Planet-Love.com
Latin International Dating Forums => Latin -> General discussion => Topic started by: mudd on August 07, 2007, 09:37:03 AM
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If you’re looking for some investment property or vacation place, Panama has buildings and houses going up everywhere, many on the beach. I was at Playa Blanco resort and they have a lot of houses and condos going up next to the resort, and panama is much safer than Colombia, so if you’re looking for some place to invest, I would look at Panama before Colombia.
http://www.playablancaresort.com
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I could not disagree more- Last year I visited Panama from coast to coast fron South to North and this is what I saw ; Panama City was filthy, the bay was polluted and the stench was everywhere. The only good looking ladies I saw the entire tip were from Colombia. There were so many gringos everywhere and you could see the greed in their eyes the same look I saw 3 years ago in Flrida when people were waiting all night in line to buy pre-construction condos. You know just before the bubble burst. Most of these "investors ?) had been reading Internation Living and felt like they were going to make a bundle in Panama because of the low taxes. I) went to Medellin Colombia and paid much less per square foot for property. Taxes are very low as is the property maintenance and in less than 1 year I have realized a gain of about 47% on 4 different apartments. Colombia like Panama is experiencing a building boom but in Colombia it is mostly fueled by owner residents not speculators like Florida and Panama. When you look closely you will see that the units here are actually occupied which tells me this boom has a good way to go.
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Well, you must have not gone where I went, because it was beautiful nice beaches, everything clean, and there is a reason why some people prefer panama to Colombia, stability!!!!!. Way lower crime and murder rate. No rebel war that has s been going on for 30 years, no bombings, very few kidnappings, shall I go on??? Other problem with Colombia, one or two events takes place, US pulls funding out of Colombia for number of reason, corruption, human rights abuses, president is assonated, you got one BIG problem and you will see Colombia go south faster than the last donut at a police station.
There is a reason why Colombia is cheap because it’s a krap shoot. If you got money you’re not worried about losing, invest in Colombia. If you can’t stomach the loss of $150, 000, then look else where, like panama.
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You are exactly right Mudd. Unless you sold your property in Medellin how do you figure you "realized" a 47% gain unless you sold your property. You probably paid cash and lost all the advantage of leverage. I agree it is a crapshoot.
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I wouldn't call investing in Colombia a crap shoot. I strongly feel that Colombia will follow the same path as Costa Rica and Panama. Although the prices are low in comparison to coastal property in America, prices are being driven up rapidly in these markets. If you can get property at very good prices in Colombia, you stand the chance of getting a really nice return over the long run.
Colombia's only problem is controlling the drug trade. The people have had enough of the rebels, so that issue will be controlled in time. America isn't going anywhere, because Colombia is one of the few remaining allies that it has in LA. Also Colombia is still the largest producer of cocaine, thus America has a huge interest in seeing Colombia succeed (for political and commercial reasons). The money going into Colombia is miniscule compared to money going to other countries, so the funding isn't going anywhere anytime soon. They may want to see more progress, but can you say Iraq.
So I feel that for the right property at the right price still makes Colombia attractive for property investment, especially in places like Cartagena.
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Even though my wife still owns her apartment in Medellin, I would never invest in Colombian real estate. I am looking at Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
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I've heard nothing but good things about Uruguay. I had a lady working for me from Montevedeo a few years back. She was a class act. Several people I know have investigated moving there recently and found all positive things - low crime, stable, bargain prices, modern cities, etc.
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Uruguay is intriguing. You don't hear much about it. It's a country that flies under the radar screen. Which to me is a good thing.
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I was just in Panama last week and I met a couple looking at real estate in Panama, They lived in Ecuador for the past 11 years, but now the dictator of ecuador apparently is confiscating property they are convinced they will loosed their house in educador. This is the problem with every other country down south except panama. Even 30 years ago Mexico nationalized the coastline property and a bunch of foreigners lost their property. Panama uses the US currency, has close ties to the USA due to the canal. For safety of investment Panama is where my money is.
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Other problem with Colombia, one or two events takes place, US pulls funding out of Colombia for number of reason, corruption, human rights abuses, president is assonated, you got one BIG problem and you will see Colombia go south faster than the last donut at a police station.
Yes, that's very true.
Just look at what happened when Bill Clinton was "assonated" in the oval office. Monica went south faster than any donut... ;D