Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT: THE WORLDS CHEAPEST REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Join our Weekly Newsletter
    Overseas Property Alert

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






      We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

      Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

      • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

      Explore Our Latest Posts

      • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

      Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

      • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
    • Conferences

      Upcoming Events

      • Explore Our Events Site

      Live and Invest In Spain Conference

      Offshore Wealth Summit

      Greece Workshop

      VALENCIA, SPAIN

      Sep. 17-19, 2025

      PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

      Oct. 15-17, 2025

      VIRTUAL

      Nov. 13, 2025

      LEARN MORE
      DISCOUNT
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER
      LEARN MORE
      PRE-REGISTER
      • MORE EVENTS

      Contact Our Events Team

      Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
      1 (888) 627 8834
      From Outside North America:
      1 (443) 599 1221
      Working Hours
      Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

      Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

    • Store

      Unlock The World

      • Access Your Library

      Overseas Havens Reports

      • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

      Conference Kits

      • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

      Lahardan Books

      • Titles on living and investing around the world
      • Explore Our Store
      Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

      Services

      overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
      The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
      Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

      Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

    • My Library
    Live and Invest Overseas
    • Home
    • Countries

      Top Destinations:

      Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

      • Spain
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • Colombia
      • Cyprus
      • Mexico
      • France
      • Montenegro
      • Browse All Countries

      Best For:

      • The Best Places To Retire
      • Health Care Abroad
      • Cost Of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Establishing Residency
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • English-Speaking Countries
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
    • Budgets

      How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

      The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

      Super Cheap

      • Chitré, Panama
      • Santa Marta, Colombia
      • Phuket, Thailand
      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

      Cheap

      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
      • Hua Hin, Thailand
      • The Algarve, Portugal

      Affordable

      • Valencia, Spain
      • Cascais, Portugal
      • Las Terrenas, The DR
      • Pisa, Italy
      • La Rochelle, France
      • Mazatlán, Mexico

      Luxury

      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Kotor, Montenegro
      • The Panama City Beaches
      • Paris, France
    • Resources

      Global Living

      • Living & Retiring Overseas
      • Raising A Family Abroad
      • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
      • Offshore & Diversification

      Making Money

      • International Real Estate
      • Banking
      • Employment
      • Investing

      Follow Us:

      • Meet Our Experts
    • Real Estate

      Join our Weekly Newsletter
      Overseas Property Alert

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive expert insights on the best international real estate investment opportunities.






        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

        • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

        Explore Our Latest Posts

        • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

        Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

        • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
      • Conferences

        Upcoming Events

        • Explore Our Events Site

        Live and Invest In Spain Conference

        Offshore Wealth Summit

        Greece Workshop

        VALENCIA, SPAIN

        Sep. 17-19, 2025

        PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

        Oct. 15-17, 2025

        VIRTUAL

        Nov. 13, 2025

        LEARN MORE
        DISCOUNT
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        LEARN MORE
        PRE-REGISTER
        • MORE EVENTS

        Contact Our Events Team

        Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
        1 (888) 627 8834
        From Outside North America:
        1 (443) 599 1221
        Working Hours
        Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

        Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

      • Store

        Unlock The World

        • Access Your Library

        Overseas Havens Reports

        • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

        Conference Kits

        • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

        Lahardan Books

        • Titles on living and investing around the world
        • Explore Our Store
        Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

        Services

        overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
        The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
        Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

        Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

      • My Library
      Live and Invest Overseas
       Homes Under $100k
      The World’s Cheapest Real Estate Investments In 2025 Revealed
      FREE REPORT: The World Cheapest Real Estate Investments In 2025
      Simply sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and our FREE weekly E-Letter Overseas Property Alert and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report… absolutely FREE






        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        Home Investing

        The Real Estate Investment Risks That Shouldn’t Stop You

        When Buying Before Renting Is Worth The Risk

        by Lief Simon
        May 26, 2023
        in Investing, Real Estate
        0 0
        Scenic View of Medellin, Colombia skyline with mountains in the background

        Adobe Stock/Kenyatta Russell

        I recently returned to Paris for a couple weeks of meetings. One meeting was with friends who have lived in Paris about as long as Kathleen and I have had our apartment… 20 years or so.

        We bought our apartment when we moved to Paris. We didn’t know how long we were going to live there, but we did know we wouldn’t mind having an apartment in the city long-term. Plus, we had kids and wanted to make a home for them.

        Our friends moved around the same time and rented. They didn’t have kids when they moved, but they had two while living in Paris.

        Still, they continued to rent… partially because they didn’t know how long they would stay in Paris, and partially because they found a nice place with a low rent and over time the landlord didn’t increase the rent much.

        Eventually, they were forced to move because the landlord passed away and the son who inherited the apartment wanted to move in. They decided once again to rent rather than buy even though they’d been living in Paris for 15 years by that time, had two kids in school, and had no intention of moving… at least until the kids were both in university which was still years away.

        It’s not that they couldn’t afford to buy, but a mortgage would have cost more per month if they bought an apartment the same value as they were renting.

        Therefore, renting seemed to be the safe move still.

        I understand the thinking.

        When Kathleen and I moved to Panama, we rented in Panama City. Kathleen wanted to buy an apartment, but we needed at least three bedrooms with the kids—one in university and one at home. However, in our case, we already owned an apartment in Panama City.

        It was a one-bedroom apartment that didn’t suit us at the time, but works perfectly now that both kids are on their own.

        Renting in Panama City made sense to us like it makes sense to our friends in Paris.

        However, 20 years later, our apartment in Paris is paid for. They are still paying monthly for their housing.

        Real Estate And Weallth

        Owning real estate builds wealth. Renting can give you more flexibility… in the short-term.

        Our friends wanted flexibility when they moved to Paris.

        They saw buying an apartment as a risk. What if they decided to move in a year, two, five. Real estate transaction costs in France are around 6%. They didn’t want to risk that expense.

        They didn’t want to risk the property market going down if they had to sell if they moved.

        They didn’t want to risk their lifestyle short-term paying more for a mortgage than they were in rent.

        The risks they perceived kept them from owning property.

        That’s left them with a larger stock portfolio, but paying rent for the rest of their lives… because they don’t want to risk selling stocks to buy a place today.

        We may have had less flexibility in the short-term, but we now have much more freedom… as well as potential income if we want to rent the apartment… which we did for years while living full-time in Panama.

        Get Your Free Real Estate Report Today!
        Simply enter your email address below and we'll send you our FREE REPORT – The World's Cheapest Real Estate Investments In 2025 Revealed
        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

        However, not everyone thinks renting their property is worth it.

        Another friend from Ireland owns an apartment in Paris that they use for vacation trips to the city.

        Over the years the amount of time they use it in any given year has varied, but it’s never more than a few weeks here and a few weeks there.

        I’ve suggested many times over the years that they find a property manager and rent their apartment out short-term when they aren’t using it.

        The apartment is perfect as a short-term rental. It’s a modern apartment with basic furniture (because they don’t use it much, they didn’t want to spend too much on fancy furniture) in a reasonably rentable neighborhood although not in the prime locations many people look for when renting a vacation place in Paris.

        The main reason they give for not wanting to rent the place out: taxes. Taxes are a part of real estate investment risk no matter the place you choose to live.

        Yes, that’s right, they don’t want to rent the place because they’d have to pay taxes in France on the rental income. The asset is sitting there not doing anything… actually being an expense, but rather than make some money renting it, they’d rather make no money because of the taxes.

        To be fair, it’s more about the administration of having to file and pay taxes in France than the taxes themselves.

        They see the administrative hassle of dealing with a short-term rental not worth the effort. They see the administration of a rental property a risk to their lifestyle. It would take time to manage even a property manager who would deal with everything in Paris from finding renters to repairing things to filing their taxes.

        Since they don’t need the money, it’s an easy decision for them. They just want to come to Paris when they have time to come to Paris. They don’t want to deal with renters… and possibly having to schedule their trips to Paris around an occupied apartment.

        I can’t be too hard on my Irish friends because we own an apartment that I should either rent or sell. It’s in Medellín.

        The original idea was to renovate the apartment and set it up as a short-term rental that we’d use ourselves once in a while… like our Irish friends do with their Paris apartment.

        Kathleen and I aren’t worried about administration or paying taxes in Colombia on rental income.

        The reason we don’t rent our apartment in Medellín is because it’s too nice to be a short-term rental—both the apartment itself and the furnishings.

        We did rent the apartment out for a brief time, but when we went for a trip to Medellín and saw that the previous renter had badly scratched our custom wood countertop in the kitchen. T

        he decision was made for us… No more renters.

        Real Estate Investment Risks Shouldn’t Stop You 

        As one rental manager I had in Argentina said, you can’t charge a damage fee for each scratch renters make in a table… so buy a glass top. If they break the glass top, you can charge them for that.

        We weren’t going to put glass on the kitchen counter. And I was worried about some idiot sitting down on our leather couches with a pen in his back pocket and puncturing the cushion (it’s happened before).

        At this point, Kathleen and I make it to Medellín maybe once a year for a week. The common-sense thing to do would be to sell the apartment and invest in something else.

        The problem is we love the apartment, love how it is furnished, and use it to store some art and collectibles that we don’t want to get rid of.

        Unlike our friends’ decisions to not own or not rent based on their lifestyle risk, our decision is based on the risk to the apartment if we rented it. And our decision to not sell it is an emotional one.

        Neither of which sit well with me as an investor… but here I am a dozen years later still owning an apartment in Medellín that doesn’t generate any cash flow.

        Fortunately, it has gone up in value in U.S. dollar terms.

        Risk comes in all shapes and forms. Don’t let risks you make up in your head keep you from building your wealth with real estate.

        Stay diversified,

        Lief Simon signature
        Lief Simon
        Editor, Simon Letter

        Tags: 'investing''investment'real estate investment risk
        Share97Tweet52
        Lief Simon

        Lief Simon

        Lief Simon has lived and worked in 7 countries on 5 continents and traveled to more than 75 countries. His real estate investment career began with a $5,000 down payment on a three-flat building in Chicago. Less than three years later, Lief sold the building for a leveraged return of 3,000%—$150,000 in profit after closing costs and commissions.

        From there, he turned his attention overseas and has bought property in 24 countries including France, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, Belize, Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Romania, and beyond. Thanks to his decades-long career as a global property investor, Lief has built a multi-million-dollar portfolio that includes rental properties, significant land holdings, and 7 personal residences.

        Lief has established residency in 3 countries and acquired a second passport from Ireland.

        In 2008 Lief and wife Kathleen Peddicord made the most important investment of their lives—a 215-acre oceanside finca, known as Los Islotes. There, on Panama’s largely undiscovered Veraguas coast, they’ve installed underground electricity, water, and internet and built a forever family home that sits at the heart of their ultimate vision: a gold standard private residential community for those in search of a true safe haven escape.

        Lief’s latest book, “Cowboy Millionaire—The New American Pioneer,” collects all the wisdom he has learned in three decades of living and investing outside America.

        He offers advice on international diversification in his twice-weekly Offshore Living Letter and monthly Simon Letter dispatches. For real estate investment opportunities, check out his monthly Global Property Advisor service.

        If you’d like to meet Lief in person, join him for one of our upcoming in-country conferences. You’ll find further details here.

        Get Your Free Real Estate Report Today!
        Simply enter your email address below and we'll send you our FREE REPORT – The World's Cheapest Real Estate Investments In 2025 Revealed

        We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
        Our Expertise Unlocks The World

        quick links

        • Best Places To Live
        • Best Places To Retire
        • Finding A Job Overseas
        • Real Estate

        LIOS Resources

        • New To LIOS
        • Ask An Expert
        • Media Center
        • Contact Us
        • FAQs
        the 10 best places to retire in 2025
        Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2025






          We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

          As seen in

          US Media Logos

          © 2008 – Live and Invest Overseas™ – All Rights Reserved.

          About Us / Contact Us / Privacy Policy / Terms / Unsubscribe
          Facebook-f X-twitter Youtube Linkedin-in Instagram

          Welcome Back!

          Login to your account below

          Forgotten Password?

          Retrieve your password

          Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

          Log In
          HOME

          Top Countries

          • Spain
          • Portugal
          • Panama
          • Belize
          • Colombia
          • Cyprus
          • Mexico
          • France
          • Montenegro

          Best For:

          • Health Care Abroad
          • Retirement Living
          • Cost Of Living
          • Investing in Real Estate
          • Establishing Residency
          • Gun Ownership
          • English Speakers
          • Safety
          BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

          Budgets

          How Much Will It Cost
          To Live Overseas?

          Super Cheap

          • Chitré, Panama
          • Santa Marta, Colombia
          • Phuket, Thailand
          • Dumaguete, The Philippines

          Cheap

          • Medellin, Colombia
          • Boquete, Panama
          • Kyrenia, Cyprus
          • Hua Hin, Thailand
          • The Algarve, Portugal

          Affordable

          • Valencia, Spain
          • Cascais, Portugal
          • Las Terrenas, The DR
          • Pisa, Italy
          • La Rochelle, France
          • Mazatlán, Mexico

          Luxury

          • Ambergris Caye, Belize
          • Kotor, Montenegro
          • The Panama City Beaches
          • Paris, France

          Resources

          Global Living

          • Living & Retiring Overseas
          • Raising A Family Abroad
          • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
          • Offshore & Diversification

          Making Money

          • International Real Estate
          • Banking
          • Employment
          • Investing
          Meet Our Experts

          Real Estate

          Overseas Property Alert 

           

          How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

          VISIT SITE

          Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

           

          Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

          READ MORE

          Explore Our Latest Posts

           

          Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

          EXPLORE

          Conferences

          Live and Invest In Spain Conference

          VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
          LEARN MORE
          DISCOUNT

          Offshore Wealth Summit

          PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
          LEARN MORE
          PRE-REGISTER

          GREECE WORKSHOP

          VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
          LEARN MORE
          PRE-REGISTER
          MORE EVENTS

          Contact Our Events Team:

          Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
          1 (888) 627 8834

          From Outside North America:
          1 (443) 599 1221

          Working Hours
          Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

          Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

          Store

          Overseas Havens Reports

          • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

          Conference Kits

          • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

          Lahardan Books

          • Titles on living and investing around the world

          Services

          • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
          • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
          • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
          VISIT OUR STORE

          Free Report

          THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

          FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

          Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…






            We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

            LIBRARY

            Follow Us:

            © 2008 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

            RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

            Sign up for FREE to learn how. Plus, check out our FREE report on THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE


            We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

            RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY

            Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

            We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.