Friday, June 19, 2009
Dear Reader,
I rarely find a beach house for less than $50,000 that I would want to spend time in. But on a recent scouting trip driving a beach buggy along miles of northeast Brazilian coast, I discovered something in a charming fishing village that would make a great vacation home—and it comes with financing.
Less than an hour from downtown Fortaleza is the fishing village of Taiba. The locals are used to sharing their village with outsiders. First, wealthy Brazilians from Fortaleza came to build their weekend homes on the beach. In more recent years northern Europeans (mostly Norwegian) have come to escape Scandinavian winters. Others just visit to kite surf. Those who don’t have their own condo stay in one of the pousadas (inns) dotted along the beach.
Boutique restaurants and hotels have opened as more visitors arrive. Taiba has gained a reputation as a gourmet location. Restaurants are high quality and very affordable. Taiba even has an annual food festival which attracts over 10,000 visitors. Yet Taiba retains a quaint fishing and beach town feel.
Three minutes from the village by beach buggy is a small condo project called Taiba Gardens. It’s right on the beach and the common areas are lush landscaped gardens. Amenities include pool, gym, steam room, relaxation deck and hammock area. Residents can barbecue by the pool and enjoy their meal with friends and neighbors at poolside dining tables.
All apartments have sea views with large sea facing balconies. Ground floor apartments have a private garden area and direct garden access. All units are one-bedroom suites…most are 55 square meters (the deluxe units are 65 square meters). All but four units have sold—and one of these last four is $49,000.
The developer is a New Zealander called Mike Colwill. With construction complete (residents are expected to move in within six weeks) and only four units left, Mike is keen to get this project wrapped up and move on to his next one. This is the type of situation I look out for. Mike will give readers a 10% discount on the four remaining units…so that $49,000 becomes $44,100.
Alternatively you can take Mike up on his finance offer—90% of the purchase price over 10 years at 6%. But if you do this, you don’t qualify for the 10% discount.
If your beach budget is $50,000, you could buy the discounted units for $44,100…and splurge on a beach buggy. Who knows…if you rent out the buggy with your condo when you’re not using it, you might be able to justify the buggy spend for financial reasons. (OK…I admit it… I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a beach buggy since I first visited Brazil last year.)
If you’re interested in one of these last four units, you can contact Mike here.
Ronan McMahon
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