|
Ronan McMahon A finance graduate, Ronan McMahon worked in the e-business consultancy and dot-com industries before joining International Living as Real Estate Marketing Director in January 2004. Ronan has been an active real estate investor since his early twenties and joining International Living gave him the opportunity to marry his personal and professional interests. Last year Ronan took up the position of Executive Director with Pathfinder. Ronan writes International Living’s Real Estate Trend Alert and regularly contributes to International Living’s print and online publications. Ronan has travelled to 15 countries in the past 12 months alone following real estate trends with the potential for profit. Instinct, experience and an unrivalled black book of contacts give him access to the inside track to unique profit opportunities. |
Margaret Summerfield Margaret was born in Ireland but has spent her most of her adult life living outside her home country. Real estate has always been her passion. In late 2005 Margaret joined International Living, as an administrator. She spent her first fifteen months with the company analyzing the paperwork and due diligence of countless projects. For more than two years now Margaret has traveled extensively in Central and South America, scouting for real estate opportunities. She’s been to places you’ve never heard of...spent hours in meetings with local contacts…and seen more projects in the region than just about anyone you’re likely to meet. Margaret calls Casco Viejo, Panama, home--when she is not scouting. |
|
|
Dan Prescher Dan Prescher is professional journalist, travel writer, and publisher of International Living magazine. A graduate of the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Dan has lived and worked outside the United States since November 2001, when he and his wife, Suzan Haskins, moved to Ecuador to work for International Living. In the years that followed, Dan and Suzan opened the first International Living office in Mexico, created Mexico Insider, International Living’s first online publication, lived in or covered Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Belize, and participated in every major International Living conference, seminar, and event to date. Dan and Suzan have owned property in six countries and currently live in Merida, Mexico, in a renovated colonial-style home in the historic El Centro district. |
Suzan Haskins Suzan Haskins has been researching, writing, and speaking about living and retiring overseas for the last decade. As International Living’s Latin America Editorial Director, she has authored numerous articles, books, and special reports, and has spoken at conferences around the world, including AARP’s annual Life@50 event. Suzan calls herself a “serial re-locator.” Originally from the Midwestern U.S. (Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, and Nebraska) she has also lived in New Jersey and New Mexico. She and her husband, Dan Prescher, left the U.S. in 2001 and have lived in Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and three cities in Mexico. They have purchased real estate in six countries and currently split their time between Merida, the capital of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and Cotacachi, in the northern Andes of Ecuador. |
|
|
Lee A. Harrison Lee started working as a freelance writer after a 30-year career in the U.S. electric power industry. He worked 12 years with Bechtel Power Corporation where he started as an electrician, and eventually moved to Exelon Generation (the nation’s second-largest power generator) where he ultimately served as a director. Taking advantage of a post-merger early retirement offer, he left in 2001 at the age of 49 and retired to Cuenca, Ecuador. Now he lives and works primarily in Uruguay, sharing his time between the beach resort of Punta del Este, Uruguay’s capital of Montevideo, and the island of Itamaracá in Brazil. He is currently working as International Living’s Latin America Roving Editor, traveling through Central and South America evaluating the best retirement destinations and property buys. |
|
Rick Philps Richard (Rick) Philps is a Canadian citizen, naturalized as a citizen of Costa Rica. He was born, raised, and educated in Victoria, British Columbia, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1977, and a Bachelor of Laws Degree (English Common Law) in 1980, from the University of Victoria. He practiced law in Victoria, as a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, for fourteen years, prior to moving to Costa Rica in 1998. Mr. Philps returned to university in Costa Rica, where he earned his Bachelor of Laws and Licensing Degrees (Civil Law), with Honors, from the Metropolitana Castro Carazo University, and a Post-Graduate Degree in Notary and Registry Law, from the Escuela Libre de Derecho University in San Jose. He is a member of the Costa Rica College of Lawyers, he is a qualified Notary Public, and he has practiced law in Costa Rica for six years in the areas of real estate and development, corporate, commercial, contract, banking, and immigration. |
|
Flavio Pinto Flavio Pinto graduated in 1989 from the Law School of the Federal University of the State of Ceara (UFC) in Brazil. In 1991 he became a member of the Realtors Council of the State of Ceara. Since then Flavio has been partner of Magno Pinto Associate Lawyers, an attorney-at-law firm, which has advised on real estate, building matters, contracts, and other legal issues for more than 45 years. Some of the biggest and best Brazilian builders and developers have benefited from the knowledge, confidence, and security of the Magno Pinto firm. Flavio provides the following services: due diligence investigations, drafting, contract analysis, land procurement, and contracting. |
|
Gary Scott Gary Scott enjoys a worldwide reputation, as an entrepreneur, author, and investment publisher who began writing about multi-currency portfolios four decades ago—long before the establishment jumped on the bandwagon. Gary has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows and was heard weekly for many years on the syndicated radio program, Market Rap (broadcast by WEVD in New York City). Under the bi-line “The Global Guru”, he was a monthly columnist for “On Wall Street”, one of the most popular magazines for U.S. stockbrokers. He wrote a column for “The Global Guide”, a newsletter published by one of Canada’s top portfolio managers. He has appeared in federal court... as an expert witness regarding international economics. He managed a multi-million dollar portfolio for one of Austria’s leading international investment banks. Today, he manages a multi-currency investing course in a strategic alliance with Jyske Bank, Denmark’s second-largest bank and leading global asset manager. Gary, along with his wife Merri, created seminar centers in Cotacachi, Ecuador, and the Blue Ridge of North Carolina, to teach about the fundamentals of health and wealth. He believes that everyone should “turn their passion into profit”. |
|
Juan Federico Fischer Juan Federico Fischer manages Fischer & Schickendantz' foreign investment consulting unit, advising both multinationals and individual investors in privatizations, real estate developments, and acquisition of local companies. In his 13 years as a corporate attorney, Juan has worked in some of Uruguay’s main privatizations (Punta del Este Airport, 1994, and Montevideo port, 1995 and 2000); in major local corporate debt restructurings; in international debt restructurings (regional debt-equity swap of Italy’s Parmalat, 2004), in mergers and acquisitions (AstraZeneca spin-off of Avecia, 2000; Katoen Natie’s acquisition of the Montevideo port, 2006; and Sherwin Williams’s acquisition of Pinturas Industriales, 2007). He has advised and is counsel to dozens of multinationals such as Computer Associates, Bechtel Corp., UBS Warburg, Cable & Wireless, HSBC, and Globo of Brazil, and to multilateral institutions such as the World Bank Group. Currently, Juan specializes in major real estate developments. Fischer & Schickendantz is a leading advisor to individuals seeking to buy properties and to obtain residency in Uruguay. Juan graduated from Uruguay’s Catholic University’s School of Law in 1994, and in 2002, he obtained an M.B.A. degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he majored in strategy and finance. |
|
Rainelda Mata-Kelly Rainelda Mata-Kelly practices commercial and shipping law at Law Offices Rainelda Mata-Kelly. In 1982, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Law and Political Science at Santa Maria La Antigua University in Panama. She then went on to Cornell University Law School and obtained a Masters of Law, specializing in Commercial and Maritime Law. Upon graduation, she became the founder, resident lawyer, and manager of the London office of a Panamanian law firm. In 1991, she became the Miami Correspondent for the Panamanian newspaper, La Prensa, and then went on to be the paper’s Executive Editor. Ms. Mata-Kelly has been External Legal Advisor to the Colon Free Trade Zone Merchants Association, and External Executive Director and Legal Advisor to INTERED (Internet Service Providers’ Association). Since 1989, she has owned her own private practice dealing in the areas of corporations, immigration, commercial, real estate, and shipping law of Panama. The practice was incorporated in 2005 as a law firm, and has now been expanded to include four other lawyers. |
|
Paul & María Reynolds Paul A. Reynolds graduated with a B. A., from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For the past 22 years he has combined his financial services and real estate experience in Canada and Argentina. He is the principal owner of Reynolds Propiedades. His wife, María Reynolds, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. María has 17 years combined experience in engineering and real estate in Canada and Argentina. She is a partner at Reynolds Propiedades. Reynolds Propiedades has provided expatriate real estate related services for over thirty-five years. Their 60 team members are internationally trained and are 100% bilingual (Spanish and English). They provide full relocation services to incoming and outbound expatriates. Reynolds Propiedades is a member of the Employee Relocation Council (ERC), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Cámara Inmobiliaria Argentina, the Argentine-British Chamber of Commerce, the Argentine-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the three MLS systems—SOM, DIXON, and INTERPROP. They have five offices—four in Buenos Aires, and one in Montevideo, Uruguay. They also have a strong presence in the lakes district in Patagonia, and in Punta del Este, Uruguay. |
|
Rui Barrios Rui Barros Leal Farias is a Brazilian citizen and resident. He was born and raised in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, Brazil, but lived in the U.S., Belgium, and Germany during his school years. Rui graduated from the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR) in 2003, and obtained his Master in Constitutional Law from the Federal University of the State of Ceará in 2008, and has been practicing law in Fortaleza since 2003. Rui is a member of the International Bar Association and a professor of Business and Banking Law at the 7 de Setembro University. He has been a partner of Alexandre Rodrigues de Albuquerque Law Office since 2004, and works actively in the areas of business, international investment, immigration, and real estate. |
|
Michael Cobb Following a successful career in the computer industry, Mr. Cobb left West Virginia to pursue more pioneering opportunities in the emerging real estate markets of Central America. In 1996, he and his business partner formed the company Exotic Caye International (ECI) to provide loans to North Americans purchasing properties in Belize, Honduras, and throughout the region. As the need for capital outstripped the supply, the mortgage company developed into an international bank under the jurisdiction of Belize. It continues to provide mortgage services, but has expanded its services to encompass the full realm of financial products. As Mike and his business partner moved directly into real estate development, they created a holding company for several other ventures including a resort on Ambergris Caye, Belize. In August 2000, Exotic Caye purchased 3.5 miles of Pacific Beachfront property due west of Managua, Nicaragua. This master planned community hosts a combination of homes and condominium units, and boasts world class infrastructure. In February of 2006, the ECI Development group acquired 1,100 acres and almost 5 miles of coastline in Costa Rica, setting the stage for expansion into this popular market. Recently they merged their Belize property with a much larger parcel and have begun to develop 200 units on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Additionally, Mike Cobb has acted as a consultant to The Oxford Club and gives counsel to various real estate projects throughout Central America. |
|
Larry Grossman, CFP®, CIMA® Sovereign Pension Services is an IRA Administrator offering custodial services through an FDIC insured bank, as well as a full range of custom designed Pension Plans. Larry was one of, if not the first, financial advisors in the country to develop a compliant method for helping clients take IRAs and pension plans offshore for asset protection and greater investment diversification. Larry’s method has been reviewed and approved by some of the top ERISA attorneys in the country. Larry has earned the coveted designation of CIMA® (Certified Investment Management Analyst), awarded in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business, and he uses this unique training in his role as an advisor. Larry graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Eckerd College. He went on to acquire his Certified Financial Planning designation from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado. Larry is the author of The Ultimate Retirement Protection Plan, published by The Sovereign Society. In addition, he is a Fox News Contributor, and has written numerous articles on various topics related to asset protection and investing, which have appeared in The Sovereign Individual, The Oxford Club Communiqué, and International Living. |
Panel of Experts
Find out how our take on the latest real estate trends can give you the inside track on profitable real estate investing. To begin your FREE Pathfinder Alert subscription, simply enter your name and e-mail address below.
Tags
Chill Weekends