Get Paid to Live the Dream Cabo Lifestyle

Let me start with a photo…the morning view from my terrace…

Monday afternoon I landed back in Los Cabos. It’s a stunning place to be. Clear skies, glistening ocean, golden sands, and 77 F temperatures. Paradise.

I’ve been returning annually to Cabo around this time of year ever since I bought my first condo here in a Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) members-only deal a decade ago.

Now, I’m back just as I’m about to launch a new RETA-only Cabo deal. An opportunity for members to own luxurious two-bed ocean-view condos and lock in gains of what I believe will be over $175,000 four years after delivery. (Want a chance to act on this deal? Join RETA here.)

More on this below and in the days ahead…

First, though, a few thoughts on Cabo and how it taught me I could get paid for living a better lifestyle.

Every time I return, Cabo has evolved further. Become more popular. More internationalized.

My flight from my home in Guadalajara took me to the domestic terminal at Los Cabos, right beside where they park the private jets. As I disembarked, I could see a vast collection of them…the serious ones that could fly you from LA to Paris for dinner with 20 of your closest friends.

All the planes coming here are bigger now, whether private jets, budget airlines, or major U.S. carriers. On my short drive from the airport to my home in the 5-star Quivira Resort, I spotted four enormous cruise ships sitting right in front of Medano beach.

Cabo has hit a new level. A record number of visitors were expected in 2024.

Without the lifestyle as a siren call, you wouldn’t have all these visitors. And what a lifestyle it is…

The laidback seaside vibe…the natural beauty of the desert and mountains meeting the sea in dramatic fashion…the perpetually sunny and warm weather…the soft-sand beaches…

Boating, fishing, snorkeling offshore…gourmet dining, shopping, nightlife onshore.

In Los Cabos there’s something for every interest and taste. Returning here is a highlight of my year. In many ways, it feels like coming back to the beginning…

I’ve spent years crafting the life I lead…one where I divide my year between my homes in Cabo, Guadalajara, Portugal, and Ireland. Always enjoying perfect weather. Always where I want to be. Never again wishing away a dark, cold and dreary winter.

True freedom.

Wealth is more than numbers. People are trained to believe that adding to your lifestyle like this costs you money, but the reality is that it can make you money.

This is a lesson that was cemented for me in Cabo.

I’ve invested in six properties in Cabo, all through off-market RETA member-only deals. My first was in a RETA-only deal in the 5-star Quivira Resort in 2015. This is where I’m staying right now.

I bought this home as an investment and it was an excellent one. The off-market RETA-only price on a two-bed, ocean-view condo in the best-in-class Copala community in Quivira was $336,156. Similar condos now list for $650,000…that’s $313,844 more.

When I saw the lifestyle here, I knew I wanted to make Cabo a part of my annual routine. This condo became a lifestyle and an income play for me.

Now, when I’m not using my condo, I rent it out, earning $3,000 per month from a renter who’s happy to work around my return dates. On an annualized basis, that’s an incredible gross yield of more than 10.7%. (Last year I had offers of $3,500 per month that I refused because the dates I ringfence for personal use are non-negotiable.)

This is incredible, hassle-free, and I love it. I get paid for owning a condo in a literal paradise.

It’s the same with my condo in Portugal…

I own a condo on Portugal’s Silver Coast. My home in the Praia D’El Rey Beach and Golf Resort sits right up on the beach…a minute’s stroll from the sand. I have panoramic ocean views from my large terrace. From my living room I can hear the Atlantic waves crashing on the shore and feel the sea air on my skin.

I didn’t buy this beachfront condo as an investment. But it’s sure worked out that way.

I bought it for €300,000. A couple of years back, a local agent wanted to list it for €450,000…€150,000 more than I paid. Today I figure it would list for even more. Hard to say how much more because no similar condo has since come on the market. But anyway, I’m not selling.

The very reason it would be easy to sell is the same reason I’m not going to part with it.

It’s a beachfront condo on a stunning coastline where it will never again be legal to build this close to the beach and where real estate like this is both scarce and desirable. What a bank for my money. Plus, there’s the time I get to spend there…and the income.

When I’m not using this condo, I rent it out short term. I just recently heard from my rental manager. In 2024, my condo generated €24,136.60—a more than 31% increase on the previous year and a more than 8% gross yield. I didn’t buy it with the expectation of much rental outside peak summer months. But as happens in beautiful places, more people come and seasons get longer.

I’ve had some other good news from Portugal…

At the end of last year, I purchased a 5,000-square-foot historic mansion just outside the medieval town of Caminha in the far north of Portugal. I bought it primarily for the incredible lifestyle in this region and for the house itself which my wife and I fell in love with…the gardens, vines and avocado trees, and incredible views across to Spain and to waves crashing on sandy beaches.

The capital appreciation I expect gave me the permission to not even blink about the decision to buy this home. I fully expected the house I’ve bought for €410,000 will be worth more than €1 million within five years. €590,000 in capital appreciation would be particularly nice considering I’m only into the home for €140,000 of my own money thanks to Portugal bank finance.

Now, I’ve just learned that even one month’s rental income could cover a year’s mortgage on this home!

I didn’t initially have any plans to rent out this house. But lately, my wife and I have been chatting to interior designers. As certain design choices would be different if we were to rent, I decided to check with some local rental managers on the income potential.

When I told them about my home, they got massively excited. Historic homes like this are in big demand and short supply during peak season. Based on the numbers I’m getting, this home would rent short term for €600 to €700 per night in summer.

That means I can expect to be able to cover the entire cost of owning this mansion (mortgage, taxes, insurance, everything) just for renting out this home for two or three nights a month. Or to put it another way, I can cover all my costs just for filling it with renters during August…peak season, when demand in this region is very strong.

And I have options. There’s scope to rent it as a single house or two individual units, since the downstairs is a self-contained three-bed apartment (great for when friends and family want to visit).

Incredible!

(Now…to be clear buying this home doesn’t make sense as an income generator alone. The income is a nice kicker on top of the lifestyle and the capital appreciation I expect.)

From my Cabo condo to my ocean-view home on Portugal’s Silver Coast and historic mansion in the far north of the country, I own incredible properties in some of the world’s most desirable places. Homes where I can spend time every year as and when I please.

And I get paid for owning them.

I’m earning money for adding to my lifestyle. And I’m not done.

My lifestyle is a work in progress. And I’ve already invested in other properties that I plan to incorporate into my routine.

I’ve bought in the Punta Laguna RETA members-only opportunity in Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. This community is in Corasol, a near 500-acre master-planned golf and beach community that’s fast becoming a reserve of the discerning and wealthy on the shores of the Caribbean.

And I’ve bought in the recent RETA-only deal in Cap Cana, the vast master-planned community set on the Caribbean coast of the Dominican Republic. This community boasts a breathtaking coastline, with azure waters set against an expanse of white sand. The inland marina here is the largest in the Caribbean. And you have restaurants…schooling…shopping districts…a Jack Nicklaus golf course…

With these deals in Corasol and Cap Cana, I expect huge capital appreciation…big income…and the flexibility to use these homes when I want. They will add a Caribbean dimension to my lifestyle.

There’s a simple truth here: When you buy something that’s scarce and has appeal, you’ll do well.

That’s what we’ve done in Corasol and Cap Cana, by buying best-in-class in stunning Caribbean locations. It’s what I’ve done with my homes in Portugal. And it’s what we’ve done with our RETA deals in Cabo.

Now, we’re about to do it again…

As I say, I own more real estate in Cabo than anywhere else in the world. I’ve bought six properties alongside RETA members here. That’s how bullish I am on Cabo and the Baja. The increase in values in the properties I have bought here runs well into seven figures.

Every year, more people come to Cabo, to vacation and live full and part-time. Cabo is seeing a scarcity of best-in-class real estate due to building restrictions, rising land costs, and rarity of land with ocean views.

My RETA group was ahead of this. A few success stories…

• $250,000 Boost: In August 2021, RETA members could get a penthouse in a community called Cabo Costa for $249,000. I got one. Today a penthouse in Cabo Costa lists for $499,000.

• $202,400 Uplift: In May 2022 we had our RETA-only deal at Monte Rocella with off-market pricing from $234,600 for two-bedroom, two-bath ocean-view condos. (I bought in Monte Rocella.) Last week I saw a pricelist showing a two-bed ocean view condo in Monte Rocella for $437,000.

Deals in Cabo that are RETA grade are scarce. But RETA’s group-buying power is significant. It opens doors and get deals and pricing ordinary buyers never see.

Which is why I’m so excited about our upcoming RETA-only opportunity…

The RETA-only price is unbelievable and our community is going to be spectacular. With our latest opportunity, members will have the chance to own two-bed condos in a luxurious community. The community is in the perfect location—close to the beaches, the art, the dining, the stores.

Premium-view land in our community is being devoted to out-of-this-world amenities. This adds incredible value to our community and super-charges our opportunity.

Our amenities will include a sky pool from which to look out over the Sea of Cortez, another big ocean-view pool, fire pits with ocean views, a co-work area with ocean views…a gym with, you guessed it, ocean views…

I expect gains of $175,400 just four years after delivery. I figure on gross rental yields of close to 10%—and that’s just if you rent long term.

I want to stress this point…

The location of these condos is ideal: Close to beaches, stores, schools, marina, golf, fine dining, art and ocean…yet on a discreet and quiet road on the magnificent slopes of El Tezal.

Of the six condos I’ve bought in Cabo, five are on El Tezal. That’s how highly I rate this location.

Prices in this area have been pushing higher. But just look at how the ridiculously low RETA-only price compares to those in neighboring communities…

As I said, this will be a RETA members-only deal. To ensure you have the chance to get in on this opportunity (and all the other deals I bring to RETA members this year), you need to be a member. All the details for joining are here.

And I’ll have further boots-on-the-ground updates from Cabo this week.

Stay tuned…

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

P.S. Check out this video my team put together showing you why I love Cabo so much and why—when you get the right deal as we’ve done—it’s such an incredible place to invest in real estate.