Welcome to Offshore Living Letter, Your #1 Resource for Offshore Diversification

Category: Investing

29 Oct
CD Investment Options In Panama, Mongolia, And Colombia

CD Investment Options In Panama, Mongolia, And Colombia

CD Rates As High As 12% With U.S. and European banks offering interest rates on savings of less than 1% (meaning you're losing money after inflation), you're not alone if you're looking for alternative places to stash your cash. Where in the world can you get better rates than U.S. banks will pay you? It [...]
18 Oct
Investor Residency In Colombia

Investor Residency In Colombia

I had the chance to return to Colombia last month for the Live and Invest Overseas conference in Medellin. After that visit and the opportunity to meet again with developer, investor, property, and banker contacts there, I’m happy to report that Colombia makes as much sense for investment today as it did when I first started looking […]

24 Sep
Property Taxes And HOA Fees: The Cost Of Holding Real Estate

The Cost Of Holding Real Estate: Property Taxes And HOA Fees

The Cost Of Holding Can Be More Important Than The Cost Of Buying I read recently about a home owner's association in Florida foreclosing on units because owners are delinquent with their HOA fees. The article focused on a couple of condo complexes where the monthly HOA fees had been increased to the point where [...]
17 Sep
How To Buy Real Estate Overseas

How To Buy Real Estate Overseas

Pay For What You See "'Buy what you see,' you tell us all the time, Lief," wrote a reader recently. "Yet, at the same time, you promote pre-construction investments. How does that make any sense?" Perhaps I should adjust the mantra from "Buy what you see" to "Pay for what you see." Taken literally, Buy [...]
13 Sep
Colombia: One Of The World’s Most Attractive Investment Markets

Colombia Qualifies As One Of The World’s Most Attractive Investment Markets

Low Debt, Low Inflation, And Continued Growth--This Is The Third World? In Monday's dispatch, I wrote about misguided misperceptions that persist related to life in Colombia. Most of the world continues to think this country is a no-go zone for safety reasons. Sure, wander off into the jungle regions near the border with Ecuador or Venezuela...or [...]
20 Aug
Timing Currency Exchange For Property Purchase In Colombia

Timing Currency Exchange For Property Purchase In Colombia

Buy Colombia Now I don't try to time currency fluctuations, but, last week, my banker in Colombia e-mailed to tell me the Colombian government announced they would purchase US$300 million over the next few weeks. She thought, therefore, it might be a good time to transfer some money down there if I need to. Indeed, [...]
16 Aug
Politesse For Investors Abroad

Politesse For Investors Abroad

Speak The Language Of Investors Back in Paris after having been gone for several years, my French, limited when living here, is, well, more limited. But the good news is that this is Paris, and, despite what many Americans say, you can get by here, even full-time, with very limited, even hardly any French. Certainly, [...]
02 Aug
Investing In Coffee In Colombia

Investing In Coffee In Colombia

"Grown In Colombia"--A Business Opportunity (It's Probably Not What You Think) I wrote last week about the abundance of business and investment potential in Colombia right now. We noticed opportunity everywhere we looked. Our daughter, for example, decided to try exporting the cow hides we found for sale in a roadside shop just outside Medellin. We [...]
23 Jul
The recently enacted free trade agreement with the United States is opening up new business and investment opportunities in Colombia.

The recently enacted free trade agreement with the United States is opening up new business and investment opportunities in Colombia.

Expanding Business Opportunities In Free-Trade Colombia Yesterday morning, while walking along the pedestrianized lanes of Medellin's Avenida Poblada with Kathie and the kids, I wondered out loud why the entire world doesn't live here. The weather's great all year 'round, the city is big enough to offer cultural diversions, there are loads of outdoor activities, [...]