Reason #1: Miles of Tropical Coastline

Belize is a tiny country, it only has a population of about 300,000 total people but it is located on a pristine stretch of Caribbean coastline. There are over two hundred and forty miles of tropical coastline in Belize, making plenty of beachfront properties available in the second tiniest Latin American country.

#2: The World’s Second Longest Barrier Reef

The 175 mile long barrier reef that lies off the coast of Belize is the second longest in the world, second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The corals and abundant marine life on the reef makes the coast of Belize one of the best, if not the best, place in North America for diving and snorkeling.

#3: The National Language is English

Unique among Latin American countries, which were all either settled by Spain or Portugal, Belize was settled by the English. It was actually known as British Honduras until the 1960s and received its independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. It’s long history with England has left many things in Belize that expats from the U.S. or U.K. will love, including the ability to converse and fit in better with locals who speak your own language.

San Pedro, Belize

#4: Currency Stability

Currently, the Belize dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar at two Belize Dollars to one US Dollar and US currency is frequently accepted across the country. Barring an Argentine-style de-pegging, there are no tricky conversions involved and your money will be easily exchangeable from one currency to the next. You can worry much less about dramatic currency adjustments if you’re from the U.S. as well because the two currencies float together.

#5: Taxes

The tax system that is in place in Belize is one of the most friendly to foreigners of all governments in Latin America and possibly the world. Belize places no taxes on foreign income and doesn’t have capital gains taxes, corporate taxes, or inheritance taxes. In fact, if you are moving to Belize, you can take many of your goods to the country tax-free as well. You worked hard for your money, why should you allow someone else to take a cut just for living in a certain area?

#6: Political Stability

Belize’s political system is remarkably stable compared to most other Latin American countries. There is no history of military coups or violent government overthrows. The system is also modeled after the British common law system that the U.S. political system is also loosely based on. The government also has a strong tradition of protecting property rights as well, making your investment all the more safe.

#7: Affordability

Belize is one of the most affordable places to own beach front property in the world. Unlike in other countries like Costa Rica, where property values have shot up and upper scale gated communities are the rage, Belize has remained relatively undiscovered. While it isn’t quite as cheap as Nicaragua real estate, it still offers a great value.  When compared with other Caribbean countries like Bermuda, you can expect to pay about one-eighth the price for land.

#8: Verdant Forests and Mountains

If you are going to be in a country for a long time, odds are that you don’t just want to be laying around on the beach all day. Luckily for you, Belize is not just about the coastline. There is a large interior area to explore filled with unspoiled mountains and tropical forests filled with wildlife.

If you’re looking for an affordable beachfront home in an exotic, beautiful locale, you would be hard pressed to find somewhere much better than Belize. The language, currency, and tax laws make the move incredibly easy, Belize property is cheap compared to other places in the U.S. and Caribbean and you have access to numerous different water sports and eco tourism activities. If all this sounds interesting, start researching some options for real estate today.

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There are over 7,000 islands to choose from in this country, but only about 2,000 of those islands are inhabited. The islands are split into three major groups, Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas. Luzon is the northernmost set of the islands, and contains the largest island, which is home to the capital of Manila. Visayas contains the middle group of islands, and Mindanao is the southernmost group of islands. With so many islands in such an idyllic location, beachfront property is not hard to come by. However, there are several obstructions to owning property in the Philippines.

Cebu, Philippines

First, despite the fact that there are many locations for eco-tourism, diving, and other water sports, not to mention great weather, the Philippines has received a lot of bad press. It’s in the middle of a volcanic fault line known as the “Ring of Fire” making volcanic eruptions in certain areas a relatively common affair. Depending on what islands you’re on, there are also typhoons that hit the islands, sometimes in devastating form. If you can deal with everything Mother Nature throws at you, the Philippines also have their share of political troubles. Since being colonized by the Spanish, the country has been predominantly Catholic, but there is a small Muslim majority on some of the islands that stirs up trouble from time to time. Perhaps the most important flaw holding people back from owning land in the Philippines is the corruption present in the government. Despite recent efforts to tackle this, the Philippines is consistently one of the worst countries in the world for corruption, which will limit your ability to own the land, and also to sell or rent it.

If you decide that even with these troubles, owning beachfront property in the Philippines is worth it, there’s another obstacle in your way. Foreigners are not permitted to privately own land in the Philippines. Unfortunately, there is no way for you to directly own any Filipino beachfront property. What foreigners can do is control up to 40% of the equity in a domestic company that owns land. These companies are generally joint venture development projects that are run by Filipino individuals and build condos and other apartment blocks. This is because the lease holding is much easier and more straightforward for the condos. Instead of just owning 40% of a piece of land, leaving you out maneuvered if your Filipino business partner decides to pull a fast one, Foreigners are allowed to own individual condos in a complex, provided that they don’t own more than 40% of the total amount of units.

The Philippines is a great area with some of the beast beaches in the world. Unfortunately, the country also has many problems it needs to tackle. Whiles these issues don’t make the country completely unstable, serious issues like corruption make owning property a risk because your rights to it may be violated by the highest bidder to a certain government official. On top of this, foreigners can not directly own land in the country making it more difficult to acquire beachfront properties. With all this taken into account, while the Philippines has a great atmosphere, great people, and great beaches, it may not be worth investing your hard earned money into the country and instead keeping it as a vacation destination, especially when there are so many other great places to own land in the world.

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