Con Murphy

Con Murphy is an Irishman with a taste for adventure who set out early for an eclectic career in real estate that has spanned the globe. Con has done it all, from scouting, buying, and selling from Ireland to Africa and then on to markets across Europe and the Americas. Con timed his positions to get out of Europe’s property market days before the 2008 bust and then went on to focus on emerging opportunities in Central America. Most recently, Con has been a property developer and off-grid builder in Belize… but he’s never lost his love of the thrill of chasing a deal. Knowing the industry from both sides, Con can spot the cowboy operators and grifters from across the street… and his extensive and diverse experience makes him the best you’ll find at sniffing at markets poised for growth. Now, after decades of investing across the globe for his own account, Con is ready to share his hard-won knowledge, perspective, and insights to our readers, pointing you in the direction of profit.

Image of Con Murphy, an author for OPA

Brazil’s Economy: The Overlooked Powerhouse Of South America

Leave a Comment / South America, Top Investments / By
Copacabana Beach and Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Why Investors Are Flocking To Safe Haven Brazil

I’m not going to wax lyrical about the amazing natural beauty of Brazil, nor bore you with talk of 5,000 miles of coastline and many of the world’s best and most pristine beaches.

I won’t tell you about the rich and diverse culture, the 7 natural and 14 cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites, or the rich music, cuisine, and exotic peoples either.

Today I’ll be analyzing the Brazilian economy, because Brazil has revealed herself as a safe haven investor’s paradise.

Everywhere else around the globe, markets are in turmoil, governments are panicking, and the world’s attention is turned toward the war in Ukraine.

Brazil doesn’t seem affected by any of this…

Savvy investor money is pouring into Brazil. And it’s easy to see why.

Brazil is the global powerhouse that is often forgotten, even though it’s one of the biggest, strongest, and most diversified economies in …

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Northern Cyprus Is A Treasure Trove Of Opportunities For Expats

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Own Beach Paradise For Just US$18.50 Per Day

A forgotten place of raw natural beauty is about to be rediscovered… A place with long sandy beaches and perfect Mediterranean weather. It’s steeped in ancient culture and history…

Underpopulated, overeducated, and possibly the cheapest place to live in the Western world, it could cost you as little as US$18.50 per day to own a beach resort condo here.

This former British colony has low crime rates, and English is widely spoken. It seems to have figured out the formula for the perfect lifestyle, too…

People live to great ages due to the stress-free existence and healthy diets. Doctors continue to be amazed that rates of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes fall …

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Panama’s Property Market Is Depressed: Here Are The Top Areas To Buy

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View from District called San Francisco to the sea in Panama

Panama City Property: Buy Or Rent 30% Cheaper Today

When people talk about moving to Panama to enjoy a new life overseas, most think about exotic beachfront locations like Coronado, Bocas Del Toro, Boquete, or the San Blas Islands.

I traveled to Panama a couple weeks ago, and I had a fantastic time right in the city.

It was so much fun I nearly didn’t leave.

I was in Panama to attend the Live And Invest Overseas Panama Conference, meet with some contacts, and to inspect some of the developments in the area for Overseas Property Alert.

The conference was great, attendees got up-to-the-minute information on what’s happening in Panama, what to avoid, and where the most desirable locations and the best deals can be found.

We got the lowdown to a variety of unique and diverse investments on offer, solid legal advice, and in-depth information about the changes to the various visas you can get.

On top of this, we listened to a lot of first-hand accounts from expats on the ground on deciding where would suit you best, how to move there, and what …

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Buying Off-Plan Guide: Lock In Big Discounts On Future Retail Prices

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Aerial View of Riviera Sao Lourenco Beach in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Rules For Buying Off-Plan Real Estate

Buying off-plan property has many advantages, but it also has many pitfalls. I bought an off-plan apartment in Leeds, U.K., 20 years ago. It was the third property I ever bought. I naively trusted someone whom I had known for years, and I lost my rear end to his fraudulent promises. Armed with better advice, my fifth property buy was off-plan in Croatia, and I made a killing. Usually my advice is “buy what you see,” but this doesn’t work with off-plan investing. You need to know what you are doing if you are going to purchase a property before it is built. I didn’t the first time, and I learned the hard way. When you select the right property, you can make more from buying off-plan real estate than any other form of real estate transaction.

What Is Buying Off-Plan?

Buying off-plan means buying a property before construction begins. Property developers require bank financing to build their projects, and banks want to know they will be able to
…

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Learn How To Invest Smarter And Let Inflation Pay You

Leave a Comment / Caribbean & Central America, Investing Fundamentals, Top Investments / By
Investing Infation

Make Inflation Pay You

This is the short-term fallout of the current geo-political mess:

  1. Fuel and energy price spikes;
  2. Supply chain disruptions, microchip shortages, and tech stock devaluations;
  3. Food price inflation;
  4. Stock market volatility.

It sounds ominous, but don’t worry. There is a simple way of hedging against these risks. You can make money while you’re doing it, too.

I’m about to let you in on an opportunity that allows you free time for yourself while you’re making all these profits.

Sounds great, right?

Before I give away the secret, let’s take a deeper look at what everyone else will be dealing with over the coming …

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A Real Estate Investment In Panama With Profits And Community Support

Leave a Comment / Caribbean & Central America / By
Houses in Panama

Earn A 30% Fixed Return Backed By US$1-Billion Government Fund: An Infinity-Sum Opportunity

In game theory, “zero-sum” is a concept where for someone to win, someone else must lose.

I’ve known sociopaths in business who are only satisfied with a deal if they can screw everyone else out of their share.

These greedy characters are zero-sum operators.

Sometimes I come across an opportunity that’s the opposite of a zero-sum deal.

The opposite of a zero-sum deal is an infinity-sum deal.

These are opportunities where everyone wins. The community wins. The ordinary person wins. The government wins. And you win.

And it’s truly a pleasure to do business this way.

Today, I want to alert you to a developer in Panama who is guaranteeing a 30% ROI in just two years, completely turn-key. You don’t have the hassle of having to renovate, rent, or sell anything. You collect your 30% in two years (or sooner), and you can reinvest your profits again if you like.

The project takes advantage of a US$1-billion government fund set up specifically to support this opportunity.

This deal is designed to provide desperately needed resources to ordinary folks. It builds communities and …

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Making Money From Truffles, A Premium Investment

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Black truffles in a table

Ancient, God-Given Delight Offers Heavenly Returns

Plutarch believed it was seeded by thunderbolts hurled by Zeus…

The Romans considered it an aphrodisiac…

First recorded in Neo-Sumerian writings over 4,000 years ago, this elusive delicacy has been prized for millennia.

It’s even more in demand today than ever before.

With the most prime specimens selling for over US$100,000 a pound, you would think big corporations would be rushing into the industry and flooding the market.

But they can’t.

Unlike so many of the world’s most-prized foodstuffs, this delicacy cannot be …

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A Portugal Golden Visa Property With Four Diverse Benefits

Leave a Comment / Europe / By
The Monchique mountains, Portugal, view from near highest point

The Investment Visa Quadfecta—One Investment, Four Benefits

A “quadfecta” is a betting term for picking the four fastest horses in a race. The odds of this happening are small… so the rewards for picking a quadfecta are great.

Sometimes an investment comes along that wins on four different fronts in one go.

When I find an investment like this, I tell my clients to act fast because it will sell out before the retail property market even hears about it.

If a second residency is on your radar, you can still get permanent residency, risk diversification, and other great benefits in Portugal.

Rumors of the shuttering of the Portuguese Golden Visa Program aren’t true, but the program has changed dramatically for most investors.

Most popular coastal areas and large cities no longer qualify.

The Portuguese government introduced these changes because the influx of Golden Visa investment had driven up the average property prices across the entire country by 57% in just eight years.

This is a phenomenon called Investment Visa Price Creep.

Investment Visa Price Creep is when property markets are inflated by visa buyers making investments just for …

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Houseboat Living: Reinvent Your Life For A Fraction Of The Cost

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All Aboard For Houseboat Living: Live In Europe For 20 Euros Per Day

This traditional European lifestyle offers an innovative way of living in the most desirable places in Europe for a fraction of the cost of conventional lifestyles.

If you are up for a little adventure and the occasional inconvenience, it could be the perfect option for you…

I have an affection, a nearly childish obsession, with the idea of living on a houseboat. I’m drawn to the itinerant lifestyle it affords…

The U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, and Holland are countries that are best suited for it.

Imagine being able to avail of waterfront accommodation in the most expensive cities in Europe for 20 euros per day. Consider all the places you could discover if you could move your home whenever you wished.

You could cruise forever, exploring every town you passed or stopping to settle for a while whenever you found a place that …

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The Most Important Factors To Consider When Evaluating An Investment

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Colorful alleys and streets in Guanajuato city, Mexico

The Dangers Of Gross Yield Offers And The Pitfalls Of Fixed Appreciation Projection

There are a lot of scammers out there.

And not all of them are trying to sell you a bridge.

Some fraudsters bilk unsuspecting investors into handing money over for bogus developments.

But far more common are the legal scams where a seller dupes unseasoned investors by hyping information that doesn’t have any bearing on actual value.

A prime example of this is using gross cash flow to imply future earnings or arbitrarily fixed capital appreciation projections as a reason to pay more for a property than it’s worth.

These flim-flam artists dazzle you with information that looks appealing on the surface in the …

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