In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- How One Property Can Unlock a Life of Perpetual Travel
- VIDEO: A $400 Million Bet Is About to Reshape This Coast
- Stunning Ocean-view Villa—Price Slashed by $59,000
- Own a Tuscan Dream Home for $285k
- Your Questions Answered on Buying in the Dominican Republic
Hello from Cabo!
Since I first bought here at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula more than a decade ago, this place has become a winter refuge for me.
A perfect-weather escape.
I love the laidback seaside vibe…the natural beauty of the desert and mountains meeting the sea in dramatic fashion…the vast stretches of golden-sand beach…
Usually, when I’m here, I stay in my condo in the Copala community in the 5-star Quivira Resort. I bought this condo in 2015 in an off-market deal I brought to my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group.
I use the group-buying power of all RETA members to negotiate exclusive, off-market deals with developers. That means RETA members get in first on best-in-class communities…at prices ordinary investors never see.
The RETA-only price for the Copala condos was $336,156. Last year, an identical condo in the same community was listing for $729,000—an uplift of nearly $393,000.
I rent out this condo when I’m not using it. This year, my scouting schedule meant I wasn’t sure which dates I would be able to return to Cabo. So, I’ve allowed my renter to remain in situ (and keep paying me $3,000 per month).
So, I’m writing to you today from a luxury villa in the Mavila community in Quivira. In 2018, RETA members could buy these villas from $428,222. Right now, one of these is listed for $1.1 million.
These villas are stunning. But I’m not spending a cent to stay here thanks to a repeatable strategy that you can use to unlock free stays around the world…
Cabo is my perfect winter base. I love the warm, dry weather…the stunning beaches…the rolling desert hills…the world-class golf…
How One Property Can Unlock a Life of Perpetual Travel
Recently, I began experimenting with house-swapping—earning points when guests stay in properties like my beachfront condo on Portugal’s Silver Coast, then redeeming those points for stays in exceptional homes around the world.
Right now, for example, I’m using off-season time in Portugal to enjoy a luxury villa in Los Cabos…at a cost of $0 per night.
This isn’t the old model of swapping keys with another family on the same dates. Today’s platforms allow you to “bank time,” converting otherwise idle weeks in your real estate into stays in destinations people dream about.
It’s a strategy that works best with the kind of best-in-class real estate I’ve always favored—properties with global appeal, strong amenities, and locations that attract steady demand.
Here I explain how the model works …and why the right overseas property can deliver far more than rental income alone.
A photo I snapped in stunning Cabo, where I’m currently staying in a luxury villa for free, thanks to joining the house-swapping community. Read more on the topic here.
VIDEO: A $400 Million Bet Is About to Reshape This Pacific Coast
When my team and I scout the world, often what we’re looking for is a “Path of Progress.”
I use the term Path of Progress to describe one of the most powerful—and repeatable—patterns I’ve witnessed in over two decades of scouting global real estate:
When new infrastructure unlocks a desirable destination, values often rise.
It’s not complicated. Governments, developers, and private capital pour money into a region—building airports, highways, cruise terminals, resorts… That investment can change everything. It brings people. Jobs. Tourism. Demand.
One of the most powerful potential Paths of Progress I’m tracking today is in Nicaragua.
Along Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast, a $400 million highway is nearing completion—stitching together previously isolated beach zones and transforming how this region functions.
I put boots on the ground in the region in November, and the change already underway is striking.
To dig deeper on what this means on the ground, Ciaran Madden, editorial director of my RETA group, recently recorded a video conversation with Zach Lunin—a longtime RETA contact, real estate broker, and rental manager who’s been living and working along Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast for 25 years.
Click here to watch the full conversation now…
RETA Editorial Director Ciaran Madden and broker Zach Lunin dig into the $400 million coastal highway project transforming Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast…and what it means for the future of the region. Click above to view.
Stunning Ocean-view Villa—Price Slashed by $59,000
Sticking with Nicaragua…
My primary goal when scouting is to find off-market deals I can bring to my RETA group. Those deals give RETA members the chance to get in first on incredible new communities in the world’s most desirable destinations.
But from time to time, I also hear of a one-off deal that demands urgent attention. Recently, one such opportunity crossed my desk. A villa with stunning ocean views in Nicaragua.
This is a property I’ve seen with my own eyes…
While scouting Nicaragua’s southwestern Pacific coast in November, I toured this four-bed ocean-view villa overlooking jungle-clad hills and the vast expanse of the Pacific.
The house is just north of San Juan del Sur, overlooking Nacascolo bay. It sits just off the new coastal highway. It used to be a 10-minute drive from the center of San Juan. Now, with the new road, it’s more like three minutes. Since my visit, the owners have cut the price—bringing it down to just $380,000, or about $146 per square foot.
This is an incredible opportunity for the right person…
Get all the details behind this flash deal.
This four-bed ocean-view villa is located just north of San Juan del Sur on Nicaragua’s southwestern Pacific coast. Get all the details here.
Own a Tuscan Dream Home for $285k
As I write, my scout, Ciaran Madden, is about to put boots on the ground in Tuscany…
Tuscany is a landscape of vineyard-stitched hills, medieval towns, and honey-colored stone farmhouses that buyers have been drawn to for decades. This can be a blue-chip market. Folks pay millions for estates in the hills here. But you’ll also find incredible bargains…when you know where to look.
In the coming weeks, Ciaran is going to dig into all of this…the bargains, the blue-chip luxury, the towns that offer real value and livability. Stay tuned. More on what he uncovers soon…
This week, in Your Overseas Dream Home, we spotlighted a property that shows the kinds of incredible homes you’ll find in this region—a restored 17th-century stone house set on nearly seven acres in Chianti Classico, priced at about $285,000. It recently featured on our Your Overseas Dream Home Instagram account.
Read more about this property here.
This stone house dating from the 1600s is located beside a natural spring and a crystal-clear, river where you can swim. Read more 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 a reader recently…
Martha W. asks: Hi Ronan. I enjoy following your adventures around the world. I have a question about the Dominican Republic. If I buy there, do I have the same rights as a local? Or is it different when it’s a foreigner making the purchase?
Ronan says: Hi Martha, and thanks for your question.
It’s perfectly legal for foreigners to buy and own property in the Dominican Republic. There are no restrictions on foreigners buying real estate in the Dominican Republic, which is one reason why it’s a top Caribbean destination for real estate buyers.
Foreigners and expats can enjoy the same rights as Dominican nationals when it comes to buying real estate. And, as a foreigner, you can buy anything from beachfront villas to apartments, to plots of land.
I’ve brought my RETA group some incredible deals here.
For instance, last June, I brought RETA members an off-market deal in the ultra-luxurious master-planned community of Cap Cana, set on a postcard-perfect stretch of Caribbean coastline.
Members could own luxury condos in the amenity-rich community of Azul Garden from a RETA-only price of $380,400. Not long after we launched this deal, the developer sent word he was already raising prices and two-bed condos similar to those available to RETA members from $380,200 were now listed for $420,000. That’s $39,800 more in three months!
If you want to unlock access to incredible deals like this, learn more about joining RETA here.
Juanillo beach in Cap Cana, in the Dominican Republic, is a contender for the best beach on earth. This is a place where I’ve brought RETA members deals.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you have a question about buying real estate overseas or have suggestions for destinations my team and I should put on our scouting list, drop me a line here.
