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Hi everyone. Check out this titled ocean view property for sale in the charming beach town of Puerto Armuelles.
Stay tuned for more, right after this: I'm Betsy from Living in Panama, the place for information and advice on being an expat in Panama. Interested? Click subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss a video.
The highest part of this property dominates the brow of the hill and the views.
My drone makes it seem like the ocean is much further away than what you actually experience when you're standing on the property.
Here's a photo I took with a regular camera, no zoom lens, to give you a better idea the ocean views from this property.
If you were higher up, say in a house, the view would be even better.
I added a Google map view to give you a better idea of the property and its distance from the ocean and downtown.
Here's the property and here's Tsunami Inn. This is Big Daddy's Beach Club & Hotel (Formerly Heavenly's Hotel).
I'll show you how far away the ocean view is.
The property to the beach by Big Daddy's is 1.3 kilometers or about three-quarters of a mile away.
Also to show how convenient it is to downtown Puerto.
From the property to the downtown waterfront park is 2 kilometers or 1-1/4 mile.
Now back to the property. (Note: At this point, the video shows an aerial view of the property with it's property lines indicated with a blue line.)
From this property and in the neighborhood, you can hear howler monkeys, parrots, and the surf, when it is up, especially in the early mornings.
Right now, you're looking at the property right behind this one. An expat couple lives in it.
The property line going goes behind these trees and includes this flat area
The property also includes this 50 foot wide access road.
This property is large: 60,000 sq. feet.
You could subdivide it into 3 lots or just luxuriate in all that space.
We are selling it for an amazingly low price of $54,500.
We live in this neighborhood and one thing we enjoy is that every day, at dawn and then again at dusk, flocks of parrots fly out of the neighborhood and then return in the evening.
It really gives a wonderful rhythm to your day.
This photo shows the view of the property from the road.
To give you a sense of Las Palmas, I included 2 video clips I had on hand.
In this one, you can see the Las Palmas neighborhood is made up of large lots and tropical wooden houses on stilts.
We love seeing horses, in this case a mule, wandering in the neighborhood.
For more information and to contact us, click the link below this video.
Thanks for watching
When we arrived in Puerto there was lots of property available to buy. We chose only what we thought was the most appealing.
We singled out the properties where we would be happy to live. Reyn, as a designer, was always thinking of the end user. The person who would ultimately live on the property.
While the price was a factor, it was not our main determining criteria.
We looked for property where we would have liked to live ourselves. Locations that made us feel joy and that we were glad to be alive.
Only then, did we start our careful evaluation of the property as a potential purchase.
We looked at:
If the property had any significant issue, no matter how much we liked the property, we did not buy it.
When we bought property, we took our responsibility as owners seriously.
As the years go by, we are always trying to make the property more attractive, livable, valuable, and secure. Over time we have become pretty good at this. At least, we think so. We welcome your thoughts on the matter.
We have thoroughly vetted and researched all of our investment properties.
Many we have owned for up to 10 years. There are no outstanding ownership issues.
All properties have been well-maintained and improved over the course of our ownership.
We have all of the original property documents. Even the old yellowed originals, some dating back all the way back to the very first issuance of Right of Possession of the property, on up to the present year. (These are kept in a safe deposit box in the US.) All property transactions have been witnessed by the notary and by relevant neighbors, ex-wives, children, etc. Of course, we also have the official engineers’ drawings for all the properties.
Very importantly here in Panama, we have gotten to know all of the neighbors of the properties. We have met all, or at least most, of the siblings and children of the sellers. In many cases, Reyn even knows the neighbors' dogs by name.
All the neighbors recognize us as the sole owners of our properties. Because of our good relations with these neighbors, they would inform us of any suspicious behavior or encroachment. (Thankfully, it is very rare to have such issues in Puerto.)
As we have said elsewhere, most issues, especially ownership issue surface in the first few weeks of a new purchase.
Our goal is to have the best prices in town. If you find a similar property at a better price, please let us know.
Please do your research. You will find that our prices, for what you get, is lower than other expat-owned property for sale in the area. When evaluating a property given its price, you should look at the quality of location, view, size, aesthetic appeal and other critical factors of a quality living experience.
We appreciate your feedback. We'd love to hear what you found. We want to continue to deliver the best quality at the best price.
We love the beach. So we chose properties that would easily allow a beach lifestyle.
Much of our property is beach front. And if it is not at the beach, it is less than 100 yards from the beach.
We only have 2 properties that are not considered beach properties, but even those have views of the ocean.
Puerto Armuelles is a wonderful place to live in. It isn't a tourist destination yet, but it is an ideal place to enjoy a relaxing beach lifestyle.
Puerto Armuelles is a unique town. It has a real sense of place. We loved Puerto from the moment we set eyes on it.
Location is key.
After 3+ months of traveling all over Panama. We decided to buy in Puerto Armuelles.
We wanted to live in a real beach town. We didn't want to live in a resort community, or somewhere which would require a lot of driving to accomplish our daily errands.
Puerto Armuelles was the only place that fit all of our "happy living" requirements. Simply put, Puerto felt right. And it still does.
More and more expats who move here each year agree with our assessment.
I have written about Puerto Armuelles extensively in other parts of our site, so I will just give you a summary of Puerto's features below.
Puerto Armuelles - a Summary
Although it is not yet a tourist destination, Puerto has features that are beginning to attract recreational visitors, as well as retirees.
Puerto Armuelles is a place where you can easily build a happy and relaxed life. Come visit and see if you agree with us.
Everyone in Panama could be a happy recipient of this advantage. Starting in January 2019, if your property is valued at less than $120K, it will be exempt from property taxes. In Panama, the value of the property is assumed to be the purchase price.
Fortunately, all our properties are under $120,000 - many are well under $120,000.
Currently, there is no system in Panama that reassesses a property's value.
Which means that if you build a house on the property, your property value, for tax purposes, will not increase. Or if property prices increase in your area, the value of your property, again for tax purposes, will not increase. It will still be taxed, or be exempt, based on the purchase price.
Of course, this lack of up-to-date assessments may change, but for the foreseeable future, that is the situation. A good situation for property owners in Panama.
Learn more about the Panama property tax reform here.
If you buy one of our properties during your visit, we will pay the airfare you spent to get here.
Our "Welcome to Puerto Armuelles" gift to you. A happy perk to celebrate your new life in Puerto Armuelles. (Note: We cover the airfare of one person only.)
We have been asked about reserving property in the past. And we always said no. We really want people to visit Puerto first. But we have been convinced to change our mind. So now we have the option.
You can now reserve a property for 60 days for only $1,000.
Discover all the details about reserving a property, Click here.
We offer to finance.
This is a great advantage to you since it can be time-consuming and difficult to get bank financing in Panama.
And, if you are interested in ROP property, bank financing is non-existent. You can only obtain bank financing for titled property.
We carefully determined our terms by considering both what our clients have been asking for and looking at other owner-financing options available in the area.
We feel that our terms are fair and competitive. We think that you will agree.
Find out more about our financing.
You can rely on us to provide you with good advice and critical information necessary for success in Panama.
As you can easily see by browsing our website, LivinginPanama.com, we have a wealth of information about moving to Panama, setting up house, understanding the culture, and creating a happy life here in Puerto Armuelles.
We are happy to share this information with you throughout the purchase process and beyond.
Of course, no matter how compelling you find these 10 reasons, you must find a property that suits you.
One of our properties may be perfect for you. Or maybe none of them will call to you. Regardless, we are happy to help and answer your questions.
The main focus of our website is to help expats be successful and happy in Panama.
Of course, we would be thrilled if you bought one of our fabulous properties.
We'd have even more reason to celebrate your decision to join us down in Puerto Armuelles, Panama. The first round is on us!
Thanks for reading.
Betsy & Reyn
Updated Nov. 1, 2017
If this is what drinking is like for you, then you should probably keep on drinking.
However, if you are one of us who has discovered through personal experience that drinking hasn’t looked this good for a long, long time, then you might be ready to give “not drinking” a try.
Have already tried “not-drinking” on your own, and found that it is a harder habit to develop than drinking was. Then you might consider joining an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group.
AA is a great way to meet others who have discovered that the road to a happy, spiritually satisfying life is much easier to achieve when you are not drinking.
Getting support from others who are making the same choice to not drink, on a daily basis, is a great way to live a happier, healthier, and longer life.
In an earlier article, I wrote about AA meetings around Panama, including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Chiriqui.
At the time of this writing, there is a good expat AA meeting in Boquete. There are now also English-speaking AA meetings in David and Volcan.
To get the details of those English-speaking AA meetings in the Chiriqui Province, visit the AA site here.
I am aware of several other AA members who live in Puerto Armuelles.
One of these folks attends the meeting in Boquete only occasionally since it is an hour and a half drive each way.
Each of these has commented to me,
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had an English-speaking AA meeting right here in Puerto Armuelles?”
No doubt, if a meeting were to start up here in Puerto, we would soon discover that there are far more folks interested in attending than meets the eye.
Where ever there are people, you will find AA members.
What’s more, there are clearly plenty of alcoholic drinkers among the expats here in Puerto. Having a good AA meeting to attend might just be the opportunity that some of these “still drinking but wish I could quit” folks need to help them to get sober.
If you have any interest in participating in an AA group here in Puerto Armuelles, please let us know via our contact page or email.
We will be discrete and simply let all the responders know how many folks are looking for a meeting in Puerto Armuelles.
We will be sure to announce the first AA meeting. So if you set one up, please let us know about it.
Thanks for reading,
Reyn
However, a supplemental electric motor offers an extra boost for getting up to cruising speed after stopping at red lights, or providing horse power for getting up steep hills. (Seattle is a famously “steep” city.)
Watching our neighbor Henry’s business literally explode, over the past couple of years has been exciting. In addition to converting standard bikes to electrical assistance, Henry also sells a line of top quality factory built ebikes.
When we’re in Seattle, I sometimes stop by his shop to chat and to check out the latest ebike technology. The equipment is evolving fast in this new/old eco-friendly form of transportation.
So far, I have been reluctant to consider an electric bike myself.
I still see myself as a relatively “young” 56 year old. At some level, I guess we are all reluctant to admit that we’re getting old. (Luckily I have children who aren't reluctant to say, “Dad, admit it, you’re old”.)
Aside from the fact that I love to ride my human powered street bike, I worry that if I start to accept electrical assistance on my bicycle, would I soon find myself requiring assistance to do everything?
I already have an electric toothbrush. Would riding an ebike be a slippery slope to riding around everywhere. Would an electric powered wheelchair then be in my near future? Would it be a short cut to that final ebike commute?
Recently, however, I have begun to reconsider using an electric bike.
There are plenty of errands that I don’t do on my regular bike, because I am in too much of a hurry, or I have to carry too much, or I have already gotten a lot of exercise that day. Or more often, I just don’t want to get all sweaty. (See appendix for a complete list of my excuses.)
Maybe an electrically assisted bike would reduce the number of car trips that I take. Perhaps owning an electric bike would reduce the number of our car trips, and thus our environmental impact.
Maybe we would end up riding our "regular" bikes more, rather than less, and stay in better shape. Perhaps we would keep the bike riding “habit” alive, by having a way to ride, even when we don’t really feel like bike riding.
Another advantage of biking more (ebike or regular), is that when I do bike I feel more connected with the community. Definitely more than when I am hidden behind the tinted windows of my car.
In Puerto Armuelles, I notice that I ride my bike much more in the rainy season than I do in the dry season.
The 10 degree cooler temperature, plus the overcast skies makes the rainy season perfect for cycling.
I find I am more reluctant to hop on my bike in the hot dry season. I definitely don’t do it as much.
For instance, our family always seems to forget to buy some critical item at the grocery store. Which then requires someone shlep back downtown to Romero’s. And it is usually I who does that trip.
In the hot season, I usually make that 2nd trip to Romero by car.
There are other trip I could take by ebike too. As a home builder, I find myself taking frequent runs to the hardware store for small miscellaneous fasteners, adhesives, wire, blades, etc… for the construction crew.
Sometimes I take these trips by bike. If I really crank, I can probably get from our house in Las Palmas, to Casa Cheong (about 3/4 a mile, slightly downhill) in under 2 minutes. However, by the time I arrive back home, I am usually pretty sweaty.
I love to ride fast, and I love to exercise. But, sometimes I just don’t feel like getting all “pitted out”.
Observing some of the other expat in Puerto Armuelles, I notice that not too many are bike riders. There are a few, but not many.
I imagine, like me they also don't want to get over-tired or too sweaty.
Puerto Armuelles is laid out along the ocean, so generally, it is flat as a pancake. Our house in Las Palmas is up a slight hill, perhaps 10 or 12 feet above downtown.
This is an ideal topography for even a very modestly powered ebike.
Perhaps expats in Puerto Armuelles (and the tropics in general) is the ideal market for electric bikes.
The electric bike just might bring a whole new level of fun and convenience to retirement life in Puerto.
In my own case, as I get older, I anticipate that I will still enjoy feeling the breeze in my (thinning) hair. I will still enjoy the freedom and the exercise of riding a bike.
However, I can foresee a time, not too distant, when I will happily opt for the ease of an electric bike. I think that I will ride more often, if I know that I don’t have to pedal the whole time.
With an electric bike, I’ll be able to exercise, without overdoing it.
I am going to be giving electric bikes a test ride in the near future. I will report my findings.
However, in the meantime, there is lots of information available about ebikes online. You can convert a bike you already own, or buy a new or used electric bike. (Maybe we should add it to our post about "Packing for your move to Panama".)
If you would like to check out our friend Henry’s shop, visit BikeSwift.com.
If you have any information to share with our readers about electric bikes, or other alternative transportation methods, please let us know.
If you are interested in living green, I wrote about using taxis in Panama - a green and affordable alternative.
Thanks!
Reyn
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We hope you can benefit from the lessons we learned.
Don't Make Emotional Purchase
We have made dozens of property purchases safely and without regret in Panama.
Our achilles heel in this particular case was that this was an emotional purchase.
We LOVED the property too much, and we really WANTED it.
This is precisely the way expats get tricked into buying a property that they shouldn’t.
You need to use your prefrontal cortex to purchase property, not your amigdala. Definitely don’t use your tequila sunrise, or your vodka and tonic brain either. This needs to be a morning coffee sort of a decision.
In our case, the property in question was to have been for our own personal use, at a popular surfing spot in the neighborhood of Corazon de Jesus.
You see, we had gotten to know the sellers so well over the years of surfing and swimming there, and we liked the property so much for having used it every day or so over that time, and we were paying such a high price for the land…….(Blah, Blah, Blah)…
We assumed we knew everything we needed to know about the property. We had know the sellers for years, and made the mistake of believing what the sellers told us.
(Notice that our train of thought in this emotional purchase is not logical. We were using the wrong part of our brain. Basically, we were worried that if we didn’t buy it, someone else would, since many other properties in Corazon de Jesus had sold fast at that time).
Fortunately, we did much more cognitive research on our investment properties, since we bought for resale purposes. We made doubly sure we were on top of all stages of the vetting process.
We only purchased properties where we ourselves would be happy to live. And over the years, we have fallen in love with them, especially with the Corazon de Oro development where I now swim every day, or stroll 5 minutes down the beach to Corazon de Jesus to go surfing. As it turns out, we like it better than we ever liked Corazon de Jesus and the purple house.
We made several payments for the property, over 2 years, and were about to make our final, largest payment for the land, when we began to hear things that made us suspect that what we had been told by the family of the seller might not have been true.
You see, in this family there is an adult son who drinks too much. However, since I usually visited the property in the early morning when I swam, or surfed, I rarely ran into him, or if I did, he was not drunk in the mornings.
However, a couple of times, near the due date for our final payment, I visited the property in the afternoon. I got to witness this man drunk and belligerent. Most importantly to this story, this guy was yelling “crazy” things to me about the property having been left to him by his late father, as well as to the family member we were buying from. Previously, the family had convinced us that this person was the only legal owner of the property.
At this late date and for the 1st time, it was clear that this drunken relative was not happy with the idea of this sale. (Huh? I had been so confident that I knew everything about the property). I had spent hundreds of hours there over the years. I had been to births and funerals of various members of the family of the seller. I had lent the family money to help with travel and education expenses. How could this be?
Betsy and I immediately asked our lawyer do a review of the property documents to ease our doubts, before we handed over the final payment for the property.
It took this lawyer all of 5 minutes to discover that the drunk was exactly correct.
You see, the grandmother of the family, had (intentionally or not. We cannot be sure, although the last minute will was drawn up by this woman’s attorney who certainly should have known what he was doing) written a new will ceding her portion of the property back to her husband just before he died.
This meant that, though the property had been given to the seller only, by both his grandmother and his grandfather, upon the death of the grandfather all of this widow’s children, and their children’s children, as legal heirs, became the rightful owners of the property.
In the developed world, this series of events would have been labeled “felony real estate fraud”. In Panama this is considered a "grey area" especially where poor Panamanians are the sellers and expats are the buyers.
In fact they admitted it was fraud.
When we called them on their deception, they admitted it was true. There was more than one owner of the property.
They even signed a notarized declaration to that fact. Their attitude was one of, "Okay, we tried to defraud you. So what?"
At this point, we are fed up. And we are also "tied up" on this deal.
We are taking measures to protect ourselves and our investment. In our case, we own lots of other great properties so it is not the end of the world. However, for a retiree on a limited budget this could be devastating. They might have decided to give up and go home to North America.
We still want to buy the property. We have invested too much in it now to back down.
We have been informed by neighbors that they are now trying to sell this property to other unsuspecting victims. So please beware. This property is in litigation. It is not a property you should buy, unless you want to inherit problems.
We certainly hope that no other expats get involved in this troubled property until we win our suit. Feel free to contact us for more information.
This is why, for most expats, it is not a good idea to buy property directly from Panamanian sellers, or to buy a property that was only recently purchased from Panamanians.
Learn how to be safe buying property in Panama.
It is far safer to buy from expats who have held the property for a number of years.
Yes, you as the end user, pay a premium for property being sold by expats. But in exchange you get much more assurance that there are no conflicting ownership issues.
Of course, you should still throughly investigate the property and get to know all the parties, but the risk is much lower.
And we are not saying you should not buy from Panamanians. We bought almost all our properties from Panamanians. All with absolutely no issues. But keep in mind, we decided not to buy some properties because of issues that our investigations uncovered.
Buying from Panamanians directly is a great way to get a good deal. But to do that, you really should move here first. You need to personally get to know the players. And you need to do a tremendous amount of research. Buying from locals is a higher risk purchase. You should exercise greater caution. Go slowly and investigate the property and ownership throughly.
Such research will be more effective, and less likely for you to be a victim of fraud, if you are living in the area you want to buy. Plus, you will find out if you really will be happy in the area.
The most important detail to investigate is whether you will enjoy living on the property. After all, the end goal is not only to make a safe purchase, but to be happy with your life on that property.
We hope you found this tale informative.
October 24, 2017
But there are risks to any move.
In this post, I want to warn you of some risks, so you can avoid them.
The number one risk I see for expats is that some expats moving to Panama are rushed into buying a property too fast.
Often licensed or unlicensed real estate agents, taxi drivers, hotel owners, or others will work the newcomer fast, or sometimes subtly, in an effort to get them to make a purchase. These types of purchases are far more beneficial to this real estate agent/ “finder” than they are to the buyer.
The buyer is made to feel that there is no time for a thorough background investigation of the property. No time to find out if this is actually a good property investment or even a safe one.
Sometimes the buyer is so charmed by the agent that they trust too much. The buyer is “primed” to make a quick purchase by being told that several other expats are also interested in buying the property, or that the price is so low that it can’t last. Or, in the case of Puerto Armuelles, since Del Monte is coming to town, they had better buy now, rather than wishing that they had.
A too-fast purchase can even be made after 3 or 4 previous visits to a destination in Panama.
Just because you feel that you know the town, does not mean that you know enough about the specific property that you are about to purchase.
Unscrupulous real estate agents/"finders" know that since you have been here before, and you are back looking for a property, you are more likely to be "hot" to make a quick purchase. Obviously, repeat visitors are the “likely” ones to buy.
No Code of Ethics for Realtors
Sadly, the bar is very, very low, in terms of what is considered honest real estate practices. In Panama, there are no legal requirements for “full disclosure” in property sales, nor is there a code of ethics for real estate agents here.
The actual commission or hidden profit you pay an agent is often not fully disclosed. A real estate agent (licensed or unlicensed) can effectively earn 30%, 50%, even 300% of the sale price on a property. They do this without the buyer knowing it.
How agents earn these high commissions
Basically it is a con job. Although you do end up owning the property.
The agent/finder simply "ties up" the property just before you buy it. They may buy it in their name, a ghost buyer's, or in a Panamanian corporation's name. However they do it, the agent buys the property at the seller's asking price. Then the agent sells that property to you as if you are buying it from the original seller. However, they sell it to you at a much higher price than what the original seller was asking or the price they paid.
Typically, this agent brings the buyer to look at the property. If the buyer wants to make an offer, the agent then "pre-buys" the property since they already know that they can make a “killing” on the flip.
There are variations on this theme, but in general, the price the original seller gets is much less than what the expat buyer pays. The agent pockets the difference. And the buyer never knows what happened.
In another example, an unscrupulous agent might email a potential customer who has already visited once or twice, telling them that “an amazing property has just come up for sale”. If the person is truly interested in buying, these helpful agents then “tie up” the property, using minimal funds of their own, or more likely, the money that the expat buyer gives them, or sends them long distance. In this way, the unscrupulous agent, putting none of their own money at risk, sells a property to an expat buyer as if the agent’s only connection with the property were as someone helping the expat to make the purchase from the original seller.
In one case, we know about a property in Puerto where the Panamanian seller had been asking $5,000 for 2 or 3 years. These folks were desperate to sell. Suddenly, we learned from the neighbors that this property has just sold for $20,000! Amazing! (Not really). When we discovered that it sold to someone new to Puerto and which local "agent" helped broker the deal, it is quite clear what happened.
When I met the new owner, all I could do is smile and congratulate them on their purchase. What can I do now? It is too late to help them. Plus, no one wants to hear that they have just been swindled.
Of course, this practice can happen anywhere. To avoid it, the solution is to take your time so you, and your lawyer, can review the property's transaction history carefully. You should meet the seller yourself, with a translator if needed, and without your realtor, to ensure you are buying the property from them, not from your agent/property finder.
Sadly, these victims may continue to trust the “friendly” agent and even allow them to help manage a remodel or new construction project for them, all without having any idea of the true costs for these services.
In this particular practice, not only is the innocent expat buyer paying what amounts to a monumental real estate commission, but they are taking on another, even greater risk as well.
It is usually within the first few weeks after a property changes hands that problems concerning ownership begin to surface. This risk is there regardless of any commission-slight-of-hand. It is due to the too-quick purchase without thorough investigation.
That is, you will discover that the owner you bought the property from is not the only owner of the property. Most common and most distressing is that additional owners of the property may claim the sale void since they did not sign off on it. Or they may demand additional payment from you, the buyer.
Panamanian families, particularly families with middle-aged siblings, often are quite large: 6, 8, 10 siblings all with an equal claim to the family home/estate.
If an elderly parent has died without a will (this is the norm, not the exception, in Panama), the house automatically becomes the property of all of the living offspring. However, when an expat buyer arrives to look at a property, the people living they may claim to be the sole owners of the property. They may say, "my mom always wanted me to own the house".
Panamanian law does not work this way. There may be several legal owners of a property. You need to find this out in advance of investing your money. If there are too many conflicting claims of ownership, or if the family can’t all agree to sell the property, now is your chance to run away as fast as you can from what would have turned into a nightmare.
Find out how we were once conned when purchasing a property.
Obviously, the people who are most successful at this kind of fraud present themselves as the expat's friend. They might even introduce you to a few other expats who will vouch for them. The salient trait of a good con man is the ability to appear to be someone with insider knowledge who is going to be your friend for years to come.
Another tactic used by real estate agents who work in this unscrupulous way is to create a “smokescreen” (in Panama they call this practice “throwing feathers into the fan”) to disguise their dishonest business practices and to separate their prey out from others who could have warned them about the likelihood of a con job.
One practice that is popular in Puerto and other places is to assassinate the character of anyone they think could tip off the prospective buyer, whether those are their real estate "competitors" or simply other expats who might also caution you to take it slow. The agent keeps you in a bubble of people who won't rock the boat for them, so all systems are "go" for a sale.
Another thing that the swindlers do to delay or camouflage these scams is to warn the expat buyer “Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone that you bought this. I don’t want any of the other folks who wanted the house to be upset." Or “Don’t tell anyone you just bought this, because we don’t want anyone to know that the man/woman who sold the property has all this cash on them….they might get robbed”. I’ve heard this one several times over the years. These techniques are designed to isolate the buyer from those who might have been able to help them, until after all the payments have been made.
I do not write this article to dissuade anyone who is considering a move to Panama.
You can be safe and happy buying property in Panama. The vast majority of people are.
But you need to resist the temptation to make a rash purchase, one you may regret.
This is especially true if you are buying through an intermediary/agent of some kind - particularly if the seller is Panamanian. In that situation, an unscrupulous agent will find it easier to work some kind of sleight of hand.
You should make sure you and your lawyer do a thorough job of researching a property before you buy it.
If it is titled property, the investigation is a simpler process than an ROP property. But in either case, research needs to be done.
For Titled property, a thorough title search and investigation needs to be conducted.
In the case of ROP property, this investigation will involve looking at the full history of transactions of the property. Including the knowledge that if one of the property owners died, most likely each that person's children and spouse now have an ownership share of the property. If the children and spouse claim they are not owners, they must sign a notarized & stamped declaration to that effect. Your lawyer (or another person) should also ask all the neighbors about the property to ensure there is a consensus about who the true owners are. This sounds too simplistic. However, this simple asking the neighbors, never fails, if done thoroughly. In Panama, especially in small towns, there are no secrets.
Read "How to Buy ROP Property Safely" for more info. as well as "Understanding what ROP Property is"
Puerto is no worse than other parts of Panama, or Costa Rica, as far as real estate integrity is concerned (There’s a comfort, eh?). And we want you to have the greatest chance of a successful landing here.
Get a Lawyer
For a property investigation, a local lawyer is best. They know all the players involved and can help intuit if something feels fishy. You may or may not choose them to help you with any subsequent property purchase.
Ask local expats for what lawyers they would recommend. There are both bilingual and Spanish-only lawyers in Puerto. We also have a certified translator in Panama who can help you communicate with the latter.
For instance, most lawyers can easily find out if the property was recently visited, even purchased by a local “realtor type” by simply talking to the neighbors. In this small town, everyone talks about everything. It is not too hard to get the facts, you just need to ask.
If you would like a recommendation or places to ask for recommendations, please ask via our contact page.
For more information on buying property, read this.
We are truly in love with this town. It is one of a kind, complete beach town and a super cool place to live.
Puerto Armuelles always benefits from the arrival of people who can enjoy a happy life here. Happy people contribute to the well being of everyone. Happy expats who find what they are looking for here contribute by helping our town continue to be a great place to retire or to start a business.
We want to continue to see Puerto Armuelles expat success stories.
Puerto Armuelles still holds amazing value for beachfront property, or property within sight and sound of the waves.
So do your research. Cross-check your references.
If you take it slow and check out your information thoroughly, you can be safe and happy buying property anywhere in Panama.
And slow is the pace of life in Panama, so you might as well start taking it slow from the beginning..
Betsy and I are always available to help answer your questions.
Thanks for reading
Reyn
The legislature had already given their full approval in September by passing Bill 509 after 3 debates.
The new property tax rates are effective January 1, 2019.
There are now new and higher exemptions from property taxes
This means that if you buy your primary home in Panama for under $120,000, you will not owe any property taxes. Starting January 1, 2019, your property would be fully exempt.
Currently, Panama’s property tax is a graduated tax. I believe that is not changing.
If so, when you purchase a $200,000 house you would only pay property tax on $80,000 of its value. (ie., $200,000 minus $120,000 exemption = $80,000 of taxable value.)
As you will see in the tax rates below, that means you would pay a 0.5% property tax rate on this $80,000 of value. Which means, you would only owe $400 a year in property taxes. Wow.
This is a substantial reduction in property taxes in Panama.
Currently, only the 1st $30,000 of property value is exempt from property taxes.
Since the majority of property in Panama is valued under $120,000, this means that most property in Panama will be exempt from property taxes.
You can read about the current (through 2018) property tax rates in Panama in this post.
The reform bill also offers an amnesty program for those who currently have unpaid property taxes.
My understanding is that if you pay your taxes by December 31, 2017, all fines and interest will be waived. Any unpaid tax through August 31, 2017 is eligible for the amnesty program.
I am not positive about the details of this amnesty program. If you know more, please share in the comment section below.
Keep in mind, if you own titled property, you owe taxes.
You will never get a bill for your taxes. It is up to you to remember to pay them - and on time! If you don't pay them, the government will take their cut (tax + interest + fees) when you sell your property.
Primary Residence
$0 - $120,000 = Exempt
$120,001 - $700,000 = 0.5% tax
$700,000+ = 0.7% tax
Secondary Residence, Commercial Properties, Industrial properties
$0 - $30,000 = Exempt
$30,001 - $250,000 = 0.6% tax
$250,001 - $500,000 = 0.8% tax
$500,000+ = 1.0% tax
Currently, the Panama government is spending alot of time and energy encouraging people to title their property. For many reasons, the government wants to improve its real estate transaction systems. A first step is getting land titled.
Most land in Panama is not titled. And most people are happy with owning Right of Possession (ROP) or untitled land. One reason for this is that once land is titled, it will be taxed.
For this reason, it is hard to convince people to title their land.
They have never paid property taxes, and never expected to do so. And really, who wants to pay taxes? Plus many property owners cannot afford to pay property taxes, of any amount.
The solution: Exempt most property owners from property taxes.
Since most land in Panama is valued at under $120,000, the government decided to make that the exemption threshold.
This rationale for the property tax reform is complete and total conjecture on my part. I have not read anything to support my supposition, but it seems right to me.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
[leadplayer_vid id="59ED1F85F330D"]
Geckos are a fact of life in Panama
This video gives you a little preview of the "World of Geckos!"
I'm Betsy of Living in Panama
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This gecko was filmed in our house in Puerto Armuelles Panama.
Normally, we don’t have geckos on our cutting board but someone who will remain nameless (cough) my husband, left honey on the cutting which brought bugs, and then this gecko.
Typically you will see geckos on the ceiling and in light fixtures. I mean, you will 'em everywhere but that is where you tend to see them more often.
They have suckers on their feet so that they can stick to the walls and the ceilings.
I enjoy watching them do all sorts of things. They leap to get bugs. They fight each other, and more.
They are even tinier than this when they are born. You will find eggs like these in nooks and crannies in your house that are protected from the sun. The eggs will grow more and more translucent till you can actually see the baby gecko inside.
And if you touch the egg at the right time, it will just open up. And the baby is born. It's pretty cool
My youngest daughter loves to pet geckos. She says they have soft and smooth skin.
Now, some people don’t like geckos. Some don’t like their surprisingly loud clicking noise.
I personally don’t like the poop they leave on my bathroom sink. I leave the light on there all night long and they love to congregate there. Their poop is small, pretty dry, and does not smell.
So overall, personally, I think geckos are cool. They eat bugs and are entertaining.
Love or hate them, you will not be able to avoid them in most of Panama.
For more information on living in Panama, click the link below.
Visit our site, LivinginPanama.com. We have lots of information about moving to and living in Panama.
Thanks for watching and don’t forget to subscribe.
In September, IPAT opened up an office of Tourism in Puerto Armuelles. The new tourism office is located in the Super Yen mini mall, which is across the street from San Antonio Catholic Church and school in downtown Puerto Armuelles.
With the opening of the first IPAT offices here in Puerto Armuelles, the Tourism Ministry obviously wants to make itself more accessible to tourists in Puerto Armuelles. This is excellent news for Puerto.
Any government program to promote Puerto Armuelles is welcome. For years, the town has been sort of the “Cinderella” step-child of Panama—a secret beauty who has been kept hidden in a dark corner of the kitchen.
The Tourism Ministry says that it is stepping up efforts to promote tourism in order to create jobs for Panamanians in Puerto Armuelles.
Their technique, in the short term at least, is to invite local business owners to set up tables at the next Puerto Armuelles fair. The ideas is that these business owners will advertise and sell directly to the public.
They have encouraged all interested parties to reach out to folks in other parts of Panama, particularly in Chiriqui, to connect with the already developed tourist areas such as Boquete and Volcan.
On a Wednesday afternoon in September, the Panamanian Ministry of Tourism (IPAT) hosted a meeting of local hotel and restaurant owners, and anyone else interested in talking about how to promote tourism here in Puerto Armuelles.
It is a wonderful coincidence that this meeting took place the same week that Heavenly’s Hotel was sold to a group of hoteliers/tourism promoters from Boquete.
I went to the meeting. There were perhaps 25 of us at the meeting, half from IPAT, and half local business owners.
The 2nd meeting of the group was at the fair grounds, where participating businesses have been asked to come and decide where they would like to put their display booths, any new ideas, etc. (I did not attend that meeting since we don't plan on having a booth.)
In total, there are to be 3 of these planning meetings to gather ideas from local businesses and open up an ongoing dialogue.
There were 2 local expat businesses present at the 1st meeting, including myself. We each had the same suggestion.
We need an ongoing campaign to encourage Portenos to stop being such “litter bugs”.
In short, litter hurts tourism.
This message was recognized by the committee, and was talked about at length.
Coincidentally, I had just gone to the local radio station, Radio Mi Preferida, earlier that same day to discuss the same issue, litter. I asked the station to donate air time as part of a campaign to educate local people about the negative economic and environmental impact of littering.
Fortunately, the owner of the radio station, Professor Mora, was also at the tourism meeting that afternoon.
Professor Mora heard the plea for a new no-littering radio campaign. If I don’t get a chance to see him this afternoon, I will stop by the radio station within the next week or so and see how he plans to help out.
Litter is a problem all over Panama; not just in Puerto Armuelles.
It is easy to keep it under control on the beaches, just with a few minutes a day of “litter patrolling” by local hotels and home owners with beach property.
However, if we want to get at the root of the problem, we have to start with education. It is hard to get anyone to change their old habits. I think a educational radio campaign is the ideal place to start. Most locals listen to Radio Mi Preferida on a daily basis. And often for most of the day.
To be honest, I missed the 1st hour of the meeting on Wednesday. I was attending the regular Wednesday expat social hour at the new Big Daddy’s Beach Resort and Hotel. So I am not sure if there had been any talk about Internet advertising of tourism in Puerto.
For those of you reading this this online post, you are probably aware that the Internet is an excellent way to communicate quickly to an audience. However, as with government programs in any country (think the US Postal Service), change in Panama is slow.
My guess is that it will take some time before tourism here in Puerto Armuelles is extensively promoted online by the government.
At this time, Puerto Armuelles is not even mentioned on the Panama's tourism website: visitpanama.com. Of course, Boquete, Volcan, and Pedasi are not mentioned on Panama's Tourism website either. Although, their site does include information on Bocas del Tour, Panama City, and other places.
The good news is that we are here to pass the word along for them!
If we can assist the Ministry of Tourism to help get Puerto Armuelles “rockin” again, we are all in!
(I am sure that this is the unanimous feeling among all local business owners.)
Thanks for reading,
Reyn
