Uruguay Coastal Properties

Being an American citizen, I was hoping the US team would win the gold in the Olympic Hockey match….it was not to be.

I must admit, that I was happy for the Canadians winning the finally event at home. As a North American, it is hard not to love Canada.

Congratulations, Canada.

PS: If you’re wondering what this has to do with Uruguay, the answer is absolutely nothing. Many of our friends and customers are Canadians.

May happiness, health and prosperity (of course!) be with you in the New Year.

Thank you to our customers, friends and business associates for making our three years in Uruguay a great experience.

To our friends, customers and business associates, a very Merry Christmas!

Chris and Steve

To our readers (or anyone else for the matter) that are in Uruguay now, and will be returning to the US in the next few weeks, please let me know. I have a favor to ask.

Please send me an email. The address can be found on the contact page. I can also call you by phone or with a Skype call. The Skype name is spbowman.

Thanks,

Steve

I get these great calls from readers all the time and never really talk about it.

Last week a reader in Sao Palo called, a really nice guy named Matt. It kinda brought to mind an important motivator for having this site. We’ve been up and running for a year and half now….meeting new people is perhaps the best part.

Matt is interested in buying property on the Coast, and called to find out how I felt about the various options and possible locations for his family’s vacation home. He had mostly reached a decision, but after talking with Piriapolis’ main Evangelist (that’d be me), he’s sold on our village. This guy would be a wonderful fit for what is developing into an eclectic little enclave.

While I hope we do business, meeting worldly, international personalities and introducing them to the town makes the work rewarding and worthwhile.

Stay Tuned!

Steve Bowman

Why are people becoming Coastal Uruguay expats or second home owners?

During the last three years, I’ve put together a criteria based shopping list:

* The pristine beaches
* Mountain views
* The laid-back lifestyle
* Friendly/helpful people
* Reasonable property prices
* Safety/security
* A cosmopolitan environment
* Reasonable living costs
* Health care
* Luxury real estate and property that are relative bargains
* The good international schools in Punta del Este
* Great second home location for all the above reasons.

I feel, without question, there is a clear winner. If you’re interested read this article on Coastal Uruguay.

Stay Tuned!

To our clients, friends and business associates.

May the new year be joyful and prosperous for you and yours.

Best Wishes,

Steve Bowman

I have a major consulting engagement that’s keeping me really busy. In addition, to being in the property rental business in the states and Uruguay, I’m also a business consultant. So if the articles seem a bit sparse for the next few weeks, don’t be concerned. I’ve got a full plate as we speak, so hang in there.

We have some good stuff on tap, economic observations/analysis, truly bizarre property sales stories, you name it.

Stay Tuned!

Steve

Chris and I in our courtyard, Piriapolis

A quick note to our readers. This week’s post will be short.

My wife Chris is having a minor surgery and a huge city tree feel over and demolished one of our cars. Savannah has massive, beautiful live oaks that are very protected by law. We’ve seen the downside.

Next week I’ll be back with a real estate or property related  article.

Thanks,

Steve

I’ve never brought up personal stuff on this site because I haven’t felt like it’s relevant, but recently, a number of people have asked about what I do here in the States.

We’re in the real estate business, residential property management in Savannah, GA, primarily for our own portfolio. Most of our rentals are long-term, although we do have a couple of short-term/vacation rentals. I also do some professional contract work for organizations in town.

I feel very lucky to add the rental business is strong in our niche; we’re even increasing rents a bit. So far, the real estate crisis has not affected our  strategy: positive current cash flow. Fortunately, we own mostly smaller units (studio & one bedroom) which are typically in high demand locally. We’re seeing the large rental units, three bedrooms plus, getting hammered; they’re vacant or fetching lower rents. As the growing glut of unsold houses and condos come on-line as rentals, the bleeding will get far worse in this sector.

There is one underlying reason we’re doing OK. I never bought into appreciation get rich quick frenzy. We purchased based current cash flow/return on investment, which guided us to well priced smaller units, with reasonable cash down payments. Don’t get me wrong. Our balance sheet has taken a hit like everyone else but that wasn’t the reason for owning the stuff in the first place.

In the long run, rental property is worth the rents. That’s it.

For what it’s worth, the bottom in the US market in nowhere in sight. There are shoes yet to drop that no one is even talking about. As we’ve been saying for nearly two years, look to international property markets for opportunity, diversification and perhaps even safety at some point. Someday, the US market will be a screaming deal and the prospect of making gobs of money will be off the scale. This day is well into the next decade.

Stay Tuned!

Steve Bowman