All Forum Posts by: Jackie Lange

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.

Plus, once you have had your permanent Visa for 5 years, you can get Panama Citizenship and a Panama passport ( additional $600)

You do not need to live in Panama full time to get the Pensionado Visa.  

If you do not qualify for the Pensionado Visa ( no Social Security) but would still like to get a Visa, you can apply for the Friendly Nations Visa, which costs about $1000 more than the Pensionado Visa to get.  But you don't need to prove any lifetime income.  You will need to set up a Panama bank account with $5000.  If you are a 55 year old woman or a 60 year old man, you will STILL qualify for all the Pensionado Discounts.  And after 5 years you can get citizenship and a passport.

I live and invest in Panama.

Let me know if you have any questions about Panama retirement programs, etc.

The Panama Retirement program is the best in the world!  You do need to get a Pensionado Visa which will cost $1070 for a single person or $1200 for a couple.  To get this Visa, you need to prove a $1000 per month lifetime income (like Social Security) for one person or $1250 for a couple applying for the Pensionado Visa together. You get a temporary Visa within 24 hours and a permanent residency Visa within 3 months.  Then you are entitled to these discounts in Panama:

Here is a summary of the benefits of the Panama retirement visa:

• One time Duty tax exemption for household goods up to a total of $10,000.
• Duty exemption for importing a new car every two years.
• 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country (movies, concerts, sports)
• 30% off bus, boat, and train fares
• 25% off airline tickets ( originating in Panama - going anywhere)
• 50% off hotel stays from Monday through Thursday
• 30% off hotel stays from Friday through Sunday
• 25% off at restaurants
• 15% off at fast-food restaurants
• 15% off hospital bills (if no insurance applies)
• 10% off prescription medicines
• 20% off medical consultations
• 15% off dental and eye exams
• 20% off professional and technical services
• 50% reduction in closing costs for home loans
• 25% discounts on utility bills
• 15% off loans made in your name
• 1% less on home mortgages for homes used for personal residence

• A one-time exemption of duties (taxes) on the importation of household goods up to US$10,000 in total value.
• 100% duty exemption on the importation or purchase of an automobile every 2 years.

Before you jump in to buying a house to be a vacation rental, why not TEST DRIVE the market.  You can do that by master leasing ( sandwich leasing) a property.  You simply find a property that is for rent, then rent it with the right to sublease.  You'll make the difference between what you collect from your tenants and what you pay the owner.  

With a master lease, the owner (not you) pays for repairs, for insurance, for taxes, etc.  

You could get an option to buy the house later, but the option is not necessary.

I do this in Panama.  I rent properties long term then rent out by the week.  The cash flow is amazing!

Some of my students have 60 and even 100 master leases producing $25,000+ per month in cash flow -- all with houses they don't even own.  

At the end of your master lease, you may determine that you want to dive in to the Galveston vacation rental market, renew your master lease or exercise your option.   Or you may decide that it is not as good as you thought.  But you can do all this in a risk free way WITHOUT buying a house.

HI Ari

I would definitely NOT recommend investing in a coffee farm.  I own a organic coffee farm In Panama so I'm speaking from experience.  The yield is not what some companies promote!

You can get a Friendly Nations Visa, then 5 years later + $600, you can apply for Panama citizenship and get a passport.  The requirements to get a Residency Visa are a clean national criminal report (like FBI), $5,000 in a Panama bank account ( which you can start spending as soon as you get your permanent visa plus either a (1) labor contract OR (2) set up a corporation in Panama for about $1000, OR (3) buy real estate worth at least $100,000 which is titled in your name and has no debt.  It's a 3 step process to get a Friendly Nations Visa.  First you have to come to Panama to apply for your visa.  Within 24-48 hours you'll have a temporary visa.  You'll also want to get a multi-entry visa stamp in your passport which allows you to leave the country while you are in the process of getting your permanent Visa.  Then about 3 months later, your attorney will notify you that your permanent visa is ready, you could come back to Panama then to get your permanent Resident Visa which is food forever or you can wait about 30 days for your attorney to apply for your Cedual ( national ID card) so you can pick up the Permanent Visa and Cedula on the same trip.

As for investments... there are a lot of opportunities but you also need to be really careful.  What to invest in depends on what your objectives are.  If you want cash flow,I'd advise single family houses in the Boquete area or condos near Coronado or Gorgona.  If you're looking for the biggest upside potential I'd advise other areas.  

I've been buying land that I find at a good price. ( You won't get this through a real estate agent.) Then building a 1250sf two bedroom 2 bath houses for $35,000 which will rent for $800 a month furnished and all inclusive. There are no property taxes and insurance is only $140 a year on a house like this. Great ROI! (Much better investment than a coffee farm)

There is a big demand for affordable north american style rentals in many parts of Panama.

You do need to know that not all properties in Panama are titled.  Some are ROP (right of possession) and you want to avoid this even though the prices are often super cheap.

Do a google search for Panama Relocation Tours

They will sell for cash too.

BUY ONE, TWO, THREE — OR BUY THEM ALL..

These properties are all in great condition, tenant occupied, and being sold with seller financing – most below market. The seller will finance with 20% down at 7% with a 30-year amortization with a 3 year balloon. These are turn-key rentals. The seller has a property management team in place if you need management. The referral fee is listed next to each property.

https://www.cashflowdepot.com/community/topic/21-rental-properties-for-sale-in-texas-with-seller-financing/

Yes, Hospital Chiriqui is good.  Mae Lewis is too.  

You can just walk in to any lab to get lab work done.  Don't eat after 10pm and don't eat before the lab work.  Complete lab work - 8 pages is $42 - no dr. prescription necessary.

Yes of course there are opportunities to buy houses and rent them out in Boquete. But you should also check in to buying some land then building.  That's what I'm doing.  I just bought another hectare (2 1/4 acre) and will be building a greenhouse and several rentals.  a 1250 house is only $35,000 to build and will rent for $750 to $800 (all inclusive)

Yes Big Daddy sold.  The buyer has been a chef at many restaurants in town, even Sabor at Valle Escondido.  Everyone tells me it is great but I have not been in to check it out.

I just posted another motivated seller lead for Ohio - this one is a subject-to deal. Take over payments on 11 year old mortgage with balance of $28,000. PITI is $375

House is worth $56,000 - $66,000

Andrew, send me an email please.  The seller is not interested in doing a listing.