A developer I work with in Brazil wrote to me this week to say that several recent reservations he’s received from would-be American buyers have been cancelled after the buyers have spoken with their financial advisors. Reasons these financial advisors have counseled their clients to pull out of purchases after having signed contracts include: It’s […]
A friend I caught up with last week in Medellin, an American, told me with a grin that he’d already completed and filed his FBAR for this year. He was pleased with himself for getting it in early…until I reminded him that, starting this year, the FBAR must be filed electronically. My friend had filled […]
One of the benefits of hosting conferences around the world is the chance they give me to spend focused time with key contacts in key markets. It’s at our conferences that I find out about ear-to-the-ground kinds of opportunities that usually don’t make it beyond a small circle of investor-friends. This week in Medellin, for […]
The first viewing was a one-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a den on Avenida Balboa. The den could be converted into a small bedroom to make the unit a two-bedroom. Why did the developer not package the property this way in the first place? Probably due to concerns over zoning density. Other apartments along Avenida Balboa […]
A reporter from the mainstream press contacted me recently asking if I could introduce him to an American who has given up his (or her) citizenship. The reporter is doing a story on the growing number Americans expatriating and wanted a firsthand story to tell. Unfortunately, none of the people I know who have expatriated […]
A reader wrote in over the weekend to enlighten me on the costs of LLCs. Specifically, he wanted to let me know that setting up an LLC in New Mexico is much cheaper than the range of costs I referenced for setting up LLCs in the offshore jurisdictions I wrote about recently. I’m afraid this […]
Someone recently told me about a scam not uncommonly perpetrated in Panama. In Panama, when someone files a lawsuit against you, he can have your assets or at least part of your assets frozen while the suit is being argued to protect against you moving them out of the country before the case is settled. […]
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to a new opportunity in Brazil. The response has been strong, and one of the biggest reasons is that the developer allows investors to choose the currency for their investments from among several hard currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, Canadian dollar, and Singapore dollar. […]
Real estate has always made sense to me as an asset allocation, but I’m more persuaded today than ever that foreign property should be part of every investment portfolio. You can’t watch everything going on in the United States right now and not be persuaded that holding real assets in the form of real estate […]
Last week, while we were all recovering from Christmas and preparing for New Year’s, the guy in charge of the tax department in Panama got an idea. “I know how to bring in more tax revenue,” this guy seems to have said to himself one morning. “I’ll change the country’s approach to taxation!” And in […]