The Current Opportunity To Profit From Property Overseas Can’t Be Overstated
I enjoy history, and one of my favorite periods of U.S. history is the California Gold Rush. This was a time of adventure and daring when enormous fortunes were made, including by average folks who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
I see our current age as another “gold rush” opportunity.
Right now, in specific places all over the world, real wealth is being made… and new, exciting lifestyles are being born at the same time. As I said, it’s the Global Gold Rush of our lifetime.
In 1848, about 300,000 people migrated to Northern California to strike it rich. Some did—most did not. You’ve probably heard the stories… how most gold prospectors went broke. Some lost everything.
But there was another outcome of the California Gold Rush that most don’t understand. The Gold Rush grew San Francisco to be the largest city west of the Mississippi. It remained the largest western city until 1920, when L.A. overtook it.
It was gold that brought all those people to California, but the real rush was in the real estate. The Gold Rush started San Francisco’s housing boom. This city remains the sixth most expensive real estate market in the United States today. I bet the families of all those prospectors wish their ancestors had spent their time figuring out how to buy some real estate rather than panning for gold.
I’ve been buying and profiting from real estate investments around the world for more than 20 years. I’ve built a sizable portfolio. I’ve had home-run successes (more on those in a minute) and full-on failures. I’ve learned from every investment and every experience, and my portfolio has continued to grow even through rough times (think 2008 and 2009).
Making money investing in real estate hasn’t always been easy. But today it can be like shooting fish in a barrel. In some markets right now, you could buy almost anything and make money.
I’ve been waiting for times like these my whole life.
You and I are benefitting today from a strong U.S. dollar, markets in crisis, aging middle classes, expanding middle classes, and big investments in infrastructure in key spots across the globe. All of these factors are colliding to make this the absolute best time in history to invest in property outside the United States.
My wife Kathleen and I today own real estate in 14 countries, including 4 properties that we’ve invested in as part of our retirement plan. These are places we look forward to enjoying in rotation and according to the seasons when we finally flip the switch to the next stage of life.
Others of the properties we own were purchased solely for the return they offered, in the form of cash flow and, as well, appreciation in value over time. One of our current investments was made sight unseen. I don’t recommend that as a strategy, but I make the point to show you that building a global property portfolio can be easier than you might think.
It can also be a chance to travel the world for fun and profit and often tax-free.
Here’s a small sampling of some of the successes I’ve had buying and selling real estate around the world these past 20-plus years:
- I earned 90% profit in just 16 months in Bucharest in 2004. At a time when other investors were ignoring Eastern Europe, I spotted a steal of an apartment. Before I could begin the renovation work I planned, a buyer came to me cash in hand. I almost doubled my money. It pays to keep your mind open to markets others are ignoring…
- For the past 11 years, I have been earning an average yield of 6% per year per apartment in one of the world’s top luxury markets. Paris is not cheap. But if you know what you’re doing you can own an apartment in the City of Light that earns you far more passive income than you’re seeing from your bank today. This city is one of the world’s most proven rental markets. And, while I’ve been earning good cash flow from rental income, my apartment assets are also appreciating in value, one by more than 100% in the time I’ve owned it. Meantime, one of the apartments is also part of my retirement plan. When that time comes, you’ll find Kathleen and me in residence in that apartment four or five months a year…
- I earned 200% profit from a market in crisis in 2001. That was the year Argentina imploded. I didn’t see the currency debacle as trouble but opportunity. I bought three apartments, all in great locations, set them up as short-term rentals managed by local contacts, and earned 8% annual yields for six years, until I sold the apartments for double my investment. I think we are closing in on a chance to return to Argentina for similar payouts…
- In 2006, I made 29% per year for “being the bank” and leveraging currency differences. A developer in Australia offered me 16% to fund a portion of his development there. That’s a great yield, but it was compounded by a strengthening of the Australian dollar versus the U.S. dollar during the 18 months my money was invested. Including the currency boost, I nearly doubled my total return…
Right now, I’m also earning cash flow from rental properties in Panama… and market appreciation bolstered by currency upside in euro-denominated properties…
Enough about what I’ve done and am doing today. Let’s get to the point:
What could you be doing today?
My global property portfolio is big and diversified. But I didn’t create it overnight or even over a couple of years. I’ve spent more than two decades building this. And I can tell you, based on that long experience, you have a better chance right now to make money this way than I or any property investor has enjoyed ever before. World markets are cooperating with the global property investment agenda in unprecedented ways.
You may not want to own dozens of properties all around the world… and you don’t need to.
Maybe all you’re after is a second home in paradise… whatever that means to you. I hate the beach. You might love it.
I like the city. You might want to be up in the mountains.
That’s what’s great about the Global Real Estate Gold Rush. It’s a chance for you to build the investment portfolio and, along with it, the lifestyle that suits you best.
You could follow my lead and go big. Or you could just find your place in the sun…
Tomorrow, I’ll share details of particular property investments and markets I’m most bullish on right now.
Lief Simon
Editor’s Note: This week we’re opening membership for Lief Simon’s newest investment advisory service: Global Property Advisor.
As Lief explains in his essay today, right now, in specific places all over the world, real wealth is being made… and new, exciting lifestyles are being born at the same time.
Regular middle-class folks are earning everything from comfortable retirement incomes to legacy-level fortunes.
How can you join them? It doesn’t require great daring… it’s completely legal… and you don’t need a degree or insider connections or anything like that. What you need is help from someone who knows from long, broad, and firsthand experience how to make money this way.
Lief Simon has more boots-on-the-ground and profits-in-his-pocket experience in more markets than anyone you’re likely to find. If you’d like to get in on the global gold rush of our age, he’s the guy who can help to make that happen.
You can access Lief’s new private property advisory service here.
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