World Property Portal Company

World Property Portal Company Profile With the increased popularity of purchasing overseas real estate. The team at World Property Portal are here to ensure that you make the best overseas real estate investment decision when purchasing World Property. Wherever you decide to purchase overseas real estate abroad. Whether it be in the new emerging World property overseas market or in the more established overseas property areas.

Our 2 directors with over 40 years overseas real estate experience between them in overseas real estate sales, are here to give you, with the assistance of their associate world real estate agents, their unbiased no nonsense approach on overseas property purchase to help you with your overseas property search.

Being an independent World real estate company and having successfully dealt with prospective World property purchasers since the early 1980's, it has taught us that World property purchasers require a balanced view of the area and the country that they are preparing to invest in and purchase real estate in.

Having lived in Spain and Tenerife, and sold real estate in both Spain and Tenerife, Canary Islands our 2 directors have a real estate reputation second to none. Over the last 2 years they have travelled extensively overseas throughout Europe and the World building a network of overseas property associates who are prepared to meet their high real estate standards. Real Estate Agents who will update their properties Worldwide on a weekly basis. Offering you the property purchaser, the best advice on World property investment and overseas real estate legal services available.

So whether you are seeking a new development, an off plan property, or a resale property, a villa or a village house or even that bar on a deserted beach, then World Property Portal is here to assist you with all aspects of buying overseas real estate.

If you do not see the property you are looking for on our World property real estate listings, just contact us with details of the type of property you require. We will ensure that our associate real estate agent in that particular area is made aware of your property search.

Real estate Ripoff

Blacklisted

Last fall, Marjorie Deprez decided that she didn't need a traditional real estate broker to sell her Chappaqua, New York, home. After all, she had bought the house as an investment and wanted to maximize her profit any way possible. So she paid an online discount broker a flat fee of just under $1,000 to list her home on the Internet.

Deprez would handle everything else. She'd pay the buyer's agent a 2.5 percent commission but save on the usual seller's commission -- in this case, about $25,000.

Smart idea, except when she held an open house for brokers, only a few showed up. When Deprez joked with one of them that she'd been blacklisted, the agent replied, "Who told you?" To Deprez's amazement, she was then informed that a local real estate executive had been calling brokers and urging them not to show her house.

Sure enough, Deprez got very few nibbles, even though her house was priced to sell quickly. Frustrated, she finally took her home off the market.

"It was an organized boycott," says Deprez, who reported her experience to the New York Attorney General's office. Put another way, it was a case of insiders rigging the system to protect their sweet deal. In a traditional home sale, the brokers for the buyer and seller split a commission that usually amounts to around 5 to 6 percent of the sale price. This broker fee doesn't just hit the seller's wallet; the buyer pays more because the commission gets built into the price of the home.

Without question, many sellers are quite willing to pay those commissions, since they want to benefit from services ranging from promoting and showing the property to negotiating the sale. "You also get an arbiter -- someone who can help a husband and wife agree on what price to set and which bid to accept," says Barbara Corcoran, owner of a prominent real estate firm in Manhattan.

Still, plenty of homeowners are eager to reduce their costs by using Web-based discounters to cut out the middleman -- a formula that has worked for sales of books, stocks and travel deals. But some traditional brokers have found a way to resist this threat.

Nothing is more important to real estate cartels than controlling the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), the databases of homes for sale. Real estate websites often allow home-buyers to peruse local MLS listings on the Internet. Yet they sometimes censor or omit listings sponsored by a discount broker. And many established real estate agents won't allow their own listings to appear on a discount broker's site. That spiteful move led the U.S. Justice Department to sue the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the industry's ultra-powerful lobbying group, for allowing members to discriminate against Web-based brokers. (The Justice complaint is expected to take years to resolve.)

Make Big Money In Real Estate

Real Estate is one of the oldest forms of investing known to man.

Real Estate investing is easy and fortunes are made in a simple manner. For example, and investor decides that a desert area will eventually become an industrial development. He purchases a number of acres at a very low price. If his guess turns out to be correct, ten years later he sells the land hundred times more than what he paid for it.This can happen in any part of the country and is not an exceptional case.

As the population keeps growing in the U.S., land prices continue to raise and it means that Real Estate will continue to offer one of the best investment opportunities in the country.

Compared to most forms of investment, Real Estate offers greater profit potential. Of course, not every piece of land will turn out to be a winner, and despite the great potential rewards in some cases risks are involved, so the necessity of careful study before invest.

One of the problem of Real Estate is his lack of liquidity.

Liquid assists are those easily converted into cash like stocks or bons. Most Real Estate investments take years before you can make some money, so it is not wise to tie up all your assets in this type of investment. Your financial situation will determine how much you can wisely invest in properties.

There is a difference between a land speculator and an investor.

A speculator buys land with the intention to make a quick sale and fast profits and will not hold land for a long period of time. An investor, on the other hand, looks for a long time gain, and usually buys only what he can afford to keep for an indefinite period of time.

If you are new at this field, it is wise to refrain from any a speculation until you become more informed, and you will have to devote considerable time to study and research. It is wise also to consult specialists before you act.

Without realizing it, you already made a very successful investment in Real Estate if you bought your own home.

Before you look for areas to invest, consider the condition of your own house. If you have any plan for selling it, good landscaping has been known to considerably increase the value of a home.

Large profits can be attained by purchasing run-down homes and restoring them for eventual selling, but some factors have to be considered:

* You must know something about architecture and remodeling and get and idea of how much it will cost to get the house back into shape. Consider what you will be able to do yourself and what it will cost you if you have to have it done.

* The location of the house is the most important factor to consider. Study the neighborhood, shopping, and transportation facilities.

It can also be profitable to lease land for commercial use. Land which borders highway is extremely valuable for purpose such as warehouse, gas station, etc.

Land development companies frequently run advertisements offering country retreats. Be wary of these offers as they themselves make a large profit at the time they sell you the land, so it is much more profitable for you to buy your own.

When you buy property, buy at a price that involves a minimum financial risk. Invest only a modest amount of your own capital, when you sell, determine if a cash or installment sale is the best, based on your over-all income tax status. Learn by looking back on the mistakes made in the past and by reviewing the opportunities you have missed.

Prepare a list of all properties available in your area and think up the best future use of the properties. Learn to purchase land before there is a demand. To buy land well in advance is the only economical way at today's prices. Then hold the property until you can resale for large profits. Don't sell all your desirable properties and keep just lemons.

If you are willing to leave the cities, you should not have any trouble finding inexpensive land for sale. If you discover a tract of land appealing to you but not listed for sale, contact the Country Register's Office and he will tell you who is the owner. Get in touch with him and he could be willing to sell.

As a rule purchasing tracts of land within thirty miles from a growing city is often a sound investment. Deal only with qualified realtors. Be careful of individuals who offer quick profits.

Before taking any action, study what has been written about the subject. Know why you should and should not buy. Stay conventional and don't buy white elephants. Look for hidden defects and make the property attractive before offering it for resale. Study local conditions and be sure it is practical.

Constantly look for bargains and quality properties with exceptional features that will make the sale easier. Follow up on For Sale signs, make inquiries.

When discouraging elements occur, minimize your losses by whatever means available. Don't throw away money on repairs for poorly located property or in an area of surplus rental units.

Before you attempt to sell, find out how the prospect can use the property profitably. Ask yourself if you would purchase it if you were in the prospect's shoes. Ask yourself if the future use will fit any of the many types of specific businesses. Can a hospital, a bank, an apartment complex, condominium or professional building be located on the property.

Learn to analyze the pros and cons of a real estate problem.

Break it down into its various elements. Know if the answers you come up with are satisfactory and practical. Try different approaches to the problem.

You are necessary looking for the "top" or "bottom" of the market, or the current economic situation. You are looking for a variety of properties which have a higher value dependent on the use that can be established for them.

There are always opportunities in Real Estate during good times and bad, but it is up to you to pick and choose only those very best deals, especially during times when it appears that Real Estate values and demand have reached their peak or in times when it is practically impossible for most anyone to get bank loans due to the tight money market or impossible interest rates.

You can make big money in realestate.

Real Estate Markets and Their Price Spreads

The price difference between various real estate markets is what many people try to profit from. I call this the spread. For example, Manhattan residential real estate prices are roughly $1000 a square foot. Downtown Jersey City and other equivalent outlying urban areas of Manhattan, such as Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, might be $600 a square foot. That makes the spread between those markets about $400 ($1000 less $600) a square foot.

Bond traders or people that trade stocks look for or observe price spreads. Bond traders refer to the spread in basis point and in yield to maturity. So if a corporate bond yields 8% and an equivalent term US treasury bond yields 6%, then they would say that corporate bonds trade at a spread of 200 basis points or 2% (8% - 6%) to US treasuries.

In real estate people reach out to more far reaching real estate markets in the hope that those markets may mature or improve and that the price may rise closing the spread between that market and another.

Example: Brooklyn Heights versus Downtown Jersey City.

In Brooklyn Heights versus Downtown Jersey City, I observed there to be a significant price spread. The selling price per square foot for housing in some comparable neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights can be significantly higher than in Downtown Jersey City.

Recently I previewed several properties in Brooklyn Heights selling for about $750 a square. Since Downtown Jersey City is at about $550 per square foot, then this would imply a spread per square foot of $200 ($750 - $550) between Downtown Jersey City and Brooklyn Heights.

I am looking for those spreads to narrow. A lot of development is transpiring in Downtown Jersey City. This will probably keep prices down in the near term (next couple of years) as a lot of inventory comes on the market and requires market absorption. However beyond the next couple of years as Downtown Jersey City improves, I believe those spreads will narrow.

As larger developers further their projects and advertise their projects on an international level, more attention should be brought to bear on Downtown Jersey City. I speculate that Donald Trump has every intention of marketing his Trump Jersey City beyond the local markets. Plus let’s not forget about the new $130 million dollar international golf course over at Liberty State Park. This is all free advertising on the coat tails of these projects and I further speculate that these projects will bring international attention to Downtown Jersey City.

So expect to see some price spread movements between the above mentioned markets over the next ten years. Although there is no guarantee that the spreads will narrow, I speculate (based on the above circumstances) that the probabilities point to the spreads narrowing rather than widening.

Panama's New Real Estate Boom

DONALD TRUMP can't be wrong, can he? Trump has fallen so much in love with Panama that he is building a $220 Million, 65 story (2.4 Million square foot) hotel/condo monoliths called the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower in a posh Panama City neighborhood. Trump will build 500 luxury condominium units along with a 312-room hotel. This complex will include a casino, private beach club and a marina. Groundbreaking is scheduled around this Christmas with a completion date in 2009.

Why is Trump doing this in Panama of all places? In an April 24, 2006 press conference in New York, Donald Trump said his interest in Panama was sparked three years ago when his "Miss Universe" pageant was held in Panama. He saw that Panama city was "beautiful" and vowed he would develop there if the right opportunity came up. His project was "easily funded", noting that as many as seven "major financial institutions were fighting to put up money." He agreed that "Americans are coming in droves to Panama," due to it's political stability, low cost of living, low interest rates, and being located outside of any hurricane path. "It's great for baby boomers." Trump said, although the project will be marketed worldwide. The condominium units will start at $180,000 with unobstructed ocean views.

Panama is just beginning to realize a real estate boom!

Besides Trump, many international real estate investors are also discovering Panama.

For example:

Bigger Than Trump: An even taller skyscraper will be built near Trump's Tower. The Ice Tower will have over 100 floors making it the tallest building in all of Latin America, tied with the Empire State Building as the second-tallest in the Western hemisphere and 9th in the world when it is completed in 2010.

And Another! Even before Trump's Tower and The Ice Tower are completed, another skyscraper (93 floors) called El Palacio de la Bahia will be completed in 2009 costing over $160 Million. They've already sold several dozen condos mostly to Europeans because this is a totally European investor project.

I asked a Panama City real estate brokerage owner, Daniel Hanna (Panama Real Estate Group www.panama-real.estate.com), what he thought about how the Ice Tower and Trump's Ocean Club will affect Panama's Real Estate prices? His response echoes most real estate agents in Panama: "As Panama continues to grow in many different industries, these projects will definitely set a new standard of living in Panama, thus increasing the prices around the entire country."

So, why are all of these real estate investors coming to Panama?

A little History will help explain these phenomena. Panama has always had a close relationship with the United States, which helped Panama to secede from Colombia in 1903 and was the first country to recognize the new Republic of Panama. The U.S. government built the Panama Canal starting in 1904. Only until the year 2000 did Panama actually take control of its Canal after the U.S. closed all of its military bases and left. People used to jokingly refer to Panama as the "United States of Panama" due to its close ties to the U.S. After the U.S. left, Panama's economy slumped. Then American retirees re-discovered Panama as a peaceful, safe, and cheap place to retire.

Economical Growth: In 2004, real estate construction activity sprang up in different parts of the country. Mostly retirement communities nestled amongst the many beautiful unoccupied beaches and mountain valleys. In 2005, construction permits rose by 90% while Panama's economy grew by a respectful 6.4%. The Panama Canal recorded its third consecutive year of double-digit growth in toll revenues. Tourism and financial services also made impressive growth gains.

Americans came back to Panama because of the excellent infrastructure built by the Americans, low crime, numerous English-speaking natives, great Immigration Visa programs; the currency has always been the U.S. Dollar, and great Tax incentives.

The Best Reason is that Panama is so cheap to live! Land, housing, local foods, transportation, leather goods, clothing, and local artisan wares are all far cheaper than anywhere in North America or Europe.

Don't Take My Word for it. Read what leading experts have to say about Panama's real estate opportunities.

The NY Times recently wrote: "Panama is increasingly lighting up the radar screens of those searching for an affordable alternative to the more traditional south-of-the-border retreats in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, where escalating prices increasingly rival those along America's own beach fronts."

Forbes Magazine (July 11, 2005) praised Panama as a recommended "PARADISE FOUND: WHERE TO RETIRE ABROAD" where a U.S. couple "purchased a lot on a hill overlooking a golf course and have built a three-bedroom white-stucco house with a red-tile roof (total cost: about $250,000)." in Boquete. "You can hear the sound of rivers here," says Janet. "It's very peaceful."

National Association of Realtors: Tom Stevens, who is their current President, recently visited Panama and explained: "We're seriously thinking of investing here. It's a great opportunity. Prices are what it was like in the U.S. 20 to 25 years ago."

The London Financial Times wrote in its April 14, 2005 issue that Panama is now passing Costa Rica as the place to invest. "Like Costa Rica, Panama is loaded with exquisite beach towns, has inviting tax and ownership policies for foreigners and a long history of political stability. Moreover, Panama City is an urbane, safe city that has long had a military and civilian US presence because of the canal. A gated-community, three-bedroom luxury home on a golf course in the mountains can be had for $250,000 to $350,000, real estate experts say... Chuck Bedsole, who oversees Latin American real estate for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, thinks Panama is at an earlier stage in the real estate boom."

Conde Nast Traveler's October 2004 issue declared: "Panama is the new Central American bargain where the U.S. dollar - the market currency - goes a long way."

Is it Safe to Buy real estate in Panama? Buying Real Estate in Panama is safe and secure for foreigners. The U.S. State Dept. verifies this by stating: "Titled land, and the process of buying this, is similar in concept to that of the U.S., and land deeds are duly recorded with the Public Registry..."

How Long Will this Boom Last? It's just starting. Donald Trump hasn't even broken ground yet.

Daniel Hanna, the Panama City real estate broker, reiterates: "Invest in Panama real estate now before the Towers are completed. Panama will become a hot real estate market because it has so many attractions than just real estate construction. Soon, the world will know Panama for its natural beauty, healthy climates, and charismatic people. Living in this beautiful country is just a benefit!"

The National Geographic Traveler predicted in December of 2004: "Panama is now where Costa Rica was 10 years ago. Panama is getting ready to explode."

"Boom" I can hear the distant rumbling of a Big Boom yet to come!

Jump Start Your Career In Real Estate

Have you ever stayed up late at night hoping to catch the infomercials on how to make it rich in real estate? No money down! Or spent endless hours reading this how to or that real estate success story book, maybe even gone to a boot camp or two? … None of which have helped…

I once read that if you read 7 books on a subject, that doing so, will make you an expert. I am not so sure it will but it does add a considerable amount of confidence to you as you prepare to introduce yourself to your new world.

What I find fascinating is that they all have a slight twist on the same goal.. The goal of buying real estate below market value, for as little money invested as possible, then selling for a profit. The American Dream… Get rich in real estate… We have all heard that the only way to become obnoxiously rich is to invest. In fact, when we are born we are slapped on the ass to breath and told get rich through buying real estate. No wonder why so many of us are choosing real estate as the means to wealth.

Every home type cable channel has their own version of the “How Too” “Flip this”, or “Rehab that”, programming that brags “make more money than you have ever made before, and you don’t even have to know how…

I wish it were that simple.. It is/was for some of you I am sure and I imagine as you reflect on your beginning, as you tried figuring out your tomorrow, doing so was the most frightening battle you faced. But here you are, a success, the one that people will look at now and say, “if he can do it, I can too”.

As the year quickly approaches its end, I sit reflecting what I have accomplished and how to help those new investors who want so badly to create their paradigm shift on riches. What little hint or knowledge can I give to turn the light bulb on? Can you hear the rally yell, “You can buy houses too”?

And you can… My wife, being a third grade teacher tells me all of the time, that the reason most don’t jump in is because they like the security of knowing they have a paycheck coming and that their retirement is being taken care of, or that the health insurance coverage is too costly to give up. And I politely tell her, that in two weeks this month, I will have earned what it will take her all year to earn. I feel bad for those that have the attitude that they cant make the change because of fear. Fear is a great emotion, we can either let it stop us or we can use it to succeed.

Most investors don’t ‘Burn their Boat” when they start… most look at this career as a part time career at best. They keep their day job as a subsidy to their income until that big break. That one investment that will get them to go over the top.. That big deal…

I understand that saying to your wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend “honey I quite my job today and we are going to be rich” is not something that easily flows out of ones lips.. I am also not so certain that entering into this career slowly isn’t the best option for most investors.

So here you are ready to make millions. Eager and willing to do something, but what? What is the first step to fulfilling the promise given to us a birth?

This may sound so cliché, but in my opinion you must set your goals first. You will not succeed by determining the amount of money you want to make, but instead what do you want out of this paradigm shift? Decide in the beginning those things that will drive you to success. Sure some are going to be physical possession but I bet some of them will be spiritual and mental.

So if you would, go grab your wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend and say these words to them “ Honey would it be okay if we started making more money”? If their answer is yes then get into your car and drive. Stop by a store to buy

1. 24” x 36 poster board
2. Glue stick.
3. Set of magic markers
4. Scissors

After you’re done buying your supplies drive to the neighborhood that you always wanted to live in, the ones that only those “rich” people can afford. Drive around and look for houses that are listed for sale. When you find them ask yourself if you would like to live there” If the answer is YES then take a flyer out of the flyer box. Don’t let size or price get in your way. BTW call the agent and make an appointment to see the inside…

Then drive to the auto dealership and pick out the car you have always wanted… Take it for a test drive, smell the interior… What color is it? Pick out the accessories, from rims to navigational system. Don’t forget satellite radio either. Find out how much it costs…CASH… get a Broacher on it.

Now drive to the chain bookstore, they’re open late so you wont have any problems getting in.. Walk over to the magazine section and start looking through the vacation magazines for that special vacation you have always wanted.. Don’t tear that page out of the book, just pay the 4 or 5 bucks they want..

Now here is where it gets fun, there is something in that bookstore that you have always wanted. Maybe it is a how to book on loosing weight, maybe a book on the best colleges to send your children, even a book on your faith, what ever it is buy it.

Now find the section on real estate investing and buy the book with best cover… Don’t worry about content.. Maybe it says, “Zero to a Million” or “Get Filthy Rich” but it must say or show something that makes you inspired…

Now walk over to the coffee area and sit down together and cut out the pictures of the vacation, and the other book. Cut the cover off of the investment book, cut the car out of the Broacher. Using the glue stick glue the pictures and cover onto your poster board not in any order just so they flow. I would put the cover of the investment book on top as I would want to focus on it all of the time.

Now on the top portion of the poster board write, “these are my goals and I will achieve them”.

Somewhere on one side write the words “I am a great person and I am worthy of having nice things”

On the other side write “ God loves me and wants me to become wealthy”

On the bottom, each of you sign your name and put the date.

After you get home place your poster somewhere where you can see it everyday, and everyone else who comes over can see it too. Don’t hide your goals from those who know and love you. AND don’t hide them from yourself…

I know this has nothing to do with real estate investing; you wanted some wisdom that would get you going. But I was reminded today as I began my journey to learn to swim a mile, it’s on my poster, as the young swimming instructor told me to cup my hands to hold water so that I could place my face, submerging my nose in the water and blow bubbles that learning starts with a desire.. We can not succeed unless we set a goal and follow a plan, sure there will be times that you will breath water up your nose and want to quit. Today my task to learn was blowing bubbles, tomorrow who knows but I will learn to swim a mile… And you will learn to buy houses too!

Real Estate Economics

Real Estate Economics is the publication of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. The journal is considered the premier journal for real estate related topics. The purpose of the journal is to facilitate communication among academic researchers and industry professionals and to improve the analysis of real estate decisions. The subject matter of the journal spans a wide range of interest. Examples of article titles are:

• An Analysis of Resolution Trust Corporation Transactions: Auction Market Process and Pricing
  
• Tax Rules and the Sale of Leaseback of Corporate Real Estate
  
• A Comparison of Nonparametric Methods to Measure Efficiency in the Savings and Loan Industry
  

The journal has been published since 1973 and is the oldest academic journal concentrating on the real estate industry. Follow the links below to learn more about Real Estate Economics or to search journal abstracts and download articles.