Great Article on retirement in Panama

Here is another great article. This one has much on Panama. Even mentions  Boquete, Valle Escondido, Molinos, Boquete and me. Yeah! Thanks to Mark Kanty and Lyle Burk of Tropical Pathways for getting that interview!

Homes overseas: Price is right for retirees in new locations
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By Sarah Murray
Published: November 7 2005

The queue at Miami International Airport's immigration counter is
packed with individuals and families from Central and South America,
many of them hoping to start a new life in the US.

But another group of migrants is moving in the other direction -
Americans seeking retirement homes in places such as Mexico, Panama,
Honduras, Belize and even Nicaragua.

Retirement villages and sheltered housing are big business for
developers and property companies and the US has a huge retirement
village sector, based largely in Florida and other southern states.

However, driven by the rising prices of these properties and the
soaring cost of healthcare - as well as the hurricanes that recently
have ravaged the US south - many American retirees are looking to
resettle overseas.

"Argentina and Uruguay are both countries where the prices are still
good for Americans, and you can get good value for your money," says
Barbara Perriello, who as travel director of Agora Travel runs
property investment tours to countries such as Argentina, Uruguay,
Nicaragua and Honduras.

Property taxes and building costs in these countries, are often far
lower than those in the US, she says. "In Argentina you can build for
about $70 per square foot, and that's high end," she says. "And in
Nicaragua and Honduras, it's still about $80 per square foot - so
you're looking at much cheaper costs."

Less developed countries are welcoming the newcomers with open arms.
With their eyes on a potential source for revenue, governments are
busy adjusting their investment and visa rules to create conditions
that will encourage a new wave of immigrants.

In places such as Honduras and Panama, "Pensionado" visas allow
foreigners to receive sources of income from overseas - such as US
pensions or dividends from investments - tax free, while some
countries offer local discounts on things such as transport,
prescription drugs and medical care to foreign residents over the age
of 65.

In Thailand, the tourism authority operates a Long Stay in Thailand
programme designed to persuade retirees from countries with cold
winters and higher living costs to remain in the country for extended
periods.

But for many Americans, the desire to settle in destinations closer to
home means that Central America and the Caribbean are of greater
appeal than Asia.

According to a survey in June by Pulte Homes - which under its Del
Webb brand is a leading US builder of what it calls "active adult
communities" for people aged 55 and over - almost half (47 per cent)
of the respondents planning to move for their retirement said staying
within three hours of their family was an important consideration in
deciding where to relocate.

While in the past that has meant places such as North Carolina or
Florida, direct flights now operating from cities such as Houston and
Miami have reduced flight times to destinations such as Panama,
Honduras and Nicaragua to a matter of two or three hours.

"People are looking for bargains but that doesn't always take first
place," says Lyle Burke, president of Tropical Pathways, which runs
property investment tours. "There are people who say they'd love to go
to the South Pacific or Europe, but in the end it comes down to being
close to grandchildren, so the Caribbean and Central America tend to
be the places where you see most people going."

Mr Burke, whose company runs a growing number of property tours to
countries such as Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the Caribbean
island of Roatan, says most of his clients are people that are about
to retire or that are setting themselves up for the future.

Property developers are also starting to respond to the trend. With
their eyes firmly fixed on older buyers from Europe and the US, many
developers - both from the US and local companies - have been busy
building residential communities targeted at this market.

With amenities such as tennis courts or swimming pools, many of these
developments are designed to appeal to retirees wanting to stay
active. Often developments are built around golf courses or riding
stables. And as in similar communities in the US, developments are
often self-contained, with medical facilities on site or a heliport
for quick transport out in an emergency.

Like retirement villages in the US, such developments create the kind
of instant communities that appeal to retirees - yet at substantially
lower costs. "People are looking for a more comfortable lifestyle -
but their money is going to go a lot further in these places," says Ms
Perriello.

Panama

With Costa Rican property having risen sharply in price in recent
years, the Panamanian administration is hoping it can take Costa
Rica's place as one of the top destinations for US retirees.

It is certainly seems well placed to do so. For a start, much of the
infrastructure is American, built during the years when the US
administered the Panama Canal. As a result of those years, there is
also a cultural familiarity with Americans that makes many feel at
home there today. Non-stop flights from Miami to Panama City take
three hours and four from Houston, giving US citizens easy access to
their families back home.

And, crucially in at a time when violent storms seem to be on the
rise, Panama is not in the hurricane zone, unlike a lot of its Central
American neighbours. "Panama will get some residual effect in the form
of additional rain but it doesn't get the damaging high winds or mud
slides," says Mark Kanty, a Canadian based in Panama who manages
property tours to the country for Tropical Pathways.

In addition, the Panamanian administration has been working to make
its tax and immigration rules favourable to foreign retirees. Its
"Pensionado" programme offer discounts on everything from theatre and
cinema tickets to public transport, domestic airfares and medical
care.

The tax regime is also one drawing attention from retirees looking to
settle outside the US. No tax is imposed on imported cars, no property
taxes are imposed on new buildings for the first 20 years and all
income earned outside Panama is tax-free. "Taxation is a huge benefit
that's attracting people," says Mr Kanty. "The property tax is
particularly attractive. In good climate areas like Florida and
California, property taxes have gone through the roof."

Popular destinations include Panama's Caribbean Coast, around towns
such as Bocas del Toro, as well as Boquete, a hillside resort town now
lined with estate agents offices where the interest of foreigners is
creating a mini property boom and prices have been rising fast.

Developers have been quick to move in and capitalise on the rush of
interest in these areas, creating the kind of residences that appeal
to retirees. Near Boquete, for example, Hacienda Los Molinos is a
development of more than 80 lots as an "Active Lifestyle Community"
whose facilities include emergency services and 24-hour medical
assistance.

Also in Boquete, Sam Taliaferro, a US investor, has developed Valle
Escondido, a gated community of about 200 homes built around a
nine-hole golf course and including facilities such as a driving
range, tennis and racquetball courts, shops, a chapel and a bar and
restaurant.

Mr Kanty believes that the high quality of the properties and planned
communities being developed in Panama as well as the tax regime and
"Pensionado" package will put the country firmly on US retirees' map.
"I think it's just beginning," he says. "And it's going to continue to
grow in popularity and as people discover that it's not just another
Mexico, but that it has some unique qualities."