Expat Community > Panama

802mark
Joined 2007
Posts: 1109

REAL ESTATE WISDOM

13 years ago

Just wanted to post a few points for everyone to think about before you buy that dream home or land.

R.O.P. means right of possession. this could be land, or even a home on land. the only good point about rop land is you don't ever have to pay taxes on it. you can use it, sell it, build on it, but you never own it. It belongs to the government and anytime they find reason to need it you must allow them to take it back.

Title land or home, is the same in the u.s. and you have the same rights to own it as they do.

you pay 1 to 3 percent of the total selling price in taxes each year.

many people came here years ago while we were having a boom, and bought a condo or condos in projects that were just being started. Many of those projects never started outside of the foundation and many others are built to their height but the insides are still not completed.

I would say to you all not to buy something until it's done and they can show you a pemit saying the home is now ready for people to move in it.

You are taking a risk to put money down on a project and sit back and wait till it's done. it might not ever be done.

land here and titles have had a few problems over the years, so make sure what ever your buying has been checked to make sure the person who is selling it to you, has the right to do that.

one area that has had a lot of trouble is bocas de toro. Years ago no one really cared about this area, even panama city didn't hand out titles or rop's to that land without a huge time delay, so the government in bocas started to do it, now they have come back and said that they didn't have the power to do that, so there is where the fight is now, many people claim rights to this lot or that one. some even have paperwork showing both to own it.

It is very wise to speak to people who live around whatever your looking to buy to see if they know of any problems with that land.

fraud and land sales do happen here, I have a good friend that his family owns a lot of land and one day I was asking him about a area I wanted to ride my four wheeler into, and I asked him If his family had this piece and he said yes go ride anytime you like, so I thanked him and went, there was a posted sign on that road that's the reason I asked first..

well I got up there and was met by a man who was not pleased I had drove past his posted sign. I told him I was very sorry and that I had asked to ride there and was told by the people who own it I could. He said he owned it and didn't know me.

So I went back to my friend and told him what had happen thinking maybe he thought I was talking about another place. he said no that's the right place. let me get my four wheeler and lets go up and see.. so we did,, the same man came out of his home, and again was not happy to see us, or me since he had already told me once not to return. In the end the man had been cheated and he bought that land from someone who never owned it. he had also build a very nice home on it. He had to buy the land again from my friend.

which was nice of him really, because he could have forced him off the land and kept the home.

I know of no title Ins. company down here. maybe because this kind of thing happens to much and they are scared they would lose money doing it.

I have said this before but it's worth saying again and again. all of you need to come here, and rent something for around a year. that will give you time to look around and find the perfect spot for you, it will also give you time to make up your mind if you want to stay in this country or leave.

any land your looking at, check on water, power, roads, ect. dry and rainy season to find out any hidden problems. There have been areas that in certain times have no water for months on end. very few but that has happen. This is the reason you will see huge blue tanks up high, they pump in water then pump it inside their homes. They might not have a hookup from the water company in that area.

The main problem with panama city is they have over built the area, and no one planned on wider roads or larger water and sewer hookups. They just built thousands of new units without any concern for these problems.

Now they are trying to fix some of these problems, but I still see sewer coming up out of street main hole covers from time to time.

The new president has been pouring money into this country. new roads, is one place you can see the changes. He built a road in the ocean because that was the only area they had to build it. A new power dam is in the works, as well as new sewer upgrades. A new under ground rail way is also being built.

I have also seen where they have put in place a new idea to draw more people outside of the city, with new homes going up everywhere, as well as a huge new mall to give these people jobs. This will help pull thousands of families outside the city.

every little bit helps.

everyone have a great day..

Kovalenko & Vera Attorneys at Law in Panama

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REAL ESTATE WISDOM

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