Digest: Mega-Bargains in Italy and the Most Affordable Island in the Caribbean

In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…

• Historic Homes an Hour North of Rome from €49,000

• Own in the Hill Towns of Central Italy from €25,000

• Boots on the Ground on the Caribbean’s Most Affordable Island

• The Landmark RETA Deal on Beachfront Homes in Panama

• Your Questions Answered on Hurricane Insurance and Colonial Mérida

The Eiffel Tower is here…so too are the canals of Venice and the Statue of Liberty…there’s even an Egyptian pyramid. And they are all dotted along a single, 4.2-mile-long stretch of road.

I am of course talking about the Las Vegas strip.

I’ve been in Vegas all this week speaking at a couple of conferences. As you read this, I’ll be heading down for day two of International Living’s Ultimate Go Overseas Bootcamp. If you’re here for Bootcamp, I look forward to seeing you at the event.

It’s amazing to have this opportunity to meet in Vegas with members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group. In truth, though, I’ve never been a fan of the gaudiness of this town.

I prefer the real Venetian canals to their Vegas equivalent…the genuine Trevi foundation to the replicate found at Caesars Palace…

Which is why I’ve been glued to the updates this week from my scout, Ciaran Madden, who has had boots on the ground in the heartlands of Italy…

Historic Homes an Hour North of Rome from €49,000

Before the summer, I asked Ciaran to travel to Sicily and dig into the incredible-value real estate in the Italian island’s spectacular hill towns.

Now, we’re continuing this mission on the Italian mainland.

On Sunday, Ciaran flew into Rome and set off to scout overlooked towns and villages right across central Italy. His first stop was a village that beat out 19 others around Italy to claim the title of the most beautiful village in the country (no small feat when you consider that Italy is stuffed full of them).

And yet, in this historic village just an hour north of Rome, homes are available from astonishingly low prices like €49.000.

You can read his full report from the ground here, including why he initially felt underwhelmed by this village, and why he soon discovered the reasons Italians are so enamored with it.

Own in the Hill Towns of Central Italy from €25,000

After scouting Italy’s most beautiful village, Ciaran set off into the mountainous region of Abruzzo.

There he’s been touring towns large and small, some set atop soaring hills, others in lush wine-growing valleys. And as he’s been traveling, he’s been sharing his favorite listings with me…

Among them, he found historic houses from €25,000 in a region that’s home to several ski resorts…and a large, renovated house for €140,000 in a thousand-year-old hill town that’s made headlines in the U.S. for a special program aimed at attracting new residents.

You’ll find those listings and others in the full article here.

Boots on the Ground on the Caribbean’s Most Affordable Island

Italy is not the only destination we’ve been scouting…

There’s an island in the Caribbean where condos list for insanely low prices like $15,000.

The reason these condos are so cheap? The destination is Margarita Island, part of Venezuela.

Quick recap…Venezuela should be one of the world’s richest nations. It has huge oil reserves, vast agricultural land, and stunning Caribbean islands perfect for attracting tourists. But this country has also long been mired in political and economic chaos.

If that situation where to change, however, the opportunities there could be extraordinary. (You can read more about this here.)

Because of this, I’ve had Venezuela on my radar for a number of years. And I’m particularly interested in Isla Margarita. Known as the “Pearl of the Caribbean,” it has around 70 beaches, including some of Venezuela’s best. Its pristine beaches like these that once drew thousands of tourists to this island. If and when things stabilize, I’m confident tourists will come back there.

Since the collapse of the tourism industry, property prices have fallen to shockingly low valuations on Margarita, like the $15,000 condo my team and I found during our research.

But I wanted to get boots on the ground there to figure out the real story. So I asked a seasoned real estate investor and member of my Real Estate Trend Alert group based in Venezuela, Jean-Marc, to scout Margarita Island.

He recently spent a week on the island and very soon I’ll be getting his full report. When I do, I’ll let you know what he uncovered. Stay tuned for that…

The Landmark RETA Deal on Beachfront Homes in Panama

Beyond our scouting, this was a landmark week for my Real Estate Trend Alert group.

Earlier this week, I brought RETA members a deal to own one of 12 spacious beachfront homes in the unique master-planned beach community of Playa Caracol, set on the nicest, closest beach to booming, cosmopolitan Panama City.

This was an exceptionally rare opportunity.

In the 16-plus year history of RETA, I’ve never before found a deal on homes right on the beach…until this one. This deal was a RETA first, and given the scarcity of true beachfront homes around the world, potentially a last!

As I anticipated, the response to this deal among members was extraordinary…

Congratulations to the lucky RETA members who got in! I expect these true beachfront homes will be worth $310,000 more five years after delivery.

This render gives you an idea of how utterly beachfront these homes are. Although renders shouldn’t be considered final they give us a great idea of what to expect.

Your Questions Answered

Have a question or comment for me or my team? A question about owning overseas? A destination you’d like us to scout. Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a few questions I got from your fellow readers…

Ingrid B. asks: Hello Ronan, I was interested to read about the recent deal you brought RETA members in Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, but I have never owned property in the Caribbean and with climate change I was wondering about the risk of hurricanes? Do people buy hurricane insurance?

Ronan says: Hi Ingrid, thanks for your question. It’s an important one, especially if you’re buying anywhere that is prone to extreme weather events like hurricanes.

First, a brief recap on the Cap Cana deal. In September, I brought RETA members a chance to own stunning condos in the ultra-luxurious master-planned community of Cap Cana, set on the shores of the Caribbean. These stunning two-bed condos are perfectly located…just a stroll from a jaw-dropping white-sand beach. Plus, they have incredible ocean-view amenities like an infinity pool, bar, restaurant and gym.

The RETA-only price from these condos was $382,400. I bought alongside members in this deal. Now the developer has already sent word he’s raising prices and two-bed condos similar to those available to RETA members from $384,400 are now listed at $440,000. That’s an uplift of $55,600 in two months!

Now, regarding the weather…

Hurricanes do impact the Caribbean…just like they do Florida (as we’ve unfortunately seen recently) and many other parts of the U.S. and the wider region. So, the key thing is to be prepared. And the best way to do that is to make sure you have hurricane insurance.

If you own in a residential community, your condo community should have hurricane insurance (this is done through the HOA). So, check that detail. With this in place, you’re protected. If you have a standalone house, you’ll need to organize your own insurance.

I will say that in order for your property to be very badly impacted, a lot of things would have to go wrong (for example, your area would have to take a direct hit). That’s not to say it couldn’t happen, but the chances of a high level of damage are on the lower end of the scale of probability. But still, it’s very important to ensure you’re fully protected.

If this concern would still keep you up at night, remember you can look to own in a country like Panama, which is outside the hurricane belt.

Arabella C. says: Hi Ronan, you recently asked for feedback about Mérida. I think it’s a dreadful place. Nothing like what it was 50 years ago, when it was a really charming small town. Today it is a giant hot dusty dry overcrowded big city, with lots of barking dogs and just a few charming streets left. I spent three weeks there in 2022 and would never go back.

Ronan says: Hi Arabella. I appreciate your feedback and am always keen to know what readers think about the places my team and I scout…and I welcome differing viewpoints.

When it comes to Mérida, I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree. In my opinion, Mérida has actually improved in the last number of years. Go back some decades and the center of this city was rundown and had fallen into disrepair, but the last few decades have seen Mérida undergo a renaissance, driven in part by the many North Americans and Europeans who visit and have made homes here.

Today, I think it’s one of the world’s most charming colonial cities. It boasts splendid parks, leafy cobblestone streets, art-filled galleries, live music, and fantastic food scene. It’s a thriving city, and its residents are entrepreneurial and forward-looking, meaning it has modern infrastructure and first-class services. And it’s not just foreigner visitors who have been attracted to Mérida in recent years. Mexico’s well-heeled come here to do business and raise their families.

Personally, it’s a place I love spending time. I’ve visited on numerous occasions, as have members of my team. In fact, my Panama-based team member Oliver Lovett was there recently…you can read his report from Mérida here.

And recently, I compiled a special report for readers of Your Overseas Dream Home that goes into more detail about just how attractive Mérida is as well as information on some of the incredible real estate bargains we’ve found there. If you missed it, you can access that report here.

Your Daily Dream Home

Le Quillio, Côtes-d’Armor, France

$64,700

This cozy one-bedroom property has a living room with stone fireplace, kitchen area with French doors, and shower room, on the first floor. Upstairs, a large attic room could become a cathedral-ceiling bedroom. There’s also an attached barn with its own fireplace.

The property includes a garden, mature trees, and access to a wooded area across the lane. Located in a small, friendly hamlet, it’s ten minutes from a market town with essential amenities and fifteen minutes from Lac de Guerlédan’s recreational activities. A major town is within twenty minutes’ drive.

The house is in Le Quillio, tucked away in the rolling hills of Brittany. It’s known for its stunning granite church, a listed historic monument dating from the sixteenth century with remarkable carved woodwork. The surrounding Breton countryside features a patchwork of green fields, ancient woodlands, and picturesque walking trails.

The area is famous for its authentic Breton culture, with local festivals celebrating Celtic music taking place throughout the year.