www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Once again your mileage may vary. I live part time in Panama- have been gone for about 8 months. I have a great property manager who for 10% does everything and takes care of all the headaches. I agree it's not for everyone, my bone of contention was that your post was way to broad. There are thousands of people who have bought out of the US and are doing great with their properties.
Plus, if you are visiting there a lot or semi-often not paying a hotel bill and making money from renting it while you are away is a big plus.

What you get from renting is the ability to walk away without penalty. And Brother Casa V is talking about housing as investment--the very mindset that so bedazzled those who are now in foreclosure--I'm not talking about those who overbought, but those who were stable and sensible, and still lost everything when their jobs disappeared. I'm not all that smart--I just don't see the magic in homeownership for the consumer. Housing programs were stated in the 1930's not because anybody saw a true benefit for ordinary folks (the Great Ruse) but as a way to sell consumer goods and money (the mortgage). Lotsa folks in both NYC and San Francisco are happy lifetime renters.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I have relatives in New York , San Fransisco, San Jose CA and Los Angeles. They only rent because they can't come close to affording anything equivalent as a purchase. Its the only way they can live... where they live. In most cases, the smallest, shittest condo starts at $500k.... and that is after the real estate fallout. Basically, a cock-roach ridden efficiency is not worth $500K. You still need to spend closer to $1 Million to get anything close to a nice house in thee markets.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
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Amen.

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

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Wow Jazz, very pessimistic outlook. The fact of the matter is the majority of American derive most of their wealth from real estate as it is the single largest and best investment available to them. Besides being a leveraged investment, it is one of the best hedges against inflation and it is a solid "real" asset.. It is true that many homes are in foreclosure but this is the result of progressive politics run amuck.

Not to be too contentious but one man's pessimism is another's realism. That as illiquid an investment as a house is, is the alleged best investment available to the majority of Americans is one sad testament to the ecopolitical system and the formulators/ practitioners of it. How about we get truly portable pension plans, that are self-directed instead? How about we take away the mortgage interest deduction, which no one else in the world has and which artificially inflate a house's value by 1/3, and which limit the ability to compare a house strictly as an investment with any other asset class? I mean what accretion of ideas came up with the idea of home as investment in the first place? And how is the scurrilious financial engineering and unbounded greed of Wall Street connected to any kind of politics? And no, we haven't reached the bottom on foreclosures of homes, not by a long shot--some localized non-sustainable upticks, yes, but the first wave of bottom-feeders and "flippers" are already feeling foreclosure pressure--and that more homes are not in forclosure is nothing more than banks refusing to take the capital hit foreclosures would entail--they'd then have to realize the losses rather than keep them on their books at some fantasy number.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

i bought a house many years ago, rented it out while living elsewhere (i traveled here and there, but never gave up the house). the house is paid off. It has 2 units. today, the rent checks go into buying stock (great time to be buying stock). but, if i hit any hard times, i can end the lease(s) and go there to live for the cost of property tax, water, electric, gas. i can work at McDonalds and still have some left over.

long term, RE is great, especially for seniors. i know seniors that have horrible lives because they have to pay rent, water, electric and gas... rent being the killer.

i was sort of lucky, i had pretty good renters over the years.

i don't really believe in owning a lot of RE, because i've found that the more you own, the more it owns you. still, owning and trying to pay just one property off by the time you are a senior is wise for most people.

good job D. . that's where I'll be in less than 10 years with my house paid off. but with the only thing that is now making it possible. in 2 words: strategic default. it sounds better than "walking away from my mortgage" . I hung in there with my second house for over 2 years now, but I'm done, out of options, and won't borrow money from one bank to pay another.

not sure what that has to do with owning a condo in another country, but I will say that you should check on any upcoming assessments that owners have to pay for before buying. happened to me years ago.

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Enzo

Now in High Definition!

Wise words from Brother Enzo5 about assessments--and that goes double in an area like Cape Coral FL--if they haven't been paid (water and sewer), you're on the hook for serious money from the jump (as much as 25-30% of the price paid for the house). Ouch!

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED