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| SECTION
ONE - EXOTIC REAL ESTATE |
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| Amazing
Architecture - Hunderswasser Haus - Vienna |
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Vienna is an ancient city filled with the accumulated riches of a long
history of human civilization. Traces of culture have been found throughout
the city dating back 5,000 years, and Neolithic Age humans were found to
have created the first permanent settlements here from 3,500 to 1,800 B.C.
Ancient Romans expanded their sprawling empire to stretch to the Danube
River in 15 B.C., only to lose control of this valuable trading city to
a succession of other invading forces. Once the seat of the
mighty Hapsburg Empire, Vienna is now home to countless palaces, historical
churches, museums, opera houses, and the remains of Roman ruins as well
as exciting new architectural endeavors. And around almost every
corner of this city, Austria's glimmering capital, the eagle-eyed viewer
can spy something worth marveling. |
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| The
Riskiest Real Estate Investment? |
| - Want to
stop the conversation dead at a cocktail party? Mention that you are buying
a house in Nicaragua, Panama, or Slovenia. “Isn’t that…risky?” someone
is bound to ask, with others furrowing their brows and nodding in unison.
Mention that you’ve spent half a million dollars on a waterfront shack
near your hometown, however, and the same people will probably pat you
on the back with congratulations. But which purchase is more risky—really? |
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| Real
Estate in Thailand |
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Dragon-necked temples, night bazaars, misty mountains, floating markets
hill-tribe villages, and hot springs - seven Thai wonderlands worth your
attention. Thailand has a romantic heritage that always beguiles visitors:
from the razzle-dazzle of Bangkok, to the floating markets and silk emporiums.
Picture white-sand beaches, swaying coconut palms, and an evening chorus
of cicadas. Rising from jade and turquoise waters are myriad islands girdled
by coral gardens...bizarre limestone outcrops smothered in spinach-green
vegetation. Yes, Thailand has four-million-dollar properties, but you’ll
also find nice homes for well under $150,000. (And if you’re prepared to
go off the beaten track, you’ll find them for below $25,000.) Even in beach
resorts like Pattaya, you can buy a basic studio for under $17,000. In
short, there are properties to meet most people’s pockets. |
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| Rising
Temperatures in the Dubai Real Estate Market - How Hot Can it Get? |
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The temperature is continuing to rise in the Dubai property market, with
hot new developments selling out in hours. But as speculators buy
and sell property frantically, banks and builders try to slow the market
down. Just how stable is the property market in Dubai. |
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| REAL
ESTATE MARKETS: Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble |
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We have been hearing reports for some time now - that there is an inflationary
bubble in the US and European real estate markets. Some people that perhaps
do have an interest in seeing this continue might tell you - Keep Buying
and Do Not Worry. Others, like us, know that if any commodity or investment
has already run up thirty, forty, fifty percent or more in a very short
period of time is probably ripe for a correction. |
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| Real
Estate in Brazil - Size Does Matter: Adding It All Up |
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One of the first things a real estate buyer wants to know about a property
is the exact square footage or yardage. Generally speaking, this bit of
information is a major factor in calculating a fair market price. Under
most circumstances, the owners, real estate brokers and property listings
readily provide accurate dimensions of a property. This is the system most
folks are accustomed to. But in Brazil, none of the old rules apply… |
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| Luxury
Real Estate - The Truth About Penthouses |
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Climb to the very top of the property ladder, step off that final, elevated
rung and the chances are you'll find yourself walking into the ultimate
symbol of wealth, power, and social sophistication: the penthouse apartment.... |
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| Real
Estate in The Baltic States : An Emerging Market Place |
| - Fed up with
looking at all the endless so called amazing deals in the UK at only 5%
deposit or 25% discount, I realised it was time to take the plunge and
start looking further a field for a place to invest. Having already invested
in Cyprus I knew buying off plan abroad can be very profitable and work
just as well as the UK. |
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| Real
Estate In Malta - Royal Visit Boosts Island's Property Prospects |
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Malta's
image has needed a boost for some time to attract tourists and overseas
property buyers and to compete with other Mediterranean islands such as
Mallorca, Cyprus and Lanzarote. Malta hosts the Commonwealth meeting in
late November, and in attendance will be Queen Elizabeth II, Tony Blair
and the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and 50 other
countries, along with the media from each country. Will Malta let this
golden publicity opportunity slip by? |
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| Best
Second Citizenship & Residency Programs |
| - Having
a second passport and dual citizenship can bring you greater travel safety,
faster access to living abroad, and may even lead to potential tax free
existence in another country. And it all can be done legally. If you’re
in a hurry and want a second citizenship in a matter of months, there are
only two nations that offer this quick service, but for a price. They call
it “economic citizenship” but it’s really citizenship for sale. The two
nations are the Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Christopher & Nevis,
both in the Caribbean area. Several other nations, including the
U.S. and Canada, offer immediate residence in return for substantial investments
in a job-producing business, but not immediate citizenship. That usually
requires several years of actual presence. |
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| Green
Building Media Fact Sheet - Past, Present & Future |
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The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver introduced the first
HBA-owned green building program in 1995. Over the years, Built Green®
Colorado has become the largest green building program in the nation, with
more than 100 builder members across the state. |
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| SECTION
TWO - FINANCE AND INVESTMENT |
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| Another
Way to Escape - Obtaining Financial Independence |
| - Prior to
my departure from the U.S., many of my friends and acquaintances couldn’t
believe what I was doing: leaving a secure job with a good salary and great
retirement to live in the 3rd world with a “lower standard of living,”
while simultaneously investing in real estate. Obtaining financial independence
isn’t rocket science, nor will it take long, especially if you’re thinking
globally. In this article I will attempt to simplify some of the
“mysteries” surrounding the real estate investing world, more specifically,
property analysis as it relates to cash-flow. |
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| A
watched exchange rate never boils! |
| - Your mother
probably told you that a watched kettle never boils but I bet you didn’t
believe her straight away. I’ll bet you spent at least one occasion watching
a pan of water heating up before you boiled an egg or something and while
you kidded yourself that you had nothing better to do, truth be known,
you just had to test the theory. |
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| Development
Preference Shares - an alternative to development risk |
| - It appears
to be the latest trend to involve investors in development of projects,
in order to gain greater return for the investor. Development does involve
some level of risk. When Professional developers look at potential returns
they generally expect some level of variance to the returns suggested at
the outset due to building delays, expenses being over budget and a lack
of sales of the final product which can add to holding costs. As a way
to limit these risks for those funding projects developers in Australia
have introduced “development preference shares” as a way of moving an investor
into the position of financing the project rather than being a fellow developer. |
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| Advice
For New Real Estate Investors |
| - Steven Cook
is an author and active investor in Baltimore, MD. He has bought and sold
over 150 properties in the last two and a half years, including 27 in the
first two months of 2001 alone. Steve pursues many avenues of investing
and specializes in the wholesaling and rehabbing of properties for profit.
Read his advice on how to get started and become a successful real estate
investor... |
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| The
Visible Hand From Doug Casey's "What We Now Know" |
| - Is the stock
market on the level? There are many investors who, comparing their own
paltry returns with overall market performance, get a little paranoid about
this, and convince themselves that somebody has to be manipulating the
thing. However, according to a recent report, they may be onto something,
if not quite in the ways that they think. Dishonest brokers, greedy, deceitful
CFOs, and their henchmen in crooked accounting agencies have gotten plenty
of publicity. But the role that government may play in the stock market
is seldom even acknowledged, much less openly discussed. A year ago Sprott
Asset Management, a Toronto-based financial services firm, published an
exposé of central bank manipulation of gold prices. This August,
they followed that up with a paper entitled Move Over, Adam Smith: The
Visible Hand of Uncle Sam. |
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