February 18, 2010
Bangkok, Thailand
Panama is one of those countries that registers a lot of interest from potential expats… and with good reason. It’s cheap, it’s close to North America, it has a strong and stable economy, and it’s full of opportunity for an ambitious investor and entrepreneur.
Over the past few months I have received numerous requests for more information about Panamanian property– it seems that people are finally starting to take action and getting prepared to internationalize themselves.
Of course, buying overseas property is one of the best ways to do this– property transactions are not reportable, and the capital that you park in real estate cannot be forcibly repatriated– once it leaves your home country, it’s much safer.
One of the major pitfalls of foreign property transactions that I’ve noticed over the years is when people entrust their capital to an incompetent or shady real estate agent.
It happens more often than you think– someone who looks good and sounds good, but whose opinion absolutely cannot be trusted. Panama is unfortunately full of people like this– charlatans who masquerade as real estate professionals.
In fact, I published a case study several weeks ago describing the experiences of a woman who trusted the advice of a real estate agent in Panama that sold her into a building with a condemned sewage system.
The right advice truly makes all the difference in the world, and that’s why I want to share with you some insider information about the Panama real estate market courtesy of the person who I have found to be the absolute best in the business.
His name is Ulrich Schwark; he and his partner Peter run one of Panama’s most successful real estate agencies, and they are hands down the most knowledgeable real estate professionals I have come across in the country.
Why? Because they are sharp investors themselves… they understand value, they understand risk, they understand long-term trends. And as Europeans, they can relate to foreigners and high standards of quality.
I’ve been operating in Panama for over 7-years, and I’ve met hundreds of ‘agents.’ Most of them are simply cheerleaders riding the wave. Ulrich and Peter understand the ebbs and flows of the tide and how to make money across the entire cycle.
I recently conducted a short interview with Ulrich in which he discusses the state of the market, where the best value and investments are, and a handful of really undervalued deals that he currently has available.
You can access the 30-minute interview here in mp3 format:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/withoutborders/Panama-property-interview.mp3
If you have any interest in Panamanian real estate, you should absolutely get in touch with Ulrich. The best way to reach him is to fill out this short form that describes the sort of property you might be looking for:
http://www.sovereignman.com/panama-property-interest
The information you provide is completely confidential and will go directly to Ulrich’s desk.
