We’ve witnessed first-hand the effects of the Global Financial Crisis hitting the USA, the Japanese Yen plummeting and the UK wallowing further and further into a depressing economic mire.
When we returned recently to settle in Australia, we experienced the other side of the coin – what can happen when a currency becomes overvalued and the housing market rises to prohibitive levels.
Looking for sound investment properties we found two things:
- The capital required for mortgage deposits in most Western countries prices most young buyers out of the entry level, unless you are willing to risk high interest loans.
- As an investment, a stagnant and regressive market means the return in no way justifies spending 30 years of your life simply paying for four walls around you. Neither rental returns nor capital growth are going to multiply your fortunes.
Why should you spend the next two to three years putting your life on hold to raise the deposit on a $500,000 loan when you could be watching that deposit money grow over the same period via much more accessible and faster performing investments?
And you could be enjoying life a little more at the same time. Remember – we only get one go at this life.
Between the two of us, we’ve visited South America four times in the past three years.
And each time we’ve been blown away by the growth, the potential and how much it differs from the jaundiced preconceptions of many outsiders.
Take Uruguay for example. An absolutely stunning place, a progressive nation and full of some of the loveliest people you will meet.
But it’s considered an unknown commodity to most English-speaking investors, even though the Mediterranean nations have cottoned on.
You have Brazil, which not only hosts Carnival celebrations annually, but also has the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics pumping huge investment dollars into the country.
It is now the world’s fifth-biggest economy, having overtaken the UK in 2012.
We’re here to act as your eyes and ears to some outstanding opportunities throughout Latin America.
Robert, aside from being a registered real estate agent, also has qualifications and experience in both business and journalism, meaning he is not shy on hunting down, researching and verifying every detail behind your investment.
He has a thorough belief that good business is about satisfying all parties and will not be afraid to ask vendors tough questions, track down finance options and find that one location that best fits your needs and expected returns.
Gil is a Brazilian native who can speak five languages – Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian and Polish – and has a fantastic record in customer liaison.
Honest to the core and forever enthusiastic about her home continent, she is the perfect face for our venture as we look to introduce others to the wonders of the region.
Aside from ourselves the company is also fortunate to have on-board numerous consultants in property, finance, travel, hospitality and law across South America, hand-picked for their trustworthiness, ability to deliver and communication skills.
