All Forum Posts by: Alex Washburn

@Mike Lambert We've had discussions on other threads before about buying in foreign countries and your experience and perspective is not that of a small private investor. 

You cannot own beachfront property in Mexico in your own personal name - which you first called fake news and then admitted was true so I don't really understand why you opened with a statement that felt like it was meant to discredit my past work experience. A fideicomiso is not compatible with American Cultural concepts of property which turns people off - they discussed this in a recent BP Podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Costa Rica is not expensive by US and Canadian standards even areas that are well developed and as we've discussed on other threads this is primarily because american style bank loans are essentially impossible. Even in Santa Theresa and Mal Pais you can buy a phenomenal property a short walk from the beach for a quarter of what it would cost in the United States. So yes by Latin American Standards 500k for a house is a lot but plenty of retired boomers can afford that - or tech employees who want to own property on a perfect surf beach or overlooking a Yacht Harbor. Theres also a plethora of modest properties in hot areas in the 100K range or below which is what we purchased.

I am well aware Mexico has a significantly larger tourist trade and more Canadians and Americans. It's also a significantly larger country and while I love Mexico and would live there again in a heart beat it's not as clean as Costa Rica, literacy rates aren't as high and it has significantly higher rates of crime. There's also less people who speak English which makes some expats uncomfortable. Also, in the places most expats want to live Mexico can be very expensive (take a look at whats happened to San Miguel De Allende in the last 20 years!). 

Mexico to me is a second home but as someone who was spent significant time traveling, working, living in and researching Latin America - Costa Rica to me seemed like the best possible investment followed closely by Belize and Panama. CR would not be my top choice for retirement but I am not personally fond of the beach and I adore street food culture which Costa Rica doesn't have a lot of. For non Spanish speakers who don't care about street food and love the beach it's paradise. 

I actually own property in Mexico as well as Costa Rica but I don't talk about it because it was a gift and not an investment property I purchased myself. The Mexico property is in my name but the Costa Rican property is held in an LLC.

Finally - As a fledgling investor I wouldn't trust the capital I do have to any pre-construction deal anywhere in Latin America, I've seen too many abandoned developments and skyscrapers for that. If I had the kind of associates and resources you do it would be a much more reasonable proposition. 

At the moment I am pretty happy scraping paint myself and laying floors domestically to build more capital but we will probably buy another Costa Rican property in another year or so. 

@Dan Beaulieu Yes! Our first property purchase was in Costa Rica before we moved to Tennessee. I am trying to convince a bank or other entity to loan down there but I doubt that's going to happen soon (given current economic indicators) but I still think it's a fantastic long term investment. 

Nathaniel and I have significant familiarity with Latin America and Costa Rica was the place that really jumped out to us as an opportunity. Unlike Mexico - there are places in CR foreigners can outright own beach front property in their own name. The restriction for the majority of the coast line is only something like 600 yards from the high water mark for foreign ownership - if CR investment is something you are interested in doing personally I would be happy to walk you through how we narrowed down the location and introduce you to one of the agents I've been in contact with for several years. 

@David Rutledge have you considered a foreign STR? When I was in California I bought in Costa Rica because to me there seemed to be little logistical difference between buying across the country or in another country.

@Jim K. Loved reading this. I am so excited for the day I can be the full time handyman. To me it means I'll be close to the point where we have so many properties I can't do it myself anymore! :) Starting our first BRRR tomorrow!

@Alex Smith how long have you been working as a property manager in Chattanooga? Are you going to the meet up next week?

@Kenneth Mooney no, we only have one door in Costa Rica. But we closed on our first BURRR today in Chattanooga! In another year or two we will probably buy another place in CR - it’s an all cash market so we can’t buy in the volume I would like. That being said if you can go all cash there’s a ton of great properties starting at 80k. We bought our 1 bedroom condo for ~70k https://www.instagram.com/p/B1EcNsyluui/?igshid=4dooayh3sbo4

I am no longer in the #debtfreecommunity group so I am going to post this PLAN B win here because I know a few journalists interested in a similar path.

Short back story: After viscerally acknowledging the challenges of becoming a homeowner in the SF Bay area while being employed as a journalist I tearfully acknowledged I needed a new plan. After what some would consider a very short period of consideration I decided my Plan B would be real estate investment.

I like real estate. I like travel. My success will be determined by how hard I am willing to hustle not how neatly my accumulated life experiences check the value boxes in a new industry. Perfect!

I have spent more time contemplating where to eat for dinner. 

And truthfully my journalism skills have been useful every step of the way.

The first property my husband and I purchased was a 1 bedroom Condo in Costa Rica in 2017 ( a reasonable amount of thought went into this). 

I recently took a trip to Costa Rica to invest more money into furniture and decorating. At my favorite watering hole one night I was contemplating other people's conversations over a domestic craft brew and chicken wings and I realized one of the other patrons was contemplating coming back to town for an extended stay - later in the evening when she loudly lamented the fact the condo didn't even have a microwave I seized this as an in to her conversation. 

"My place has a microwave, you should rent it next time!"

Several beers later we agreed she would come over the next day to see if my condo suited her needs (it did).

Amanda has now booked our condo from the end of September into December. (A vacation rental at 100% occupancy for such a large period of time is a very big deal.) 

If there is anything a journalist will always be good at it is chatting people up in bars. 

---------------------

Yes I still have a 9-5 as a remote contractor. I work from home and live in Chattanooga Tennessee. 

2017: 1st Door Purchased / + Wedding

2018: Second Door Purchased / + Moved Cross Country

Tomorrow: Scheduled to close on a third door and we are off to the races.

---------------------

Please let me know if you are a former journalist/journalist, say hello and let me know how the transition has been for you!

@Kelly Rastatter what is the page on FB? I am in a few Chattanooga Real Estate FB groups but none of them are BP related. I'd like to join up there too.

@Lynne Hart Herrera I’m interested in hearing more about what a certified international property specialist does! That’s very interesting.

Just finished redecorating my condo in CR. My husband and I have a short term rental a block from the beach but while I was there I met a woman who is now contemplating renting from us September - December which is pretty exciting.

I have a lot of enthusiasm for the market and wish other people did too! (Mostly banks)