Where to Buy an Overseas Home ?

[JustThinking]

Originally Posted by GordMay

And Frenchmen, should speak other languages (than French) in France, why?

You are right!
Of course!
Sorry!
What was I thinking!
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[rourkeh]

I would give a lot of thought to moving to or buying in Central America.
We just lived in Costa Rica for 2 years and left to go cruising. The country is very beautiful but the crime is out of control. Petty theft, breaking and entering, home invaision, robbery are all of the charts. Real estate is in a downward spiral, and their economy is in really bad shape. Very little going for the place till they make some major changes. And Costa Rica is the best of the group in Central America. What ever you decide go there and live for at least one month before you make any decisions.

[sv_renegade]

Hi, I am from Spain and have lived in the Caribean, from BC, Canada to Lima, Peru.
One of my favorite places to live with and without a boat is the Sea of Cortes near the town of San Carlos (Guaymas). Another excellent place is Panama.
Panama retirement program: world's best immigration plan
We have been here almost 3 years now and we love it! It is inexpensive, the waters of the San Blas Islands and beautiful and clean and there are no hurricanes or mayor storms to worry about it. HOWEVER, if you buy anything in Panama you should always have a lawyer and furthermore, as some one berore pointed out, live in the area you are considering to purchase something. We had a very bad experience when we purchase a home on 3 acres. When we asked about security the American owner and his S. African wife who, by the way, were also cruisers, we trusted them when they said there were no problems with security... they said the had to sell because after 2.5 years his S. African wive was not able to obtain a resident's visa and her US visa would also expire if they did not return to the US soon... we really loved the place and sign a contract which did not have a single clause on "security". To make the story short, my wife and I spent there 1 night the following morning we left doue to the lack of security - bandidos with guns shootings - three days earlier they shot 2 dogs, mistreated a worker and had a gun on the owners head while other tear apart the place... the owner gave up and gave them what they wanted... The American and his wife had been assaulted 3 times in the previous 3 months and 1 of those times he was injured with a gun shot.... The police confirmed all that and said the area is too remote for them to patrol so you have to hire your own bodyguard... !!! The American and his S African wife would not talk to us... either by phone or email... only via the lawyers and since we had nothing about security in the contract we lost our 40,250 plus ...
We still love it here in Panama. There are some bad areas but find most places very secure - even the famous Colon we find safe... the only problem we ever had in Panama was with the American and his S African wife who are also cruisers...!!!
Good luck to you finding your dream place!!!
Felipe y Paulina

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by rourkeh

I would give a lot of thought to moving to or buying in Central America.
We just lived in Costa Rica for 2 years and left to go cruising. The country is very beautiful but the crime is out of control. Petty theft, breaking and entering, home invaision, robbery are all of the charts. Real estate is in a downward spiral, and their economy is in really bad shape. Very little going for the place till they make some major changes. And Costa Rica is the best of the group in Central America. What ever you decide go there and live for at least one month before you make any decisions.

My wife just got back from Costa Rica. Her report is identical to yours!!

[svsanuk]

Belize was very nice, mainland property is still fairly cheap (currency is tied 2-1 US) and I never felt endangered except in Belize City. I would definitely consider property there!

[Ruf361]

how bout liveaboard marinas as an alternative. Hard to find info on these. What are the costs to do this in Thailand, South America, Costa Rica.

[avb3]

Here I was thinking (reasonably seriously) that Florida appears pretty cheap. A realtor friend of mine just bought a very nice condo with granite counter tops, 1100 sq ft in Cocoa Beach and paid less then 40K. His only complaint was the odd sonic boom from an overhead shuttle

[goboatingnow]

Good for you that you went with your husbands choice!
Southern France is great! .... in them movies!
Reality is obscene high crime rate, obscene cost of living, and the internationally quite unique absolute refusal of the French to speak any other language but French!

Having lived there for a while , thats not my experience, food is cheap, especially in markets and supermarkets ( see MarkJs comments in other threads), good medical services, good public service, etc and even cheaper over the border in Italy, fantastic culture, sceaney and ambience. Nice realiable climate. etc etc

Dave

[dana-tenacity]

We are seeing lots of US cruisers getting to NZ and staying.

[bewitched]

Just some thoughts:

Originally Posted by Saucy Sailoress

needs to meet the following criteria:
- Warm and tropical
- Great sailing area
- Great diving
- Great locals
- Great food
- Cheap

I only really know SE Asia for sailing, so: Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand in that order. But why buy? You can rent for next to nothing in Philippines and other such places.

Originally Posted by Saucy Sailoress

It would also be nice if it were to:
- Appreciate over time
- Be rentable to fund our cruising
- Be expat friendly!!

This is something completely different - this is all about generating income. You're at much less risk when you do this where there is a decent legal system (not in any of the places above). There's some really cheap property in USA and Europe at the moment.

I've lived in SE Asia for 15 years and not bought here. In that time I've had a number of investment properties in other countries. I've found that flats near CBD area catering for young professionals is the way to go for returns.

[beau]

I only really know SE Asia for sailing, so: Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand in that order. But why buy? You can rent for next to nothing in Philippines and other such places.

This is my plan," Head for the Philippines".

As i get older, i will probably build a bigger boat ( I am not sure why) and don't move about so much, i don't see any reason why i would want to come back to Australia or America (I lived there for 10 years).

I love asian food, love the culture, love the diving, relax, don't worry attitude.
I can't wait. I have the boat, and a women to do it with, just waiting for a weather window.

I do have a small business that imports a product (i invented) from China for the fresh fruit industry.
It doesn't make a lot of money, but enough to live on if you live on a boat and don't need to impress people

[IceDog]

As someone who has a residence in Costa Rica, I believe that it is in better shape than described by other posters. Otherwise my wife would not be there running a business while I work on the other side of the world. There is petty crime in our town but I don't know of any violent crimes committed there in years. The bigger towns have bigger problems of course. I have found the local people to be gracious and friendly everywhere I go there. Like most places, it has seen problems related to the worldwide recession. Costa Rica real estate had a bubble like the US did and now places can be bought more cheaply. I don't see it as a downward spiral though and I know of several properties that have sold near us in Costa Rica compared to none near our place in Colorado The tourism business is starting to rebound after some slow years. I am traveling there next week and will be talking to some local sailing folks about the local cruising/sailing atmosphere. On a side note, I am looking forward to spending four days sailing around the Golfo Dulce, Osa Peninsula, Drake Bay and Isla Del Cano

[Pelagic]

JustThinking’s comments about being an absent landlord rings very true…. so the question I think a cruiser should ask is:

Do I want to live on the boat and sail, or do I want the hassles of being committed to a property I am not using and getting a fairly small return for the risk and the bother?

I also believe as we age our priorities on location and available services change, ....so unless you have a very specific reason to buy a home in any given place…. Why tie yourself down prematurely?