Digest: City Condos in Uruguay and Charming Villas in Mexico

In this week’s digest:

• Special Report: Colonial Homes in Mérida from $126,000
• Lock-and-Leave Escape Pads in Vibrant Cities in Latin America
• Our Upcoming Scouting and RETA Member-only Deals
• Your Questions Answered on the Cost of Living in Montenegro

I regularly ask Overseas Dream Home readers for scouting ideas or to share where they want to own overseas. Here’s an email I got from one of your fellow readers…

Debbie F. says “Looking at France, Italy and Greece right now. Sorry, have to make up our minds. LOL.”

It’s a wonderful message, one gratefully received. (If you’d like to share you ideas or goals, send me an email or even a video message here.)

This email highlights the incredible opportunities available to us when we look overseas. France, Italy, and Greece all offer stunning lifestyles and, in some cases, amazing investment opportunities.

But it also spotlights the need to think beyond countries and drill down into destinations. Here’s what I mean…

France, Italy, and Greece have some of the best food, culture, cities, beaches, museums, and mountains on the planet. But destinations within them can be wildly different in terms of language, culture, climate, and so much more.

Consider…a town on the French Riviera likely has more in common with a town on the Italian Riviera, just a touch further east, than with a town in the northwestern French region of Brittany, which sits just across the English Channel from the U.K. and has a similar climate to Britain.

Likewise, towns in the Italian Lake District, say around Lake Como, have as much or more in common with Swiss towns to the north than with Italian towns on the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia or Sicily.

That’s why I always encourage people to think beyond countries when profiling themselves.

What climate do you want? What lifestyle? Do you want the mountains or the beach (or both)? A bustling city or a small historic town?

When you nail down your preferences, often you’ll find that your final few options will be a number of very similar destinations that span several very different countries.

That’s why here in Overseas Dream Home, you’ll rarely see us talk about a country. Rather we stick to specific destinations or regions within countries.

Then we drill down… dig deep…and show you the lifestyles that exist in those places and the opportunities you’ll find there.

That’s what we were doing this week with our new special report highlighting the incredible city of Mérida…

Special Report: Own a Colonial Home in Mexico from $126,000

Mérida is a perfect example of the point I was making above…

This stunning colonial city is in the Yucatán Peninsula, a place best known for coastal destinations like Cancun, with its all-inclusive beach resorts…the thriving beach city of Playa del Carmen…and the chic, trendy beach town of Tulum.

But Mérida is something entirely different.

Set inland, this city has incredible history and culture. This is a long-established city with lots of old money. In fact, it was once home to more millionaires that any other city on the planet!

Today, the streets of Mérida reflect this. It’s leafy, vibrant, artsy, and walkable. And it’s ranked the second safest city in all of North America (after Quebec).

Mérida gets its fair share of expats and second-home owners, particularly folks coming for a few months at a time to escape the winter and soak up the sun, culture, and rich history. Yet, it also flies under the radar to a certain degree and homes here can be surprisingly affordable.

This city deserves a bigger spotlight, so this week my team prepared a brand-new special report on Mérida.

This report highlights the history of the city and the incredible homes you can own there, such as a two-bed fixer-upper within walking distance of the city’s major attractions for $126,000 and a vast, seven-bed villa, with a pool, jacuzzi and large garden with fruit trees, for $313,513.

Get all the details in your new special report, Own a Colonial Home in Mexico from $126,000.

This report is free…a special benefit to you as an Overseas Dream Home reader. Click here to read it now.

Lock-and-Leave Escape Pads in Vibrant Cities in Latin America

Also this week, we explored some of your other options in Latin America…

Latin America is home to some of the world’s most vibrant cities…places that offer stunning environments and culture-rich lifestyles…

Cities in Latin America can also offer incredible value. These can be ideal locations to find an affordable lock-and-leave escape pad…an overseas house that you use as and when you like, simply locking up and walking away when you need to return home or move on.

This week in Your Overseas Dream Home, we highlighted listings in three amazing cities.

We spotlighted a one-bed in Uruguay’s incredible capital of Montevideo for just $135,000…a 1,600-square-foot, three-bed condo in a community with a pool in the artsy haven of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for $225,000…and a two-bed in the heart of Costa Rica’s capital, San José, for just $185,000.

Details on those listings and those cities are in the full article here.

Our Upcoming Scouting and RETA Member-only Deals

In terms of our upcoming scouting and RETA deals, we have hugely exciting things in the works…

My team recently spent two days together in the small coastal town of Cobh in County Cork, Ireland. Members of the team jetted in from around the world to examine the incredible members-only deals in the pipeline for my Real Estate Trend Alert  group and to map out scouting trips for the remainder of 2024.

Here’s what we have planned…

I’m about to bring members an urgent and imminent new RETA-only deal in Montenegro, dubbed Europe’s “Hidden Riviera.” (More details on that below…)

In the stunning beach destination of Playa del Carmen, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, I’ve begun work on a superb luxury deal on beachfront real estate. There’s nothing like it at our RETA-only price…if I get this one across the line, it will be a phenomenal opportunity.

In Panama I’m working on a deal on luxurious homes right on the sand of a stunning Pacific beach. I’m also working on a new deal in Cabo. And I’m close to a deal in the next-level, ultra-luxurious community of Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic.

Then there’s our scouting. On our list for the second half of 2024 is Greece, Panama, Spain, Taiwan…

You’ll find all the details here in this article here.

The second half of 2024 is shaping up to be the most incredible in the 16-year history of my RETA group.

And you’ll be getting all our immediate, boots-on-the-ground takes and insights right here in Overseas Dream Home.

Questions and Feedback

Have a question or comment? Share it here. Here’s one I got from an Overseas Dream Home reader…

Susan P. asks: Hello from Canada. I would really like to know more information about Kotor, Montenegro in general from someone who has had “boots on the ground.”

For example, restaurant prices, lodging, food market prices, is it walkable? What is the policing system and is it safe? What are the preferred spoken languages?

I really enjoyed living in Europe and visiting, as brief as that was. I enjoy beach life also. I’m looking for one special place and I am trying to narrow it down.

Ronan says: Hi Susan, if you’re looking for a special place, put Montenegro at or near the top of your list. Montenegro boasts one of the most dramatic coastlines in Europe. Running for 183 miles along the Adriatic Sea, it’s liberally sprinkled with historic towns, lively beach resorts, secluded coves and white-stone fishing villages, all punctuated by strips of fine sand and pebbled beaches.

The Bay of Kotor is often referred to as Europe’s southernmost fjord. It’s a grand amphitheater sculpted by nature and history, its waters reflecting the encircling limestone cliffs. The town of Kotor, the jewel at the heart of the bay, stands as a sentinel of history. Its old town is a labyrinth of cobbled streets and hidden squares.

Montenegro’s government has been actively investing in infrastructure to support the growth of the luxury travel market. Money is pouring in…infrastructure is spreading along the coast. And the big brands of luxury travel have a presence here now. A Hyatt Regency opened last year, you’ll find a One&Only resort, and to stay a night in the Regent Porto Montenegro can cost $700.

So, this destination attracts a high-end clientele. That said, the Bay of Kotor offers a quieter experience than the more commercialized, high-end sections of the French and Italian rivieras. You’ll find exquisite food, incredible scenery and you don’t have to pay astronomical prices.

For instance, a three-course meal in a mid-priced restaurant will cost you roughly €50 for two. (The euro is the official currency in Montenegro. The country is hoping to join the European Union.) Food in markets is quite inexpensive. You’ll get a bottle of wine for €7…a liter of milk for €1.50. The price of lodgings is difficult to determine…it varies massively depending on the season, but figure on €150 and up per night for a nice hotel in summer.

The official spoken language is Montenegrin, though you’ll find that English is widely spoken. And Montenegro is very safe. The Kotor Old Town area is walkable, well-lit, and there are frequent police patrols.

Safe…peaceful…beautiful…luxurious—Kotor has a huge amount to offer. This destination is truly special. And very soon, I’ll be bringing members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group a major new deal here…

This will be a chance to own luxury bay-view condos close to the old walled town of Kotor for incredible, off-market pricing. In fact, I expect gains of €201,643 five years after delivery on our upcoming RETA members-only deal. (That’s $215,587.)

I’ll be unveiling the full details of this deal to RETA members very soon, so stay tuned. (If you’re not yet a RETA member, but would like to get this deal briefing, there’s still time to join my group. You’ll be sure to get all my insider information and access to this incredible deal. Details here.)

Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert