Everything You Need To Know About Ocean View Condos

Some of the most beautiful real estate opportunities in the world are ocean view condos. Many homeowners choose to get ocean view condos because these condos offer them exactly what the name suggests; an ocean view. The condos look out onto the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, offering a wonderful and relaxing view that cannot be equalled anywhere else in the world. However, before you go about buying an ocean view condo, what do you need to know? You want to make sure you do not make a bad decision, or buy a condo that is not right for you. So, to help you make the right decision, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about buying an ocean view condo.

Where to Buy

There are a number of beautiful places that you can buy ocean view condos in, like the United States, Spain, France, Italy and Canada, but those condos are usually extremely pricey. If you want to buy condos that look out on the ocean for a much lower rate, then you can look at some very beautiful countries that have low housing costs. These are the Philippines, Thailand, Panama and Costa Rica.

Philippines

The Philippines are a serious of islands, hundreds of them, which rest between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. That means there are plenty of ocean view condos you can buy in this lovely country. However, before you buy property within the Philippines, you should do the following:

1. Learn what you can about the Philippines so that you can choose the area of the country that matches what you want. Do you want to be on a small island, or on the big islands? Do you want to look over the South China Sea, or do you want to look over the Pacific Ocean? Do you want to be near major cities like Luzon and Manila, or small villages?
2. There have been a lot of foreclosures in the Philippines so you should look for foreclosures of ocean view condos in the area you choose to buy in. You could spend a quarter what you would originally spend for a non-foreclosure house.
3. You should seriously consider hiring a broker who can assist you in finding the right property.

It should be noted that under Philippines law, foreigners cannot own property within the Philippines. Only citizens of the country can own property but that is beginning to change. The easiest way to own property in the Philippines is to be married to someone from the Philippines who can buy the property in their own name. There are exceptions including you may own a house or building, but not the land on which the house sits. Also corporations can buy homes in the Philippines if they are at least 60 percent Filipino-owned. In regards to condominiums, the Condominium Act of the Philippines allows foreigners to acquire condo units and shares in condo corporations up to 40 percent the total.

Thailand

Thailand is becoming a very popular destination for individuals who want to own ocean front properties along the coast. The country’s cost of living is low and you can typically buy ocean front properties for quite cheap. However, there are some things to be aware of when you are buying an ocean front property here.

• Under Thai law, foreigners are not allowed to own any freehold land within Thailand, but there are several exceptions to this including:
  • Foreigners can own 100 percent interest in a land lease in the country, with a maximum of a 30-year lease period.
  • Thai registered companies with a majority Thai ownership can buy land within Thailand. Many foreigners have bought an interest as minority shareholders in a Thai company in order to buy real estate.
  • If you are married to a Thai spouse, the Thai spouse is able to buy the property in their name without any problem.

The same rules apply to condos, but if you are able to find a way to buy an ocean view condo in Thailand, you will be happy that you did.

Panama

Panama is the southernmost country of Central and North America, and is the connector to South America. It has the third largest economy in Central America and is the fastest growing economy in Central America. It borders both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and it may be the perfect country for buying ocean view condos. Within Panama, laws are in place to make it very easy for foreigners to buy property within the country. In fact, there are also many laws in place that protect foreigners from being scammed or losing their money due to illegal property activities. Panama is one of the easiest tropical countries for you to buy ocean view condos in, and it is a place to seriously consider.

If you are buying an ocean view condo within Panama, then you should do the following to verify the possession of the real estate as you will most likely be buying within specially run tourist zones.

1. Ensure that the piece of land is being issued by the Cadastral Land Office.
2. Ensure that the piece of land has a complete description regarding it including its areas, limits, encumbrances and more.
3. That the building, either new or being constructed is acceptable under the municipal government.
4. Ensure that the property is not restricted by the Agrarian Code.

Keep in mind that the government created Law No. 2 that regulations administrative concessions and purchases of coastal territories. This gives you security when you are buying a home within Panama that lies along the coast.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a Central American country that is considered to be very modern, and one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. It is a beautiful place to live, but there are some things you need to be aware of if you are going to buy ocean view condos within the country. In the past, it was very easy to buy property as a foreigner in the country but several instances of foreigners doing illegal land deals has caused restrictions to be put in place.

In order to buy property within Costa Rica, you need to qualify for legal residency within the country. There are several alternatives to legal residency though, which include being a pensioner, being a foreigner with a guaranteed income, an investor, a relative of a Costa Rican civilian, or a foreign government assignment. The easiest method to get property is to be a pensioner or someone with a guaranteed income.  In order to qualify for this, the following requirements must be met to be a pensioner:

1. At least $500 per month must be changed into Colones.
2. You must prove that at least $600 per month comes from a pension, retirement account or Social Security.
3. That you live in Costa Rica for at least four months out of the year.

In order to qualify for being someone with a guaranteed income the following must be met:

1. You must prove that you have outside investments that will bring in $1,000 income per month for five years.
2. You must change at least $1,000 per month into Colones.
3. You must live in Costa Rica for at least six months of the year.

It is important to note that those who are pensioners in Costa Rica, or who are individuals with a guaranteed income, will not have to pay taxes on any money earned outside of Costa Rica.

Benefits and Disadvantages

When you buy ocean view condos, you should be aware of some of the benefits and disadvantages of this type of property.

The benefits include:

1. Beautiful views that will dazzle your eye as the sun sets or rises on the ocean.
2. Buying in the countries mentioned here is usually quite cheap and the money you already have can go a very long way.
3. Ocean view condos are very beautiful buildings with many windows that face out towards the ocean.

The disadvantages include:

1. You are at greater risk for tropical storms like hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that can do severe damage to your ocean view condo. As a result, you can end up paying very high insurance.
2. It can be very humid and the salt in the area will result in you doing repair work on the exterior of the house every few years.
3. You are at a big risk for tidal waves, as was seen on December 26, 2004, when a tidal wave killed 250,000 people in the Philippines and surrounding countries after an earthquake hit the Indian Ocean.

More A Dawn Articles:

Real Estate In Bulgaria

How to set realistic goals

Economic Growth of China to Slow Down

Commercial Real Estate Loans in Canada

Why We Spend Unnecessarily and What to Do About It

Making Money In Global Real Estate

The current state of the global economy may seem gloomy to most of us, but there are still many opportunities to make money in every industry, including in real state. As some would say, there are always going to be successful and unsuccessful business ventures. This is true wherever there is a marketplace, as it is a necessary fact of a healthy market. But there are ways of maximizing your chances of being successful, and paying close attention to these key points of interest is even more necessary when the economy is in a slump. And this fact applies to real estate as much as any industry.

Part of the problem facing real estate developers in the current state of the economy is the increased difficulty in getting consumers to spend their hard earn money — not just on you, but at all. In order to be successful, in order to out-compete the competition and secure more profit, real estate developers are going to have to become just as innovative in the marketing of their products, but also in developing them. Those who manage to become more innovative will find success; those who do not, will not.

There are several specific areas that real estate developers can focus in on in order to get ahead of the competition. The first area is information. Real estate developers that are going to be successful around the globe are going to have to become more informed and demand more information throughout the industry. As a directly related point to that, successful developers will want more information, and more transparency in the industry — and not just for themselves, but also for their clients. Another related area to information is vague promises and hyperbolic information on developer websites and in brochures. An increased skepticism must come with a deeper focus on information, and this will be a good thing as fewer empty promises will result in better professional relationships.

The next area that future successful real estate developers will want to improve on is understanding the health of the overall financial systems before entering the market in the first place. This means exploring financial data and trends, and analyzing the stability and appropriateness of regulation within the financial system. The current economic crisis reaffirmed something that many businessmen and women have forgotten: without a healthy financial system supporting the economy, no industry is going to be safe from a bust. Therefore any successful real estate developer is going to need to keep an eye out on the health of the financial system.

Another area where developers will want to focus in on is specific pricing trends in real estate throughout the recent bubble and burst. The successful developer will not just want to seek a substantial discount over 2007 pricing highs, but will also want to pass on that discount onto potential buyers. This increases the buying rate of properties, and will most certainly help in the recovery. The new global real estate developer will also want to negotiate on prices that seem still too artificially high, especially when it comes to high-end, high-risk properties. And as a related note, any developer that wants to be successful will increase his or her chances by avoiding areas that run the risk of either an oversupply of real estate or copycat developments. This has a direct effect on pricing instability and unfairness at a very local level.

There is one last key area where developers will want to focus a lot of attention on as global real estate recovers from the current crisis, and that is real estate associated with larger global concerns. The most prominent of the larger global concerns right now is probably environmental in nature. Therefore the more successful developers will want to focus on developing and marketing real estate that offers a more environmentally sound or sustainable approach to living. And as an added bonus, environmentally friendly businesses are likely to receive added regulatory support or even subsidy from government agencies around the world.

There is a lot of information to be understood in these areas by real estate developers, no doubt about that. But the changing landscape of both our financial and regulatory sectors as well as the real estate industry as a whole will effectively demand that real estate developers be very cognizant of these areas. It is therefore a good idea for developers to start working on exploring and understanding these areas, as well as making what they learn a vital part of their development and marketing plans. Remember, in the end, a global real estate recovery is a necessary aspect in the broader global economic recovery. Anything that helps global real estate helps the global economy. And vice versa.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

Real Estate in Turkey

What Is Inflation?

A Brief History of India

Visiting the Munich Stadium in Germany

Being Your Own Boss Is Easier Than Ever

Size up options for buying a retirement home abroad

For a long time in the past when people went abroad all they had in mind was simply going out to spoil themselves vacationing from the familiar environment and all they brought back was a few mementos and probably a camera full of pictures they clicked away. However things are turning different today, what with the prospects of acquiring property abroad and settling there, especially after one has retired. Many folks who faced an uncertain future due to the cost of property at home are discovering they can actually acquire high end properties such as condos and villas abroad at what would sound like a good bargain at home.

Many people are now in the acquisition frenzy because of the many stories they have heard from others who have successfully bought real estate abroad. The current economic crisis has not made things better, what the depreciating value of most people’s lifetime savings. The cash people thought would go along way in taking them through retirement is slipping through their fingers. Whereas it would cost you hundreds of thousand of dollars to try and invest locally, things are looking very positive abroad and it is now a race against time as most savers try and get a piece of the cake.

To give you an idea of how sweet things are, consider that for example, a resident of Florida who wants to escape to someplace out of the country but not to far from home would consider settling in Mexico. Whereas they would require a minimum of $100,000 in Florida itself or $150,000 to buy a small apartment in New York city, going down to Mexico they would most likely acquire a beautiful condo with a beachfront for as little as $50,000 which means they will still have enough change to help them settle down for many days to come. Apart from the low prices they will have escaped to a quite and secure place to enjoy their sunset years.

For the person who is a little adventurous another unique location to consider would be Nicaragua which is nestled quietly at the heart of Central America. This is a country that has left behind a long dark history of civil wars and is now a fast developing third world country but with all the trappings of the first world. For a long time people consider Costa Rica to be the only place you could settle in the region but now they are knowing better. You will enjoy getting a nice villa with its own large compound, fro those who love space for anything between $50,000 and $100,000 on the very higher side. The cost of living is nothing to compare with many places in the Americas.

But if your idea of a real escape is far away in Europe you may want to consider the emerging property market of Eastern Europe. For prices that you will consider a real throw away when you compare with the rest of Western Europe you will grab for yourself a first class condo or even a serene waterfront villa. As the rest of the continent struggles to grab the little remaining space, here you will acquire large swathes of beach property for as little as $40,000 and that is just the beginning of the good news.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

Real Estate In Belize

Do You Really Need That Extra Credit Card?

Entrepreneurs Just Need An Idea To Become Successful

The Sky Is the limit for India China Trade Relations

What You Need To Know Before Buying A Second Home Abroad

Buying a second home is something that, for a lot of people, means they have truly arrived on the scene. Buying a second home abroad adds that little bit to the mix, giving you a spread in the world, a base from which to travel further. For a Canadian or American, the immediately obvious choice would be a home in the Caribbean, while anyone living in Europe has an enviable range of choices too, as do Australian residents. But before you choose to move to a new country, you need to keep aware of some important principles.

Firstly, it is essential to do some research before you move anywhere, but all the more so when you are moving to another country. However many similarities there may be between your first home country and your second home country, there will be subtle differences that can be quite disruptive if you have to face them every day. They are always surmountable, but only if you do prior research and make sure you are equipped to face the changes.

Secondly, it is necessary to become a part of the community wherever you move to. This does not mean you have to hold a party immediately on moving in and invite everyone to it. What you do need to do, though, is be active. Even if it is just going out for a walk in the morning to buy the newspaper, dining out every so often, or joining some clubs locally, it will vastly aid the settling in process.

You should also learn the language, if you are moving somewhere that has another language. There are many ex-pat communities in countries all over the world. Without a doubt, there are varying levels of welcome extended to them by the host communities, and by far the greatest level of welcome is that which is extended to those who can be bothered to learn the local language. It is simply common sense. If someone makes the effort to speak a second language, it demonstrates a level of courtesy which will be appreciated and reciprocated.

You should not expect to fit in immediately in your new country. No matter how prepared you are, how prepared you feel you are for the change of moving to a new country, there is always a settling in period. It is something which always makes demands of a person, because there is a total change. Things you have taken for granted are no longer there, little things that you didn’t realize you appreciated about your home country will suddenly become big things. Does it slightly irritate you when you are treated in a certain way in your home country? When the locals of your new home country fail to treat you in that way, you will resent it slightly. A lot of little changes go together to make a big change. Does this mean you shouldn’t go for it? No, it certainly doesn’t. The challenges we face in life make it what it is. Go for it.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

Do We Really Reap What We Sow?

Canadian Consumer Confidence Up Again

Search Engine Optimization – Good, Bad Or Both?

Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea – Heaven on Earth

Can All Skyscrapers Be Tasteful Modern Architecture?

Personal Finance Software Review by Financial Author A. Dawn

A Home in the Country – But Which Country?

There is a lot of importance placed on where a person lives. Where we live is something that identifies us as much as anything else – as much as our job, as much as our outward appearance and as much as our name. Our primary home address is asked for by any organization with which we seek to join up. However, a second home is something different. While our primary home may be something that plays a huge part in our everyday life, our secondary home is something that matters for an entirely different reason. The primary home is for function and for family. The second home, more than anything, is for fun. We can look to buy a second home elsewhere in the world, because a house in another country allows us to have somewhere to stay when we go on holiday, among other things.

The “other things” include somewhere to live during our retirement. Having worked all our lives for a chance to relax and let ourselves get a bit of time to  ourselves, we can put money into buying a house somewhere nice and warm – additionally, having spent time somewhere on holiday allows us to scope out a place for the future. If you have been somewhere before and know that you like it, then you have the awareness that the place will be to your taste. How many times have you been on holiday somewhere and thought “this is such a great spot, I wish I didn’t have to go home – I wish I could live here for the rest of my life!”. Although the rest of your life may be stretching it somewhat, getting a retirement property nailed down somewhere else is never a bad idea.

There are many countries where buying a property has become something that you can only do with a lot of money behind you. Banks and lending corporations are reluctant to give mortgages with the housing market still in an uncertain shape. There are more than a few nations where property is still a very manageable investment, and taking advantage of this is something that shouldn’t be beyond a wise investor. It is important to sit and think of where you want to go, and what your reasons are – a family link? A good business opportunity? A country that is special to you, for any other reason… it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get a plan into action.

Countries in North Africa have become highly popular with property investors in the last six months, with the region’s proximity to the Southern tip of Western Europe a big pull. But it isn’t just about being near to Spain, France and Portugal – there is a growing holiday industry in what is a beautiful part of the world. Then there is South America – although some of the continent has been either colonized by tourists or beset by the same economic problems as the rest of the world, there are great properties available at wonderful prices in Brazil, a country which is moving up in terms of business and has always been keenly thought of by tourists.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

How To Rent In Thailand

Personal Finance and Kids

Which City Has the Most Skyscrapers?

Dubai – The World’s Most Dividing City

Q1 – The Tallest Residential Building in the World

European Greens Perform Above Expectations

How To Buy Your Own Private Island

We’ve all had that conversation – if you became improbably rich overnight and money was literally no object to you, what would you buy? Answers include sports teams, huge houses with a hundred rooms and a garden big enough to land a jet plane in, a jet plane, a flight into space and so forth. We all have our own ideas on what we would buy with our new found wealth, and in many cases they are pretty common ideas. One idea that pops up in a great many of these conversations is a private island. As money is no object, you could trick that island out so that it was something really special. You could buy a speedboat so that you can get back to the mainland in a hurry if needs be. It’s a mouth watering prospect for many people.

The truth is that you do not need to be rich beyond the gift of man to actually buy an island. Sure, the more money you have in the bank the wider the choice. If you are a millionaire then that makes things a lot more straightforward. And there is no point in denying that a private island will not come cheaply. You need to be looking at six figures before it becomes well worth parting with your money. But with all of that taken into account, it is not such an outlandish idea (figuratively speaking, anyway. Literally speaking, it is exactly what you would call “outlandish”). Depending on where in the world this dream island is located, prices vary – and somewhere with a lot of islands and (comparatively) little demand, you could find yourself in possession of an island for as little as $200,000.

There are many things to take into account. As with buying any plot of land – because, after all, an island is just a plot of land surrounded by a body of water – you will get more if you pay more. This includes facilities, construction and general readiness for human habitation. A cheaper island will come with less already on it, and if you buy at the bottom of the range you may need to make your own arrangements for things like electricity and water supply, accommodation and other such essentials. Unless you really are ridiculously rich there is little point in buying an island and then not doing anything with it. If you plan to live there or rent it out to someone for a profit, you will want to make sure that it is habitable.

It is possible to rent an island before you buy, in order to get a feel for it and see if you would be prepared to take it on as a full time thing. There are numerous sites on the Internet devoted to doing exactly this. They are stacked with color photographs of the islands in question – although the phrase to keep in mind is caveat emptor – buyer beware. Always make sure you have seen the island for real before you even consider parting with your money. Aside from that, it’s your party – and it is a pretty sweet feather in your cap to be able to say you own an island.

NB – If you are interested in finding sites that deal with buying islands, search on Google for these: buy, rent, island, etc.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

Is Your Job The Problem?

What Is A Recession

Is Now The Right Time To Buy?

Time To Invest In The Global Real Estate Market?

PayPal Is One Of The Most Powerful Forces In E-commerce

Can’t Afford To Buy Physical Real Estate? Buy Internet Real Estate!

Where To Buy Global Property?

It cannot have escaped anyone’s attention that much of the world is at the moment in the grip of a financial crisis that has hit all sectors hard, but none more so than the real estate market. The fact that the crisis is global has meant that even the good old standby of moving into the next country to invest has lost some of its appeal as an idea, as it is just as likely if not more so, to see your investment fail to some up to the standards you had hoped to reach. In light of this, it becomes a matter of looking further afield. While this is the most internationally damaging property crisis most of us have ever seen, there are some countries that have weathered the storm a good deal better than others – and are presenting opportunities for the real estate investor to spread their wings.

Take any of the world’s heavyweight economies, and right now they are doing a pretty good impersonation of a defeated heavyweight boxer – slumped on the canvas with a bloody nose and black eyes. Some, like Canada, have fairly superficial damage compared to others, which have been pummelled to the extent where they are barely recognizable. Meanwhile, some of the less heralded countries are doing just fine, because they did not fall into the trap of building an economy on unsustainable lending, nor have they been closely linked with the countries who did. And these countries are the ones where it may well be worth having a throw of the real estate dice. Their economies are stable, prices are lower than in the more bloated economies, and the countries themselves are beginning to carry some real weight in the financial world.

The truth of the matter is that, a few decades ago, people would have laughed long and hard at the idea that Poland or the Czech Republic would be worthwhile sites for real estate investment. Right now, judging by the Polish Prime Minister’s recent jibe at UK Premier Gordon Brown, the laughing is going in the opposite direction. Poland as a nation declined to move towards a credit-based economy and as a result is doing just fine. Real estate opportunities are popping up all the time and this seems likely to continue with unemployment on the way down.

Alternatively, you may want to invest somewhere warmer. The opportunities on offer in the North of Africa now might be just the thing for you. Like Poland and the Czech Republic, Morocco has thrived while more illustrious near neighbours have taken a beating. Property prices are on the rise there, but are still well below what you would pay in a bigger economy, and Western investors are getting in there with its proximity to Europe making it a beacon for the region’s tourist industry. The coastlines of this African paradise are breathtaking, and just the kind of thing that would look perfect on a property portfolio. Dare you take the plunge? It could be the best decision you ever make.

Some hand-picked related and non-related posts:

Time To Invest in Stocks?

How To Have A Green Summer

How a Hobby Can Improve Your Life

What is an Entrepreneur?

Why Go Into Real Estate?

Why It’s Great To Travel