Thursday, September 6, 2007
If you found this page and are reading this I assume you are from one of the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, Northern Europe, or Australia. I further assume you are thinking of investing in Panama and/or living here. In this introduction I am unashamedly trying to give you a cold harsh blast of reality shock! This article is mostly written from an American perspective but a lot of it is applicable to other countries as well.
State of the Union - Your Home Country
What you see in your own country (if you are reading this page it should apply to you) is not encouraging economically. The economy basically is receding and has been getting worse for a while. Inflation has been destroying your purchasing power. Unemployment is at a dangerously high level. Health care has been diminishing in quality for the last 25 years and the costs have been rising steadily the last 10-15 years at an alarming rate. Prescription drug costs are becoming staggering and insurance coverage is dropping, by the way prescription drug costs in Panama are about one third of the USA price. Hospitals are closing all over the USA in record numbers. Taxes are at an incredibly high rate while government benefits are at an all time low. America and many other countries have wobbly economies with massive debt loads. As of November 2005 the State of Vermont has taken official steps to secede from the Union, no kidding do a Google search for Vermont secession. I understand Hawaii and Alaska are right behind.
Now let's look at rising interest rates. Imagine what those variable rate mortgages will look like in a few months! What about all those mortgages in excess of three hundred thousand dollars - what are these people going to do? Sell, no way the new buyers will never qualify because the interest rates have pushed up the payments so much. So they hang on and suffer. Okay now let's look at rising gas prices. In the cold areas home heating oil costs are going to be $300-$400 per month higher this year (2005-2006 winter) than last year and they were high last year. So now the mortgage payment is up and so is the home heating cost. Now let's add in the rising gas prices. Take a family where there are two commuters going an hour each way to work in their SUV's. This is a common scenario in many parts of the USA. These people are spending an extra $400 - $600 a month on gas combined, and this gets added into the rising mortgage rates, the rising home heating oil costs, the rising health care costs. Wait it gets worse. When the food and hard goods manufacturers bill the supermarkets, stores etc. for food and goods they are adding in a fuel surcharge which gets added into the price you pay which means your cost of living is inflating again every time you buy anything in a store. Let's look at credit cards. Lots of people are maxed out on their credit cards. If they read the terms of agreement with their credit card companies they will see that if their credit scores get adversely affected or they are late in payments the favorable low interest rates they got will go to the marginal credit interest rates (think 18%+). The real bad news is that when the credit card companies run their credit reports and see that they are maxed out on their cards that reduces their credit scores and thus the high rates will kick in. Have you noticed that America recently changed in Bankruptcy laws making it very difficult for a person to use the protection of the Bankruptcy Courts anymore, this is not a coincidence.
More and more jobs in America are moving overseas. Levi Straus no longer makes any products in the USA. Yikes!! Do the big corporations know something we don't?
More and more jobs in America are moving overseas. Levi Straus no longer makes any products in the USA. Yikes!! Do the big corporations know something we don't? Loss of jobs means that in turn more jobs will be lost since purchasing power diminishes when one is unemployed. What will happen when people can not afford the extra gas costs for their SUV's. If they go to sell their SUV's they'll find the resale value is thousands of dollars below what they owe due to declining used car prices on gas hogs. So selling is not an option for the average cash strapped family. Have you ever heard of an employer increasing wages due to rising energy costs, me neither. This winter you will see families walking around inside the house wearing down vests in America. People are already making fewer trips to the supermarket to save on gas. Carpooling is about to make a big comeback. In any event do you see rising housing prices in the USA as a likely outcome? I don't. I can find no reasons to make me think housing prices will rise in America for many years. Do you see declining housing prices as a likely outcome - I do. Hurricane season has now become a six to seven month event. Those that can move out of hurricane zones will do so and I expect they will be selling cheap and thus buying into lower price areas. Hurricane insurance costs will be skyrocketing after this season as well and the banks will take that into account decreasing the amount of mortgage a person can qualify for even further. Those in the cold zones will be suffering from those big heating bills this winter and this can only serve to drive down housing prices. The banks will take the rising energy costs into account when qualifying people making it harder to quality for the same value house one could qualify for two years ago and without the cooperation of the banks real estate prices decline. Rest assured the banks are quite scared about now.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.panamaexpertos.com
There is No Bad Weather to Check out Real Estate
Article Written and Prepared by: Neoli Marcos
Sunny skies are what most of us look forward to when checking out real estates. It may be that we need the light, or we need the wakefulness, or we need the cheery mood. Whatever the case, real estate agents want to tour you in the house at the right times, and see to it the house is presented in the best light possible.
But of course, the best light isn't always good when you're buying real estate. No matter how deep you've fallen in love with a house or apartment, you will want to know its flaws and damages. If your real estate agent is upfront with you about those flaws and repair issues, then good. But what if not?
In this case, bad weather can have its good sunny side. Just like bad weather brings out the worst in people, bad weather can do the same for real estate. If you have always been afraid of the rain, just for once don't let bad weather put you off in checking out that house or apartment for sale or rent. You want to make the best decision in buying real estate, and the rain is your best friend here.
Look for leaks in the house. That roof and ceiling might look good in sunny weather but they should never have room for even just the teeniest, tiniest trickle.
Check the drainage. Don't expect real estate agents to include flooded lawns and flooded garages in their descriptions while they're touring you in the house. Inquire immediately when you see it.
Ask yourself if you can fare with bad weather when you're already living in the house or apartment. Is the rainy view good outside? The rain can have a gloomy effect on many people, so don't always be fooled by sunny weather.
But hey, it hardly ever rains in Oz anyway. But, even so, the next time it pours, don't pout and say you'll have to cancel your house inspection. Now's the perfect time!
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Neoli write articles and press releases for http://www.ozfreeonline.com. This piece he made served as an article exclusive for http://realestate.ozfreeonline.com - which offers a comprehensive list of office & commercial real estates, homes for rent or sell and an apartment finder to thousands of properties in Australia.
Rent an Apartment
Are you looking for an apartment to rent? All over the world you can find apartments to rent out and all you have to do is plan it out thoroughly before you really take it up.
So what are we waiting for? Let’s draw up the plan and go right ahead!
To find the best possible place for you, you must be sure it is within your budget, safe and in a good locality. It is a great thrill to hunt for apartments but this can be very tiring and tedious too. So to make the search as simple as possible, get the best deal in the nicest locality, let’s first write down exactly what kind of apartment we want and then start searching for that kind of place.
Once we have identified the area, we must see the proximity to a market place and work etc. It is also very important to have a good landlord and a clean, green environment if it is possible. After all, the apartment where you will stay and so it makes a lot of difference to have a nice home rather than a shabby home or unclean surroundings.
So check out your list and earmark the localities and then short list the apartments that you would like as home accommodation. Once you choose the best one out of the short listed ones, be sure to meet the landlord and talk to him at length settling all matters related to rental properties, the lease and its renewal terms, rent and rent advance etc to ensure you both understand each other and all the terms clearly which you have mutually agreed upon.
You must also look into the fact that if you want to join the gym, there is one available right there or close to you or if you have a sportsman you have easy access to the sports you would like to play. Or maybe a club that you would like to join, say a golf club, it is within close proximity so you save time commuting.
As you must be aware, there are all kinds of rental properties and schemes for independent home rentals which you must be aware of. You can also go through a reliable Property Dealer if you wish so that you are able to speed up the process. But please ensure that you have checked out his credentials and he is from a very reliable source as there are plenty of sharks around!
So the thrill of the house hunting is on! Good Luck to you and if you are clear and alert, you will find just what you want!
Author's Bio:
Smantha Sen is an associated editor of website
www.realtymantrarentals.com. The website is a rent guide, dedicated to provide all information required for rental properties all across India. Your queries and suggestions are welcomed at smanthasen@gmail.com.
