Category: Pillar 5 of 7 – Finance and Financial Education

How to Weaponize Your Bank Account So You Never Start Over From $0 Ever Again

Real Estate Investments, retire overseas1 Comment

Back Home In The City Of Light

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We’re moving slowly this morning.

After about 18 hours of travel, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle to find (quelle surprise) the French airport workers were en greve (that is, on strike). We waded through hundreds of people to make it to the immigration line…where we waited more than an hour to be admitted to the country.

Then, outside, we joined those same hundreds of people waiting for taxis to take us all into the city.

Then, on the highway…mon dieu…rush-hour traffic. Another hour-and-a-half later, we arrived finally at the little apartment on rue de Verneuil that the kids, traveling with us, remember as home.
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How To Get The Best Deal On Every Global Real Estate Investment You Make

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A friend in Europe called this week to ask if I thought my Marketwatch members would be interested in bank foreclosure deals in Mediterranean countries. My friend has been active as a broker and developer in Spain and Croatia for more than a dozen years and has contacts elsewhere in Europe, as well.

I assured him that, yes, this is the kind of opportunity I’m keen to bring my Marketwatch members, and I’m reviewing details for a forthcoming Marketwatch report now.

The kinds of extreme bargains my Euro-market contact is telling me about are available in many markets right now. The key is locating them. You won’t find these kinds of deals on the Internet. You have to have “boots on the ground,” as they say, either your own or those of a reliable contact (like my friend), someone active in the market where you’re shopping.
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Attitudes, Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments1 Comment

How To Maximize Your Returns In One Of The World’s Most Solid Rental Yield Markets

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The rental market in Paris has shifted. Last year, when the euro was strong, tourism was down. The short-term rental market suffered.

Today, the Greenback has about 20% more buying power in this part of the world than it did a year ago. Tourism is up sharply, and short-term rentals are back in demand.

Meantime, thanks to la crise, as the French refer to it, many apartment owners in this city have been struggling. With fewer tourists on the scene over the past 18 months or so, landlords did what they could to attract long-term tenants. Business people flow steadily through this city, often with their families in tow during their 3-, 6-, or 12-month placements. More apartment owners fighting to attract a piece of this executive rental pool has translated into falling pricing. Mid- and long-term rental rates are down and more competitive than they’ve been in a long time.
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The Other Key To Making Your Retire Overseas Dreams Come True

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After cost of living and housing, the question of foreign residency options is a key one to consider as you make your retire-overseas plans.

The truth is, not every country welcomes foreign residents or retirees, and, in those that do, the requirements for qualifying for residency status vary greatly. Furthermore, some countries (for example, Panama) offer many different options for establishing permanent residency.

A local attorney can detail all the possibilities for you, and, in most cases, I recommend you use a local attorney to process the associated paperwork for the visa you choose to apply for. It’s worth the minimal expense, and it saves you the effort of trying to wade through the related red tape in a foreign language. In some cases (again, in Panama, for example), an attorney’s help is not only advisable but required.
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Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments1 Comment

Your Second Home In France (Could Cost As Little As 45,000 Euro)

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“Last evening,” writes France Correspondent Lucy Culpepper, “we sat in the spring sunshine on the main square in Cessenon-sur-Orb watching the swallows dipping and diving over the roof tiles. “As the family relaxed, I took a look in the window of the local real estate agent’s office. He has some interesting small ‘vacation’ homes on the market. If you are contemplating France as a second or even third home, these could be of interest. “For example, I saw a listing for an 80-square-meter village* stone house with a wonderful view toward the river and the mountains of the Haut Languedoc, … Continue reading Your Second Home In France (Could Cost As Little As 45,000 Euro)

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The Languedoc Versus The Béarn–Contrasting The Glories Of French Country Springtime

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“I’m over in the Languedoc region of the ‘other’ south of France,” writes Correspondent from that country Lucy Culpepper. “As we drove from the Béarn in the Pyrenees Atlantic department on the west coast of France to the Languedoc department on the east, following the line of the Pyrenees Mountains, I was particularly struck, this springtime, by the contrast of the two regions. The early maize is starting to poke through the dark chocolate-colored Atlantic Pyrenees soils; it is verdant and abundantly green with every type of deciduous tree coming into leaf. “As we drove east, the soils gradually changed … Continue reading The Languedoc Versus The Béarn–Contrasting The Glories Of French Country Springtime

Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments3 Comments

Brass Tacks–How To Budget Your New Life Overseas

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How much will it cost you to live in the overseas Shangri-la that’s calling your name? The bulk of any budget is given over to housing–rent or a mortgage, if you have one–so start here. Are you going to rent or to buy? I strongly recommend that you rent at least at first, for 6 to 12 months, to give yourself a chance to try the place on for size before committing. However, if you do eventually decide to invest in a home of your own, recognize that property ownership comes with carrying costs. As a home-owner, you’ll have maintenance … Continue reading Brass Tacks–How To Budget Your New Life Overseas

Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments3 Comments

A Tale Of Two Retirees

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Friends David Stubbs and Lucy Culpepper retired overseas early and haven’t looked back since… “I retired to Costa Rica in 2004,” explains David, “at the age of 48. I was late. My goal from my teenage years was to be in a position to retire by the age of 35. As I approached that milestone, I was having too much fun to quit. Even at 40, I was not ready, but, by 45, I knew my time in the workforce was up. It took me a couple of years to extricate myself from corporate life, after 21 years with Hewlett-Packard. … Continue reading A Tale Of Two Retirees

Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments1 Comment

This Eco-Investment Doubles Your Money, At Least,

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A developer friend is launching a new project in Belize. I’ve written about early-in investment opportunities with this project once before, when the developer, Phil Hahn, made his initial Founder’s Guild package offer earlier this year. Phil sold the three packages he had available within 24 hours of my alert. That’s how compelling the offer was. What Phil has put together for this next round of early-in opportunity is no less interesting. These additional Founder’s Guild packages that Phil is making available now come with the potential to return 24% annualized over three years. Before I go into further details … Continue reading This Eco-Investment Doubles Your Money, At Least,

Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments2 Comments

Fairy-Tale Living On The Continent (That, Yes, You Can Afford)

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Croatia is my other top pick (alongside France) for spending time in Europe. This is a country of impossibly beautiful blue-green waters that, unfortunately, is better known for its tumultuous history. The fighting, though, in this part of the world is nearly two decades in the past, and the cultured, educated people of Croatia have been working hard ever since to rebuild their 1,000-year-old country. Croatia has captured my imagination since my first visit nearly 10 years ago. The entire family, in fact, was so taken with the beauty, the history, the culture, and the lifestyle of this country that, … Continue reading Fairy-Tale Living On The Continent (That, Yes, You Can Afford)

Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments1 Comment

Here’s The Most Important Thing You Need To Understand About Spending Time In France

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Here’s perhaps the most important thing to understand about France: It can be a far more affordable place to spend time than you might imagine. Paris is the best place on earth to seek out a luxury lifestyle on a budget. Whatever your idea of the high life, you can find it in the City of Light, and the best part about this city is that some of the best it has to offer comes free.  Life’s sweetest pleasures are here for the taking. Picnics in the Luxembourg Gardens, long walks along the Seine, afternoons lost among the cobblestones of … Continue reading Here’s The Most Important Thing You Need To Understand About Spending Time In France

Great Places For Holidays And Investments, Real Estate, Real Estate Investments8 Comments

Panama Sliced Thin

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Panama is an extreme example of why thin-slicing your live and retire overseas options is important. First, there’s Panama City, which isn’t one good choice but at least a half-dozen, including El Cangrejo, Paitilla, Costa del Este, the banking center, and Casco Viejo. These are markedly different options for city living. El Cangrejo is up-and-coming trendy…the banking center is the most convenient, center-of-everything option and home to the city’s best (and most expensive) addresses. Casco Viejo is the most historic and interesting section of this city. At least that’s my opinion. A friend, on the other hand, refers to Casco … Continue reading Panama Sliced Thin