Panama is Hot - A World Class Retirement Haven Thats Ripe For Profitable Real Estate Investment

If you've followed any of the major survey agencies around the world that rate places for retirement, Panama has been on top of the list in many, and for a few years running. So, if you're looking for a place outside U.S. borders to retire, Panama should be given very serious consideration. Panama has a lot going for it.
And even if you don't plan on retiring or living in Panama, Panama has also rated the very highest in real estate investment opportunities for those of you who would like to make their money from a distance.
Here's what is being said about Panama by some of the bigger players in the real estate market: "Real estate in both emerging and developed markets outside the United States offers some of the best investment opportunities in the world right now. " - Ricardo Griffin - the Offshore Guru at OMA. Ltd, international offshore consultants, located in Panama.
"Global real estate will be the only major asset class that could deliver double-digit returns over the next five years." - Barton Biggs, Chief Global Strategist and Chairman Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Pensions and Investments
"The good news in global real estate - it's no longer exclusively for the mega-rich!" - Lief Simon - Editor, International Living and Global Real Estate Investor
One can invest in property or buy a place for investment in any region of Panama but for Expat World its money is on properties in Panama City. We've been there more than a few times and we personally rate Panama City in the top three metropolitan cities of world that one can afford to live in and enjoy a good life in. Panama City has world-class restaurants, five-star hotels, international banks, hundreds of multinational businesses, a Manhattan-type skyline, every imaginable luxury ... all at about half the price you'd pay in Miami. AND it's only a few minutes to a few hours to the beaches, mountains, country side of Panama itself. It has all the infrastructure one might want! AT HAND and just a short distance from the romantics idea of paradise just a short distance away.
On the esthetic side, few places in the world offer spring-like weather year-round, a low cost of living, safety, security, peace of mind, beautiful landscapes. It has mountainsides covered with flowers and planted with coffee and beautiful waterfalls ... not to mention the best pensionado program (retirement program for foreigners) in the world. We'll tell you more about that later. It's a real benefit for the retired expat, making your buck stretch a long way. And we do mean bucks, for the US dollar is the official currency of Panama.

PANAMA'S A BARGAIN
Since the U.S. military and Panama Canal personnel pulled out (in 1999), thousands of houses and apartments have flooded the market. Abundant supply ... limited demand. so prices are cheap. You'll find bargains galore. There are bargains in property, both for sale, for rental and for investment are readily available.
You can find a three-bedroom, luxury apartment downtown with a deck, private parking, a pool, the whole ball of wax in the $70-$80,000 range and most properties in this range have an ocean view.
EW discovered properties there that were smaller and a little away from the prime areas in the $25,000 to $40,000 range. And if you are the fixer-upper type you can find the proverbial steal. You can own your own apartment or bungalow or some investment property by heading to Panama and hitting the streets and looking for the bargains OR you can use a firm that EW recommends to look for you and offer you the best deal in properties to live in or real estate investment properties. More on that later but first let us continue with why we think Panama is THE place for the best real estate buys today.
Panama is elite because of its sheer natural beauty and, most importantly to many, because of the privacy it affords in personal and financial matters combined with it's great retirement program for foreigner! s :

RETIRE IN PANAMA AS A PENSIONADO AND SEE WHAT YOU GET

• 50 % off entertainment anywhere in the country (movies, theaters. concerts. sporting events, etc.)
• 30 % off bus, boat and train fares
• 25 % off airline tickets
• 50 % off hotel accommodation (Monday through Thursday)
• 30 % off hotels from Friday through Sunday
• 25 % off restaurants
• 15 % off fast food restaurants
• 15 % off hospital bills (if no insurance applies)
• 10 % off prescription medicines
• 20 % off doctor's consultations
• 15 % off dental and eye exams
• 20 % off professional and technical services
• 50 % off closing costs for home loans

We've presented our picture of "Why Panama?" Too add to this, here are a few reasons the international guru's think Panama is THE place:

• Direct foreign investment in Panama for the 5 years ended 2001 was approximately $3.5 billion.
• Currency is the US dollar
• Low inflation
• Excellent tax benefits
• Secrecy laws strictly enforced
• Equal treatment of foreign and local citizens
• Favorable incorporation laws
• Large bi-lingual labor force
• Diverse economic base including banking, shipping, insurance, tourism and free zone
• Ranked first in the region for low cost of living by the Tripartite Committee
• Stable political system
• The Organization of American States (OAS), the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

AND WHY PANAMA CITY AS THE SPECIFIC AREA FOR INVESTMENT

• It is at the convergence of two continents at the Bridge of the Americas
• Rated the most " International City " in Latin America
• It is poised for tremendous growth in the next decade
• It is within an hour of some of the finest fishing and or bird watching in the world
• One hour drive from pristine beaches and cool mountain oasis
• Located on the Pacific coast, yet it is only 45 minutes to the Caribbean
• Increasing number of expatriates
• One of the safest cities in the hemisphere
• Excellent infrastructure (internet, telephone, roads, water, etc)

Well you've listen to us now for two pages or so on our views on real estate holdings or investment in Panama. If you want to know the full skinny, with no obligation and a low key approach to introducing you to what's available in real estate either for occupation, renting or investment WITH NO OBLIGATION OR NO HARD SELL TACTICS, shoot Expat World an email and we will get "the Company" (A real estate investment company established and licensed to do business in and by the Republic of Panama). Its business is to engage in the acquisition, management and sale of medium priced condominiums in Panama City, Republic of Panama.) to get back to you via email with the whole story. This is something you SHOULD do if you have any interest in overseas investment, overseas living, retirement in Panama or just want to be able to live the life of the rich and famous on a hot dog budget.
Email office@expatworld.net with "PanCity" in the subject heading. We'll take care of you.

After 30 years of marriage, Sharon and Michael Newman decided it was finally time to move from the Catskills to New York City.

The house, designed by the architect Eric Fisher, looms over the street like a big industrial arm.

A town house in Dallas, a midcentury modern in Rhode Island and a Tudor in Denver.

Meet the real estate broker’s interns: an ambitious group willing to do anything, earn nothing and wake up early on a Sunday to fluff the couch cushions at open houses.

For a century, Roosevelt Island housed a grim penitentiary. It was demolished in the 1930s.

More borrowers are opting for fixed-rate loans with terms other than the standard 30 or 15 years, especially when it comes to refinancings.

Two more glass skyscrapers are added to a group of towers on the waterfront of Long Island City.

Insurance coverage for a co-op unit; when a tenant is ‘blacklisted’; a co-op is smaller than estimated.

The market for $500,000-to-$600,000 houses in Westchester has become especially active.

A shaky real estate market means more sellers are providing buyer concessions, from gift cards to help with paying property taxes.

Houses of worship are adaptable to residential and other uses as congregations dwindle.

Nearly two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation’s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced on Thursday.

A cold war-era satellite relay station is for sale in California after a Silicon Valley mogul gave up on plans to turn it into a weekend home.

How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers?

Court hearings meant to protect New York homeowners from foreclosure are hopelessly slowed by endless paperwork and requests for additional information.

The Bay Area and Silicon Valley expect the windfall from the Facebook stock offering to make their in-demand region even hotter.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Prices in some parts of the country are still off by as much as 25 percent from their 2007 peak.

Trinity Church is the largest landlord in Hudson Square and is part of the effort to rezone the area to residential from manufacturing.

Rising oil prices and a boom in shale exploration are leading companies to add office space in the Houston area, most notably Exxon Mobil.

Ms. de França is the president and chief executive of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which focuses on new residential developments.

In Manhattan, parking lots and garages are making way for all sorts of development, especially luxury condominiums.

Gray Burton lives in a 250-square-foot space he furnished with antiques he’s been collecting for years.

A photogenic Westchester suburb with high-profile residents is also known for its art museum and a performing arts center.

Wealthy investors are wiring millions of dollars to New York to snatch up a piece of 157 West 57th Street - what will be New York City's tallest residential building, with 90 floors overlooking Central Park.

An apartment at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, opposite Central Park, was bought anonymously through a limited liability company.

Homes in Dallas, Rhode Island and Denver.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Compare the cost of renting and buying equivalent homes.

For recently divorced men, a new breed of decorators offers help navigating a strange new world.

Plants that light up the winter garden can be found at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut, which has long been a favorite of gardening geeks.

A sister in need drew the painter Beverly McIver back home to North Carolina, unaware that a new beginning was in store for both of them.

A jewelry designer finds striking new objects for storage.

Timothy Sakamoto and Jochen Repolust are part of the small but growing niche making mobile apps focused on specific works of architecture.

To promote an auction of 20th- and 21st-century design, the interior designer Stephen Sills has created a preview exhibition in an apartment at the Apthorp.

Fishs Eddy now sells plates acquired from the archives of the now-defunct Syracuse China Corporation, many more than 100 years old.

The designer Russell Greenberg creates custom baby rattles with ends shaped like profiles of mom and dad.