Anyone Investing in Latin America?

Anyone Investing in Latin America?

Investor · Valparaiso, FL · Member since 2014 · 374 posts · 76 votes

Hello BP community, I was wondering if there were many investors out there who have invested in properties abroad. If anyone would like to share some of their experiences I would love to hear about them. I have looked at properties in several countries to include Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.

One of the issues I have seen is with the financing aspect of buying a property in another country. For starters it can be difficult to get financed for a property by a bank in another country unless you have an account with some money in it as well as have some account history. I have searched for a US bank that will loan money for a property abroad and have not had much success. The interest rates are a bit higher than what is currently available in the US as well. Currently rates in Colombia are around 12% and Bolivia is 6% which 6% is not terrible it comes with a balloon payment at the end. I thought that the dollar would have more purchasing power in some countries but with real estate that is not always the case.

I look forward to reading whatever anyone has to share on the subject.

Paul

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Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y

I was involved in Nicaragua investing for a while, amaaazing country!, but same financing problems there. There's not really a solution that I've found other than a) pay cash, b) seller financing if available, or c) high interest loans from that country.

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  • Real Estate Investor · Sheboygan, WI · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    I recently purchased Caribbean seafront land in the village of Hopkins in Belize. Cash is king down here.  There are some seller financed deals around but the longest termsI've seen are around 5 years as no one wants to wait forever to be paid. 

    I plan on renting out my small house on the beach once it is finished as a vacation rental.  There is a guy in the village here who comes highly recommended as a manager.

    Belize is absolutely amazing!  Property taxes are insanely low ($40 yearly), no capital gains taxes, no inheritance taxes, and closing on a property is the same as the u.s. except no title company is used but instead use a trusted real estate attorney.  And to top it all off I don't need to learn a new language as Belize is an English speaking nation.

  • Lynne HartBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2015 · 115 posts · 49 votes
    9y

    I know some folks in Belize that can connect you with all the real estate information you need.  Its incredibly cheaper to build versus buy, if you have the patience to do so..........things take longer there.  Message me if I can connect you!

    InveSTLouis at Real Broker LLC54 Reviews
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  • Investor · Central America, Panama · Member since 2010 · 423 posts · 293 votes
    9y

    Before you jump in to investing in a foreign country, you need to be aware of what the rules are. 

    In Ecuador, for example, they recently passed a new law with a 65% capital gains tax on all real estate sales.  There is a 5% penalty when you close an Ecuador bank account.

    In Colombia, if you do not have a residency Visa, you can only stay in the country for 6 months, then you need to leave for at least 6 months.  Plus if you do get a Visa, you will be taxed on your worldwide income and assets -- ouch!

    Investigate the rules.  Never trust the person who wants to sell you real estate to give you accurate information.  Get your OWN attorney in the country to guide you.

  • Architect · Asuncion, Asuncion · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 7 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Paul S.:

    Hey @Ali Boone if I may ask, what were you investing in there? I was looking for an apartment (really we consider them condos) that I would use while there and then renting while I was away. I was thinking something similar to a vacation rental. 

    I know a few people who are investing in LATAM and they primarily buy pre-construction then sell after the building is complete. Often times builders will sell pre built to get the cash they need to finish or move onto another project at a discount.

    Paul

     @Paul S is right about this.

    I live in Paraguay and I'm familiar with this. Even though the multifamily/condo market is exploding and there are loan incentives for housing from the government it is not easy for people to get a loan from a bank (rates are terrible anyway)

    So what happens is developers offer financing if you buy pre-built, at a discount. It is not actually financing. I mean, it is the owners who finance the construction of the building, not the developers.

    This works like this:

    Developers sell pre-built. You as an investor pay 20% in advance, and then make monthly payments as the condo is getting built (anything from 12 to 18 months, depending on the condo size). Month after month you make this payment, for 12 to 18 months until you've covered 80% of the unit's price. Soon after, the condo is ready and you pay the remaining 20% after possession of the unit.

    In fact, most of the pre-built business is fueled by foreign capital: Argentineans, Uruguayans and recently Chileans. This happens because the local buyer is an unexperienced one, unlike Argentineans and Uruguayans that see an opportuniy in Paraguay, where the land is cheap and taxes are lower. Compare the Argentina's average of 1900 USD/m2 vs Paraguay's 1300 USD/m2 in new condo units. Pre-built prices are even lower: 950 to 1100 USD/m2.

    I recently scrapped the data from real estate listings everywhere from Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Brasil and Argentina. That's probably 50.000 entries in total. This lets me compare averages between country and regions. I don't mind sharing this database with anyone interested.

  • Real Estate Agent · Evansville, IN · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 4 votes
    9y
    Juan Pessolani , Would you care to share that information with me? Thanks, James
  • Investor · Chorley, Lancashire · Member since 2013 · 82 posts · 22 votes
    9y

    We have recently moved to Nicaragua and begun investing. We sold investment real estate in the UK that allowed us to fund USA investments and build a home here. We are using loans from the UK to allow us to build property and sell here

    I think the only way you would get finance here would be through a seller, although that is something that is changing. I have seen many projects on the Pacific coast that offer finance, to me they are way over priced. We are building in the Colonial city of Granada, we are building a colonial home and then looking at condows / apartments. These would likely be sold on to retirees, or to investors due to the growing demand.

    For me the biggest concern is security. I am still a serving officer in the British Merchant Marine and worked in this region for 19 years. The area we have moved to for me felt the safest. There is a large expat community of mainly Americans here due to the low cost of living

  • New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    @Juan Pessolani would you share this database with me please? 

  • Architect · Asuncion, Asuncion · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 7 votes
    9y

    Sure @Diego Rodriguez

    Files are available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwqzbFXWK5T-T0FQ...

    Once you open the spreadsheet for the country you are interested in you can sort and filter the data easily. Each entry is geolocated so you can turn any spreadsheet into a custom Google Map via import and some minor tweaking, like this:

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OIbnujQ6gXlw8RqR...

    How you find it useful! Let me know if you have any questions.

  • New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    @Juan Pessolani Thank you so much!! I will explore it over the course of this week. Gracias! 

  • Rental Property Investor · Plantation, FL · Member since 2015 · 25 posts · 6 votes
    4y

    @Eric Tait intéressant

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