Mind-Blowing Deals near the World’s Best Beaches

Is owning real estate a bad idea?

According to a bunch of young Americans apparently so…

As reported in The Financial Times last weekend: “Perhaps sick of being told they could own a home if they only cut back on avocado toast, some U.S. millennials are questioning the shibboleth of home ownership—and the financial model sold to successive generations that your home should be your main source of wealth.”

The short version: These folks have run their numbers. They say it’s better value to rent and use your money to invest in other assets. Stocks etc.

They say when you factor in all the costs of property ownership, taxes, HOAs, mortgage interest payments, maintenance, the numbers don’t make sense.

Forget buying real estate! They say.

Hmm.

Well you know your local real estate market better than I do. But in general terms, I think it’s fair to say that lucrative and rewarding real estate investing in the U.S. is not easily done.

Holding costs are indeed high. Ridiculous when you compare them to places on our international beat. Real estate prices are high. Where can you get the value…where’s the opportunity?

I also ponder changing lifestyle preferences and demographic shifts.

Are younger generations delaying homeownership due to financial constraints? I’m sure many younger folks are. But they probably also prioritize experiences and flexibility over long-term commitments.

And there are plenty of older folks too who just don’t “do real estate” and prefer the stock market, crypto, commodities…you name it.

Each to their own! I love real estate! My whole life is real estate.

Somewhere in the mix has to be the sea-change in the world of work, with remote work now a major factor in real estate markets around the U.S. and the world.

When people can move around, a lot of them do. Plenty of people are going to places like Playa del Carmen and Cabo, Spain’s Costa del Sol and Portugal…as well as the second cities and various beauty spots in the U.S. and Canada that you read about.

We can all see what’s changing in the world. The secret is being out ahead of it…

And when I read stories about younger generations seeking to rent instead of buy, I just see it as a massive opportunity!

For me renting real estate is the key to a life of international travel, financial and personal freedom.

It’s a route to huge gains.

It’s a way of owning a tangible asset in a beautiful part of the world that I can live in. It’s a hedge against inflation.

You just gotta buy at the right price! In the right place! And do the right things with your real estate to make the most money.

That’s why I don’t look for real estate in the U.S.

That’s not to say I never would, I just don’t see big opportunities there. When I founded my Real Estate Trend Alert group 16 years ago it was from the beaches of Brazil where I and a small group of like-minded folk were killing it! And that was while the world burned in the financial crisis.

By looking internationally we’ve been going from strength to strength for 16 years.

I’ll admit it’s taken work to establish a deep-rooted network of contacts in real estate markets around the world. And building the crack team of scouts and experts I have around me has been the work of all 16 years of RETA.

Plus, we spend more than a million dollars each year on travel and research…

It’s been so worth it…

We now have such an incredible club and members have been mind-blowingly successful.

The idea of a club or group of like-minded investors is not new. Such clubs have been around since the 1920s.

The primary goal of such a club is to share knowledge, reduce risks, and increase the purchasing power of individual members. The nature of these clubs help many novice investors learn the ropes of the stock market and build wealth.

But I know of no other real estate investing club. None. That’s why I founded RETA. Because I wanted to be in one!

I wanted access to exclusive investment opportunities not available to the general public.

I wanted to pool resources allowing for larger and potentially more profitable investments.

I wanted to leverage the power of the group to open doors and do bigger deals.

And I wanted to find stunning real estate in beautiful parts of the world and own it, make a profit from it, enjoy it…

For those young influencers posting on X (formerly Twitter) about the grim realities of owning real estate here’s a story:

I know of a RETA member who bought property in Spain’s Costa del Sol in June 2015.

She bought a penthouse for €129,000.

She had it furnished and rented the penthouse short term into what’s still a very hot market.

Finally, in 2020, she sold the condo for €254,000.

And she did it all by email.

All remotely.

She sold for a gross gain of €125,000, not including the rental income, and she never even had to leave her home.

How?

This woman is a member of RETA. And we’re a select investors’ club that specializes in international real estate opportunities.

Here’s several that we have coming up:

A Killer Deal in Europe’s Hidden Riviera

I’m about to unveil a new RETA members-only deal in the tiny country of Montenegro…

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.

This coastline has caught the attention of the world’s ultra-rich.

A-listers, oligarchs, and Gulf state billionaires are flocking here to berth their superyachts. The stores stock high-end luxury brands like Dior, Rolex, Burberry, Balenciaga. And luxury penthouses sell for millions. The Saudi royal family even relocated its golden fleet of mega-yachts to here from Monaco in 2012 on a 30-year lease.

Now, the “ordinary rich” are discovering stunning Montenegro too…

“Ordinary rich” is a term I use for professionals…small-business owners…computer scientists, bankers, lawyers, doctors…people who earn well and can move around to some degree. Most aren’t in the market for multi-million-dollar mansions or 5-star resorts. But they want luxury and exceptional resort-style amenities…and they can pay for it.

As the ordinary rich discover Montenegro, it’s creating an incredible opportunity.

I’ve previously scouted this destination and several of my most senior scouts had boots-on-the-ground here in just the past several months. It’s emerging as a new Monaco. And yet RETA members are about to get the chance to own best-in-class real estate here at mind-blowing off-market prices. In fact, I expect gains of €201,643 five years after delivery on our upcoming RETA members-only deal. (That’s $215,587.)

Out-of-This-World Luxury in the Caribbean

In the Dominican Republic, I’m closing in on a deal in a master-planned community in the country’s most desirable location. It’s called Cap Cana and it’s where well-heeled visitors (the Dominican Republic welcomed over 10 million travelers in 2023) want to stay.

This is the epitome of Caribbean luxury.

I’m talking about top-tier golf courses, a pristine marina, sports fishing, shopping complexes, upmarket restaurants, a hospital, and a bilingual school. Then there’s the stunning beaches. Brilliant and arresting, with bright Caribbean waters against vast expanses of white sand.

The deal I’m closing in on will allow RETA members to own near those stunning, postcard-perfect white-sand Caribbean beaches. And it will allow them to tap into the incredible growth potential of the Dominican Republic. (Last year, it welcomed 14% more international visitors than it did in 2019—marking its best tourism year on record.)

This is going to something truly special.

But we’re not stopping there…

Luxury Homes in a Booming Beach City

Also in the pipeline is a new deal in Playa del Carmen…

Set on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, known as the Riviera Maya, the city of Playa del Carmen boasts stunning white-sand beaches. But this is no mere resort town. Playa del Carmen is a living, breathing city, attracting part-time expats, extended vacationers, the work-from-home crowd, and digital nomads from across the world.

This is the perfect example of an internationalized place. There is easy access, with Cancun airport, offering cheap direct flights to dozens of U.S. cities, just 40 minutes north. The weather is always warm. There are so many fun things to do. And it’s thoroughly modern, offering any convenience or service you might need.

My RETA group has had a run of amazing deals in Playa…

• $309,018 More—In 2021, RETA members had the chance to buy two-bed condos from $265,304 in a community called Singular Dream. In early 2024, a two-bed condo in Singular Dream was listing for $574,322.
• Uplift of $125,638: In March 2022, RETA members could get in on a deal in a master-planned beach community in Playa del Carmen called Corasol. Our opportunity was The Village. Two-bed, two-bath condos in The Village similar to those RETA members could buy from $258,600 have since listed at retail for $384,238—that’s $125,638 more.

Now, in Playa del Carmen 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 to own something truly spectacular.

True Beachfront in Panama

In Panama I’m working on a deal on luxurious homes right on the sand of a stunning Pacific beach community called Playa Caracol.

Playa Caracol is the nicest beach within an hour or so from Panama City. RETA members have already seen six-figure uplifts from our off-market deals along this stretch of coast.

For instance, in January 2019, I recommended condos in a community here called the Residences. Members could own from a RETA-only $184,300. A condo a RETA member bought for $220,000 listed at $325,000 in 2023—that’s $105,000 more.

Now, we’re closing in on a new opportunity to own true beachfront here…

Where else…

• Cabo: I’m also working on a new deal in Cabo where our RETA track record is phenomenal. I’m extremely bullish on Cabo and the Baja region.
• Uruguay: Uruguay is known as “the Switzerland of South America” for good reason. It’s a renowned safe haven for investors. And RETA members have bought well there in the past. I’m particularly interested in the Atlantic coast of Rocha and the potential for a beach homes deal there.
• Northern Portugal: Two of my scouts have just returned from northern Portugal…and soon I’ll be following up on their scouting. The headline news is that I believe the northern part of the country is where the best opportunities now exist. Destinations like the town of Caminha on Portugal’s northern border with Spain and the historic coastal city of Viana do Castelo have outstanding potential… This is where I’m drilling down on opportunities in Portugal right now.

And the best way to ensure you never miss out on any of our scouting or one of our incredible, off-market RETA-only deals is to get into the RETA club.

Before I leave you, let me share the story of a RETA member who is well and truly in the club…

Chet wrote this story for his fellow RETA members back in 2022. But it’s still relevant today if you’re at all interested in what we do…

“We’ve Been in Six RETA Deals”

My wife and I joined Ronan McMahon’s Real Estate Trend Alert in 2011. I was an international business executive, eventually the COO for a $2 billion, U.S.-based chemical company.

This allowed us to travel the world and live abroad. We spent 18 months in Shanghai, China, and travel gave us the desire to own real estate in different countries. Plus, with all of the turmoil in the world we felt like having different options for the future made a lot of sense for us.

I own stocks and bonds, gold and silver, commercial real estate…I landbank some property and even own some cryptocurrency. (Just for fun and to try and understand the technology.)

I consider overseas real estate for both investment and lifestyle. I own properties that I don’t rent and I also own properties that I’ve never stayed in for pure investment.

I have successfully been in five RETA deals. The sixth deal lost government funding so the developer had to back out but I got my entire deposit back because of the structure of the RETA deal.

Our first RETA deal was in 2011 or 2012. We bought a lot in Costa Rica’s Southern Zone. We had plans drawn to build on the site but we decided that it was just a little too rural for our lifestyle. We decided to landbank the lot and are currently sitting on 35% paper gains.

Our next adventure was to Spain’s Costa del Sol. This was where I got our first international rental property—a two-bed, two-bath apartment in Puerto Banus. It is hard to say about profitability, because of the COVID crisis. Currently this year I have about 4% net profit and am sitting on around €50,000 paper gains.

The next adventure on the Costa del Sol was buying a three-story townhouse with a rooftop terrace, overlooking the town of Sotogrande and the Rock of Gibraltar. This was truly an adventure as I bought the townhouse, sight unseen, out of foreclosure and in need of major renovations. It took us some time to get the extensive renovations completed. Then we furnished the home with high-end furniture. It was at that time, that my wife decided this was our second home and a lifestyle buy and thus we would not be renting this house.

I am currently writing to you from this townhouse. Two or three times a year we travel from our home in the U.S. to spend time here—six or eight weeks at a time. We have made many good friends here in the community. I am probably sitting on paper gains of around 35% but it is our getaway place.

Every time I arrive at my Spain house and I look at the view and meet our friends, I say to myself “this beats the hell out of a condo on the Gulf Shores.” I find it quite fun when people ask “where are you going next month?” and I say to my house in Spain. They do not know it cost less than a condo in the U.S.

When a RETA deal in Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Riviera Maya came along, I was very interested in the properties for investment. I decided to buy two condos in this pre-construction project called Siempre Playa. That was around 2017.

I bought a one-bedroom on the ground floor, and a two-bedroom on the second floor. I bought premium apartments to get the floor plans and location I wanted. The COVID crisis caused some delays but all in all we were not in bad shape timing wise. I took possession of the properties, furnished them nicely, and put them in the rental program. After a couple of months, I had inquiries about long-term rental opportunities and decided to look at long-term rentals. Although the rental income may be less, the wear and tear on the properties is much less. After the initial start-up costs, the condos have rented long term without a gap. That has allowed for a 9% net profit and about 35% in paper gains on the units.

Down the coast from Playa del Carmen, I am under contract in another RETA deal in Tulum for a unit to be delivered in a year or so.

I haven’t yet taken the opportunity to use leverage on any of my deals. However, I will probably use developer financing on the Tulum deal.

I could not have sourced these deals without Ronan and RETA. It has added stability to my overall portfolio in that it has been very steady with value and rental income.

Things can go wrong and you need to understand the situation you are investing in. That is the reason I prefer pre-construction deals that are with a solid developer.

As part of a balanced portfolio, overseas real estate gets some of your assets out of your home country and thus reduces your investor bias risks. Plus, it is a lot of fun figuring out which deals fit your current situation and how to make it work. I have no regrets about getting involved in international real estate, especially with guidance from RETA.

I met Ronan early on and found him to be very genuine. I often question his early evaluations of the deals as being optimistic. I continue to be very conservative when I look at the RETA numbers but, I will say, most deals and all of the pre-construction deals have been better than he predicted.

My advice to you if you’re new to RETA is to be comfortable with your first deal and make sure it makes sense for you and your family. I have made solid gains and made some great friends along the way. Also, go to an event to meet like-minded people. Very few of your current friends will be supportive of international real estate investing…only because they do not understand it or have the tolerance for the risk or the time and interest to understand it.

My wife Pam loves the ride and the fun of seeing different countries. I have to remind her that the properties are for investments and that we need to keep them rented versus using them. She often reminds me that we have not stayed in our Mexico apartments…ever.

I will continue to expand my exposure to international real estate as I think it is a buffer to any one economy. I also think it is a great way to teach my children about different types of investments and ideas for the future. I will continue to look for the right opportunities through RETA. There is simply no way I could source these quality deals on my own.” — Chet Cross, Puerto Banus, Spain, September 2022.

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