March 10, 2014
Panama City, Panama
Dear Offshore Living Letter Reader,
Many people think buying property in another country is a risk-filled quagmire that is too complicated to overcome. Certainly buying property in a location you’re not familiar with requires due diligence and research, but that’s true whether you’re living in Chicago and want to buy a lake house in Wisconsin or living in Chicago and want to buy a beach house in Honduras. The same “foreign” effects can come into play.
A good example of all that can go wrong going wrong when buying real estate in a foreign place is the 1948 movie “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,” which follows a New York City ad executive who’s fed up with apartment living and so searches for, buys, and then renovates a farmhouse in Connecticut.
One critical mistake Mr. Blandings makes early on is not consulting with his attorney, who also happens to be his best friend, regarding the purchase terms and contract. The price that Mr. Blandings agrees to pay for his land is multiples of even the “top-gouge price for city slickers,” as his attorney-friend explains to him too late. Continue reading “How To Buy And Profit From Real Estate Overseas” »
March 6, 2014
Panama City, Panama
Dear Offshore Living Letter Reader,
This is Carnival week. Depending where in the world you find yourself, that’s more or less a big deal.
Here in Panama, Carnaval (yes, they spell it with an “a”) is a very big deal. I managed to avoid the drinking, the loud music, and the up-all-night craziness by staying in Panama City. Most all residents of the capital leave the city and travel to the interior of the country, where the real Carnavales are held in places like Las Tablas and Penonome.
The quiet has been nice, and it’s been much easier to get around the city without the usual traffic. On the other hand, the fact that all Panamanians have bugged out for their Carnavales celebrations means that most businesses in this town, including the banks, have been shut down for two or three days or longer. While the locals know nothing is open and take for granted that no work gets done during this period, the uninitiated foreigner can stumble into a productivity vacuum if he doesn’t plan ahead. Continue reading “Challenges Of Doing Business Offshore” »
