Cashing In on a Second Home in Central America
How to Buy, Rent and Profit
in the World’s Bargain Zone
by Tom Kelly, Mitch Creekmore
and Jeff Hornberger
Crabman Publishing • Rolling Bay, WA
Cashing In on a Second Home in Central America
How to Buy, Rent and Profit in the World’s Bargain Zone
Produced by Crabman Publishing, Rolling Bay, Washington, U.S.A Copyright © 2011 Crabman Publishing
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0514-8
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Although the authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any inconsistency herein. Any slight of people, places or organizations is unintentional. Neither the publisher nor the authors shall be held liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to consequential, incidental, special or other damages. The advice and strategies contained in this book may not be suitable to some situations. If legal advice or other expert assistance is needed, the services of an experienced, competent attorney or other professional should be contacted.
Kelly, Tom, 1950 Oct. 8-
Cashing in on a second home in Central America : how to buy, rent and profit in the world’s bargain zone / Tom Kelly, Mitch Creekmore, Jeff Hornberger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN 2007922459
ISBN-13: 978-0-9770920-1-7
1. Real estate investment—Central America. 2. Real property
—Central America—Foreign ownership.
I. Creekmore, Mitch. II. Hornberger, Jeff. III. Title.
HD333.K45 2007
332.63'24'0928
QBI07-600067
Cover and interior design © 2007 TLC Graphics, www.TLCGraphics.com
Cover photo: Hacienda Pinilla, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. H.G. Pattillo, owner; Agroganadera Pinilla S.A., developer and builder. Photo courtesy of Stewart Title, Costa Rica.
Sales and distribution to the book trade facilitated by Biblio Distribution, Inc., a
National Book Network Company, 4501 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706. (301)
459-3366; (301) 429-5745 Fax
About the Authors
Tom Kelly is a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and radio talk show host. He served The Seattle Times readers for 20 years—several as real estate editor—and his work now appears in the Los Angeles Times, The Houston Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Portland Oregonian, The Miami Herald, The Rocky Mountain News, The Des Moines Register, The Tacoma News Tribune, The Reno Gazette-Journal, The Louisville CourierJournal, plus more than two dozen other newspapers.
Tom’s award-winning radio show, “Real Estate Today,” recently began its 16th year on 710 KIRO-AM, the CBS affiliate in Seattle and the state’s largest station. The show is syndicated by Business Talk Radio to approximately 40 domestic markets and airs on 450 stations in 160 foreign countries via American Forces Radio.
He is the author of The New Reverse Mortgage Formula (John Wiley & Sons), Real Estate for Boomers and Beyond (Kaplan Publishing), and co-author of How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment (McGraw-Hill).
Tom was president of the Santa Clara University Class of 1972. He and his wife, Dr. Jodi Kelly, an associate dean and professor at Seattle University, have four children and live on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Mitch Creekmore is senior vice president and director of international business development for Stewart International, a world leader in title insurance and other real estate information services. He joined Stewart Title Guaranty Company in 1994 and has been responsible for the development of the company’s marketing strategy with implementation of the business plan for Stewart-Mexico. His primary effort has been to enlighten the international legal and real estate community about the availability and benefit of title insurance. He has been a licensed real estate broker for more than 20 years.
In 2003, he was appointed by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as co-chairman of the Real Estate Task Force on Mexico in participation with the Arizona-Mexico Commission. He gained approval from the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Real Estate Commission, as well as the Arizona Department of Real Estate and the California Department of Real Estate, to provide a mandatory continuing education course for attorneys and real estate agents entitled “Acquiring Property South of the Border.” He has authored numerous articles on real estate conveyance, foreign ownership requirements (including land title matters) subdivision development procedures, escrow and tax considerations.
Mitch graduated from Louisiana State University in 1976. He has served as a captain on the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s International Committee, on the board of directors of the Houston Racquet Club and as an officer of Stewart Title Guaranty Company. He is a licensed private airplane pilot. Mitch has four children and lives in Houston.
Jeff Hornberger is the National Association of Realtors’ International Market Development Manager, with a specific focus on Latin American and European markets.
Prior to joining NAR, Jeff worked for a United Kingdom-based global manufacturer where he was responsible for developing distribution channels throughout Latin America and creating/implementing individual country marketing plans. Jeff holds a M.S. in Business Management from United States International University in San Diego, and B.A.s in Economics, Latin America Area Studies and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin.
Jeff has lived in Argentina, Spain, and Mexico and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. Based at NAR’s Chicago headquarters, Jeff is responsible for managing NAR’s programming in Latin America and Europe. He directs new international market opportunities for members as well as other business development projects, including a focus on the international second homes market.
Jeff has visited Central America