In fact, we can tell you if you take our Property Tour, sponsored and developed by Bern, you will find out that they have property packages for our readers in almost every area from investment apartments, hotels, Family Office commercial, to beachfront apartments.

Because Mundo is not a real estate agent but a portal and conference organizer, we can bring you simply the best deals directly from the developer. In fact, with our Bern Partnership we are bringing you deals better than you can even get directly from Bern themselves, and below we will tell you how. But first, let´s examine five reasons why Bern is better than going to a real estate agent.

Indeed, Bern has given Mundo its most professional and indeed most beautiful representative, Liz Larroquette, as our expert in Panamanian real estate. Liz has kindly agreed to directly help all our readers with all their questions so you know you will be talking to the source. And believe us, Liz knows what she is talking about.

She comes from Australia and has traveled the world before choosing Panama and Bern, and she deals with Bern´s Family Office and large investment clients. It´s a huge privilege for us to have her agree to talk to any of our clients on Mundo. Further, Liz has agreed to personally provide a Panama property tour to all our Mundo clients for the whole of this year FOR FREE. We can assure you she won´t do this for anyone else.

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Why you should work directly with a developer

Reason 1: Quality guarantee  

A developer is interested in maintaining their reputation and long-term relationship with you (our readers) so they will go the extra mile to make you happy. Because they care, you will have any issues solved quickly, whether it´s fixing some issues that may arise or even swapping your apartment for another one, Bern is willing to help. Under Panamanian Law, a developer´s property is guaranteed for any structural issues for ten years.

Bern not only honors that guarantee but goes the extra mile, so in Panama everyone knows that they won´t encounter any problems with Bern´s developments and, even on the rare occasions when problems arise, Bern´s Family stands behind its brand and solves them quickly. We can tell you hundreds of horror stories of people buying from other developers or second-hand real estate through agents, where their apartments simply fell apart after a certain time. This resulted in years in court and the developers ended up bankrupt or even disappeared. Bern is Panama´s oldest and most reputable developer and the Family stands behind the brand.

This means peace of mind. Bern imports only the best quality materials which means its apartments still look like new even after 20 years. If you want proof, come on a tour with Liz and she will show you new and old apartments built by Bern, so you can see the difference with other developers.

Reason 2: Finance

Most foreigners think that they need to have cash or a bank mortgage to buy an apartment. But with a prestigious cashed-up developer like Bern, our Mundo readers have special access to financing deals unlike anywhere else. You can arrange vendor finance deals better than with a bank and the best part is that you know the property is good when the builder themselves are financing the deal. Indeed, Bern is offering Mundo Readers the best deals in Panama with a very small deposit and long-term financing options.

With this option, you can actually build a property portfolio in Panama without using a bank. And for Family Offices that want to co-invest or buy bulk units, we have absolutely amazing options.  If you do your math, you will find that using rental income to cover the financing actually makes more sense than buying secondhand property. Liz herself has built her own property portfolio using her boss’s financing option. She now invests a large part of her income in Bern properties and you can visit her own apartments.

Reason 3: Property management

If you are an absentee landlord, property management, especially in places like Panama, can be a nightmare. Small-time operators have been known to steal your money, have big parties in your apartments or simply neglect your assets. Bern has a property management division that is offered as a no-profit service for its owners. You can either engage Bern to manage your property or manage it yourself. As a special offer for Mundo readers, Liz´s team has agreed to look after your property and supervise its management for a very low fee.

Reason 4: Bargains

It is a little-known secret that most developers keep a certain part of their apartment stock for themselves as a rental pool and a cash reserve, this is approximately ten percent of their buildings. When a developer builds a new building or development, they often sell some of that secondhand property for additional financial injection at bargain rates.

The advantage of this is that developers have no emotional attachment to their stock, and you can often find much better cash bargains than you would through an ordinary real estate company or single owner with less hassle. As a special deal to our Mundo bargain hunters, Liz is happy to show you current bargains available through Bern or even twist the family´s arm to sell some of their stock to you. 

Reason 5:  Choice

Mundo´s goal is to save its readers the most valuable commodity on earth: time. If you make arrangements with real estate agents to see various properties of different owners, you can spend literally weeks arranging keys, ensuring that the tenant is absent, and then having the notoriously slow “mañana” Panamanian agents not turn up. Thus, you can spend several months looking for your apartment.

However, Bern has, over the last 30 years, built apartment buildings, malls, shopping centers, hotels, and commercial real estate in every part of the city. So, if you spend only one day with Liz and the Bern team looking at the entire portfolio, you will cover more real estate than you would in a month with a real estate agent. Moreover, everything will be prearranged to the highest international standard.

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Why is this a good time to buy in Panama

The coronavirus economic impact  is already severe in the United States, much of Latin America, Europe, South Africa, and many parts of Africa and so we will see a large number of people looking to move their funds and immigrate to smaller and lower tax jurisdictions. The reason why Panama real estate will, in Mundo´s view, benefit from this cycle within the next 5-10 years is available in our special Panama Mundo report but we can summarize some of the reasons here:

• Price and value:   Panama Real estate is already hugely undervalued and, in fact, in some cases can be purchased a little overbuilding cost. This means that an apartment with sea views in an ultra-luxury three-bedroom high-end complex, which would cost over 2 million in Miami, can be purchased here for less than 600,000. We are talking about a new property and the price can be even lower if it´s second-hand. Further, property is cyclical, if you are placing a deposit on a newly built development, you can acquire a beautiful investment apartment with as little as 10,000 down and only have to pay the second deposit when they start building, so when the property is built in the next three or five years you are in fact at the beginning of an upward cycle which means that your property has already gained value. Thus, by buying now at the lowest end of the cycle and waiting for the developer to build, you are riding the investment wave at its very beginning without having to buy for cash or even pay interest rates.
• Residency: Panama is the best investment and plan B destination in the whole of Latin America. With the instability in the rest of the region, Panama is already seeing a movement of human and investment capital. Even in these troubled times, Mundo is noticing huge interest in moving to Panama from wealthy Mexican, Venezuelan, Colombian and even now Chilean families and Family Offices. This is because Panama has the easiest and best residency programs for wealthy families and individuals in the whole of Latin America and one of the best in the whole world. Now, South African families are coming here in large numbers and so are American retirees and Italian, Spanish, Russian, and German families. This huge migration boom will continue after the coronavirus and put upward pressure on property prices in the long term. We should mention that Panama does not tax worldwide income.
• Lifestyle: Panama City has been called the Singapore of Latin America or the Switzerland of Central America for the amazing lifestyle it offers to wealthy individuals and families. You have more high-end shops, restaurants, and clubs per capita than anywhere else in Latin America and huge ex-pat communities from almost all cultures. Why? Because there is no worldwide taxation, so international bankers, entrepreneurs, and Family Offices come here to live and play. Panama is safe, but if you don’t have much money, Mundo suggests you try less expensive options such as Chiriqui or other parts of Panama. Panama City is definitely for those that have deep pockets.  Strangely, the only exception to this is real estate as Panama City has far cheaper properties than anything else in comparable locations. For example, this city offers everything that the Gold Coast offers yet in the Gold Coast an apartment that costs 3,000,000 would cost 300,000 in Panama City. That’s why Mundo considers Panama City the real estate opportunity of a lifetime.
• Taxes: Panama has virtually no capital gains tax, low property taxes and holding taxes, and highly competitive rental income taxes. It is one of the best places in the world to hold property. In fact, newly built properties are tax-exempt for 20 years.

Mundo property package with Bern exclusive to our readers

Mundo has asked Liz to go out of her way to offer a package deal to the first 30 Mundo Readers that do a contract with Bern until December 2020. This deal is only available until then and for the first 30 readers to sign with Bern through Mundo. Here it goes.

You will receive:

• A full financing package on all the properties in the Bern Portfolio at lower than bank rates (special terms for Family Offices that buy bulk).
• Part of the package and at no cost will be a Foundation established by a Mundo expert to hold the property plus the entire legal advice to transfer the property.
• A free 3-day stay at a Bern hotel and property of your choice.
• A free property tour of all of Bern´s properties over 2 -3 days including VIP meeting at the airport, lunch and/or dinner with the Bern team and a concierge to organize your entire stay in Panama.
• A reduced fee residency package through our Mundo expert team.

What you will see - Investments

The best retirement living option in Panama for the baby Boomers

Generation Tower is Panama´s only unique retirement living development for the Baby Boomer Generation. The development combines ultra-high luxury living with state-of-the-art medical and social activities and support for the Baby Boomer generation.  In a nutshell, the project is the only one of its kind in Panama City to offer:

• Access to state-of-the-art US medical facilities in John Hopkins hospital downstairs from the apartment building plus free international medical and health insurance.
• Baby Boomer financing.
• Sports, Zumba, social activities, and restaurants in the complex located in Costa Del Este, one of the top international living destinations in Panama City.
• ROI of 9% for investors.
• Entry level investment for only 185,000 for an apartment and deals for investors who want to buy blocks of apartments.
• Special deals for Family Offices who buy five properties or more.

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For those that are young or simply love to party, Bern has created Panama´s first smart city Air B and B licensed aparthotel complex. Located in the hottest part of Panama´s banking and business district and in the center of Panama´s nightclub, shopping, and restaurant hub, Uptown will be a super tech complex with small 50-130 square meter apartments. The location is right beside Avenida Balboa which is Panama´s famous walking and seafront walkway (Cinta Costera) and a 30-minute walk to the Old City (Casco Viejo).

Investors will receive above-market returns including the following:

• Panama´s first Air B and B overnight rental license (rental by night is illegal in Panama and a building must have a license whose cost is over 1 million). This allows you to rent your apartment nightly if you wish.
• Huge shopping and smart city complex below and beside all the nightlife.
• Finance with an ROI of over 8% plus the option to have it managed by Bern or manage by yourself.
• Special deals for Family Offices who buy in bulk.

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Beachfront living

There are actually not many countries in the world where you can have high-class, safe beachfront living at low cost and with all the amenities. Panama Pacific Beaches are located about 1 hour away from Panama City and are the same quality and value as Gold Coast in Australia, except at prices that the Gold Coast had 20 years ago. On your doorstep, you have surfing, fishing, kiting, and year-round warm tropical waters. However, the same apartment that would cost you over 1 million in Florida, Miami, or the Gold Coast would cost you under 180,000 in Panama.

If you want to completely upscale your lifestyle and live on a beach without paying city prices, all of this being in fact only an hour from the city with access to supermarkets, schools, restaurants and amenities, then Gorgona Panama beaches with Bern is right for you.

This development is already built and qualifies for the residency investment option. Further, Bern is offering this to our Readers with financing and special package price terms.

Gorgona is one of Panama´s favorite beach front destinations and families love to spend their holidays and weekends on the beach, it being the closest beach location to Panama City. The rental potential of Gorgona for tourists and ex-pats allows a one to two-day getaway for those who want a rest from the city or simply a beachfront holiday away from the Canadian cold.

Family office investments

Holding and owning real estate has created more family wealth than all other businesses combined. Panama offers unique Family Office investment opportunities including:

A.  Already rented commercial premises with high rates of ROI in Panama City (Albrook).

B.   Shopping centers and malls.

C.   Hotels for sale and office buildings with high rates of return.

We are happy to organize investment and co-investment opportunities for your Family Office in Panama with ROI exceeding 8% plus expected capital gains of over 30%.

If you want to take these amazing investment opportunities, this is the time to do so as we are offering special packages and promotions.

Contact us now and ask for a consultation.

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Panama real estate law

With the new residency law in Panama, thanks to which a person can acquire permanent residency with an investment in real estate, new possibilities have opened for international investors. Today, we got together with our Panama lawyer expert in real estate law. Watch this interview to find out all the details of acquiring property in Panama as a foreigner.

Are property titles safe in Panama?

How do financing deals work?

What is the process for transferring a property title?

What are the taxes on property in Panama and who is subject to it?

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