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    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
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Live and Invest Overseas
  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    LEARN MORE
    DISCOUNT
    LEARN MORE
    PRE-REGISTER
    LEARN MORE
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

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Home How to

How To Rent Or Buy Real Estate In Unregulated Markets

by Kathleen Peddicord
May 16, 2025
in How to, Real Estate
0 0
Montelimar beach

AdobeStock/Dim154

You want to be sober when considering a property purchase in a foreign land.

Certainly, you want your wits about you when it comes time to sign on the dotted line.

Trouble is, in the lands of bananas and fiestas, the rum flows and so do the promises.

The key to success navigating an investment in property overseas, especially in a developing market, is avoiding the liquor and turning a deaf ear to the assurances.

Here’s how this will go…

You’ll arrive in the country where you’re dreaming of launching your new life. In the terminal at the airport, the lobby of your hotel, and the restaurant down the street where you go for dinner, you’ll be approached by friendly fellows with houses and beachfront lots to sell.

Every taxi driver, bar owner, and shopkeeper will have a piece of property for sale or a cousin in the real estate business.

You won’t have to seek out an agent to help you find your new home. They’ll find you.

Years ago, in Granada, Nicaragua, I was early for a lunch meeting and took a seat at the bar to wait for my friend. Two minutes later, a fellow gringo sat down alongside me.

“Hello,” he offered. “Have you just gotten into town?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Well, if you’d like a tour of the city, I’d be happy to oblige. Are you having lunch? I’d love to keep you company. I could tell you about Granada. This is a beautiful town with a long and colorful history. I’ve been living here for five years. I know the place well. Are you thinking of moving here?”

“No.”

“It’s a great place to live. And real estate is a bargain. This is the time to buy. Do you like old buildings? The Spanish-colonial haciendas of this city are a treasure. I know of two available right now for very good prices. These are the best buys in the city. Both are owned by friends. I could take you to see them after lunch if you’d like?”
“I’m waiting for a friend. I don’t think I have time for a real estate tour today.”

“Well, then, maybe tomorrow. As I said, I’ve been in this city for five years. I know it better than anyone else you’re going to find.

“In fact, I’m the local representative for Live And Invest Overseas. I’ve been working with the publisher for that organization, Kathleen Peddicord, for years. Maybe you’ve heard of her? Kathleen has been writing about investing and retiring in Nicaragua for a long while. She’s considered the expert.”

I’d never seen this man before. It didn’t seem worth the effort to make the point… so I let the guy finish his pitch. Finally, my friend arrived and I broke away.

I never ran into that Granada property expert again, but the memory of my exchange with him has stuck with me because it’s a good example of the absurd lengths these guys will go to hook a buyer.

As I said, in these markets, the challenge isn’t finding a real estate agent to take you shopping. The challenge is finding one you feel comfortable doing business with.

How can you do that?

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Speak with as many agents as possible and take nothing any of them tells you at face value.

Focus on what you’re seeing with your own eyes rather than the picture your property guide will try to paint.

He’ll drive you out to the beach… to a palapa on the sand.

“Come in, have lunch, enjoy a drink,” he’ll say. “The fish is fresh. My guys caught it just offshore from this beach this morning. And the rum is local.”

After you’ve eaten your fill, the guy will take you out in his 4X4 or maybe on horseback to explore. As the sun slips toward the horizon and the ocean’s surface glistens in the day’s fading light, the sky above fire red and orange, your new friend will direct your attention.

“Over there,” he’ll say, “is where the clubhouse will be constructed. Down there will be the dock, over there the marina. On the hills all around us will be houses…

“Just look at that,” he’ll instruct. “Look at that sunset. This could be the view from your front porch. You could have a front-row seat for this show every evening.”

“Come on,” he’ll continue. “Let’s head back. It’s time for some Sundown Rum Punch.”

You’re smitten. Who wouldn’t be? Nothing wrong with appreciating what’s being put on the table in front of you. The coasts of Nicaragua, Panama, Belize, the Dominican Republic… these are extraordinarily beautiful places.

Seeing them for the first time can make you weak in the knees. The feeling can be something like falling in love.

Don’t resist. Lean in and savor the experience.

But don’t so lose your balance that you marry the first beach that charms its way into your heart. Ask yourself, is this the beach you want to grow old with?

Enjoy the developer’s hospitality, his fresh fish, his rum cocktails. Let him make his pitch. Then take your leave. Find out what the guy at the next beach has to offer. And the beach after that.

Then go home, sober up, and consider your options from a distance.

I enjoy a rum cocktail at sunset as much as the next girl, but I’ve learned to wait until the effects wear off before talking business.

Until next time, 

Kathleen Peddicord signature

Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunitty Letter

Tags: 'real estate'Buy Real Estateproperty purchasepurchase real estate
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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Top Countries

  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
  • Retirement Living
  • Cost Of Living
  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
  • Gun Ownership
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  • Safety
BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

Budgets

How Much Will It Cost
To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
  • La Rochelle, France
  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Kotor, Montenegro
  • The Panama City Beaches
  • Paris, France

Resources

Global Living

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Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

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Store

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Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

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