The Real Estate Property Site

Real estate or immovable property is a legal term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate (immovable property) is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty). However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from real property, referring to ownership rights over real estate.

With the development of private property ownership, real estate has become a major area of business. Purchasing real estate requires a significant investment, and each parcel of land has unique characteristics, so the real estate industry has evolved into several distinct fields. Specialists are often called on to valuate real estate and facilitate transactions. Some kinds of real estate businesses include:

• Appraisal - Professional valuation services
• Brokerages - Assisting buyers and sellers in transactions
• Development - Improving land for use by adding or replacing buildings
• Property management - Managing a property for its owner(s)
• Real Estate Marketing - Managing the sales side of the property business
• Relocation services - Relocating people or business to a different country 

Within each field, a business may specialize in a particular type of real estate, such as residential, commercial, or industrial property. In addition, almost all construction business effectively has a connection to real estate.

According to The Economist, “developed economies’” assets at the end of 2002 was

• Residential property: $48 trillion
• Commercial property: $14 trillion
• Equities: $20 trillion
• Government bonds: $20 trillion
• Corporate bonds: $13 trillion
• Total: $115 trillion

That makes real estate assets 54% and financial assets 46% of total stocks, bonds, and real estate assets. Assets not counted here are bank deposits, insurance “reserve” assets, and human assets; also it is not clear if all debt and equity investments are counted in the categories equities and bonds.

Mortgages in real estate
In recent years, many economists have recognized that the lack of effective real estate laws can be a significant barrier to investment in many developing countries. In most societies, rich or poor, a significant fraction of the total wealth is in the form of land and buildings. In most advanced economies, the main source of capital used by individuals and small companies to purchase and improve land and buildings is mortgage loans –bank loans for which the real property itself constitutes collateral. Banks are willing to make such loans at favorable rates in large part because, if the borrower does not make payments, the lender can foreclose by filing a court action that lets them take back the property and sell it to get their money back. But in many developing countries there is no effective means by which a lender could foreclose, so the mortgage loan industry, as such, either does not exist at all or is only available to members of privileged social classes.

Real estate in Mexico and Central America
Real estate in Mexico and Central America is not the same in many ways as it is in the United States. Some similarities are that there are legal hoops to jump through and people you need to pay to help you do this (usually lawyers and real estate agents), there will be taxes (less than in the United States), there are papers to check out to make sure the owner really owns the property (again, lawyers can help you with the title search), and if you do it right, there will be a neutral party to hold the title and the money and make the switch. Also similar to the United States, there are plenty of scams.

Prices are much cheaper than most areas of the U.S., but not all areas, and in many places the prices of houses and lots are the same as in the U.S. (for example Mexico City). U.S. banks have started giving home loans for Mexico, but so far not in other countries in Central America.

Different from the United States, each country has rules about what foreigners can buy and where. In Mexico, for example, foreigners cannot buy land or houses within 50 km of the coast or 100km from a border, but in Honduras they can buy right on the beach. In addition to these rules, there are different types of property with special rules–for example ejidos, or communally held farm property that cannot be sold to anyone (which doesn’t mean that people don’t offer it for sale).

Websites selling Mexican and Central American real estate abound, but some are scams. Careful research can help to avoid scams. (source: Wikipedia)