In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- My Entire Team are Hitting the Roading for a Summer of Scouting
- The Secret to Staying in Dream Homes For Free
- Your Questions Answered: Where to Learn More About Caminha
We’re hitting the road!
Not for summer vacation though…for a summer of scouting.
Virtually every one of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) scouts, and myself, are heading out to put boots on the ground over the next few weeks.
We’re looking for opportunities in France and Greece…Panama’s Pacific coast and its bustling capital…Los Cabos and La Paz in Baja California…
As I write this, my newest team member Alan Gorevan is exploring the towns and villages around Bordeaux, Frances famous wine city.
My newest scout, Alan Gorevan, is scouting the picturesque towns and villages around Bordeaux in southwest France.
Bargains on Bordeaux’s Doorstep
Bordeaux is one of the most attractive and appealing cities in France. It’s a place steeped in history—with more protected buildings than any city in the country outside Paris. And of course, it’s a global center of wine production. The world-renowned vineyard regions of Saint-Émilion and Médoc lie just beyond the city.
The wines of Saint-Émilion are world famous and lie just beyond the buzzing foodie city of Bordeaux…Alan is checking it all out right now.
Bordeaux was once affordable. No longer. Prices have climbed post-pandemic, as Parisians have been drawn here by Bordeaux’s lower cost of living, access to high-speed trains, and overall quality of life.
Look to the attractive towns outside Bordeaux, however, and you can live the idyllic French lifestyle, with everything Bordeaux offers on your doorstep. That’s what Alan’s digging into.
Here’s a note he sent from the road…
“I just arrived in Marmande. Nestled between Bordeaux and Toulouse, this charming town is known for its agricultural bounty (particularly tomatoes), its laid-back lifestyle, and understated charm,” says Alan.
“Marmande is also home to the Garorock music festival, one of France’s biggest and boldest music festivals, held annually on the lush Plaine de la Filhole, a green area along the banks of the Garonne River. I watched preparations for the event begin.
“At Marmande’s heart is a lovely Old Town where I met broker Gregoire Souillé. He showed me houses closes to the heart of the town, in central Marmande’s most residential district. You can own a large home here, 56 miles from Bordeaux, from just €225,000. That feels special,” Alan says.
You’ll be hearing more from Alan’s trip soon.
As Alan explores France, my senior scout Eoin Bassett is about to hop on a plane to Greece…
Greece’s Undiscovered Mainland Coast
In just a few days, my scout Eoin Bassett will be setting off on a mission—one that could prove to be something truly special.
This trip takes him to a quiet, under-the-radar stretch of Greece’s mainland coast. It’s a place where the mountains meet the sea, where ancient ruins stand watch over turquoise coves, and where sleepy fishing villages are just beginning to feel the first gentle ripples of change. It’s beautiful, it’s authentic—and it’s the kind of place where smart money shows up early.
While the Greece’s islands get most of the attention, the country’s mainland also has lots to offer. My scout Eoin Bassett will be exploring an under-the-radar spot in this part of Greece next week.
Tourism here is still low-key. International buyers are scarce. But look closely, and you’ll spot the telltale signs of an up-and-coming destination: new boutique hotels, beach clubs with polished wood decks and chilled rosé, and local developers whispering about new projects on the horizon. It’s the kind of place that could soon see a transformation—not into the next Santorini or Dubrovnik, but into something more refined, more grounded… and potentially more rewarding.
Eoin’s going to walk the beaches, talk to the locals, meet some developers, and get behind the scenes.
Where else…
Panama City’s Luxury Enclave
My scout Ciaran Madden is hunting for opportunity on the other side of Atlantic. In early July, Ciaran’s setting off on a trip that’s going to take him from cosmopolitan Panama City to the country’s Pacific shores…then north to Los Cabos and from there to La Paz.
A key stop will be Santa Maria, an exclusive master-planned community just outside Panama City’s downtown core. It covers 692 acres, every inch set apart from the outside world. Only residents and invited guests are let through the gates.
Santa Maria boasts a Nicklaus Design golf course, the best in Panama, and only those who live in the community can play there.
It’s got a Marriott Luxury Collection hotel (with a chic café and gourmet restaurant you can patronize whenever you want to a quick bite). There’s lush landscaping and green space throughout. And the top-notch country club is now open.
Top executives from the 150+ multinationals doing business in the city love to rent in Santa Maria because of the high-end amenities and proximity to their offices, their kids’ schools, and some of the best shopping and dining in the city…
I brought RETA members a chance to own in Ocean House in Santa Maria in October 2020.
Last year, my scouts toured a two-bed condo there bought by a RETA member, which rents for $2,600 a month. Their contact on the ground told them that if he sold the condo tomorrow it would likely list for $368,529.
The RETA price was $268,200. That would make it a gross yield of over 11.6% renting long-term. And an uplift of $100,329.
Santa Maria Golf and Country Club is the largest single area of open green space in Panama City, other than protected areas and national parks.
Now, I’m closing in on a new deal in Santa Maria and Ciaran’s putting boots on the ground. (This will be a RETA members-only deal…to become a RETA member, and be in with the chance to get in on this and all future RETA deals, go here.)
Baja’s Chic Beach City…and its Newest Boomtown
After Panama, Ciaran’s heading north to continue our scouting of Los Cabos, site of some of the best deals in the history of our club.
Ciaran will be digging deep on San Jose del Cabo, one of the two cities that makes up Los Cabos along with Cabo San Lucas.
San Jose del Cabo is a trendy, artsy enclave known for its colonial architecture, art walks,farm-to-table dining, markets, craft beer emporiums, concept stores…
It’s also home to some incredible beaches and high-end luxury real estate. We’ve had previous RETA deals close by San Jose del Cabo, but never one within it. Now I may be closing in on something very special…
San Jose del Cabo has stunning colonial architecture, incredible restaurants, and a dynamic art scene.
After Cabo, Ciaran’s heading north to La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur. This is a stunningly beautiful place. Cactus-studded hills roll down to glorious white-sand beaches and the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez. Here, you can swim with sea lions at the Espíritu Santo Island National Park just offshore…snorkel and scuba among whale sharks and sea turtles…or fish for tuna, dorado, or marlin.
I believe La Paz is a true next place. Now, my scout Ciaran is about to dig deep on the opportunities here…
Years ago, I called this a place to watch. Now it’s coming into its own. Its three-mile-long malecón has been spruced up. Retirees, digital nomads, and trendy work-from-anywhere folks are coming from Austin, San Francisco, and Mexico City, seeking a quieter, more affordable alternative to Los Cabos. La Paz is a true “next place.” Ciaran’s going to dig deep.
Also in July, I’ll be going back to the town of Caminha, where I’ll be sharing photos and updates on the historic home I bought for €410,000…and digging more into the opportunities in this rapidly evolving corner of northern Portugal.
All this and more to come…
As we’re on the topic of travel, for a while now, I’ve been mulling over an idea that allows you to stay in incredible places around the world…without paying a cent.
The Secret to Staying in Dream Homes For Free
I recently caught up with an old college friend who travels the world with his wife and kids. They stay in wonderful places around the globe…and haven’t paid a cent for a hotel or rental in years.
They have stayed in incredible properties from Costa Rica to Berlin to Sardinia…the types of properties that you generally won’t find for rent and if you did, even a couple of nights in them would cost a small fortune.
The beautiful Italian island of Sardinia is just one of the many places around the world where my college friend and his family have stayed for free…find out how they do it here.
This isn’t a new way of finding accommodation, in fact it’s been around since the 1950s and was a movement started by teachers, primarily to facilitate travel for educators during their summer breaks.
This idea really took off in the 1990’s when an online platform (which is still around today) was launched, making it easier for people to find these amazing properties to stay in.
It’s a really interesting idea to me and one that gels nicely with owning real estate overseas.
What to know what I’m talking about? Read all about it here.
Your Questions Answered
Have a comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from readers recently…
Trisha Z. asks: How do we find out more information about Caminha? We are interested in buying a home. Thank you.
Ronan says: Hi Trisha. Caminha, in Portugal’s far north, really has charmed me…and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you.
As a regular reader you’ll know that I’ve been scouting this part of Portugal for a while now, as have members of my team. This part of Portugal is beautiful…historic…culture-rich, with incredible beaches and an appealing, temperate climate.
In recent years Portugal has become one of the world’s most popular destinations among vacationers, expats, and real estate investors.
But in the rush to the southern coast of the Algarve and the cities of Lisbon and Porto, this region of northern Portugal has been overlooked…and seriously undervalued.
Late last year I bought a 5,000-square-foot mansion just outside Caminha.
This is the view from the entrance to my new home in Caminha. That’s Spain just across the water.
After buying that property, I compiled a special buyers guide on this region of Portugal especially for RETA members, The RETA Guide to Investing in Portugal’s “Undiscovered North”. You’ll find it here. (If you’re not yet a RETA member and would like access to this guide, you can learn more a RETA membership here.)
In this guide, I…
- Walk you through the buying process I used.
- Highlight the best website/app to search for listings.
- List contact information for the agent, engineer, attorney and bank that I used.
- Give a complete breakdown of the closing costs.
If you’re interested in buying a home in this part of Portugal, I really think you’ll find this guide helpful.
I spent a couple of days in Caminha at the end of last month, checking in on some of the minor renovations my wife and I are making to our new house.
When I came back, I sat down with my senior researcher Margaret Summerfield and we discussed everything I uncovered on that whistle stop visit, including…how my wife and I are managing the renovation work…why a broker won’t find you a home in this part of the world… How the property market in Caminha has changed in the nine months since we bought…and what’s the X factor that makes Caminha so special?
Wishing you good real estate investing,
