Hi all!
Me and my wife just closed on a lovely property in el salvador. We spent months looking at properties, getting a feel for the market and finally put in an offer on something.
Best part, we did the entire transaction without stepping foot in el salvador thanks to goodlife. They went to the property, did a zoom call to show us how it looked, and the lawyer did all the due diligence required .
We are now looking at buying a second property. We think its a great investment now....
So to give back to the community, I'm offering what I know. Have a question/concern? Ask away if I know I'll answer!
Very exciting! Can you post a web site and contact information for people you dealt with- brokers, lawyers, etc? Also, is this raw land, a home, a multi-family, commercial?
We used goodlife (https://goodlifeelsalvador.com) who recommended a lawyer. I won't post his name here though I highly recommend the one we had. I can share the lawyers name via pm if you wish. We bought half an acre of land with an amazing view. Comes with coffee trees but we aren't interested in the coffee yield.
Thanks for the information.
What motivated you buying the property?
Are you planning on moving to El Salvador permanently?
Permanently is a big word. We love the country, the people, the government. We do think there is a huge amount of of potential in thus very small country. Like the little engine that could , we think it can change the world
How likely is the practice of buying 2nd and 3rd and 4th properties as though they were money you can mortgage later when you need to spend a bit, to put El Salvadorians on the streets?
What are the zoning laws like out there in El Salvador? Are you only allowed to build single family homes or can you build condos and apartments next to a single family home? Can your home sell hot dogs out of the front of the building?
Are you going to lobby the government for zoning laws to increase property values in plots you have investments in
Are you an employee of goodlife or a government representative of El Salvador?
Did you buy the property using leverage? (debt)
Wow... I'm not associated with goodlife at all, I'm just saying I had a great experience with them. Not receiving any commission in any way.
As for your other questions;
We haven't built a home or had to deal with zoning. I understand however that you can build a home on agricultural land if it is properly registered and you use architect and get plans approved.
Putting el Salvadorians on the street: are you against buying real estate in other countries? Sorry I dont understand your question.
No plans to lobby government at all
Did not leverage
I'm not against buying property in other countries if you're living there or you build a condo on it or you know make a productive use of it, but I think of the causes of the housing crisis in the US and I'm just wondering if your incentives will result in a housing crisis in El Salvador.
Believe it or not, your answers so far actually put me at ease.
That's great to hear, though really our satisfaction with the purchase really dont depend on your approval :)
As a bitcoin community we do have to ensure we lead by example wherever we live. So we hope to contribute positively in our own way.
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Native Salvadoran here. There are laws on the books limiting how much property one person can own. But that's for natives, I don't know what it would be like for a foreigner.
To the op @hypnagog, I would say to keep a close eye on your place. My uncle lost property after people moved in there after he hadn't been there a while. People can gain rights from occupancy, so that's something to think about if you don't spend enough time there.
Good to know, thanks! We are paying someone to tend the lot. As for maximum, I was told it was 50+ hectares, so really not a limit that would be an issue for the average purchase.
Any predictions on how El Salvador will change in the short to long term?
Really think there's a ton of upside (I am biased I guess). Imagine a country that saw very little capital influx for 20+ years because of the violence and instability suddenly open up... A country with resources and a strong population with values and a good work ethic.... I think there's a ton of potential there
Where abouts in El Salvador? Near 'Bitcoin City', San Salvador or 'Bitcoin Beach'?
No actually! We found coastal areas too hot for our tastes. There are really magnificent regions in lush mountainous areas ... Picturesque little colonial towns... Its a very varied country and there's something there for many people.
Did you buy it using bitcoin? Do you know why the seller sold?
Lots of properties listed there if all types. No idea why seller sold, other than maybe wanting the cash?
I answered btc question above
did you pay in sats ?
Paid a lot of the fees in sats, even paid for lumch for the guy who drove to see the land for us with a quick transfer of sats :)
Does anyone in this comments section know how and where to identify sales prices for properties recently sold in El Salvador? Establishing comps is nearly impossible without that baseline knowledge, and the CNR doesn't seem to publish anything like that at all.
do you worry about entrenching an image of bitcoiners as colonists, coming to steal el salvador from the native people?
There was a post recently either on here or Reddit that said: “it’s impossible to buy property in El Salvador online. It’s a local market and everything online is a scam”
Are you 100% sure it’s legally yours ?
Yep. My name is on CNR for the property. That post was misleading and one of the reasons I made this post.
CNR is the local lands registry*
Willing to throw out ballpark figures for the purchase / services used for purchase? Thanks!
I think the service like goodlife might be 1-3% depending on the purchase price of the property, lawyers is maybe 1.5-2k. No transfer tax for land only, 2&3% for a house I think.
How old were you when you discovered bitcoin? and how was that first contact?
Not sure what that has to do with purchasing re in el salvador. I did say ask anything so fair enough, but not answering that
Exciting. Hope you continue to detail how it goes.
Next time I want to earn 70 cents in sats I'll provide an update 😁
70 cents today is 70 dollars tomorrow. Well not tomorrow but at some point.
Is it difficult or easy to immigrate to El Salvador and find a job in the Blockchain industry?🤔
Sadly I'm not in human resources ... There's a great podcast called live from bitcoin beach you might want to listen to
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Hi all! What' sup how is sh** going
I thought you bought it using Bitcoin! And also I thought it is a RWA, real world asset NFT! 😁
I guess ownership deeds are sort of like nfts?
what's the surf scene like there
Really good, surf everyday if you move between spots
Honestly have no idea since I dont do that, but lots of people were surfing there
If it’s an investment, why take the risk. Real estate is a shit coin with many risks, especially when buying overseas. Buy a house to live in and then just stack sats.
Fair point of view, but we see potential in el salvador, so its our own belief guiding us
Can you give the address of the property, would love to have a look at it.
Sure, 8899 WhywouldIGiveYouThat
Looooooooooooooooolz
Is this a joke? It reads like a joke.
"Hi, I bought land in a country I've never been too. Planning on doing it again. A company did everything for us. Ask me anything."
Not a joke? And you assumed we had never gone there. We went there previously and liked the country, then decided to buy once we were back home. We did do everything from overseas.
Congrats
Thanks! Hoping to see more bitcoiners there in the future
Do you speak spanish?
Aye, we do so that allowed us to speak directly with the sellers and Realtors. Finding a property yourself without Spanish would be hard and I'd recommend an intermediary.
How much??
Not going to divulge that sorry!
Yea, how much?! And if you give an amount in fiat, I will shun you for eternity.
Hah! I was expecting "did you buy it using btc" questions, didn't think people would start with "how much"!
Well.... did you?
You can buy using bitcoin there, however if the buyer wants usd you need to convert it at the lawyer level. Our lawyer was asking for quite a bit (1.5%!!!) To convert so we just did that locally and wired funds.
We did find another property where the seller accepted btc however, so it is possible. As btc adoption grows hopefully this becomes more commonplace.
Does the conversion to USD require a local bank account and is it easy to get one? Converting to USD in your country of origin is unfavorable due to CGT, so ideally it would be avoided.
Lawyer could have done it for me. But like I said at high cost
do you plan to spend much time in el salvador?
We've gone there twice in 2 months, and plan on spending our holidays there for now
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Missed the question , shame! Post it back no question is a bad question!