“Kathleen, how difficult is it to transfer money to Colombia to purchase a home if I was interested in retiring there?”
–Marc V., United States
Not difficult at all. The best strategy is to set up an account with a fiduciary company in the country (similar to a brokerage account in the United States). We work with Alianza Valores in Medellin. Then you can wire funds into this account as required. The important thing is to be sure that you fill out the proper forms each time you send money into the country so that the funds are registered correctly. As long as you do this, carefully, for every transfer, you won’t have trouble repatriating your investment funds and any associated profits. I recommend having your attorney file the forms for you, at least at first, until you’re sure of the process.
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“Kathleen, just wanted to say we did most of things you advise before I had started reading your newsletters. My husband Mike and I retired from the UK early because of my health issues and to enjoy what life we hoped to have together. We purchase two very small apartments in the UK for income and relocated to the southwest of France. We refurbished our house in a lovely village and four years later decided we wanted warmer winters.
“I did my research (wish I had had your help back then!), and we flew into Puerto Vallarta. That was seven years ago, and we stayed in an area called Romantica. I found it very humid, and we did not feel it was for us. We then flew into Phoenix and drove down to Puerto Penasco. Still did not feel we could make a home there and finally drove from there all down the Mexican peninsula to see if we could find a home. Well, long story short, we finally purchased a piece of land and had a house of our dreams built. I have to say it was not all smooth sailing, as you can imagine, and we took a lot of what we were told on good faith and trust and all this on a very small budget, indeed.
“In fact, our American friends here wonder how we live such a wonderful life on such a small budget, but it’s easy if you are careful. We really do have a wonderful life here and get very upset about the bad press that Baja gets. We have always felt completely safe, never seen any trouble because we don’t go to the areas likely to have trouble. We live in Bajamar, which is between Rosario and Ensenada in a gated golf course community. We are the only English here. We have made some lovely friends, and we all look out for each other. Now, after seven years, we cannot see ourselves living anywhere else.
“We know that maybe one day we will have to return to either France or the UK. One of our sons and his family live in Majorca, Spain, so maybe Spain will be our last destination. We try not to plan too far ahead and just enjoy the time we have here.
“Thought this might be of some interest to your readers. Thanks so much for the lovely articles and news that you send. I only wish it had been available to me when I was looking to do this. It would have made my life so much easier, and maybe we could have avoided some of the pitfalls that Mike and I have had to endure. But we have no regrets and would tell anyone thinking to do this that they should just take the leap of faith and enjoy life whilst you can.”
–Susan K., Mexico
Continue Reading: Where And How To Retire Tax-Free
