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Panama City Developing Quality Residential Infrastructure in Panama Jaime Figueroa Navarro Recent surveys indicate that as many as 80% of investors and retirees visiting Panama do not purchase real estate holdings.This alarming figure led us to perform our own survey, based on direct communication with members of this selected group, and we wanted to share our findings with you. Traditionally, sales in Panama, specially outside of Panama City, have consisted mostly of lots.There was no added-value included and even basic perks such as electricity, water and sewage service were not available. Investors purchased large tracts of land and proceeded to parcel the area in lots.There was no interest in providing quality access roads.The process consisted simply of land purchase and sales. For the increasing number of visitors that have selected Panama as their second-home, retirement or investment center, it is very difficult to just purchase the land. First of all, there is the problem related to “derechos posesorios” (possession rights) whereby many investors have been swindled.Derechos Posesorios provide the owner with the right to the land, but not the title.Thus, many potential buyers stay away from purchases as they’re not sure if they have property rights. Then there is the problem with construction on the land.The number of documents required by the local bureaucracies and the unending problems faced by amateur builders in Panama discourage most retirees and investors from going this route.Never mind the fact that most of our competition in Costa Rica, Mexico and Dominican Republic offer a variety of homes already built and ready to move in. In order to change this rather primitive way of exchanging real estate, we propose that the government of Panama offer added incentives and fiscal benefits to those developers that offer quality selections and total value-added solutions to their overseas customers. In order to sell a development, there must be an infrastructure beyond solely homes that will attract the potential buyers.For example, golf courses, shops and health centers, including spas, restaurants,marinas, and other attractions. If we examine the “everything included” list of a selected Florida builder, we can see that all the homes in their communities include the following items:
Exterior Features- Tumbled brick paver drives, walkways and patios - Decorator coach lights on front, side and rear - Garage door openers on double garage doors - Ceiling fans on covered patio - Professionally designed tropical landscaping
Interior Features- 16” designer tiles in choice of fifteen colors - Decorative marble inlay for the formal foyer area - Washer and dryer - Wall cabinets in laundry room - Built-in laundry sink in laundry room - Raised panel 8’ interior doors with designer level hardware - Colonial wood door trim and oversized baseboards - Rounded wall corners - Mirrored closet doors in master suite - Two-zone high efficiency air conditioning - Tray or coffered ceilings in foyer, dining room and master bedroom - Side yard door from garage - 8’ sliding glass doors - Textured walls and ceilings - Acoustic concrete sub-flooring on all 2-story homes - Fully inspected structural components by an independent certified engineering firm - Custom wood stair railing pickets on all 2-story homes - Weiser Brilliance Lifetime Anti-Tarnish finish hardware - Ceiling fans in family room and all bedrooms - Crown molding in foyer, dining room and all bedrooms - Pre-wired for surround sound in family room
HomeLearningCenter- Custom-made computer workstation with glass cabinet doors
Luxury Kitchen Features- 25 cu. ft. GE side by side refrigerator with ice and water in the door - Built-in GE double oven - Built-in GE microwave - Drop-in GE smooth surface radiant cook top - GE pot scrubber multi-cycle dishwasher - Designer custom-made cabinets including 42” upper cabinets - Corian solid surface countertops - Kohler kitchen sinks and Moen one-touch faucet - Built-in cabinet around refrigerator - Tilt-out sponge tray - Bottom cabinet rollout trays - Convenient work area with glass doors over custom-made built-in desk - Built-in appliance garage - Built-in butcher block and carving drawer - Built-in cutlery divider - Kitchen cabinet crown molding thorough - Recessed under cabinet lighting - Recessed accent lighting - Vegetable sink with Kohler faucet - Soap dispenser and water filter at sink
Luxury Bath Features- Custom-made designer cabinets - European style cultured marble tops with bullnose edging - Oversized tile - Moen Monticello faucets - Fans in every bathroom with a separate switch - Recessed lighting over all vanity sinks - Kohler elongated water closets
Luxury Master Bath Features- Custom-made designer cabinets - Cultured marble Roman tub - Imported Italian designer tile - Custom shower enclosure - Moen Monticello faucets - European-style bullnose cultured marble tops - Moen Monticello dual shower heads - Glass block - 36” raised cabinet in his master bathroom - Kohler bidet - Recessed lighting over vanities - Kohler elongated water closet
The builder lists the retail value of each of the aforementioned items.It all adds to a value of more than $60,000. If we include these, or similar items, to every quality home we offer in Panama, we will have a significant change in the purchase ratio.Retirees are not interested in purchasing refrigerators at RAENCO or RODELAG.They want and are willing to pay for the added value of a complete offering. There are 75 million Americans retiring in the next decade.By offering homes with everything included, even at a higher price, we will succeed in attracting the higher tier customers we want to bring to Panama, and Panama as a retirement destination will become even more alluring. |
