Choose Your $100,000 Beach House | Pathfinder International

Friday, May 29, 2009

Dear Reader,

If you want to retire or move overseas within the next 12 months…and wake up each morning in your own beach home…I’ve been on the lookout for something that might help your dream become a reality: A $100,000 beach house.

Every time I take a trip near a coast, no matter what country I’m in, I try to see what type of beach house I can buy for $100,000. I spend about 40% of my time scouting real estate near coasts—so that’s a lot of beach house hunting. These are the three best $100,000 beach home opportunities I’ve found.

Coco Beach, Ecuador. The beach town of Jama (popular with surfers) lies along Ecuador’s most under-developed section of coast. Four miles from Jama along a new road and just outside the village of El Matal you will find Coco Beach Village. I know the developers, brothers Gary and Larry, behind this gated community, and I like what they’ve done—just 66 subdivisions set amid 21 acres laid out in such a way that you can step out your front door and wiggle your toes in the sand.

Lot sizes are big in Coco Beach, just under a quarter-acre for $50,000. Construction costs run from $35 to $60 a square foot; $40 per square foot builds to a high standard. This means that a $100,000 budget buys you a large lot in this gated community with a 1,250-square-foot high-quality beach home. To read more about Coco Beach, see my previous report here.

Cumbuco, Brazil. Little Cumbuco is a 25-minute drive from Fortaleza’s boardwalk and 30 minutes from her international airport. Sitting right on the beach, the village’s cobblestone streets connect cafes, bars and charming guest houses. Fortaleza’s skyline shimmers in the distance. Cumbuco is a kite-surfing mecca. Norwegians have been coming here and spending top dollar for high-end condos for years. North Americans will love it once they start coming.

In five years, this sleepy beach town will be barely recognizable. Soccer-playing kids will compete for space on the cobblestone streets with foreigners browsing in the shops or on their way to dine in the new restaurants that will open during the boom. Golf carts carrying golfers will be as common a sight as dune buggies carrying windsurfers.

Somerville is an established gated beach community five minutes by beach buggy from Cumbuco. High-end houses are complete or under construction. The landscaping is top class and amenities include a pool and clubhouse. Resale lots are available here for 90,000 Brazilian reais. Basic construction starts at 70 reais per square foot. The total cost of a lot and 1,600-square-foot house would run 202,000 reais—at today’s exchange rate that’s just over $100,000. To learn more, contact: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Salinas, Ecuador. Salinas is at the southern end of La Ruta del Sol. Its 9.5 miles of wide sandy beach has made it Ecuador’s “in” playground…perfect for sunbathing, boating, surfing, sport-fishing…and, of course, posing. The beachfront is lined with upscale high-rise apartments, hotels, restaurants, shops, and discos. Salinas has a stylish Miami-Beach type ambience. Residents and visitors enjoy the sun and water sports during the day. The evening is for fine dining and the vibrant nightlife.

A new condominium community is being built at the edge of a tranquil, semi-private beach a few miles north of the malecón (boardwalk) in the Costa del Oro area of Salinas. It’s located near the Puerto Lucia Yacht Club, a popular destination for international sailors and an embarkation point for world-class deep-sea fishing charters.

A small condo at this community costs $50,000…so, with a $100,000 budget, you could buy two—one to live in and one to rent out. The only catch is…there are just three of these $50,000 condos left. See my full report on this development here.

Ronan McMahon