Anybody have any ideas about small cargo with high value that could be carried in a small plane between the USA and South America?

Scott,Another option for you is to sell and carry the paper.

My company also carries a liability policy which gets each property added to it when when we purchase and removed when we sell (no change in premium).  

The industry standard is still to have pooled trust accounts and then carry a fidelity bond for the those accounts. 

You find a 450k-550k home or duplex, and carry a small mortgage on it.

I get the benefit of the whole "swap til you drop" theory, but I (hopefully) have 50 more years to live and don't want to be carrying these houses forever.

In the volatile market we have today a fixed rate loan will carry a high rate if you can find one.

Instead, if you invest $100K in a DST that carries an 8% fee, you only get $92K of equity in the property. 

For example a current deal we are involved in:Purchase Price: $210k  (he carried all the debt/shelled out the cash:Rehab Budget: $35k (I funded with my own money/credit lines)Carrying Costs: $6700 (in my deals he is responsible for carrying costs)Sale Price: $304kAfter all fees etc. paid, my rehab money, his initial investment, we split the net profit 50/50.

Due to the purchase/rent ratio not being conducive to putting 20% down, I offered to purchase with them carrying 30%.