- Scouting Updates from the Coast of Oaxaca
- British and Irish Cottages from $139,000
- Luxury Properties in Spain’s “City of Light”
- Plus Your Questions Answered
I’ve just spent an incredible week scouting Huatulco and Puerto Escondido, on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
A week when I explored breathtaking, unspoiled beaches like these…
The beaches along the Pacific coast around Puerto Escondido in Mexico’s Oaxaca state are impossibly picturesque. The potential here is staggering…
A Path of Progress is poised to transform this region. (A Path of Progress is anything that makes a place easier to get to or more desirable, like a new road or 5-star resort.)
Billions are being spent on new roads…highways…international airport terminals…
The plan with the airport is to quadruple visitor numbers within the next few years.
I’ve seen enough from my trip to predict this region is about to explode in popularity.
The potential here is incredible. This could be the opportunity of a lifetime…a chance to buy in and own on these spectacular beaches before the crowds begin arriving, as I expect they will when the new airport terminal opens.
Of course, we’ll need to find the right deal here.
Over the past week, I’ve been looking at land and meeting with developers. And I’ve been drilling down to see if there’s a deal here for members of my Real Estate Trend Alert group.
I’ll be continuing to track developments here closely…and looking for a RETA-grade deal. (Learn about RETA and how you can join here.)
I’ll be continuing to track developments here closely…and looking for a RETA-grade deal.
In the meantime, you can learn more about what I’ve uncovered along this coast in this alert I sent earlier this week in Overseas Dream Home.
And I’ve posting additional videos and photos to our brand-new Overseas Dream Home WhatsApp scouting channel.
My Oaxaca scouting trip aside, there’s been lots happening across our global beat this week, and I’ve been getting excellent questions from Overseas Dream Home readers. (Have a question or comment? Click here to submit it.)
In a moment, I’m going to answer a question on how to find attorneys, rental managers, and accountants overseas. But first here’s a brief wrap-up of some of the opportunities and reports I’ve shared with you over the past week in Overseas Dream Home.
How I Built a Home for $80,000
This week I told you about how my wife and I built our home in Guadalajara, Mexico for a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a property in our neighborhood there…and how the strategies we used can be applied to other real estate investments.
Having a home in Guadalajara is a lifestyle play for us. My wife, Sayuri, and I typically divide our time between our homes in Cabo, Portugal, and our primary home in Ireland. But we spend at least a few weeks in Guadalajara each year, so we can spend time with her parents and extended family.
Owning here has other benefits, too…
Guadalajara is an up-and-coming economic center, dubbed the “Silicon Valley of Mexico” for its booming tech industry. It’s an excellent base for scouting. And it’s a heartland of Mexican traditions like tequila and mariachi, with shady parks, colonial plazas, and plenty of museums.
Since we visit often, we decided to build a home here. And using what I call a “mini-developer” strategy, we were able to do this for just $80,000. That’s to own in a neighborhood where we look out on condos that sell for more than $1 million. You can read all about how we did it in my full report here.
My home in Guadalajara looks out at these towering buildings. The city is gentrifying fast. But by using a “mini-developer” strategy, my wife and I were able to get a new home here for a fraction of the cost to buy in our neighborhood.
Boots on the Ground in Spain’s Costa Blanca
Also this week, I shared the latest report from my senior researcher Margaret Summerfield, who scouted a stretch of Spain’s southeastern Mediterranean coast known as the Costa Blanca.
The Costa Blanca has been a favorite vacation spot among Northern Europeans for decades, and it’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches and coastal towns in Spain.
This week, Margaret shared a report from the city of Alicante, or Lucentum as it was known in Roman times, meaning the “City of Light.”
Alicante has over 300 days of sunshine each year and has a reputation for outstanding wine, good food, and beautiful beaches—especially its inner-city beach, Playa del Postiguet.
In her report, Margaret explains why Alicante is now her favorite destination in Spain and highlights some listings she found here, including several luxurious properties. You’ll find her report here.
Playa del Postiguet in Alicante is among the most striking city beaches in Europe.
Cottages in Britain and Ireland from $139,000
It won’t be long until I return to Ireland. At the end of this month, I’ll be at my condo on Portugal’s Silver Coast…and not only after I’ll be back in Ireland to spend some time at my primary home near the historic city of Cork.
I’ll be doing some scouting when I return home to Cork, but in advance of my return, my team have been researching the real estate scenes in the U.K. and Ireland. In particular, they were digging into the prices of traditional cottages.
Visitor numbers to the U.K. and Ireland hit a record high last year. And for many of these visitors, the real estate dream is to own a traditional home in a lush rural landscape.
In their research, my team found a range of opportunities, from a charming one-bedroom cottage in the U.K. from $139,000, to a two-bed lake-view home in County Donegal, Ireland. You’ll find those listings in this article here.
This charming cottage in County Donegal, Ireland is in a privileged location close to Sessiagh Lake, a fishing lake. You’ll find the listing in this article here.
Your Comments and Feedback
Have a question or comment? Share it here. Here’s a question I’ve gotten from an Overseas Dream Home reader.
Yousef says: Do you have the following resources available for a RETA member who is a U.S. citizen residing in the United States? Thanks.
- Attorney and accountant for legal and tax advice
- Rental management company
- Pool of investors to participate in an LLC run by you
Ronan says: Hi Yousef, in a moment, I’ll break those down one by one. But first, just in case some readers aren’t aware, RETA is short for Real Estate Trend Alert. This is a group I founded 16 years ago made up of like-minded real estate investors who understand, like me, that there’s always opportunity somewhere when you look everywhere.
Using the collective-buying power of our group, I negotiate killer, off-market deals with best-in-class developers on incredible new homes in the world’s most stunning destinations. This means RETA members buy at discount pricing that ordinary investors never see.
When it comes to attorneys, with every RETA deal, I introduce members to the attorney I use in that country. Members also have ongoing access to my rolodex of contacts, including attorneys that I and other members have used around the world. (RETA members can access this here.) As for an accountant, your attorney will often be able to introduce you to one.
At RETA, we also have a special concierge team whose mission is to help members get the most out of their membership. They’re on hand to answer any questions members may have, or to help with any issue, or address any concern. Members can arrange to speak in person with our RETA concierge team at any time by clicking here.
The concierge team can give you the names of strong rental managers for your consideration. There’s also a few other strategies you can use to find a good rental manager…
First, once you have your property overseas, talk to your friends and neighbors there. See who they use and how happy they have been with the experience. A good referral can be invaluable.
Second, try searching online for short- and long-term rental listings in your area. Try to find listings for homes that are similar to yours…meaning similar size, quality, and with the same kind of amenities. Look at who is managing the listings. Is it an individual or a company? Google them. Do they have a website? If so, check out their other listings. Consider how appealing they are. Also look at this rental manager’s host profile on Airbnb or VRBO. What’s their rating? Do they have good reviews?
If you find a manager that has good reviews and seems professional, arrange a meeting, either online or in person. If they seem eager, professional, and experienced, they could well be your rental manager. But don’t be too worried about getting it right the first time. If you feel a manager isn’t living up to expectations, don’t be afraid to take your business somewhere else.
A good rental manager can mean the difference between mediocre occupancy rates and limited rental income, and a killer rental that’s a cash machine. So, it’s worth putting in the time and energy to find the right one for you.
As to your final point, RETA doesn’t operate an investment pool. With RETA deals, members own the property outright, so the real estate is fully in their control.
Ronan McMahon, Overseas Real Estate Expert
P.S. If you have a question or any feedback, I’d love to hear it. Maybe you’d like to know what I think of a particular destination…or perhaps you have a suggestion about where you’d like us to scout next. Let me know here.
Your Daily Dream Home
Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
This apartment is in a vibrant neighborhood in Ciudad del Este, southeastern Paraguay. It’s close to banks, supermarkets, shopping malls and restaurants.
This home has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. The apartment complex has a swimming pool, two terrace areas, and a business room on the first floor.
Remember, we don’t make money from any listing shared here in the Your Daily Dream Home section. We have no dog in the fight. We’re just sharing cool properties we’ve found.
I haven’t visited this property or done due diligence on it. If you’re interested in the listing, you should hire an attorney and do your own due diligence.
