September 29, 2010
Beginning this week, two lenders are trying to sell off hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes by offering low down payments, no requirement for mortgage insurance, and up to $30,000 added to the mortgage for renovations. In addition, the real estate practitioner selling the property gets a bonus.
In some neighborhoods, these properties undercut the average listing by $100,000.
These lenders have already repaired the biggest problems with the property including roofs, plumbing, and electrical work.
Buyers who plan to live in the properties get a 15-day chance to view the homes before investors can purchase them. Investors with cash will likely snap up any properties remaining at the end of the grace period.
“Our goal is to recover as much as we can to offset our loss"...said one representative.
If you want to know more, contact me!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Ask me where these are!
So you bought a place in the sun...now what?
Here are the Q’s I would be asking…a property manager!
Outline Your Objectives
The first thing you should do is determine exactly what you are expecting the property manager to do. It doesn’t matter if you have the jargon exactly right, but be as specific as possible in regards to what tasks need to be performed and what the duties will be. You may choose to do this step before you even approach a management company about the position, or you may feel more comfortable using the company or potential property manager as a resource in specifying these duties. Some things you will want to consider include the process for securing tenants, collecting rent payments, tenant disputes, maintenance and repairs.Do Your Homework
Research the potential management company or property manager to find out as much information about them as you can. Start with the company’s website, as well as using internet search engines to yield any newsworthy items. Feel free to ask friends or fellow investors about their experience with property managers and for recommendations and contacts. Come up with a list of questions to use when meeting with a potential property manager, which are a combination of general industry questions and requirements as well as items specific to your property and expectations.Questions For The Property Manager
There are going to be many items that will be important to consider when it comes to a property manager, some of which include: How much experience does he/she have in property management? What insurance (especially in the USA), state licenses and credentials does the property manager have? Does he/she have experience in complying with housing regulations (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act)? Does he/she have proper qualifications and knowledge to handle booking and accounting information? What expenditures will be included in the property manager’s fee (such as advertisements for vacant properties)?Know The Cost Structure
When it comes to the cost of employing a property manager, most fees are determined by a combination of property location, number of properties involved in management, and the services that will be performed on behalf of the manager. Some property managers charge a flat rate, while others operate on a percentage of the property’s rent. Be sure that you are completely clear on the property manager’s cost structure, and that you and the property manager agree in advance on the financial treatment of any additional services. Also make sure that your insurance company knows you will be renting it out short term, they will probably adjust your premiums accordingly.Make It Official
Talk with a qualified attorney, as well as the property manager, to discuss safeguards that will protect you from misuse of funds and embezzlement. It’s important to sign a written agreement on all terms you have settled on with the property manager before any services take place. The paperwork should include the length of time that the property manager will be employed, including a date for renewal, as well as contingencies for a breach in contract.Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Comforts You're Used to for a Fraction the Price
“It’s so energizing, you’ll feel 10 years younger,” reports one expat, from one of the World's Easiest Places to Retire, where he’s taken up residency, slashed his expenses, and upgraded his retirement.
Almost on the equator, but at 8,000 feet (about the same as Aspen), the weather here is comfortable year round. Flowers bloom everywhere, green grass covers the hills, rivers rush by. In town, you walk on cobbled streets, alongside tidy buildings painted yellow, blue, pink, and green. But this place isn’t just pretty. It’s remarkably affordable, too. You can live comfortably here on less than $1,500 a month.
Plus there’s plenty to do – theater, orchestra – and it’s easy to meet folks with whom you have something in common. This colonial city is an intellectual hub -- it has produced more famous painters, philosophers, and writers than any other spot in its nation.
Almost on the equator, but at 8,000 feet (about the same as Aspen), the weather here is comfortable year round. Flowers bloom everywhere, green grass covers the hills, rivers rush by. In town, you walk on cobbled streets, alongside tidy buildings painted yellow, blue, pink, and green. But this place isn’t just pretty. It’s remarkably affordable, too. You can live comfortably here on less than $1,500 a month.
Plus there’s plenty to do – theater, orchestra – and it’s easy to meet folks with whom you have something in common. This colonial city is an intellectual hub -- it has produced more famous painters, philosophers, and writers than any other spot in its nation.
In another community, misty tropical mountains wrap around a crescent-moon shaped bay. Here on the Pacific the sun is bright. You can golf, shop in designer boutiques, enjoy world-class restaurants. It's a tourist destination. And estimates put the local expat population as high as 20,000 -- large enough to support the many English-speaking professionals who cater to them. Plus there's English-language theater, and you can sit in on lectures or take art walks. In other words: This is a place you'll feel connected, where things are familiar. And it won't break the bank. With a budget of $2,100 a month, you'll live well and have the beach at your doorstep every day.
But that's just the beginning...can you guess where this is?
But that's just the beginning...can you guess where this is?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Good Times in a Colonial city
This city is the oldest city on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. A few hundred years ago, several fires destroyed most of the colonial buildings. That's why so few true examples of Spanish colonial architecture exist today.
This part of the city, the so-called "second city," is steeped in history, with a real sense of tradition.
Every year, a week of concerts all over the city culminates here, with a free concert to beat all free concerts. A big stage has been erected in the plaza. The crowd is "eclectic"...surfer types, preppy soccer-moms, kids from the neighborhood...a human hodgepodge swaying to the music.
A sonorous bass sends vibrations over the cracked concrete to where I stand; it makes my feet buzz. Vendors in the plaza are selling smoky kebabs. There's even raspao, fruity snow cones you can get topped with sticky condensed milk (for five cents extra) and the powdery crunch of malt. The man making mine has no machine to crush the ice; he scrapes it with a big shaver, packing the fine crystals into a conical cup. I pay him 30 cents.
Today, this city is a mix of the contemporary and the crumbling, a study in contrasts. You find over 300 years of history here in the colonial sector.
Can you guess where this is?
Sunday, September 12, 2010
This country has, quietly and without fanfare acheived what others are trying to do
• This country checks every box when it comes to peaceful political stability and looking out for the health and welfare (both physical and fiscal) of its residents.
• It’s economically sound.
• It’s safe.
• It’s 99% energy independent.
• Its people are well-educated and they’re the happiest people in the world. Seriously. So say the world’s expert social statisticians.
All this makes for a mighty fine place to live, invest, and do business. Once you learn what’s going on here, I think you’ll be on the first flight you can find to Costa Rica.
But don't take it from me...
Listen in as on announcer explains why CNBC called one area of this country “the hottest real estate market in the world.” Find out what most people on the inside believe is the single most important thing you can do to protect your hard-earned retirement nest egg. (Your heirs will thank you for it.)
Just ask me!
• It’s economically sound.
• It’s safe.
• It’s 99% energy independent.
• Its people are well-educated and they’re the happiest people in the world. Seriously. So say the world’s expert social statisticians.
All this makes for a mighty fine place to live, invest, and do business. Once you learn what’s going on here, I think you’ll be on the first flight you can find to Costa Rica.
But don't take it from me...
Listen in as on announcer explains why CNBC called one area of this country “the hottest real estate market in the world.” Find out what most people on the inside believe is the single most important thing you can do to protect your hard-earned retirement nest egg. (Your heirs will thank you for it.)
Just ask me!
The best place to retire in 2010
This location would rank as a retiree Mecca even without this University's stellar lifelong-learning program. Residents enjoy four seasons -- but without them being too extreme. Homes are affordable, the area is dotted with golf courses and parkland, and the region is home to a renowned university medical center.
This universities senior learning program is one of the largest in the country, with more than 1,500 members. There are 100-plus courses offered every term, covering topics from Introduction to China to Alexander the Great. Plus, because most courses are offered on campus, members can mix with the younger generation in the student center, libraries, and dining halls.
This town also is a budding cultural haven. With a Museum of Art, that has a growing contemporary art collection. Concerts and Broadway hits, such as Billy Elliot and the Lion King, frequently make their way to the newly built Performing Arts Center.
Can you guess where this is in the U.S.A.?
This universities senior learning program is one of the largest in the country, with more than 1,500 members. There are 100-plus courses offered every term, covering topics from Introduction to China to Alexander the Great. Plus, because most courses are offered on campus, members can mix with the younger generation in the student center, libraries, and dining halls.
This town also is a budding cultural haven. With a Museum of Art, that has a growing contemporary art collection. Concerts and Broadway hits, such as Billy Elliot and the Lion King, frequently make their way to the newly built Performing Arts Center.
Can you guess where this is in the U.S.A.?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
How to feel up to 20 years younger almost overnight
Not far from the US, there’s a place that’s as close to a real-world “Fountain of Youth” as you’ll find anywhere in the world.
It offers near-perfect year-round weather, stunning scenery, and a 3,700+ member expat club. There are also festivals and lively social functions in the area almost every weekend of the year.
And here’s the best part. The cost of living here is about 50% less than most of America and Canada… making it one of the best places in the world to live and retire. And feel young again.
Find out how this nearby “Fountain of Youth” can make you feel up to 20 years younger… almost overnight.
It offers near-perfect year-round weather, stunning scenery, and a 3,700+ member expat club. There are also festivals and lively social functions in the area almost every weekend of the year.
And here’s the best part. The cost of living here is about 50% less than most of America and Canada… making it one of the best places in the world to live and retire. And feel young again.
Find out how this nearby “Fountain of Youth” can make you feel up to 20 years younger… almost overnight.
Friday, September 10, 2010
If you could improve your lifestyle by about 200%, would you?
What if it meant relocating to a place where the weather is always perfect...say 77º during the day and 50º at night? A place where, in a single day's drive, you could go from a sophisticated city with true cultural appeal to a tranquil pine-studded mountain hideaway... or an alpine retreat where you can bask in warm thermal waters under a starlit sky... or lush rainforest jungles full of exotically colored birds and flowers... or pristine beaches where the only footprints are yours?
This place exists. And it may just be the 'find of the century' for anyone who wants to live life like it's meant to be lived... fresh air, deliciously healthy food, the warmest, kindest, most generous people, and no lifestyle sacrifices. None.
I know what you're thinking...it's too far, it's too 'foreign,' too 'third-world'... maybe you think it's unsafe or its government isn't trustworthy?
You can enjoy a four-course lunch (soup, fruit juice, meat, salad, rice, and dessert) for $2. A taxi ride in the capital city typically costs $1. A 30-minute massage: $15. You can stay in a very nice hotel...private room with cable TV and breakfast included for less than $20.
Imagine... a brand-new two-bedroom/two-bath condo—with city-or ocean views—for less than $50,000. A hacienda-style home on an acreage in the mountains for less than $90,000. A gorgeous home with floor-to-ceiling window on two acres of hilltop overlooking the blue Pacific...just $83,000!
These aren't just the lowest prices...these are typical prices!
I call this the retirement miracle, ask me about it!
This place exists. And it may just be the 'find of the century' for anyone who wants to live life like it's meant to be lived... fresh air, deliciously healthy food, the warmest, kindest, most generous people, and no lifestyle sacrifices. None.
I know what you're thinking...it's too far, it's too 'foreign,' too 'third-world'... maybe you think it's unsafe or its government isn't trustworthy?
You can enjoy a four-course lunch (soup, fruit juice, meat, salad, rice, and dessert) for $2. A taxi ride in the capital city typically costs $1. A 30-minute massage: $15. You can stay in a very nice hotel...private room with cable TV and breakfast included for less than $20.
Imagine... a brand-new two-bedroom/two-bath condo—with city-or ocean views—for less than $50,000. A hacienda-style home on an acreage in the mountains for less than $90,000. A gorgeous home with floor-to-ceiling window on two acres of hilltop overlooking the blue Pacific...just $83,000!
These aren't just the lowest prices...these are typical prices!
I call this the retirement miracle, ask me about it!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Buying a USA vacation home by a Canadian
Here are some of the pitfalls to look our for...
Estate Taxes
U.S. estate taxes can impose a burden on the estate of Canadians who owned U.S. real estate at death.
Selling Your Property
If a Canadian sells real estate located in the U.S. , a withholding tax of 10% of the gross sales price applies.
Renting Your Property
Snowbirds who rent out their Florida condo or other real estate located in the U.S., should beware: a withholding tax of 30% normally applies to the gross amount of any rent paid to a resident of Canada.
Residency Rules
A Canadian snowbird will be treated as a resident for tax purposes if he/she meets either of two tests the lawful permanent resident (or green card) test, or the substantial presence test.
Please seek advise, or contact me for some interesting ways around these!
Estate Taxes
U.S. estate taxes can impose a burden on the estate of Canadians who owned U.S. real estate at death.
Selling Your Property
If a Canadian sells real estate located in the U.S. , a withholding tax of 10% of the gross sales price applies.
Renting Your Property
Snowbirds who rent out their Florida condo or other real estate located in the U.S., should beware: a withholding tax of 30% normally applies to the gross amount of any rent paid to a resident of Canada.
Residency Rules
A Canadian snowbird will be treated as a resident for tax purposes if he/she meets either of two tests the lawful permanent resident (or green card) test, or the substantial presence test.
Please seek advise, or contact me for some interesting ways around these!
Where is the World's Least Expensive Beach Resort?
I am going to show you a really popular hang-out on the Pacific Coast. It's not too far from this country's largest city. You'll find fashionable restaurants, trendy clubs, and a yacht club steeped in tradition.
We're not talking about somewhere in California—not even close.
In fact, this is probably the world's least expensive beach resort.
This feels more like the California I remember from my childhood 30 or 40 years ago, when there were still cozy, affordable single-family neighborhoods just a few blocks from the ocean—and you could still let your kids walk to the beach. When a short drive inland took you to countryside filled with truck farms and ranches that grew fresh produce…countryside where the air was hot and dry.
This is an upscale yet low-key beach resort. It has a long sandy beach, a mall for shopping, and a lively nightlife with plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. You can find everything from beachfront highrise condos to single-family homes.
Want to find out more...contact me!
We're not talking about somewhere in California—not even close.
In fact, this is probably the world's least expensive beach resort.
This feels more like the California I remember from my childhood 30 or 40 years ago, when there were still cozy, affordable single-family neighborhoods just a few blocks from the ocean—and you could still let your kids walk to the beach. When a short drive inland took you to countryside filled with truck farms and ranches that grew fresh produce…countryside where the air was hot and dry.
This is an upscale yet low-key beach resort. It has a long sandy beach, a mall for shopping, and a lively nightlife with plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. You can find everything from beachfront highrise condos to single-family homes.
Want to find out more...contact me!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
It's the most wonderful place in the world ...
With sophisticated historical cities, miles of unspoiled sun-kissed beaches,
fertile farmland, and temperate mountain hideaways...
This Retirement Haven
Has It All...
• Perfect weather year-round
• A U.S.-dollar-based economy
• Top-notch medical care at pennies on the dollar.
• Affordable private health insurance plans and a new free government health plan
• A retirement program that will save you thousands of dollars a year.
• The lowest cost of living we've found yet. (Expats report monthly expenses as low as $500!)
...and the world's lowest real estate prices
But would I send my mother there?
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010
Dear Reader,
If you could improve your lifestyle by about 200%, would you?
What if it meant relocating to a place where the weather is always perfect...say 77º during the day and 50º at night? A place where, in a single day's drive, you could go from a sophisticated city with true cultural appeal to a tranquil pine-studded mountain hideaway... or an alpine retreat where you can bask in warm thermal waters under a starlit sky... or lush rainforest jungles full of exotically coloured birds and flowers... or pristine beaches where the only footprints are yours?
This place exists. And it may just be the 'find of the century' for anyone who wants to live life like it's meant to be lived... fresh air, deliciously healthy food, the warmest, kindest, most generous people, and no lifestyle sacrifices. None.
fertile farmland, and temperate mountain hideaways...
This Retirement Haven
Has It All...
• Perfect weather year-round
• A U.S.-dollar-based economy
• Top-notch medical care at pennies on the dollar.
• Affordable private health insurance plans and a new free government health plan
• A retirement program that will save you thousands of dollars a year.
• The lowest cost of living we've found yet. (Expats report monthly expenses as low as $500!)
...and the world's lowest real estate prices
But would I send my mother there?
Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010
Dear Reader,
If you could improve your lifestyle by about 200%, would you?
What if it meant relocating to a place where the weather is always perfect...say 77º during the day and 50º at night? A place where, in a single day's drive, you could go from a sophisticated city with true cultural appeal to a tranquil pine-studded mountain hideaway... or an alpine retreat where you can bask in warm thermal waters under a starlit sky... or lush rainforest jungles full of exotically coloured birds and flowers... or pristine beaches where the only footprints are yours?
This place exists. And it may just be the 'find of the century' for anyone who wants to live life like it's meant to be lived... fresh air, deliciously healthy food, the warmest, kindest, most generous people, and no lifestyle sacrifices. None.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
It's official: Ecuador is the best place to live in the world. This little country came top of IL's Global Retirement Index just three days ago.
This country truly is a retirement paradise. It has the world's best climate. From snow-capped volcanoes to dense Amazon jungle to sun-drenched Pacific beaches to the famous Galapagos Islands, there's something for everyone—at prices unheard of for years in North America and Europe.
If you like the outdoors, have dreamed of owning a Spanish colonial home in a colonial city, or want to spend hours strolling on an undeveloped beach, then Ecuador will be perfect for you.
Combine this with Ecuador’s equatorial sunshine...a choice of spectacular mountain, high plains, jungle or coastal settings...plus the welcoming nature of the Ecuadorian people...and you have a combination of quality of life and investment opportunity that’s hard to beat.
Ecuador is a fascinating place to live at any price. But when a couple can live well here on less than $600 a month…it's a no-brainer
So sak me, I have beach lots (yes on the beach), custom built new homes, resale homes, condos, towns etc. You will be amazed!
This country truly is a retirement paradise. It has the world's best climate. From snow-capped volcanoes to dense Amazon jungle to sun-drenched Pacific beaches to the famous Galapagos Islands, there's something for everyone—at prices unheard of for years in North America and Europe.
If you like the outdoors, have dreamed of owning a Spanish colonial home in a colonial city, or want to spend hours strolling on an undeveloped beach, then Ecuador will be perfect for you.
Combine this with Ecuador’s equatorial sunshine...a choice of spectacular mountain, high plains, jungle or coastal settings...plus the welcoming nature of the Ecuadorian people...and you have a combination of quality of life and investment opportunity that’s hard to beat.
Ecuador is a fascinating place to live at any price. But when a couple can live well here on less than $600 a month…it's a no-brainer
So sak me, I have beach lots (yes on the beach), custom built new homes, resale homes, condos, towns etc. You will be amazed!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
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