All Forum Posts by: Curtis Collins

My expectation is the only contact they would respond to would be notification of a Class Action Lawsuit. Anyone else interested in participating?

I became an Equity Trust customer by acquisition. Ive had several very bad experiences with them. The most recent was yesterday, they let me down on the day of a real estate closing. My assigned representative for the transaction just went AWOL about mid day. As a result, the deal did not fund.

Dealing with them is like dealing with a bureaucracy. Their reps have the same attitude as bureaucrats...their rules and procedures are the priority, not customer service. The result is that they have no empathy at all and will leave you hanging in the middle of a deal.

I paid for expedited service ($75). This means that they only ignore your request for 24 hours instead 3 to 5 business days. This is one of their many predatory fee practices. I also paid for expedited service on a wire transfer recently and it took them 2 days to submit the wire. When I inquired about confirmation they were unable/unwilling to provide me with the Fed tracking number.

VERY unhappy customer.

That was on Friday, now its Monday:

After my assigned Equity representstive abandonded me in the middle of a real estate closing on Friday, her response on Monday is that she will look into this as soon she catches up on her emails from Friday. Unbelieveable, closing happened on Friday, but I cant get funding done. If it is not done today then of course there will be legal & financial impacts...and Equity could care less.

If you want the same kind of customer service you would get from a government bureaucracy then chose Equity Trust, they will meet and exceed that expectation.

Follow up from my earlier post:

After my assigned Equity representstive abandonded me in the middle of a real estate closing on Friday, her response on Monday is that she will look into this as soon she catches up on her emails from Friday. Unbelieveable, closing happened on Friday, but I cant get funding done. If it is not done today then of course there will be legal & financial impacts...and Equity could care less.

If you want the same kind of customer service you would get from a government bureaucracy then chose Equity Trust, they will meet and exceed that expectation.

Researching IRA Services Trust Company now. Unfortunately their online reviews are quite mixed.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-a...

Having owned a property with a mansard roof, I can tell you from experience that its not the mansard sides that are the problem, but the flat roof behind them. Flat roofs are just maintance nightmares waiting to happen. 

Brian, I used to live in Belize and still get back there occasionally. I have done a few real estate transactions in Belize... a more screwed up Lands Dept would be hard find...lots of fun stories.  ; )

 My primary criteria now is strong cash flow. Looking at small multifamily (4 plex+). What kind of properties do you have?

I used to live in Florida, but never invested in multifamily there.

Hola Arcinio,

We are living in Vocan now. Im considering building small multifamily (duplexes) here for the growing expat community. Many rent before they buy or build. Some chose to rent long term to avoid the hassle/risk of bulding or buying.

Have a friend who has built small single family homes here for that market for about $50K each (you can still do that in Panama). They are renting for $500/month...not bad.

Semi retired active investor residing in Panama. Currently hold properties in USA, Belize, Guatemala, and Panama.

With bond yields so low, now shopping for strong income multifamily properties. Looking in Texas, Florida, and Panama because those are markets I am familiar with, but open to other suggestions.

Be happy to share experience in Central American real estate.