Discover Serenity
This could be your new backyard.Turbulence
Unlike other agencies or developers, we won’t sugarcoat recent developments in Nicaragua — see for yourself . Serenity will continue to market to investors, other affluent buyers, future retirees and others with a 5-year to 10-year time horizon who can tolerate the country’s currently elevated political risk and the possibility of investment losses. It’s our hope that the situation in Nicaragua will one day improve and that the country’s potential will be realized.
Announcing Serenity Business Services
We’re proud to announce a new member of the Serenity family, Serenity Business Services: a provider of design, desktop publishing and business research, writing & editing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America.
The Serenity Group has never been about just real estate. From Day 1, it’s been about helping people get closer to finding their own definition of Serenity in a world gone mad, as you can see from our blog. Our goal is to give more people more options in finding new and fulfilling lifestyles and becoming more independent. We’re about providing “one stop” solutions to make it easier to find and settle in a new life abroad, start a new small business or both.
Discover Serenity.
Welcome… again.
We’ve moved… to an elegant new blog home. Same content, only prettier. We’ll continue to keep you updated on real estate and other developments across Nicaragua, Central America and beyond.
Government Pushing Hard to Woo U.S. retirees
Nicaragua's tourism minister is going all out to attract U.S. retirees with an offer many may find hard to refuse. He's headed for a major AARP convention:
Check out our last few posts. We've been reporting for some time that something is clearly going on at the upper echelons of the government. The worldwide slump is encouraging Nicaragua to make itself a bigger draw to tourists and retirees.
We'll be watching closely for more developments on this front — and they're sure to come.
Nicaragua makes it even easier to retire here
Nicaragua already boasts some of the best retirement and investor incentives in Central America. The global economic crisis is encouraging it to get even more generous.
The government recently passed a law making beachfront property ownership much more secure. Now comes word that Nicaragua's tourism agency has updated residency laws to make it even easier for foreigners to retire and establish residency here:
• The tax exemption will be increased to $25,000.00 for cars (from $10,000), and the
car can be changed every 4 years (instead of 5
years).
• The tax exemption increases to $ 20,000 for household
goods (from $10,000).
• The age to apply will be 45, but if the applicant proves stable income there's no minimum.
• The law will be clear in order to accept the Naturalization
Certificate instead of the Birth Certificate, i.e.: an American citizen
who was born in Hong Kong or any other country will be able to submit
his/her Naturalization Certificate.
• There will be an exemption from sales taxes on car rentals and home construction materials up to the first $50,000.
New Costal Law Brings Peace of Mind and Big Boost to Nicaraguan Beachfront
Nicaragua has passed a new coastal law that brings a new level of clarity, security and stability to owning real estate here that will delight many beachfront property owners — and those who'd like to be beachfront property owners. Click this link for more details on how serenity has been brought to the Nicaraguan beachfront property market. Even more details here, including the "nitty-gritty," from development guru Raul Calvet and reaction from key players. This is very good news for Nicaragua and those interested in investing here. It reinforces a basic point we've made before: Nicaragua has every interest in promoting investment here and promoting itself as a destination for foreign investment.
Downsize your budget without downsizing your life
USA Today reports yet another recession survival story about Americans coping with the severe economic slump.
But you don't have to become a hermit, or live like the Unabomber, to dramatically cut your living costs. You don't have to downsize your life to downsize your budget.
When buying their own house (or plantation) in Nicaragua, most couples here find they can live a comfortable middle-class life here for around $18,000 to $24,000 a year (including maid service and weekly trips to the movies, high-quality health care, restaurants and the mall). With a budget of $36,000 a year — that's a modest Social Security check — you're living in luxury (including live-in maid service).
Or you can choose to live without those things and live as simply as the Wojtowicz family and save even more — a lot more. And it's a lot easier to grow crop down here than in Michigan…
It's well past time to Discover Serenity.
“Recession gardens” sprout in the U.S….why not buy a plantation?
CNN reports that "recession gardens" are sprouting across the U.S. as people try to reduce their food costs by planting fruits and vegetables in their own backyards. Why grow a "recession garden" when you can have a plantation? If you really want to reduce your living costs — not just food costs but your entire cost of living — it's much easier to do that here than in the U.S.
For one thing, land is generally cheaper down here. Also, in areas with perfect 'Goldilocks' climates and rich soil like Matagalpa and Jinotega, the land is incredibly fertile and varied in the fruits and vegetables it can produce, everything from oranges, mangoes and pineapples to avocados, onions and potatoes. The joke around here is, drop anything into the ground and it'll blossom. Also, labor — including caretakers and gardeners — is very affordable, to put it mildly.
Living down here, you get all that that along with many of the creature comforts you're used to back home, including high-speed internet, satellite TV, U.S.-style movie theaters and malls not that far away and, increasingly, well paved roads.
Discover a new way of life.
Discover Serenity.
Update on Coastal Law
From the Facebook page of top development consultant Raul Calvet (also see Calvet Report):
This morning we met with the President of the President of the Legislative Municipal Commission to discuss the last issues of the long awaited Coastal Law of Nicaragua.
After a previous discussion the night before, we are still arguing about the benefits of keeping the actual setback in 30 meters from the high tide as it is now. Calvet has always defended the position that Nicaragua needs to reinforce its credibility and that passing a law that changes the rules at this point will not help the tourism and real estate industry.
Calvet’s position is also the firm opinion of all the developers and investors working in the country. Legislators opposing to the 30 meter setback are pushing for a 50 meters setback like in Costa Rica, expanding the public area of beach areas.
Calvet and the investors argue that there are too many projects being developed at this moment using the 30 meter setback as a starting point for their designs and changing the ruling will cause more problems than benefits.
It seems that advocates of the 50meters are more motivated by populist interests than any technical or even practical reason.
The fight for the Coastal Law has been going for the past four years; and it seems that now it is close to an end with the approval of the law in April or June.
Hopefully the law will be a good one. Calvet, ANID, Canatur and many other investors have been working together for all these years with the objective of passing a law that improve Nicaragua’s investment environment and that will help the coastal communities as well.
New 40MW wind farm to start operations in January
Latin America Herald Tribune reports:
MANAGUA — The first wind farm for producing 40 megawatts of electricity, built at a cost of $95 million in southern Nicaragua, will start operations on Jan. 4, an executive of Amayo, the company that owns the project, announced Saturday.
The local press reported Saturday that 18 of the 19 wind turbines 100 meters (328 feet) tall of the facility are already completely installed in the province of Rivas, 128 kilometers (80 miles) south of Managua, according to Amayo manager Sean Porter.
[...]
Each of these wind turbines produces 2.1 megawatts, Porter said, adding that the 40 megawatts that they will produce together will be connected to the national grid on Jan. 4, and will provide service for 325,000 homes that consume an average of 150 kilowatts per month.
According to Porter, the cost of generating electricity with wind is 8.6 cents of a dollar per kilowatt, while with petroleum derivatives it is 18 cents.
This news is just the latest sign of things to come as Nicaragua, along with much of the rest of the world, expands its use of alternative energy and reduces its dependence on foreign oil.
More power to you, Nicaragua.
