#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This morning a concerned reader wrote via email to let me know they had discovered beachfront land for sale being advertised on encuentra24.com located in the area of Juan Hombrón. Their question: "Are these lots part of the land object of the scandal? I checked out the lead and discovered in fact the same parcel of land is being advertised twice by two different real estate agents - one of them here for $100,000 dollars and the second one here, this time for $130,000 dollars. If you look closely at both adds you will see it's the same land, same photos, etc. I called Vivian Sánchez, the real estate agent representing the property in question in one of the ads. She told me this property doesn't have anything to do with the ongoing land scandal over land titles created in an irregular manner in the same area. She said this land was purchased and titled by a Korean gentleman a long time ago. She said the land is in fact titled and not Rights of Possession, and the land title was issued a long time ago. She said the land in question in the scandal is in another area, and again, this plot of land is not involved in any way in the scandal. So, if you want 800 meters of beachfront in Juan Hombrón you can probably get it for about $100K or less. Just make sure you do your proper due diligence to verify what Vivian Sánchez told me. Happy hunting, just remember to keep your tail down and your head up.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Panama Equity Real Estate chose to represent the Costa Esmeralda Beach Villa as a new addition in our agency’s luxury property fleet because it delivers unmatched characteristics of ultra luxury, privacy, and a 20 year tax exoneration, all within close proximity to Panama City,” says Kent Davis, Sales Manager. “We are pleased to announce that we have improved our property portfolio with arguably the nicest Villa for sale on Panama’s Pacific coast. It is an absolute honor to represent Panama’s most spectacular properties.”

Panama Equity is the only boutique real estate agency in Panama with properties and agents in all the nation’s major hotspots. It represents hundreds of repeat buyers from across the globe and an ever-evolving database of Panama’s best-valued investments.

The Costa Esmeralda Beach Villa is as distinctive as it is vast. Located in the exclusive community of El Cortijo, less than 5 minutes from Coronado, its Balinese theme décor is the ultimate compliment to its infrastructure and views. Set on more than1/2 acre of land, each of the 5 bedrooms open out onto the villa’s 35-meter vanishing-edge pool offering unobstructed Pacific Ocean views. The villa boasts vaulted ceilings, imported furnishings, a helicopter pad, separate guesthouse, and a private beach.

“Selling the Costa Esmeralda Villa allows us to further our pursuit for Panama’s most elite and affordable properties,” says Carlos Ruiz, sales agent with Panama Equity Real Estate. “I have been selling real estate in Panama’s beach and mountain areas now for 8 years and I can’t say I’ve ever come across a property like this.”

The Costa Esmeralda Beach Villa is an especially unique property for sale because so few luxury properties are ever traded-hands in the Coronado region: Panama’s largest developed beach area complete with shopping malls, grocery stores, and medical facilities. This distinct property is set within a community of merely 13 homes and thanks to its 20-year tax exoneration, the Villa’s only upkeep is around $220/month in neighborhood fees.

How Can You See It? 
Panama Equity Real Estate is showing the Villa on a first-come first-serve basis. This Saturday, October 29 th, Panama Equity is also hosting an open house from 1pm – 5pm. To get an invitation and map, RSVP to Kent@Panamaequity.com or visit their Casco Viejo office location. For complete property information, http://www.panamaequity.com/listings/costa-esmeralda-dream-home/

#Panama - The president, Ricardo Martinelli, appointed Franklin Oduber B. on Tuesday as the new General Manager of the National Authority for Land Management (Anati), the controversial institution embroiled in the land titles scandals of Paitilla and Costa del Este. The new general manager of the ANATI will be in charge of the position recently vacated by Alejandro Castillero, the presidency said in a press release. On August 29, Eladio Ostia Pravia was appointed by President Martinelli as the Deputy Administrator of the Anati. (Estrella)

#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received this morning via email: "Hi Don. I've been a regular reader of your blog for over 5 years and remember some articles about developers squeezing buyers out of their contracts at the 11th hour. Well, I now find myself in this position. The developers argue that the contract is now void because I haven't presented them with the "carta irrevocable de promesa de pago", even though they had communicated to buyers that the alternative would be to pay another 20% by November and the rest upon delivery. I'd value your thoughts on this. Many thanks and please keep those preciour articles rolling! Regards, P."

Editor's Comment: OK, here's what happens. The developer has to sell units at "preconstruction" prices in order to raise the funding to build the project. Once they have about 50% of the project sold, the banks will lend them the money to build it, based on the potential sales value represented in those contracts. They get their loan, and they build. However after it's been built, now the building actually exists, and it's worth a lot more than what they sold it at originally, at the "preconstruction" price. Therefore, the builder wants to find ways to make you go away. If they can "trick" you into not complying with the terms of the contract, then they can easily argue in court that you didn't fulfill your end of the bargain, and you will lose.

A "Communication" is not a "Contract" - Many people make the mistake of thinking that every telephone call or email from the developer carries legal weight. In most cases, they carry no legal weight at all. In court, a judge will look first and foremost at the details stipulated in the contract. The really easy question is - Did you comply with the payment schedule and requirements as stipulated in the clauses of the contract, or not? If not, then you might be screwed.

A Little Leverage Goes A Long Way: The good news is that most of the time the developer isn't really looking to completely screw you over. They are just hard nosed and experienced businessmen who are trying to generate negotiating leverage. Meaning, once they tell you they are not going to honor your contract because you didn't give them an irrevocable letter of payment on a specific date or whatever, their real intent is to get you scared, make you nervous, and to squeeze the difference out of you (the "preconstruction" price vs. the current market value.) And generally, your choices are to hire a lawyer and fight in court for thousands of dollars and no guarantee of winning, or spend those same thousands of dollars to negotiate, close the deal, and get your property. Which one are you going to take?

Ethics and Morals? Forget About It: This is a game being played with literally billions of dollars at stake. The "little guy" is the individual buyer, and the playing surface is not level because the developers have built and sold thousands of units. They have all of that built up experience, knowledge, intelligence information, and wisdom - and they are going to use it against you. What do they want? Money. Your money. Will they rot in hell for being greedy? Maybe. Maybe not. But whatever, they don't care if you're pissed off. Your chances of buying from them again are zero. And they will just find the next guy to piss off. It's been working for millennium. In the year 4025, the owner of www.mars-guide.com will probably get a very similar email. My advice - understand what you're looking at and what you're dealing with, then sit down and negotiate an "out" that's the best "win-win" you can get to. Best of luck.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Casa Villa Azul, now for sale at $265,000 is a beautiful ocean view home with a total construction area of 420 m2 located on the road to El Valle, in the Vista Valle Designed Community of over 70 building sites, located 100 km (60 miles) from downtown Panama City. This is one of the great real estate listings that can be found on Panama Casa Realty’s web site.

This gorgeous home, the first to be built in Vista Valle (an eco-friendly project), was custom designed and built with care using only quality materials. The open floor plan consists of a very livable overall area of 420 m2 (4520 ft²) with 253 m2 (2723 ft²) of air conditioned living space, surrounded by a covered outdoor deck of 125 m2 (1345 ft²). The two private master bedroom suites and an additional en-suite guest bedroom each have a balcony or terrace from which you can enjoy beautiful views of rolling verdant hills all the way to the Pacific Ocean. There is an enclosed two car garage. (more)

The Capac Expo Habitat 2011 opened yesterday, with an announcement from president Ricardo Martinelli that the government of Panama will reinstate the 20 year property tax exoneration. The Expo Habitat is being held at the Atlapa Convention Center, bringing together the major real estate promoters and developers in the industry. Martinelli asked the builders to approach the new Housing Minister José Domingo Arias, to increase the limits of the preferential interest to $100,000 (the cap is now set at $80,000). (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: I always like to get over to the Expo Habitat at least once while it's open every year. It's an easy way to see all of the different projects and developments being built throughout the country, from new luxury high rises down to the little "matchbox" sized houses being built by the thousands for lower income Panamanians in the suburbs of Panama City. It's a good move on the part of the government of Panama to reinstate the 20 year property tax exemption - a lot of people were enticed to buy property in Panama thanks to the idea of not having to pay any property taxes. In reality property tax rates are not all that high anyway, but zero is even better than a little bit. Anyway, you might want to wander over there of of these days. It will be open through the weekend, and they usually open later in the afternoon, not so much in the early morning.

Panama Realtor is an established, full-service, nation-wide real estate company with headquarters in Panama City and fully bilingual agents throughout the country. We have an advantage over other real estate companies in that our bilingual agents are all locals. Our love for the country is apparent in our insight and knowledge of Panama’s culture, traditions, land and people. Additionally we realize that making a move to a foreign country involves much, much more than just purchasing a home, apartment or property, and can provide support on many different levels such as assisting in everything from transferring utilities bills into your name, to recommending a family doctor. We have experience that has taken a lifetime to acquire and have developed solid relationships with just about every service provider one could need for everyday living in Panama.

By Jeff Duda for Panama-Guide.com - If the boom is over why does rental demand for apartment exceed supply, at least for Panama Casa's mid to upper end full service apartments in the city when priced right? Overbuilding in Panama has not happened. Building to keep up with demand so that demand did not exceed supply has happened which is good and has allowed Panama City to grow as fast and in some cases faster than infrastructure has been able to keep up. Prices have not become unreasonable high because of a lack of supply and the city is able to grown and provide the housing and services needed for the growth. Nor have prices fallen significantly do to over supply. Here at Panama Casa rental management we are still dealing with not having enough quality reasonably priced full service apartments to keep up with the year round demand. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This morning someone came to me with "yet another" land dispute in Bocas del Toro. Of course the details change with regards to the actual parcels of land involved, the people and players in the drama, and exactly how it all came about. However the overall story from a strategic point of view will not have changed one bit. There are currently dozens if not hundreds of ongoing legal battles over both Rights of Possession (ROP) and titled land in Bocas del Toro. Low level governmental authorities are corrupt, they have been corrupt for decades, and they probably always will be corrupt. These people and the governmental offices they represent can generate (bogus) paper and documents for money. Unscrupulous people can then use those documents to take over land. Sometimes people buy things they think are solid and legitimate based on the documents they have in their hands, and later they are surprised to find out the documents were somehow faked or forged. I know of one case where the gringos then tried to sell their problems to someone else - even though they were fully aware of the problems with their land and title - in order to pass the load of crap they had purchased to someone else (i.e. - commit and act of fraud.)

That's The Landscape: In the middle of all of this the legal fight ensures. The famously corrupt lawyers in Bocas del Toro get involved, and they get rich. In some cases the lawyers actually create the disputes, pitting one land owner against another behind the scenes, just so they can get involved in the battle in order to get paid. The central government has not done anything to sort the mess out. The executive branch can only do so much because eventually the cases wind up in the justice system. And you really can't get any actual justice until the case gets appealed to the Superior or Supreme Court.

You Would Have To Be Nuts: My standing advice to anyone who is considering investing in land in Bocas del Toro is "run like hell." There are dozens and dozens of horror stories, and I simply don't want to hear them anymore. Let me know when there's a final court decision and I'll report on that. But the details of the day-to-day legal slug-fest of who screwed whom with what bogus document - there's no "headline" there. It's an old story, so rather than news it's "olds" and therefore = boring and uninteresting. Bocas is a pretty place, and it's just too bad everyone who lives there has to constantly fear some dude with a fat checkbook and a willingness to pay bribes might come to try to take it all away someday, knowing the legal system (such as it is) would probably let it happen. Scary shit. And even if you have never had a problem yet, you still might have one tomorrow. Wake me up when it's fixed. In the meantime - invest your money wisely - like "I'd like to buy two starfishes, please..." Good call.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

The latest addendum to the contract between ICA and the State gives the construction company 12.4 hectares where they can build on top of landfill of the ocean floor as compensation for the expansion of the Southern Corridor. However, the Constitution does not allow the award of the seabed to private hands. Even the Ministry of Finance did not allow a similar landfill in Amador, and cited this same constitutional provision. Voices that have criticized the purchase of the shares of ICA ensure the landfills are illegal. Nevertheless, high government figures described the operation as an "excellent" business. Last night the deputy finance minister, Dulcidio De La Guardia, said the transaction is 'necessary'. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: You see that little man made island out there in the middle of the bay? Now, imagine that expanded to 12.4 hectares and privately owned by the ICA company. The government has granted the rights to build on the ocean floor (landfill) as part of the contract, which is now being challenged on Constitutional grounds. Panama's Constitution does not allow anyone to own the beaches or the ocean floor. And of course someone will sue. And of course the case will go nowhere and the government will do whatever they want. That's because Martinelli has the Supreme Court in his back pocket. Next!