In this week’s Your Overseas Dream Home Digest…
- The Surprising Truth About the Caribbean’s Best Kept Secret
- The Day I Stood on Juanillo Beach, I Knew I Had to Buy There
- Own a Charming Portuguese Home from $169,800
- Your Questions Answered on Buying in Uruguay
I thought I knew the Dominican Republic. All-inclusives. Beach cocktails. The usual…
But when I left the resort and hit the road, I found a country that shattered every assumption I had.
Wild coastlines like something out of The Beach. Low-key towns with French and Italian flair. Luxury enclaves that cater to the super-rich. This is a country of deep contrasts and real opportunity.
Now, my scout is about to put boots on the ground there…
The Samana Peninsula is a corner of the Dominican Republic that blew me away with its wild beauty and white-sand beaches.
In the coming days, my scout Ciaran Madden will be jetting to the Punta Cana region on the eastern Caribbean shores of the Dominican Republic.
He’s traveling there to continue my team’s in-depth exploration of Cap Cana…a vast master-planned community on the glistening coast adjacent to Punta Cana.
Over twice the size of Manhattan, Cap Cana is a veritable city-state of luxury. It has over three miles of white-sand beaches, schools, world-class golf, a huge inland marina, a university campus, fitness centers, convention centers, one of the region’s finest equestrian facilities…a fire station, a clinic…and the Caribbean’s largest water park.
I ranked Cap Cana the best place to buy real estate in the Caribbean in 2025. In fact, I’ve rated it my No. 2 destination globally to buy real estate this year. (Scroll down to learn the No. 1 destination…I’m traveling there today.)
You’ll be getting Ciaran’s boots-on-the-ground updates from the Dominican Republic soon…
If you want to learn more, this week I shared a brand-new special report on the Dominican Republic that gives you the full picture on buying there: The Real Estate Buyer’s Guide to the Dominican Republic.
It’s your essential roadmap, covering legal basics, taxes, visas, healthcare, and more. And it’s yours, free, as a reader of Overseas Dream Home.
The Day I Stood on Juanillo Beach and Knew I Had to Buy
Regular readers will know that I’ve already invested in a property in the Dominican Republic last year alongside members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group.
The moment I stepped onto Cap Cana’s Juanillo Beach, I knew I had to own there.
Sugar-white sands, turquoise waters, and a lifestyle that’s equal parts luxury and laid-back Caribbean ease—it was unlike anywhere else I’ve scouted.
I bought for the gains—I figure on $275,000 five years after delivery.
I bought for the income opportunity…being silly conservative I expect gross yields of nearly 12% renting short term with plenty of time for personal use.
And I bought for the incredible lifestyle…
Aerial view of Playa Juanillo. You can see how the coastline of Cap Cana stretches out toward the marina in the distance.
Now I’m working on a new RETA deal here. And like our deal last year, it will be off-market and exclusive to RETA members.
Click here to learn more about Cap Cana.
Own a Charming Portuguese Home from $169,800
I’m packing my bags for Portugal’s far north—heading back to the town of Caminha to check on work on the mansion I picked up there for €410,000. (My wife and I are changing the kitchen, bathrooms and making some other cosmetic changes.)
This house is special. From my terrace I can see Spain across the Minho River…a view that still stops me in my tracks.
And it’s set in a region that’s one of the last great untapped corners of Portugal—undiscovered, undervalued, and staggeringly beautiful. Think lagoon beaches, fine wine, medieval villages, and few tourists.
Click here to discover why Caminha topped the Real Estate Trend Alert International Real Estate Index for 2025…and look at some listings that might hint at where the market in this region is heading.
In the far north of Portugal, you’ll find stunning stretches of Atlantic coastline like Ofir beach. But this region is virtually unknown to the tens of millions of foreign tourists who flock to Portugal each year.
Your Questions Answered
Dave J. asks: Can an American citizen buy property with all rights in place in Uruguay? I don’t like the trust or bank system like Mexico has with a 50 or 100 years lease. Additionally what types of farmland is available and also what are the water rights and the water allocations like in Uruguay, I understand the water was non-potable in some areas, is that still true?
Ronan says: Hi Dave, and thanks for your question.
Uruguay is known for its stability…and its prosperity. This small country rarely makes international headlines…in a region known for coups and protests, turmoil, and instability, that’s a very good thing. Corruption levels here are judged to be lower than the U.S. The World Bank calls Uruguay a high-income country. More than 60% of the country is designated as middle class. This is a place noted for its safety and security, strong infrastructure, and sensible, business-oriented leadership…and its welcoming to foreign investors.
The ultra-rich flock to “the Portugal of South America” from around the world to see and be seen on its stunning beaches, yet this opportunity-rich destination remains off the radar of many people.
In Uruguay, as a foreign individual, you can buy and hold real estate in your own name. You don’t need a local partner, a trust, or a corporation. You don’t even need to become a legal resident or get a Uruguayan tax identification number. And you can own any type of real estate, the same as a Uruguayan citizen. That includes property near a coast and agricultural land.
And if you’re coming from the U.S., things get even easier as most real estate in Uruguay is bought and sold in U.S. dollars. This eliminates the cost of converting purchase and sale proceeds from one currency to another. It also removes the risk of changes between currency values during a transaction.
(I would mention that buying in Mexico is also safe! Foreigners can own property in Mexico. It’s perfectly legal. There is an extra step you have to take to own property within 50 kilometers (31 miles) of the coast, or within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of an international border. This is called the “restricted zone,” and within it you must use a financial instrument to control the land called a fideicomiso. Its use is well-established and easy. Read more on this in our Real Estate Buyer’s Guide to Mexico. You can check it out here.)
As regards farmland in Uruguay, I had a scout on the ground in Uruguay in December. Everywhere Ciaran Madden went in Uruguay, he found incredible opportunities.
Uruguay has a vast pastoral interior. Farming is big business here, and the sector is welcoming to foreign investors.
There are three basic kinds of farmland to own: cropland, forestry land, and cattle/grazing land. You can also get mixed-use land with some combination of the above.
While scouting Uruguay, Ciaran met with farmland broker Ignacio Gonzalez from Terramar Farmlands. As Ignacio told Ciaran, the best cropland now sells for as much as $6,000 per acre, quality mixed-use cropping and cattle/grazing land for as much as $3,500 per acre, and forestry for as much as $2,000 per acre. Grazing land is available from around $1,000 per acre. (It’s also important to note that prices vary significantly by region and land quality. For instance, it’s still possible to find quality cropland for $4,000 per acre, though this pricing is now on the lower end for the best land.)
You can read more of Ciaran’s findings and get the contact details for his farmland contact in Uruguay in his report, which is exclusively for RETA members. Not yet a RETA member? (Learn how you can join here.)
Wishing you good real estate investing,
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, drop me a line here.
