| November 17, 2013 | | | | | | | |  | | | | Trading Paper | | | | | | | | | | The Daily Reckoning's Sunday Investment Review |
Dear Daily Reckoning Reader,
In today's episode, Ronan McMahon reviews four international real estate investment opportunities. If you think the such investments are out of reach for you, think again. Not only is each one less expensive than you might've guessed…but they're also they types of places celebrities and the very wealthy pay through the nose for. Best of all, they're a practical application of the ideas we write about in these pages. Namely, protecting and growing your wealth by trading in your paper dollars for real wealth that appreciates over time.
Read on below… But first, please be sure to spend a moment looking at each of our experts ideas. They've spent hours researching them so you don't have to. Each suggests little-known investment opportunities and ways to live well:
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 One Retirement Strategy You Can Use Has the White House Completely Terrified
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 How to Go From $250 to $23,750 in just 24 Hours...and Retire in Just 30 Days
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By Mike Leahy
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Enjoy your Sunday,
Peter Coyne
Editor, the Daily Reckoning
| | | The Sunday Investment Review Presents…
| | | | Under-the-Radar Trophy Properties | | | | by Ronan McMahon |
You've heard the economy is slow. You can see it for yourself just walking down main street. But one place you won't find any sign of it is among the pages of luxury real estate listings. Floods of cheap money are working their way into the luxury real estate market at home and in world cities like London, Melbourne, Hong Kong and New York.
Trophy homes are in demand, sought after by Russian oligarchs, the hedge-fund set, and Chinese businessmen. These are the guys who'll spend the $190 million asked for a 50-acre estate with a 12-bedroom mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Or $5 million for a 1,770-square-foot oceanfront condo in Santa Barbara, California. But there are stunning places where you can buy this luxury for a lot less.
For starters, throughout the Emerald Isle you'll find grand old houses of great architectural and aesthetic value: fine country piles and castles dating back to Norman, Georgian, and Victorian times.
And right now you could own one of these heritage properties for less than the price of a Manhattan studio. Plus, you can find them in some of Ireland's most scenic places. Even close to her stunning west coastline, in the counties of Clare and Galway.
You'll find Carnelly House near Ennis, the main town in County Clare. Built around 1750 of pink brick, it comes with 74 acres of rolling countryside. You enter through impressive stone gates passing a refurbished gate lodge. From the long avenue you have views over parkland dotted with mature trees.
The house is over 7,000 square feet and rich with period features, including cornicing in its grand rooms. There is a walled courtyard and garden in need of renovation. And right on your doorstep you have all the classic country pursuits of a gentleman. Plus, world-class golf is nearby at Lahinch and Doonbeg.
You can fly straight from six North American airports to this region's international airport at Shannon.
Plans were in place for Carnelly House to be developed as a care center along with some real estate development. These plans went south with Ireland's property market. Something you'll find is typical of the best deals. Large estates and country homes were slated for development that failed to materialize. Now the owners are mortgaged to the hilt and their lender wants something back.
As I write—the owner of Carnelly House is getting ready to auction this grand home and lands with a reserve price of €550,000 ($742,626).
But homes like this fall into a no-man's land. There's virtually no market locally. But the price isn't high enough for the major international brokers to take an interest. So marketing is limited to an inactive local market. These heritage homes just never make the oligarchs' radar. Carnelly House may or may not sell at auction. These things are difficult to predict these days. I've seen homes like this fail to sell at auction and sell later for less than the reserve. If two people are interested, it could sell for more. That's just the auction lottery. And in a market with so few buyers, we can win big (bag a killer deal) or walk away disappointed but ready to fight another day. One thing's for sure: The way things are in Ireland, there will be another day.
Carnelly House needs work. It's not lock-and-leave. For something more manageable—and cheaper—look north to County Galway and the Connemara region. Here you'll find Ballyconeely Lodge. Built in the mid-1800s, it has beach views. Though it's described as a lodge, it's a spacious six-bedroom property.
It sits on 2.5 acres at the heart of Ireland's most dramatic landscape. The peaks, salmon fishing, and glittering lakes of the Connemara National Park are next door. You're near the town of Clifden and less than an hour from Galway City.
The property does need some attention to give it a luxurious finish, but you can get it cheap, with a list price of €395,000 ($533,290). I suggest an offer of €320,000 ($431,990) and negotiating from there. For details, see: Ganlywaters.ie.
Or, if you're looking for something a bit warmer, how about the California coast at a fraction of the price? Nicaragua's southern shoreline is the nicest stretch of Pacific coast I know. And it also happens to be an amazing bargain, with luxury here costing you just one-fifteenth of Malibu prices.
You can buy a lot here perched on a cliff top with jaw-dropping views and access to sandy beaches. Then build your luxury property on it for $700,000, all in.
Here you are getting in early…like those who first bought up beachfront plots along California's coast early last century. Here, though, luxurious home comforts are already in place.
The magazine Forbes described the development I'm talking about as "simply stunning." Yet the jet set who read Forbes haven't caught on. They are too busy keeping up with the Joneses and chasing trophy assets to recognize true intrinsic value.
What you get for your money is 4,000 square feet, an infinity pool, a humidor for your cigars, walk-in wine cellar…pretty much all the bells and whistles you could imagine. You can use local artisans to make furniture onsite. Have granite and marble shipped in from overseas.
This doesn't need to be a construction nightmare. A skilled U.S. construction team is onsite and can manage each step for you.
For what you'll pay here for this luxury oceanfront home, you couldn't touch an oceanfront condo with a desirable address in California. You'd barely get a view. You'll need $1.5 million to buy a 1,300-squarefoot condo in Santa Monica. A luxury oceanfront condo of 1,770 square feet will set you back $5 million in Santa Barbara.
But for much less here in Rancho Santana, you are perched out on the oceanfront—and in a much more spacious property. All you see in front of you is ocean. And all around is a very special community. There are five beaches, 2,700 acres, and more than two miles of coast. It feels off-the-beaten-track and ruggedly ranch-like. Yet it comes with five-star luxuries and amenities.
You get the feeling of open space that is long since gone from California's coast. Here there are only 390 lots spread out over those 2,700 acres and two miles of Pacific beach and rocky shoreline frontage.
Each of the five beaches has its own unique character and appeal. Some have flat waters for swimming or waves for surfing. The sands range in color from tan to pink.
You can play tennis, get a massage in the spa, or just kick back in the clubhouse.
Not so long ago California's Pacific coast was frontier country. Today, Nicaragua's south Pacific coast is one of the world's last great frontiers. Certainly it's the last great frontier so close to the U.S. Flight time from Miami to the capital, Managua, is two-and-a-quarter hours; from Houston the journey is two-and-three-quarter hours. You get frontier values here, but pop open your laptop or cell phone and bingo…you are connected to the world.
For more details, see here. (Note: International Living's parent company, Agora, is invested in Rancho Santana.)
If you're looking for something a little closer to home and lower-cost than Hawaii, we suggest Casa de Campo. It's the grande dame of luxurious, high-amenity Caribbean communities. A luxurious resort and community of 7,000 acres close to La Romana, in the Dominican Republic, it's home to a 400-berth marina and port area modeled on Portofino, Italy.
You'll find mega yachts, a charming square, and side streets with well-stocked boutiques. There's even a recreated Italian hilltop village called Altos de Chavón dramatically perched above the Chavón River. The white-powder sand of the beach here is protected by a natural reef, the turquoise waters perfect for swimming. Or you could take a cabana where the beach meets palm trees and have lunch or sunset cocktails with friends. You'll get your own waiter. And each cabana can hold up to 12 for dinner.
Folks travel around the resort by golf cart. I'm guessing that, dotted across the resort, there must be 20 or more restaurants and cafés. Each one is in keeping with the theme of the area.
Legendary golf course designer Pete Dye has had a home here since the early '70s, when he led 300 laborers into the jungle to carve the Diente del Perro (Teeth of the Dog). Opened in 1971, it's consistently rated in the top 100 courses on earth…frequently in the top 50. This Dye classic weaves along the rocky coast and through the jungle and today there are four more courses here.
This is the finest community I have visited. And, for sure, the price tag certainly isn't pocket change. You'll pay $750,000 for one of the stunning penthouse condos or townhomes of close to 4,000 square feet. But, when you look around for comparisons, the value shows. A similar-sized townhome with ocean views in a high-end golf community in Hawaii, for instance, will cost you $3.8 million.
And not only is it lower cost, the luxurious Casa de Campo is easy to get to. You can fly to the Dominican Republic from New York in just three-and-a-half hours. Santo Domingo's international airport is less than 90 minutes away. The La Romana airport is only 20 minutes away. For more information, see here.
Regards,
Ronan McMahon
for The Daily Reckoning
[Ed. Note: Ronan McMahon writes regularly for International Living, where this article appears this month. Bill Bonner created International Living more than three decades ago. And today our colleagues there are still showing readers how to live better for less and invest for profit outside the States, outside the dollar, in destinations around the world that are cheaper, healthier, safer, freer. For more details and a special report, go here.]
| | | | | | |  Ronan McMahon has been an active real estate investor since his early twenties. He is currently the Executive Director of Pathfinder Ltd. and writes International Living's Real Estate Trend Alert. | | | | | | | BE SURE TO ADD dr@dailyreckoning.com to your address book.
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