IL Magazine: Discover the Best Retirement Haven + 24 More SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 35% about subscribing to International Living Magazine The best beaches in Mexico are just 70 minutes down the coast from Cancun. Some are still deserted, dotted only with coconut palm trees and curious iguanas. Seabirds duck and dive overhead. It's a place of utter beauty and tranquility—azure blue water and total silence except for the roar of the surf. But it's not just about white-sand beaches here.
Mexico's Caribbean coast ticks all the boxes when it comes to real estate opportunity. It's on an upward trajectory. Prices have risen strongly in recent years. But for now, there's still opportunity to buy well and watch the value of your real estate rise.
Something really unusual happened in our beach community of Salinas, Ecuador last week. People were posting pictures on Facebook, and it was the topic of conversation in all of the restaurants and bars. What was this noteworthy event? It rained! It actually clouded up and rained—well, a hard drizzle anyway—long enough to make some puddles and wet the streets.
One of my favorite scam stories is of the German lady living in Paraguay. Claudia Bettina Muller was arrested last year for printing fake passports in her basement. Police found printing and engraving machines, along with boxes of blank passports and counterfeit government forms. But before I had ever heard of Claudia Bettina Muller or the Paraguayan police caught up with her, I had heard of this scam. I had come across a speaker at an event in Nevada who claimed he could get anyone in the attentive audience a Paraguayan passport in as little as a month. This was possible he maintained, because he had high-level government contacts. The cost was only $45,000. (That's half of what any of the second citizenship programs I work with charge.) Right then, as he spoke, I knew it was a scam.
In 1986, I walked into the main Credit Suisse branch in Chicago and told the doorman I wanted to open a Swiss bank account. I was led to a private office overlooking the Chicago skyline and was asked for my minimum deposit. Being just 31 at the time, I played it conservative and started with just $2,000 (about $4,300 in today's dollars). I was asked to fill out a one-page form and provide a copy of my driver's license. I gave him a check and away I went. It took all of 20 minutes. In 1986, "offshore" was still exotic. It was something regular people didn't really do. How things have changed in 29 years.
You learned yesterday about how you can make $2,000 to $3,000 on one online deal, buying and selling popular consumer products. When I talk about earning money online, most people want to know the answers to three simple questions: 1. Can anyone do it? 2. Can I make money part-time? 3. Do I need a lot of cash to get started?
Land in the Tulum area on the southern edge of Mexico's Riviera Maya can be a strong opportunity...as long as it's the right land. On my recent scouting trip I put boots on the ground at more than a dozen interesting communities (including some planned lot communities). As long-time readers of Real Estate Trend Alert know, Tulum is stunning. It's home to some of the world's finest white-powder beaches...backed by palm trees that rustle in the Caribbean breezes.
Thanks to Europe's financial and economic crisis, you'll find some of the best real estate values in the best parts of Europe right now—and some of the best opportunities to profit. Specifically, the deals are to be found in Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. These places were hit hard by the crisis—and pricings finally reflect that.
Las Terrenas on the Dominican Republic's Samana peninsula is a little piece of paradise. It boasts 19 miles of walkable, public beach, palm trees, warm breezes, and stars so bright it feels like you could pluck them from the sky. This isn't a manufactured beach or resort. It's a laid-back, cultured getaway. In town, behind and between the palm trees, are chic cafés and restaurants run by French and Italian expats.
I spend up to two weeks a month scouting out the best real estate opportunities for Pathfinder. It's part of my job. And I enjoy every minute of it. Because I spend so much time on the road, I'm a huge fan of vacation rentals. I get more space than a hotel room and a lot more privacy. And I get to experience life as a local, buying groceries and eating at cafés and restaurants close by.