I get asked all kinds of property-related questions by readers. But one question keeps cropping up. It happened again recently. A reader told me that she loved the idea of a low-priced condo I wrote about. And she’d happily swap the dreary winter weather back home for blue skies and sunshine. “But is there a trade-off?” she asked.
Busy streets, crowded malls, long lines in the bank: those I can live with. It’s part of modern city life. But every so often, I need an escape. And that means the beach. But I don’t want to swap the daily hustle and bustle for a busy beach resort. Who wants to fight their way through an army of beach loungers to find a piece of sand the size of a postage stamp to pitch a towel?
Affordable, good-value real estate is a “stand-out” factor of the world’s best retirement havens. And to prove just how much further your money can go when you buy overseas, we’ve asked our in-country experts to reveal a taste of what’s on offer in the five highest-ranking destinations of this year’s annual Retirement Index. Whether you dream of a pastel-painted, old colonial home surrounded by lush gardens…
I’ve told you before about Rancho Santana on Nicaragua’s south Pacific Coast. This is the community with five beaches, 2,700 acres and more than two miles of coast. (International Living’s parent company is the owner and developer.)
Last month, 13 of your fellow members gathered at the Pacific Lots project in Costa Rica’s Southern Zone. They had two price lists: one for all the inventory at the project; the other, a special list of lower prices for our little group on 14 handpicked lots.
Properties are going on sale all over the world with price tags of $150,000 and less. Below are a range of affordable properties in countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, France, Costa Rica and Ireland. Some of the countries below have witnessed dramatic declines in their real estate markets. As a result, previously expensive properties are now within reach…
It’s amazing what people will do for a water view. Some people will try to tell you that anything with a water view is worth an inflated price. I don’t agree. In fact, if you know where to look, you can get a lake- or ocean-view property, on a tight budget…without any crazy compromises (or extreme weather systems).
If you ever wanted to retire to the beach, or buy a second home on the water, now is the time to act. Prices in certain desirable markets are low right now. But they won’t stay that way for long… The wide white-sand beaches of North-East Brazil stretch for hundreds of miles. The beach towns and fishing villages along this coast are popular with international tourists and Brazilian visitors…
201 1 Live and Invest Overseas Conference Package
Las Vegas, NV – October 2011In the Live and Invest Overseas Conference Package, we’ll show you how you can make that dream your reality… for as little as $697 a month. Maybe you long for your own cottage on a quiet beach… a grand apartment in a city vibrant with concerts and cafes… a mountain villa where the air is crisp… or even your own vineyard amid gently rolling hills. Whatever you fantasize about… come with that idea in mind. We’ll show you the places in the world today where you can live your dream, for a small fraction of what you’d pay for a comparable life at home.
2011 International Real Estate Investment Forum Audio Kit
Toronto, Canada – June 2011
At out International Real Estate Investment Forum, we gathered some of the world’s best international real estate experts to show you the best opportunities available right now. They’ll share with you their hard-won investment skills… and to “teach you the ropes,” of international investing.If you couldn’t join us in June at the International Real Estate Investment Forum in Toronto, Canada, don’t despair. We’ve found a way to share this information with you at home…
Half my time is spent on the road—scouting for undervalued real estate opportunities. The top places on my radar right now are in fast-emerging beach destinations. In each place I visit, I study how much income you could make if you made your beach home available for rental when you aren’t using it. These are my top three picks for this strategy.
In this Global Real Estate Index, you’ll find listed the 27 places in the world today that boast the most attractive, and potentially lucrative, real estate opportunities. Each of these places has something special to recommend it…some attribute you won’t find elsewhere. Those that top the list hold the most profit potential right now. Those at mid-table and below are ones to watch.
My friend Margaret often sends me e-mails about real estate deals on or near the beach in places like Costa Rica. But sometimes she sends an insider tip like the one in her Video Postcard below. In it, she reveals three tropical destinations right now where there’s an easy way to finance your overseas property purchase…sometimes interest-free.
There’s a lot to consider when buying a home anywhere, but especially one overseas. First thing you want to know is how much it’s going to cost. With bang-for-your-buck in mind, Ecuador comes out on top, offering some of the best-value real estate in the world. For $50,000 you can buy a penthouse suite in a colonial town or a beachfront condo.
The icing-sugar sand is cool against your feet. The turquoise sea pushes perfect ruffled whitecaps gently up on the beach. Sitting in the shade of a coconut palm, an exotic cocktail in your hand, you fall in love with Caribbean living.
If you’re looking for an overseas dream home in a place that has great weather, unspoiled beaches and a more relaxed lifestyle…on a tight budget…no problem.
If there’s a finer stretch of white Caribbean powder sand and turquoise water…I haven’t seen it. Perched just above the tree line of gently swaying palms, this roof terrace gives the best vantage point for sunset. The only sound is warm turquoise waters lapping on the crescent of white, warm coral-sand beach.
Today I’m going to show you how to rate the value of any real estate you may be interested in buying. I’ll use a current property for sale as a case study. In fact, this is a killer deal near the Pacific Coast. In the place pictured here…bright, thick green jungle canopy rolls down to a coast of sandy beaches and rocky points. It’s truly stunning. While prices in other parts of the country soared, prices here stayed low because it was difficult to get to. Now a new smoothly paved coastal highway has changed that.
When the developer first kicked the dirt of this Pacific Coast project, his drive time from the country’s capital city was more than eight hours. This capital…only four hours from Miami…is a sophisticated and fun place. Now thanks to the new road in this photo, you can drive from the capital to the coast in three and a half hours.
With her bright, green, soaring jungle-clad hills, white sandy coves and a kaleidoscope of nature’s colors on land, in the ocean and in the air—this is one of the finest stretches of coast on my beat. I’m talking about the same Pacific Coast deal…a killer deal…I introduced you to yesterday.
Beach property is very desirable. Buyers will pay a premium to live on, or close to, a beach. My beat is undervalued real estate. I look for locations where your real estate dollar stretches further…and where you can look forward to capital appreciation.
InternationalLiving.com unearths rock-bottom pricing in colonial properties in the historic districts of Panama City, Granada and Cuenca. High-quality colonial-era real estate is coming onto the market with price tags from as little as $115,000 in historic city districts across Latin America.
Castles. The word conjures up images of fairytale towers, knights on horseback storming drawbridges, and pretty princesses waiting for rescue in stone turrets. Castles hark back to a bygone age of chivalry, war and romance. They don’t seem part of the modern world.
Attendees at this week’s International Real Estate Investment Forum in Toronto heard about a new deal in Brazil. Brazil is now a middle class country. And it’s bursting with millionaires. More and more Brazilians can afford to retire to chic beach cities like Joao Pessoa.
“I’m kicking myself for not getting in on that deal you told us about three years ago,” he confided. “At the time, I thought ‘Is he crazy?…’” If the guy had followed Ronan’s advice back in 2008, you see, he could have made more than $38,000 on an investment of $2,234.
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