One big loss can wipe out a lot of gains. After more than two-and-a-half decades of property investing experience across 24 countries, I have learned that the hard way several times over. Here are the stories of three of my biggest failures, the investments that stand out in memory as having both cost me and […]
One important factor that makes Brazil particularly attractive to North Americans today is the extraordinary currency advantage. Right now, the dollar is trading at over 5 Brazilian reais. That means that everything from eating out to staying at a hotel to buying property comes at a significant discount. But these low property prices we’re seeing […]
I don’t try to predict currency exchange rates when shopping for real estate investments overseas. I focus on finding a good opportunity in a market I believe in. I don’t then wait to make the buy depending on whether the local currency is over- or undervalued relative to the currency I’m shopping with. In 2011, […]
For the last four years, we’ve been touting the Dominican Republic as a place where investors can find quality overseas rental property investment opportunities that don’t require huge initial investment sums. Plus, local bank financing is available in this country for nonresidents and foreigners. Today, global property investors, particularly North Americans, are starting to take […]
In 1995, I made my first real estate investment, a three-flat building in Chicago. I was able to make the purchase with US$5,000. Two-and-a-half years later, in early 1998, I sold the building for a leveraged return of 1,800%. I hadn’t planned to sell at that time. My first wife and I were divorcing, and […]
Over the weekend I read one of those Q&A articles in a mainstream financial publication. A reader had written in to ask how he should invest a windfall of US$250,000. The answer was typical mainstream financial advice that boiled down to: Determine your level of risk tolerance based on your age and then allocate some […]
Offshore Living Letter is a publication of Live and Invest Overseas. Our goal is to provide timely, actionable information on all things offshore, including: how to go offshore, diversifying your portfolio, wealth creation, protecting your assets, and much more.
