Steven Rich's online guidebook to buying and developing real estate

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Online books, How to Purchase and Develop Real Estate in Panama
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This e-book may save a newcomer lots of grief
a book review by Eric Jackson

How to Purchase and Develop Real Estate in Panama:
A Foreigner's Guide for Understanding Panama Real Estate Laws
by Steven Rich
an online book in PDF format
at http://www.panama-offshore-services.com/PANAMA%20REAL%20ESTATE%20BOOK.pdf
50 pages in PDF format, Panama (2007)

This online book is a collection of essays by Panama Offshore Services, Incorporated's (POSI's) manager, Steven Rich, which were published in various media. Some of the articles he wrote alone, but a few are co-authored with lawyers or other specialists.

You find the tome on a commercial website, and there is a definite commercial streak that runs through it. POSI would like people to use their services, and recommends the services of allied businesses. This is not, however, surreptitious, nor do you get sent off into the clutches of ripoff artists. Take the hints to use the services of POSI and friends or leave them, knowing that this book is a useful guide no matter with whom you deal.

But the book does let you know that the people with whom you deal can make all the difference, and it's no lie. "Buyers are falling victims to swindles, frauds, forgeries, and malpractice committed by those so called 'real estate agents' who are not licensed," he warns. But what about the licensed ones? Well, a license --- as well as a reputation --- is something that can be lost so that's a partial guarantee, but Rich describes the real estate industry here as a " big pool of sharks" and warns that the "system breeds distrust, dishonesty and unethical behavior." And those are just the go-betweens. He also warns of dishonest sellers, including those who purport to sell what they don't own. So whether you want to get a lawyer through POSI or look elsewhere, heed well his advice about getting a competent and reputable lawyer if you are going to buy or develop real estate in this country.

So is somebody self-described as a "realtor" telling you about land in "fee simple?" You should probably run away. We have a different legal system here, and the real estate industry, to the extent that it's organized and functional, works differently down here. The nuts and bolts of its operation and its basic terms are the heart of this book's value to a first-time English-speaking buyer.

This e-book was published in the middle of last year, so is it now obsolete? For the most part it's not, but after the cancellation of several heavily hyped residential skyscraper projects, I think Rich might consider the risks of flipping condos a bit riskier today than he did then. That problem was mostly relevant to pre-construction sales and resales, and then we all learned about the dangers of putting deposits down on foolishly conceived --- or corruptly promoted --- developments.

Much of this book is oriented toward people buying real estate as a business and that's fine, but that, of course, is not most of the newcomers buying real estate here. What we are seeing is an influx of middle class American retirees looking to buy retirement homes rather than to flip condos. So when you look at the chapter on property management and see that it's for absentee landlords, don't presume that your dream house in the Interior needs no caretaker. It does, and the selection of the right person is an art and science in its own right. Maybe in the next edition Rich will get into that subject.

Do you need this book? If you are a foreigner new to the isthmus who's buying real estate, you probably do. It seems like a no-brainer, but this reporter gets emails all the time, asking things like what the best suburban school districts are, that belie a gross ignorance of what it means to be moving to another country. There are predators out there, lurking to take a bite out of newcomers that are naive on that level. Then there are other predators who specialize in somewhat more sophisticated prey. This little guide just might help you avoid the loss of your life's savings.