On-The-Ground Relocation Support In Panama
Why Marion Is The Woman You Want To Know In Panama
Sept. 25, 2009
Panama City, Panama
PLUS:
- "First You Say 'Buy What You See'...Then You Say 'Buy Pre-construction'...What Gives?"...
AND:
- The Current Cost Of Retirement On The Emerald Isle...
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Be Our Guest At Next Month's Global Real Estate
Profits Summit
Every Panama Circle Member is invited to attend Lief Simon's Global Real Estate Profits Summit in Panama City next month as our guest--and to bring a guest free, too. This is but the beginning of the value of membership in this special circle.
And, right now, for a limited time, you can reap all the rewards and enjoy all the benefits of full-fledged Panama Circle membership without paying full price--at least not all at once, up front.
For the first time ever, during this limited-time New Member enrollment period, you can arrange to pay for your membership in installments stretched over 18 months.
If accepted as a New Member, you are invited to join us for next month's Global Real Estate Profits Summit as our guest. Like every other Panama Circle Member, you're also invited to bring a friend with you free.
This couldn't be easier. And the opportunities in Panama right now couldn't be bigger.
Full details here.
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Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
Two Panama Circle Members, in Panama for two weeks, invited Lief and me to lunch earlier this week. Steven and Julie came prepared. As we were seated at our table in the restaurant at the Bristol Hotel, Steven opened his leather-covered portfolio. Inside was his list.
These nice folks are in the get-serious phase of their retire overseas planning. Their time in Panama this trip is hardly a vacation. They're pulling together the documents they need to qualify for pensionado visa status...considering their insurance options...thinking through what to bring with them from the States...and how to get it all from there to here without investing a small fortune in the freight...considering which bank to approach about opening an account...wondering about the benefits of a Panama corporation...the necessity of a Panama will...how to pay local bills...how to pay ongoing bills elsewhere...
All the while spending four hours every morning in immersion Spanish classes.
Steven and Julia have been researching their retire overseas options for years. Earlier this year, they decided that Panama is the place, and now is the time. They intend to live in Panama "full-time minus or part-time plus," as Steven explains it.
Why Panama? As Steven says, "This country is the most foreigner-friendly I've found in my research, in the way that Costa Rica was 20 years ago. Plus, Panama seems very politically and financially stable."
Steven is also attracted by Panama's pro-investor, pro-business climate. "I don't intend to invest in real estate," Steven explains. "That was a big part of my past lifetimes. But I think I might like to start a business..."
Steven has enjoyed many years of international travel experience and a long and successful business career. He'd be better able than most to engineer a move overseas all by himself.
"I'm someone who does lots of research on my own," he admits. "So why did I join the Panama Circle when I set my sights on Panama? For the on-the-ground support. I realize that no amount of research from a distance can substitute for it. When I read in the description of Panama Circle Member benefits about the support of the Members' Liaison, I was sold. And, so far, the assistance from the group's Liaison Marion has been wonderful. Marion has not once let me down."
Steven returned to his list. Would UPS make sense as a way to ship his things to Panama from the States, he wondered? Should he opt for a local bank or an international bank? Maybe split his deposits over two banks? Should he arrange for all his insurance coverage through the same broker, or shop for health insurance separately?
How much should he pay for the taxi ride from El Cangrejo to Casco Viejo?
Lief and I enjoy these opportunities to meet one-on-one with Panama Circle members. It's great fun for us to help a couple like Steven and Julie realize a dream they've held for a long time.
Steven and Julie have a clear picture of what they'd like their new life in Panama to look like. "We don't want to live in the city, and we don't want to live in a gated gringo community," Julie explained. "We know that's not for us.
"We want to be out in the country and part of a real Panamanian community. We're thinking El Valle might be the place, and we're going to spend the weekend there to have a look around.
"Marion has offered to take us to the station on Friday, after our language lessons, to make sure we get on the right bus. She's helped us find a hotel in El Valle. We're all set. Now we just need to go see what we see..."
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. Steven and Julie promise to report back after their weekend in El Valle. Meantime, you can read about retirement living in this mountain valley enclave a couple of hours outside Panama City...where the temperatures are pleasant and the local community welcoming...in our detailed Retirement Report, available here.
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The Perks, Privileges, And Peace Of Mind Of Retirement Overseas
The trouble with some Paradises is that they make it difficult for foreign residents to enjoy what they have to offer...
And yet others roll out the welcome mat, offering benefits, discounts, and other perks for foreign residents. Some countries are even competing to get your attention, offering tremendous advantages and benefits for you...
Whether you're moving for a better life...a lower cost of living...or a chance to keep more of what you earn and pay less in taxes...
This is the Next Step Guide you need to make your dreams of a new life overseas come true.
More Details Here
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"Kathleen, what would a typical monthly budget be now for living in either Cork or Wexford, Ireland, for a couple who rent a downtown apartment with an elevator, who have no car, eat their morning meals at home and their evening meals mostly in pubs and restaurants, and who use the Internet?"
-- Alice M., United States
We'll include a complete budget for monthly costs living in this part of the world in our full Ireland Retirement Report, in the final stages of production as I write and due off the virtual press very shortly. Subscribers to the Overseas Retirement Letter will receive it as part of their subscription. You can become a subscriber now for US$1 here.
"Kathleen, I am enjoying your publication, and I am currently researching several countries for my first overseas real estate purchase. I recently visited Panama and liked most of what I saw, but I was not encouraged by the prices. I'm still researching and investigating other countries, as well.
"However, I have a question. You tout in your newsletter repeatedly, 'Buy what you see.' Yet, you also recommend buying preconstruction in Brazil. What gives?"
-- Michael C., United States
My "Buy what you see" mantra may be better stated as, "Pay for what you see."
My husband, Lief Simon, tells a story of an investor he traveled with years ago to scout beachfront property on the Costa Maya, Mexico. The long drive along the badly rutted dirt road to reach the beach land in question took its toll on Lief's traveling partner, who finally remarked, "Lief, call me when the prices are higher."
The guy understood how this works. Buy early, when there's little in the way of infrastructure, services, or amenities, and expect to pay less. Buy later, after the roads have been paved, the electrical lines have been run, the wells have been dug, the Internet cables have been strung, the cell towers have been positioned, and maybe the clubhouse, the stables, the dock, the restaurants, etc., have been built, and understand that you're going to pay more.
In other words, it's not that you should never invest before the asphalt's been laid or the electrical cables have been run. It's that you should invest understanding what you're buying, and that's what you should pay for. Don't pay all-services-in-place pricing for a not-a-single-service-anywhere-in-sight piece of property.
This applies to pre-construction condos as well as beachfront lots. If you're buying before the concrete has been poured, you're accepting a greater level of risk. Developers understand this and are willing to give you a (sometimes significant) price discount in return.
This is the case, for example, in Brazil, which is, right now, one of the most interesting markets for this kind of investment. More here. |
