get their Alert on this opportunity here.
The Best Tacos in Mexico?
I’ll admit it…I’m jealous. And I brought it upon myself.
When my researcher Jason Holland was plotting his trip to Puerto Vallarta, the famed resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, I suggested he check out the Versalles neighborhood, which is about 15 minutes’ drive north of the Zona Romantica, a.k.a. the heart of action for most visitors.
I’d heard rumblings from contacts on the ground about this up-and-coming area: a low-key nightlife scene (think jazz trios rather than club music), cute little boutiques, outdoor brunch places, and a restaurant scene overseen by a group of innovative local chefs. Plus, what was once a locals’ neighborhood of simple single-family homes is giving way to affordable small condo buildings with rooftop terraces and pools—they’re sprouting up all over. And it’s still very early days.
As I explained in yesterday’s mailing. I’ve sent Jason to Puerto Vallarta to retrace my steps and send me his observations and lots of photos and video so I can get a handle on progress since I last visited in March.
Within town, I see opportunities for gentrification around Centro and in neighborhoods like Versalles. There’s a lot of charm here. Restaurants, bars, street vendors, and craftsmen. Within three to four minutes’ walk of the malecon and within seven to eight minutes from the Zona Romantica you’ll find overlooked and affordable properties. In Centro you pay lower prices, but you’re buying along the Zona Romantica’s path of extension and effectively getting a Zona Romantica experience.
From what Jason has been sending me, it looks like the Versalles neighborhood is gentrifying fast.
Then Jason sent me these photos of where he stopped for lunch:
|
|
I spend a lot of time in Mexico. I have my winter base in Los Cabos, and I travel all over the country. Needless to say, I enjoy tacos. And looking at these photos while I’m on the other side of the Atlantic was pure torture. El Puerco de Dorado does one thing, pork belly tacos, and they do it very well. There’s no menu. You just tell them how many tacos you want, and whether you want cilantro and onion. Hot sauce is serve yourself. I suggest you check it out if you’re in the area.
Jason’s full report on Versalles, which some are calling the Brooklyn or SoHo of Puerto Vallarta, will be out soon. I’m keeping a close eye on this area…not just for restaurant recommendations but for real estate opportunities. He’ll also be exploring the rest of the city and points north.
In the meantime, I’m focused on what Jason told me about his drive down to Puerto Vallarta along the coast from small towns like Rincon de Guayabitos and Sayulita.
Right now, it’s quite a hassle. Lots of construction. Closed lanes. Dump trucks slowing traffic. New bridges and tunnels. In some places, you have to slow to a crawl to avoid popping a tire, says Jason.
But this massive road works is all part of a massive project to cut drive times from Guadalajara, one of the Mexico’s largest cities, to Puerto Vallarta to less than three hours.
I’m excited about the prospect for two reasons.
First, the well-to-do residents of Guadalajara will be able to zoom down to this stretch of coast for the weekend. And foreign visitors coming into Puerto Vallarta’s international airport will be able to access those low-key beach towns much more easily.
Vacation rental owners on both ends of this Path of Progress could benefit.
Meanwhile, in England…
My senior researcher Margaret Summerfield continues her tour of England’s southern coast for a potential new home-base. She’s found some charming locales.
But after many years scouting Latin America and other parts of Europe, she is finding it hard to stomach the high prices in seaside cities like Chichester when you can get so much for your money in places like Panama’s Pacific Riviera and Spain’s Costa del Sol. It’s one of the downsides of working as an international real estate scout—you just can’t settle for bad value.
As she says: “The average price over the last year according to Rightmove was £408,127 ($565,786). Detached (standalone) homes sold for an average £599,598 ($831,222).
“You’re paying a premium for Chichester’s cachet and appeal. Travel to less fashionable areas close by, like Bognor Regis, and you’ll get more for your real estate buck…and be closer to the beach. You’re a short hop on a train or bus if you crave the shopping or entertainment on offer in Chichester.”
You can read her full article here.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
|
|
Ronan McMahon, Real Estate Trend Alert
Like what you’re reading?
Send your thoughts to feedback@realestatetrendalert.com. I’ll post and respond to as many of your emails as I can right here in the e-letter. Find out more about our feedback policy here.
|
Connect with us on Instagram
|
