Earlier this week, I reserved a condo in Panama City.
It’s not the first time I’ve bought there.
Twenty-something years ago, I got on a plane to Panama because I’d heard rumors about a place on a tear.
What I found was a tropical capital with an extraordinary location, a famous canal…and enormous ambition.
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I took the leap and bought a condo. Friends said I was crazy. They changed their minds when I sold the condo for a $72,370 gross profit.
The city I first arrived in has changed enormously. Its skyline has filled in. New business districts have grown. Highways, bridges, and a metro have made it easier to get around.
I’ve kept returning over the years. Because this city’s boom is far from over. In fact, I see Panama on a Singapore-like trajectory. It’s using the same playbook and leveraging a similar strategic location with smart policies.
When I reserved a condo there this week, I did things differently to the first time. Back in 2004, I was an individual buyer. Today I’m part of a unique group of buyers that can bow developers to our will, craft insanely good terms and prices, and leave everyone a winner.
To explain, I need to take you to a beach in Brazil…
Back in 2008, while the world was gripped by financial crisis, I was on the beaches of Brazil with a well-connected insider.
My contact had secured us an invitation to a closed-door event for real estate investors.
There, I locked down two condos in a new beach community—with a deposit of just $736 on each one.
Two weeks later, I received an offer to sell both.
I decided to hold on. I later sold one for a gross profit of $43,500—and saw a much bigger gain when I eventually sold the second.
I wanted this kind of access all the time…the kind that the insiders get. So, I had an idea: a club for international real estate investors.
It seemed such an obvious idea. I knew that by clubbing together with other investors, we could pool our group buying power into an unrivaled block. We could be the ones who got in ahead of everyone else on the best real estate deals. Getting the best choices at the best prices.
I was sure a club like this must already exist, so I went looking. When I couldn’t find one, I started my own. I called it Real Estate Trend Alert—or RETA for short.
The idea behind RETA is straightforward.
Selling even best-in-class real estate takes a developer a lot of time and money.
But by coming to RETA, a developer can sell a block of properties to a ready-made group of buyers.
In return, I negotiate exclusive deals at prices ordinary retail buyers never see.
It’s a win for the developer and it gives RETA members the kind of early-in access I experienced in Brazil.
These days, my small but dedicated team of scouts and I travel the world in search of opportunity. We spend more than $1 million a year on travel and research to find the “next places.”
I love it.
I’ve spent years crafting a life where I divide my year between my homes in Cabo, Caminha, Portugal’s Silver Coast, and Ireland. Always enjoying perfect weather. Never again wishing away a dark, cold, and dreary winter.
And Panama is still a place I return to. Earlier this week, I brought RETA members a stunning off-market deal in a waterfront community called Ipanema. I’ve reserved a condo there myself.
The developer’s vision is incredible: three sail-shaped towers on the Bay of Panama, with more than 80,000 square feet of amenities. Plans include a private urban beach and waterfront park, a 50-meter pool, a spa, sports courts, and a running track. There’s exclusive developer financing, too.
It’s exciting to be buying in Panama again, more than 20 years after my first purchase here. And this time, I’m doing it alongside fellow RETA members.
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