‘Tis The Season!

March 2, 2015
Panama City, Panama

Dear Offshore Living Letter Reader,

If you’re an American, it’s that time of year again. Time to begin preparing to meet your April 15 obligations.

I meet mine each year by filing an extension. Living overseas allows me an automatic extension to June 15, but better, I think, to file the formal extension Form 4868 to get a full added six months, to Oct. 15.

If you’re an American who’s been researching options for diversifying your life offshore, I’m sure you’ve heard about Form 8938, created under FATCA, and the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report). These two filing requirements have been written up and discussed in the press ad nauseam. Still, confusion abounds. Plus, this year, we Americans have another new compliance obligation to do with the Affordable Care Act, creating even more uncertainty.

A reader wrote in over the weekend asking if she needs to fill out the FBAR or Form 8938 with her 2014 return. She has signed a contract to purchase a piece of property overseas, she explained, for which she wired the purchase funds to Continue reading “IRS Tax Filing Requirements For Americans Overseas” »

23 Current Top Global Property Investment Options All In One Room

Feb. 26, 2015, Panama City, Panama

Dear Offshore Living Letter Reader,

In a few weeks, I’ll be hosting my annual Global Property Summit in Panama. The schedule is full, and I’m trying to find room for more developers with appealing offers who have presented themselves in recent weeks. The number of good opportunities for diversifying into real estate overseas is increasing as we continue to move into what I’m calling a Golden Age of global property investing.

Investing pre-construction, which gained a bad rap post-2008, is again a viable option. If you were a pre-construction investor stung by losses in pre-2008 bubble markets from Florida to Spain, you may be understandably wary. However, in certain markets, pre-construction is again interesting. I recommend you take a look at Istanbul, for example, where the economy is strong, the middle class is growing, and local housing can’t keep up with demand. A pre-construction investment in this market could be a very low-cost way to realize quick profits.

The leverage provided by investing in an apartment before it is completed can be Continue reading “Lief Simon Hosts Annual Global Property Summit In Panama” »