Have any of you worked with RETA/International Living?

[Bjorn Nielsen]

I’ve been looking into RETA deals (Real Estate Trend Alert) from International Living. The lead guy, Ronan McMahon, presents some compelling deals. I am curious though, if these deals are as sweet as they sound...

I’m also curious to hear about the complications of owning/investing overseas?

[Mike Lambert]

@Bjorn Nielsen

This negative review reflects my own experience: https://infolific.com/money-ma....

You might want to ask yourself how they make money. Since becoming a member of BiggerPockets, the only emails I've been receiving are the daily alerts that I ask to receive as well as a weekly digest of interesting articles published during the week past. And when, from time to time, they publish a new book, they send me a promotional email about it, which I have no problem with. Contrast that with what happened after I subscribed to IL: I was flooded with a constant flow of emails trying to sell me something.

What they mightn't tell you in the articles is the commissions they might get from the developers/sponsors of the deals they advertise. The legally have to disclose that but it's in the fine print that people generally don't read. No wonder that, as mentioned in the attached article, pretty much everything is described with rose-colored glasses and there is a lack of anything negative.

As far as I know, they haven't promoted a development in the Dominican Republic, in spite of the fact that it can be a great place to retire and invest. During a recent trip in the country, one of my connections on the ground (who promotes condo developments) mentioned that they contacted them to see if they could promote condo projects there. He mentioned to me that they were asking for outrageously high commissions, which stopped the conversation.

Contrast that with Pannama, which they have been heavily promoting. While the country has been doing pretty well for itself, writing that its capital city is another Hong Kong or Singapore makes no sense for anybody who has any understanding of international economics. And suggesting that the city's real estate prices should align with those of Hong Kong, which are 10 times higher, is utterly ridiculous. What they won't tell you is that there is an oversupply of condos putting pressure on prices and they keep building. That's much more relevant information if you want to assess the profitability of an investment or the lack thereof.

As the saying goes, "If something looks too good to be true, it generally is".

International real estate investing makes total sense but you have to educate yourself so you know what you're doing (same as if you invest in domestic real estate). Don't fall for scams! As to the complications of owning/investing overseas, it's not easy to answer general questions but basically depends on the country. However, it's oftentimes not as complicated as it sounds. I've answered many posts on the subject here so don't hesitate to look at those replies and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.