In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- The Best Places to Buy in Costa Rica
- Own a Little Piece of History in the British Countryside
- What NOT to do When Buying Real Estate Overseas
- Homes in Sailing Towns From Just $41,000
- Your Questions Answered: How are RETA Deal Prices So Competitive?
At first glance, the small bohemian village of Jose Ignacio in Uruguay appears unassuming…
There are no high-rise resorts or lively bars, no shopping malls or glitzy marinas. Many of its roads are still dusty tracks. But this small village, set on a peninsula that juts into the Atlantic, is one of the wealthiest enclaves in Uruguay and a favorite of the uber-rich from across the continent…
Large homes dot the shores of Jose Ignacio, a wealthy bohemian enclave in safe, stable Uruguay.
Affluent Brazilians come to Jose Ignacio to marry on its pristine beaches…rich Argentinians summer here in January and February when eateries by renowned chefs pop up around town…the small number of year-round residents (in the last census count, its population totaled just 292) rank among Uruguay’s wealthiest and best-connected families…
Homes on the peninsula start in the $1.2 million range. The best homes list for $4 million, $5 million, even more. Homes like this…
This home is on the market in Jose Ignacio for $4.3 million…and that price is not an outlier in this small bohemian town. See the listing here.
Earlier this week, my scout Ciaran Madden had boots on the ground in this high-end haven. He was passing through Jose Ignacio on his way east.
For decades, a “Path of Progress” has been moving along this coast. It’s already transformed a long stretch of coastline in safe, stable, prosperous Uruguay, beginning in the resort city of Punta del Este and running 30 minutes east to Jose Ignacio. (A “Path of Progress” is anything that makes a destination easier to get to, say new roads or airports, or more desirable, like a new 5-star resort.)
Now this Path of Progress is pushing east again, into the Rocha region.
In Rocha, about 90 minutes’ east of Jose Ignacio, you’ll find sweeping, pristine Atlantic beaches, lush pine forests, rolling dunes, glistening lagoons…
I’ve been tracking the Path of Progress to Rocha since the earliest days of my Real Estate Trend Alert group. Now, it’s accelerating…
Just outside Jose Ignacio, a brand-new highway is under construction. Ciaran tells me it’s one of the best roads he’s driven in the country and it leads to directly to Rocha. And this is just one of a number of infrastructure projects in the last number of years designed to unlock this region.
For the moment, prices in Rocha are affordable…a small fraction of what you’ll pay in places like Jose Ignacio.
That’s an opportunity. As I say, my scout has boots on the ground and is digging into the possibilities. More on this in the days ahead…
The Best Places to Buy in Costa Rica
I’ve been bullish on Costa Rica for a long time.
It’s the original eco-paradise. Folks come to Costa Rica for its natural beauty, stunning beaches, and incredible biodiversity. It’s also a secure and peaceful country, proudly democratic and respectful of personal freedoms.
So it’s no surprise that I get a lot of readers asking me where are the best spots to buy real estate in this safe, stable little country.
Costa Rica’s natural beauty has been attracting visitors for decades…it’s also become one of the top spots for folks looking for a laidback lifestyle.
That’s what reader Stephen F. and his wife want to do and they dropped me a line to ask where they should look for real estate (if you have a question you’d like me to answer about anywhere on my international beat, you can send it to me here).
Right now, there are two standout locations in Costa Rica where I see the potential for both an incredible lifestyle…and a profitable investment.
You can read about those places in full here.
Own a Little Piece of History in the British Countryside
TV shows about people renovating homes seem to be all the rage these days.
You’ve got the iconic HGTV show Fixer Upper…Love it or List it…and of course the many shows fronted by the famous twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott.
One of the latest shows to come out of the UK is…well, very British. The Great British Home Restoration follows families who turn historic buildings into their dream homes.
Britain is famed for its historic houses and cottages, some of which date back centuries.
The British countryside is full of pretty historic homes…many of which are hundreds of years old.
And with the post-pandemic trend of folks moving from big cities to quieter, more tranquil villages in the countryside, many of these homes are attracting attention.
There’s something inherently romantic about owning an historic property—the charming features…the sense of history in the walls…and the sometimes interesting stories of past occupants.
My team did some digging and they found historic homes, set in some of the most scenic locations in the British countryside that are currently on the market.
The “newest” one dates back to 1850!
Take a look at what they found here.
What NOT to do When Buying Real Estate Overseas
If you’re going to make a bad investment do it early in your journey…
And learn from it.
That’s what I did…
When I first started out as an international real estate investor, I came across an opportunity that seemed almost too good to be true. I was on a high, feeling smart, and I felt like I was on a roll…and so I invested.
But I’d made a mistake. It wasn’t that the deal was a scam…the problem was me.
I’d gotten greedy, carried away by emotion and in the end, the real estate just wasn’t a good buy.
It taught be a valuable lesson…and it’s a mistake I’ve never repeated.
See, it’s easy to get caught up in the adventure and romance of buying property, especially overseas. And in my more than two decades as an international real estate investor, I’ve seen many people make mistakes that cost them time, money, and in some cases, even their property.
So this week, I shared 7 of the most common mistakes I see people make when buying real estate overseas…and I explain how to avoid them.
Homes in Sailing Towns From Just $41,000
We all know that living by the sea is good for your health…but did you know that this isn’t a modern-day phenomenon.
As far back as the 1660s, English physicians suggested sea bathing and coastal walks to their patients. By the mid-19th century, these had become common health remedies among affluent Europeans.
Living close to the water improves mood, helps with sleep, and just generally helps us live longer and a recent study conducted at the University of Vienna found that activities such as surfing, sailing, or simply walking along the beach can also be forms of mindfulness exercises that can improve mental well-being.
So where better to buy a home than in one of the world’s many sailing towns.
If you’re looking for a home by the sea, sailing towns offer a vibrant atmosphere and a whole host of health benefits.
There’s something freeing and tranquil about being, not just near the water, but ON it. Even if you’re not an avid sailor, sailing towns offer plenty of other activities to indulge in.
This week, my team looked for homes in some of the most charming sailing towns around the world. They found some great-value in places like Italy, Thailand, and Mexico.
Read about sailing homes from $41,000 here.
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 some questions I’ve gotten from a readers recently…
Caleb F. asks: I’m new to your e-letter. I’ve been interested in overseas real estate investing for a while now and am really enjoying learning more about it through your emails. I have a question about the RETA deals that you talk about. How is it that you’re able to get such competitive prices for your members?
Ronan says: Hi Caleb. Welcome to the wonderful world of international real estate investing! This is a great question and one I get a lot from readers.
The short answer is that we get unbeatable prices from real estate developers because of Real Estate Trend Alert’s group buying power.
By that I mean our capacity as a group to buy multiple properties in the space of a weekend or even less time. That’s why.
Our deals need to be a win for everybody. A win-win-win. The developer gets a lot of sales fast, RETA members get incredible pricing, first dibs and often exclusive financing, and my company receive a fee, which helps keep the lights on and the deals flowing.
By all buying together at the same time, our group can change the developer’s business.
When developers decide to proceed with a project there are typically two numbers they target. One is the profitability, the other is Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Without getting too technical, IRR is the annualized rate of return on their cash invested. Developers look for the lowest-risk route to hit their targets. By doing a deal with us at RETA, it means the developer gets a quick chunk of sales under his belt.
That’s because we bring our phenomenal group buying power to bear. And that cuts the project lifespan significantly. In other words, the developer can get the project done much quicker, which has a huge impact on the IRR number. It boosts it (conversely, stretching out a project reduces the IRR proportionally). Cutting the timeframe of the project also reduces costs because sales and admin offices are staffed and open for a much shorter period of time.
Meantime, because the developer has less inventory to sell to the local market, they can charge a higher price. This all adds up to a very simple equation for a developer: They can offer really big discounts to us and still hit their numbers, while reducing their risk (and, by extension, our risk). That’s the win for the developer and it’s the win for RETA members.
Cabo, Mexico has incredible weather, scenery and dining. And in a few weeks time, RETA members will get the chance to get in on an off-market deal on ocean-view condos in the perfect location and lock in what I expect will be gains of $175,400 four years after delivery.
By way of full disclosure, the third “win” in our win-win-win is that my company get a fee for playing our part. Much of which gets ploughed back into travel and research and is the reason I’ve been able to grow Real Estate Trend Alert.
And so the stronger our group is, the more amazing deals I can negotiate for us.
As well as getting in on RETA deals, with you membership you also get benefits like access to my personal rolodex of real estate contacts around the world…research reports…on-the-ground insights and analysis…and access to a dedicated concierge team who are on hand to help you with whatever questions and queries you may have.
To learn more about becoming a RETA member go here.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
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 for 2025, drop me a line here.
