Category Archives: Property Types

Past dispatches organized by world region…

An Urban Setting With Plenty Of Green Space

Cali, Colombia: An Urban Setting With Plenty Of Green Space

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Cali: Great Lifestyle, Low Price Tag
My workout over, I wipe my brow and walk over to chat with Sergio.

Sergio comes to Parque El Ingenio almost every day to sell agua de panela—water flavored with brown cane sugar and lime—to the folks who exercise at what I have come to call “The Flintstones Gym.” The equipment here is homemade. Barbells and dumbbells sport blocks of concrete rather than steel plates, but the equipment is well maintained and this is a popular spot in the mornings. The men who come here are serious about working out, but also friendly, and they welcome me with smiles and nods.

Sergio pours me a generous cup of agua de panela, and I fish a sweaty 1,000-peso bill—about 35 cents—from my pocket. I hand it over and we begin another of Continue reading →

Retirement For Boaters

Sail Into Your Retirement: 3 Top Retirement Spots For Boating

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My first retirement plan—10 years before I moved to Ecuador—was to spend winters in Arizona and summers living on our 44-foot boat in the Chesapeake Bay. We planned to spend part of the season docked in the small town of Charlestown, Maryland, and the rest of the time cruising up and down the Continue reading →

Languedoc Has Changed Its Name

Why Property In Languedoc Keeps Growing In Popularity

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Why The Languedoc Has Changed Its Name But Not Its Attraction To Property Buyers

It can change names as many times as it likes, but the wine producing Languedoc area of southern France remains one of my favorite places in the world. More and more people are getting to know its wines, but property prices don’t appear to be reflecting the area’s growing appeal.

The Languedoc region is sometimes referred to as “The Other South of France” because it is not neighboring Provence or the Côte d’Azur, but it is geographically the most southern part of France, with Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur to the east, the old Midi-Pyrénées to the west, the Auvergne to the north, and Spain to the south.

Historically Languedoc was a province of France, it’s only in recent times that Roussillon was added, turning the area into a region. The original Languedoc has a fascinating history and even its own language, Occitan, which is similar to Catalán, from just over the border in Spain.

It’s from “Occitan” that the region’s new name is derived. At the beginning of this year, Languedoc-Roussillon was merged with the neighboring Midi-Pyrénées region, and Continue reading →

A Rental Market Overview Of Medellín

A Rental Market Overview Of Medellín’s Top Neighborhoods

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The Latest On Furnished Rentals In Medellín

Last week, I saw a report that’s important for anyone who wants to get into Medellín, Colombia’s lucrative rental market… or anyone who wants to rent a furnished apartment for living in this popular expat destination.

The study analyzed the costs of 350 furnished rental units on the market in Medellín’s most popular sectors. It provides a good source of unbiased data.

So, with this rental data in hand, now is a good time to look at my three favorite areas in the Medellín valley to get a picture of today’s rental market.

Let’s start with the most popular sector in Medellín.

El Poblado: The Beverly Hills Of Colombia

With lush, shady streets, tumbling mountain streams, and excellent residential options, it’s no wonder that El Poblado is Medellín’s most popular area for expats, travelers, and tourists.

El Poblado is green, forested, and uncrowded at its higher elevations, getting more “citified” as you approach the valley floor. The lower parts are walkable, with everything close at hand. El Poblado is the most expensive and exclusive area in the city and is the best place to own a rental property.

The centerpiece of El Poblado is the Zona Rosa, with its restaurants, cafés, clubs, discos, and Continue reading →

Why Ecuador's Best Beachfront Property Is Found In Salinas

Why Ecuador’s Best Beachfront Property Is Found In Salinas

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A Great Lifestyle With Inexpensive Beachfront

Ecuador’s coast has lots of beautiful, unspoiled, and fairly undeveloped seaside towns. In fact, Ecuador’s undeveloped coast is what draws a lot of people to the country.

But if my agenda were to enjoy resort-style amenities—restaurants, cafés, nightlife, groomed beaches, and an active real estate market— then Salinas is where I’d buy.

I first visited Salinas back in 2002, and have kept an eye on it over the years. Recently, two things changed that have affected the property market:

  • Ecuador’s major coastal earthquake in 2016 actually caused an increase in tourist and rental traffic to Salinas.
  • Salinas—always accessible from the international airport at Guayaquil—now has its own airport with flights to Quito… making it accessible to Ecuador’s other major international airport.

When you come to Salinas, Ecuador, during the North American winter, you’ll find an energetic, bustling Pacific resort city soaking up some of the world’s best weather. As I write this (on Saturday, April 29), Salinas is enjoying a mixture of clouds and sunshine, with high of 83°F (28°C)… a forecast that remains pretty much the same for the next 10 days.

In the real estate market, condo prices a few blocks back from the beach start at around US$65,000… Continue reading →

top picks global property summit

Canada’s Maritime Region Offers A Tranquil Seaside Escape

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Look To The Maritimes For Canada’s Best Real Estate Buys

It started as a joke, people fleeing the United States after the election. But after putting up the website “Cape Breton If Donald Trump Wins,” creator Rob Calabrese saw more than a million visitors to the site within the first few weeks.

Then after the election, Canada’s immigration website crashed, as potential “refugees” investigated actually moving to Canada.

Thousands of people wrote to Calabrese personally, asking how they could relocate to Cape Breton.

Oddly, these people included a lot of Trump supporters.

Why?

Because houses on Cape Breton, and in all of Canada’s Maritime provinces, are a great deal for interested buyers… especially those with U.S. dollars. And, like the president himself, everyone likes a great deal. Continue reading →

Las Gavias Grand: Luxurious Ocean Views In Mazatlán, Mexico

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A Beachfront Project With Quiet Beaches And Island Views
The view from the 23rd-floor model condo was designed to impress… and it worked. The two islands I saw framed by the picture window are one of the most sought-after views in Mazatlán.

Behind the islands, the shipping channel is off in the distance. You can watch as container ships, tankers, cruise ships, and Mazatlán’s large commercial fishing and shrimp fleets enter and leave the port. In the near distance, in front of the islands, you often see dolphins and sea lions swimming in the bay.

The beach here is quiet and tranquil… removed from Mazatlán’s tourist attractions, cruise passengers, and traffic, yet close enough to be at the largest restaurant zone in 10 minutes.

Las Gavias Grand

The impressive view from the existing north tower of Las Gavias Grand

Today I’m going to show you a chance to buy into a pre-construction deal at a steep discount… Continue reading →
top picks global property summit

My Top 3 Global Property Picks From This Year’s Summit

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My Top Three Property Picks From The Global Property Summit

I just got home from spending last week at the annual Global Property Summit, where our contacts from around the world brought the best real estate offers from their respective countries. We saw a wide array of good investments.

I know everyone has their own favorites, based on their own needs and objectives. But I thought I’d pass along my own top picks from last week… the property deals that appealed to me the most.

Brazil Is Staging A Comeback, With Beach Lots Under US$50K

This year’s Global Property Summit featured a number of Brazilian offers that were popular with attendees. Many people were drawn to the Pontal Beach Lots, located within a beachfront community, for Continue reading →

canada property markets

Canadian Property Markets: An American Investor’s Best Buddy

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Now Is The Time To Buy Canadian

It was an ongoing joke throughout the presidential campaign: Americans wanting to escape the toxic political situation and move to Canada. Cape Breton, a small town on Canada’s east coast, even based an advertising campaign on it with instant viral success.

Then, for many, it stopped being a joke when they woke up Nov. 9.

Google Trends showed a massive spike in searches for “how to move to Canada” and related queries following the election results. So many people visited the Canadian Immigration website that it crashed, and this wasn’t the first time in this election cycle that this happened. The page also crashed after March’s Super Tuesday primary results.

Whether the election results produce any significant increase in U.S. immigration to Canada will take time to be seen. Already, many of the celebrities who had previously threatened leaving have fessed up that they didn’t actually mean it.

The “True North” Remains Strong And Free

The idea of escaping the United States to the Great White North is nothing new. Loyalists fleeing during the U.S. Revolutionary War, escaped slaves joining them via the Underground Railway, and war resisters crossing the border during the Vietnam War—Canada has provided a beacon of freedom for hundreds of thousands of Americans over the years. And it still does today.

More recently, the impetus for moving to Canada became more political. Much like it has this year, after President Bush’s reelection in 2004, Canada’s immigration website saw six times its average traffic. By Continue reading →

Puerto Vallarta's Most Affordable Properties

Where To Find Puerto Vallarta’s Most Affordable Properties

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Puerto Vallarta: Enjoy Rich Amenities at a Reasonable Price

Today’s strong dollar has created a lot of terrific opportunities around the world, and one of today’s best bargains is here in Mexico.

The dollar’s buying power here is up over 100% since 2008, so most everything in Mexico is now selling for half price.

Even in those expat areas where real estate trades in dollars, everything else in your life is a major bargain. Your taxes, restoration costs, furniture, upkeep, clothing, car repairs, etc., all cost half of what they did just a short time ago.

Where you’ll really see the difference is in cities that used to be expensive, in the cost of fine dining, wine, and entertainment. And there’s no better example right now than in Mexico’s famous beach resort, Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta Offers A Winter Climate That Can’t Be Beat

There’s no better place for escaping harsh winter weather than coastal Mexico right now. And Puerto Vallarta (called “PV”) is no exception.

The climate in PV is absolutely magnificent during the North American winter, with warm, dry days and cool nights. The average high in January is just over 83°F (28.8°C), while the average low is down at 62°F (16.7°C).

But it’s hot in the summertime, with August temps averaging almost 93°F (33.7°C). That may not sound like much if you live in Continue reading →