All Forum Posts by: Mike Lambert

@Keaton Wright

Giving quality and sometimes very detailed answers in the forum takes us quite a bit of time (and therefore money) for which we're not remunerated. Like for most others, this is part of the contribution bucket of my life and, by answering in the forum, I can help multiple readers at the same time.

Unfortunately, that limits the time I have to give free advice through other channels but I've done it multiple times when I could. Especially if responding to your questions doesn't take much of my time, feel free to send me a DM and I'll gladly reply without asking you for anything, which I'd have done even if you hadn't asked for free advice.

This being said, I feel the need to warn you against wanting free advice or free anything else, especially when investing in a foreign country. While the usual saying "you get what you pay for" obviously applies, I'm flabbergasted that people are ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a foreign country but have an issue paying a likely small amount in relation to that to make sure they don't end up making a bad investment.

Hope this helps!

Hi Anne-Michelle, I guess neither of us (and nobody for that matter) know what's going to happen in the next 10 - 20 years. I don't live in Panama but I know people who invest there and I've visited to form my own opinion. There are opportunities indeed but it really depends on what people are looking for, as it always does. Personally, I was looking for a second market in Central America, being mostly active in Mexico but I decided to keep my focus on Mexico within the region and clearly that was the right decision to make.

@Sam Tan I'm not sure what you mean by "having success". There are no laws, rules or regulations preventing any foreigner, American or otherwise, to buy property in CDMX or Mexico for that matter.

If, by having success, you mean getting a profitable investment, I'm sure many American and other investors got that over the last few years (I personally haven't since I've focused my efforts on Mexico's beach markets, which are far better in my opinion. The thing is prices have increased and I don't know how much is left in the tank short term, besides the fact that capital gains are speculative in nature, like everywhere else. The best strategy in Mexico is holding short-term rentals and it's often even better than in the US because of the high cash flows and the almost guaranteed lack of regulations, which is a huge problem in the Us another developed countries. There's only one exception to that last point and that's CDMX, which has started implementing regulations because foreign investors renting short-term have pushed rents too high for the local population, which has turned against those investors. Not the best climate to invest IMHO.

@Pedro C.

It depends on the value of the property but for the typical basic property it’d be something like say $2,000 set-up fee and say $550 yearly maintenance fee.

Hi Kathie, the general rule is that no lender will land you cross-border. And if they were, there’s no chance they would do it in Nicaragua, given the risks involved. Syndications won’t work there.

You’d need private investors with a huge risk appetite but even someone like me who’s invested internationally for years wouldn’t touch that country with a 10-foot pole. It’s basically bankrupt and there’s no respect for the rule of law. Assuming you find somebody who has the risk appetite, you’d need to pay them a huge return to compensate for the risk. Given your own comment about the profitability of the deals, I’m not sure how you could pay that.

So I guess your best bet is love money from your loved ones so might want to support you. Or maybe some Nicaragua lovers.

Hi @Asif Ali Kabiruddin Rajani

Being a non-resident, I only invest in short-term rentals because, given my current situation, it's the only strategy that's profitable enough and not too risky. Problem is that European countries like Portugal and Spain are following (or preceding) the negative STR regulations that you find in more and more places in North America. Even areas that we deemed safe aren't anymore. You really need to buy the right kind of property in the right place.

I'm not sure what you mean by type of broker. I find properties myself or use personal connections. Because real estate agents aren't going to play buyer agents for foreigners that maybe are going to buy, unless you're high net worth and looking for expensive properties. Moreover, in Spain for example, anybody and their mother can be a real estate agent as the profession isn't regulated. As a result, many do it more as a hobby and aren't really helpful. And you'd also need where to invest because, even if you take a "homogenous" market like the Costa del Sol, most agents will only cover their little city.

@Erwin Groenendijk, you are correct but Americans should be able to credit their taxes paid in Spain against their equivalent US taxes courtesy of the treaty for the avoidance of double taxation between the two countries.

@Shiloh Lundahl

Yes and what you're doing makes total sense, including the fun part of it. I think we pretty much agree on anything but we're commenting from different points of view.

If I'm not mistaken, your retreats are focused on US investing while I'm focusing on international investing. Mind you, I'm Canadian so the US is international for me and I,m having discussions with a cousin from Europe about investing in the US together so maybe.

Hi @Seth Sundberg if I were you I would try to avoid the capital mistake (no pun intended) that would-be international investors make. Many US investors pay cash for properties overseas because they have the money (like-kind properties are often much cheaper) and they can get a higher return than with most mortgaged US property if they buy the right property at the right price. Many would-be buyers/investors don't have the cash or would like to take advantage of leverage. Before wasting time looking for properties or spending a lot of time on projects, they should make sure they can get the financing because a) financing might not be available, b) they might not qualify or c) the cost of debt might be prohibitively right.

Another mistake investors make is believe that they can apply a US strategy or financing model overseas. The US multifamily model is pretty much limited to the US and Canada.

Based on the little that you mentioned, I'm not sure how you could find such financing. What would work would be using a US lender if you have US collateral to give but that would likely defeat the purpose and you probably don't need me to tell you that.

Finally, there is a lot of inaccurate information around about investing overseas. My best advice is to make sure you talk to people who know what they're talking about to corroborate crucial info.

Clearly, you have figured that much out already since you ask in the forum. Good luck!