Panama is located at the south of the Central American isthmus tucked under Costa Rica.  Approximately 25,000 US expats call Panama their home.  That’s a little less than Costa Rica but for decades Panama has flown beneath the radar of US investors and retirees and was only known for its canal.  That’s changed significantly since 2002 when the boom in Panama real estate began to take hold.

The market cooled considerably during the recent financial crisis, especially for Panama apartments in the capital city, given the over-supply and retreat of the speculator buying (mainly) off-plan for quick flip profits.  But as we enter the second half of 2010, market signals that indicate that Panama is emerging from the downturn faster that its regional neighbors and is probably the most popular destination in Central America right now for international real estate investors.  According to the Latin Business Chronicle Panama is the number one ‘growth champion’ in the region when looking at 2010–2015 GDP growth forecasts.

Every where you look infrastructure upgrades are taking place.  The international airport at Tocuman is being expanded and soon the David airport in the west of the country will be equipped to receive international flights.  The roads connecting the Pacific coast and Caribbean coasts between Panama City and Colon and also between David and Bocas del Toro have been improved considerably.   Panama City’s $189-million Cinta Costera project involving a new city park running oceanside along Balboa avenue has recently been completed and the Panama City bay is undergoing a significant clean up operation.  Those are just a few examples, and we haven’t even mentioned the massive Panama Canal expansion project.

Panama City is the most modern and cosmopolitan city in Central America and the regions most important financial hub with the one of the world’s largest banking sectors.  But the capital also manages to retain some old world charm, especially in the Casa Viejo colonial area.

Real estate in Panama, although not as low in prices as (say) Nicaragua is still well below Costa Rican prices for most categories and comes below Belize for some property types.  Check out the Peninsula de Azuero for ground floor real estate opportunities for example.

Affordable real estate when combined with a low cost of living, a retirement program packed with benefits, a dollarized economy and cheap good quality health ends up pressing all the right buttons for investors and retirees alike.  It also doesn’t hurt that Panama’s current President, Ricardo Martinelli, is also winning praise in many business and investment circles.

The potential income from real estate investments can be very enticing.  It’s a simple concept.  Buy a house, get a mortgage, find a tenant and let the rent pay into the equity for the house.  That might sound simple enough, but often times it’s not.  And the reason it gets so complicated is the same reason anything in life gets complicated, it’s the people.

The most challenging component to investing in real estate is not getting the loan, finding the house or doing renovations.  It’s finding good tenants and managing the property.  It can be a real headache for investors.  That is why they quite often find qualified and experienced property managers to run their investment properties.  Doing it yourself can become a nightmare.

That is the thing that most investors underestimate is the managing the tenants.  If something breaks on the house itself, it’s often the landlords responsibility to fix it.  But that usually isn’t the biggest headache.

The biggest headache is tenants who consistently don’t pay their rent on time and tenants who wreck the property.  In many cases, it’s both.

I’ve had friends who have had nightmare tenants.  Not only did they constantly not pay their rent, they also wrecked the house and it was difficult for him to get them evicted.  The eviction process in many states is a complicated and difficult process.  It takes paperwork and the right documentation to be able to legally evict a tenant.

That’s not the worst part sometimes.  Sometimes the tenants leave all of their stuff behind when they leave.  That means you are left with all their junk and you have to clean up their mess.

And sometimes, you don’t know what your tenants have been doing and that can be catastrophic.  Sometimes they are drug addicts.  That means you will find all kinds of surprises when you go in to clean things up.

With all the headaches involved in investment real estate, investors might be better off investing in stocks, bonds or growth funds as an alternative.  You might still have some headaches, but it doesn’t compare to the nightmare stories that I’ve heard about investing in real estate.

I’m sure you’ve heard of this thing, it takes moneymaking. But what if you don’t have one? Well you have to start somewhere. Unfortunately we are not all born with silver spoons.

On the best ways to build leverage, is by buying a multiple family home. With a multiple family home, you can quickly build equity. If this is your first home, you can take advantage of the fact that you can even get a residential loan, meaning that your loan down payment will be much lower than the typical 20% down payment commercial property.

Because of the recent housing bubble burst, and multiple foreclosures this is one of the greatest times to buy a new home. If you buy smart, you can amass large amount of equity in a very short on time. By purchasing a multiple unit home, you can take advantage of economies of scale. You can save money by doing things such as splitting the cost of Internet, cable TV and other amenities. We’ll also have the benefits of having other residents pay money toward your mortgage and property taxes.

If you’re really aggressive, you can go about even having roommates in your place. If you purchase a three unit family home, you can live in one unit and rent out the other two. If you choose to rent the bedroom so I replaced as well you can really push up your leverage.  Plan ahead and now you can have multiple income streams.   Once you are the owner of the new property, you will now have the benefit of 3 to 4 people paying down your mortgage in addition to your own income.

This is about as close as it comes to living for free by building home equity.  Keep in mind however that you will have to do certain things once you become a homeowner. You will now be responsible for things such as maintenance and repairs which need to be factored in when you determine your monthly budget.

The moment you mention beach vacation, the first place that is likely to come to your mind would be Florida. There is no doubt that Florida is a wonderful place for beach vacations, but it also bears considering the fact that Orlando FL property investment is a beneficial idea which you may not have known about. Since Florida is home to such a huge variety of entertainment options, there would always be a huge demand for property and rentals here, whether purchasing a timeshare or thinking bigger by investing in apartments to rent out.

There are so many world famous entertainment options and theme parks in Orlando, FL. For one, you have the Walt Disney Resorts, which have the Magic kingdom, the Hollywood Studios and Epcot. In addition there are also the legendary Universal Studios, Sea World and Gaterland which are all so popular among tourists and visitors.

Visitors of all ages will remain spell bound and mesmerized at Orlando theme parks. Kids never tire of the Magic Kingdom while grandparents and senior citizens love Epcot that helps them to see the wonders from around the globe. Teenagers have a whale of a time at Sea World where they can experience zero gravity at the Kraken roller coaster. The Incredible Hulk coaster at the Islands of Adventure is also a great hit with visitors.

Discovery Cove is quite popular with visitors who love to swim with the dolphins and also snorkel through the Tropical Reef. The Wind Away River is a great place to float on inner tubes. If you want a taste of the Florida beach vacation, you can savor hammocks at Discovery Cove which has white sands along the Serenity Bay shore.

This is not all Orlando or better yet Orlando investment property has to offer, as the city is a treasure cove of entertainment and amusements. This is why buying a property in Orlando makes such great business sense. You can stay in the property during your vacations and also offer it for rent to others. It is also possible to look at options like timeshares, vacation rentals as well as rental property for investment. This is quite alluring as a business proposition. But you should make sure that you do proper due diligence and research before you begin investing in Orlando, FL.

If you are facing some financial problems and want to know how to stop foreclosure, there are some things that you can do.  Foreclosure is something that many Americans are facing today.  There are some things that you can do to help avoid the foreclosure form going through.

What you do not want is a notice of default to be placed on your credit report.  This is likely to happen after you have missed 90 days worth of payments on your home mortgage.   If you are approaching this mark then you will to want to take some steps to preventing your home from being put into foreclosure.

The first think that you are going to have to do is to contact the lender on your home.  When you are on the phone with a representative from your lender you need to be honest with them and let them know what is happening.  Be honest and do not worry about being embarrassed about your situation.  Many Americans are out of work and banks and lenders deal with situations like this hundreds of times in a day.

How To Stop Foreclosure

Do not ignore letters that come in the mail regarding your payments.  When you do get letters or phone calls from your lender you need to speak with them and ask them if there is any possibility of working out a repayment plan before any legal action is taken against you.  You will be surprised as to what they are willing to do to help you get back on your feet and keep your home, show some honest remorse and effort to rectify the situation, educate yourself, do some research at the bank foreclosed homes guide and make sure you keep in touch with your contact at the bank.

They might offer you forbearance, which is a repayment plan that you can afford to catch you up on your missed payments.  You may also be able to work out something where they will forgive a payment and add it on to the end or your mortgage.  Another possible solution is that they take the money that you owe and spread it out over a longer period of time making the payments less each month until you have all of your back payments repaid.

Before the bank finally does foreclose on your home, there will be ample time to try to make up the payments before the home is auctioned off but you’re well advised to not let it get to this point.

Many people hesitate to invest in real estate out of F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real.) When giving excuses like “I don’t have any money,” or “my credit isn’t perfect,” it is important to remember that thousands of people have started from your position and have become very successful real estate investors. If you are unwilling to let excuses such as these prevent you from creating passive income streams to build wealth for you and your family, listen closely. There are 5 unconventional ways of investment property financing that you can use to get started now!

Many wealthy individuals are willing to privately lend to trustworthy investors who are likely to earn them 10-15%, rather than lose money in the stock market. Although the interest rates for private lending are generally higher, they are secured by the property you purchase (this is because if you stop making payments and the home is foreclosed on, they take over for a higher return.) There are many benefits to this type of lending but you will need to network and establish some trustworthiness before you start asking people for their money, so it can be slightly more time consuming.

Hard money lending also has higher interest rates and requires an “exit strategy” (such as selling the property or refinancing), but is ideal for people with less than perfect credit. This is because the property you purchase is used as collateral for the loan. However, you may have to come up with a portion of the money for a deal because lenders typically only lend 65% of the loan-to-value.

One of the most common unconventional financing options is partnering. This method is perfect for people who feel they are in a “unique situation.” If you don’t have money or credit, find someone who doesn’t have time. The most useful assets that investors can bring to a partnership are contacts, knowledge, time, credit, and money. If you only have some of these qualities find someone with the rest, who is lacking the assets you possess.

Owner financing is widely available in real estate regardless of your credit score. In this method the seller takes payments, instead of a “lump sum” from you or your lender. Seller financing has become even more common as a result of stricter lending requirements due to the housing crisis.

Another outcome of the recent mortgage crisis is that lenders have begun to create special private loan programs for private note investors. These programs get to follow their own rules because investors our investing for themselves and don’t plan to sell the notes on secondary markets.

Regardless of what method you use to finance your property, it is important to get started in real estate investing now, while homes are “on sale.” Don’t let this opportunity pass- you don’t want to look back in 20 years wishing you had done something in 2010 to improve your financial situation!

In today’s down economy, it may seem like an odd time to start talking about how to invest in the down market for real estate so that you can tap into the tourism market, which is also going through a down cycle.  However, if you are fortunate enough to have some extra money that you would like to get long-term, fairly stable returns out of, now is a great time to start looking at ocean front property as an investment.

The most basic mantra that you can apply to investing is “buy low and sell high.”  It’s a simple phrase, but many people tend to do just the opposite and buy high and sell low.  Right now is an historic opportunity to buy real estate on a cyclical low.  While we may not see property values on the same level as we had a few years ago for some time, depending on the market that you’re in, since real estate is very localized, much of the supply is being worked out of the market, which should signal a bottom on the prices soon.  Buying rental property now means you’ll be paying less in mortgage fees every month, upping the ROI on your rental property.

Ocean Front Rental Property

On top of this, the interest rates available to mortgage lenders right now are at incredible lows.  If you can lock in a long-term mortgage now odds are you will be paying much less in interest rates than you would have just a few years ago.  This also helps to increase the ROI on your rental property.

Finally, even though the tourism market is down right now, beach vacations are always in demand by at least a few people and when the economy picks back up, people will flock back to beaches for the sun, sand, and relaxation as they have in years past.  If you can buy your property now and hold onto it until the market turns around, you’ll be thanking yourself in a few years.

For more information on finding and buying property by the sea, visit the Beachfront Property Guide.

Homes for rent to own are becoming much easier to find.  This is largely due to the fact that the current situation in the mortgage market is making is very difficult for many people to qualify for a home loan.  When fewer people in the market qualify for a loan, it becomes much more difficult for sellers to sell a house fast. As a result, both buyers and sellers are looking for creative solutions.

A rent to own or lease to own home transaction can be a very good deal for both parties, as long as the terms create a win-win situation.  For the buyer, the purchase price should be in line with current fair market value and not over.  It is important to note that the buyer should not expect to receive a discounted price that they would receive if they were able to get a mortgage right now.

It is important that the term be sufficient to allow the buyer to have time to correct their credit issues. Credit repair does not happen overnight.   Generally speaking, the term should be between two and three years.  In addition to this, the buyer should receive a rent credit each month that will go towards the purchase price of the home.

The seller should have certain protections as well.  Specifically, it is important that the contract have language in it that avoids the equitable interest argument.  This is important to the seller because it means that in the event of non-payment they can simply evict rather than have to foreclose and then evict.   The foreclosure process lasts at least six months in most states, so this is a critical point for the seller.  Having to foreclose means that the buyer is still living in the property, but not making payments during this time.