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Investment involves RISK. Your question is no different than asking: “If I buy Apple stock today do you think it will be worth more than what I paid for it at some point in time?”. Who the HECK knows! Do you have a past history of making these types of investments (buying hotels) or is this your first foray into this sort of venture? If you are selling your property in Canada to buy a hotel in Costa Rica (by the way—personally [b]I would not TOUCH Jaco[/b]) are you committing most or all of your capital to this one project or do you have other savings and/or investments elsewhere so that you are diversified?
The reason so many properties sit on the market for so long in Costa Rica is because markets in Costa Rica are illiquid and inefficient (unlike in many developed economies), therefore, that involves much greater risk so it is IMPERATIVE that you know what you are doing to avoid a bad investment decision.
Your comment: “[b]it’s going to worth a million or less in a couple of years.[/b][i][/i]” suggests a “[b]short-term[/b]” time horizon. If you are concerned about the value of that sort of investment after a “[b]couple years[/b]” then my suggestion is [b]DON’T[/b] do it. A “real estate” or “business” investment should be a “[b]long-term[/b]” investment unless there is such economic chaos occurring (as during the financial crisis of 2007/2008) that you get one of those rare opportunities to buy on the really…really…cheap. [b]THAT[/b] is not the case currently in Costa Rica.
When I find a spider in my bath tub I will take it outside and set it free. I think that means I’m Buddhist right? :roll::roll:
I will miss Tom Coburn. Not because of his political ideology but because I always enjoyed reading his reports on [b]GOVERNMENT WASTE[/b]. You read some of that stuff and it is [b]INCOMPREHENSIBLE[/b] how the American people continue to tolerate such garbage. And it’s not a Republican thing or a Democrat thing. It’s a [b]GOVERNMENT[/b] thing. This stuff happens all over the globe so I too am in the camp that believes government should be kept as small as possible. Unfortunately, I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to occur.
“[i]I spent the entire first 90 minutes with my eyes glued to the road, white knuckles on the steering wheel, sweaty palms and fear in my eyes. You see the road is basically a two lane suicide path,[/i]”<<——–This guy is a FRICKIN Lunatic. I've driven that road multiple times and yeah it's a bit windy and curvy in some spots but NOTHING like what this guy describes. Talk about Overreacting….this guy is indeed a big wuuus (or however it's spelled). Stay in your touristy Guanacaste and don't talk or write about areas you know very little about. Guanacaste and Cocles..Cahuita..Manzanillo are like 2 different countries the culture is that different. Guanacaste is Don Ho and the Caribbean is Bob Marley. Apples to Oranges.
I take these “ratings” with a grain of salt. After all, these same ratings agencies had AIG & American General with the equivalent of a “AAA” rating a week before they nearly collapsed before being bailed out. Same situation with Bear Stearns & Lehman before those 2 disappeared. Their bonds were very highly rated. The point is, as I said: Don’t take this stuff too seriously. Moody’s, S&P and Fitch have all had their share of critics.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]On [url=http://www.qcostarica.com/2014/09/14/costa-rica-a-country-without-an-army-harbours-half-a-million-guns/]todays [b]’qcostarica'[/b], [/url]an article saying that Costa Rica: a country with no army harbors 500,000 guns…even more than Colombia and El Salvador.[/quote]
Well that would make sense. If you don’t have an army to protect you, you should have some sort of plan B to defend yourself right?
Possibly a number of Expats that used to post regularly on here have gone home?
I too have noticed a “slowdown”.
There used to be a gentleman, David Murray (I believe I have that right) that used to post frequently and was wondering what happened to him since have not seen any posts for a long time.
[quote=”jreeves”]Both places are tourist “traps” so you’ll really need to decide if you want to live in the midst of it.[/quote]
LOL!!! HAWAII!! [b]THAT[/b] is a “Tourist Trap”.
[quote=”pdsnickles”] is so American corporations can continue to profit from oil.[/quote]
The reason corporations profit from oil is because the [b]DEMAND[/b] from consumers is there. All the American people need to do is get off their [b]big rounded behinds[/b] and [b]ride a bike[/b] or [b]walk more often[/b] and you begin to destroy demand. Once you do that you gradually eliminate any reliance on the Middle East and all the problems that region brings to the globe. I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to occur though.
[quote=”sweikert925″]No, I think I understand quite well your frequent comments directed against Israel and what motivates them.
I happen to agree that the current government of Israel is guilty of war crimes – as is the government of Palestine which is already a terrorist state and is being actively aided by other terrorist states such as Syria and Iran. If they are hauled in front of the World Court it would be fine with me – all of them, not just Israel.
Netanyahu belongs in a cell next to the other war criminals in the Hague. So do Arafat’s successors, the current leaders of Hamas and Fatah.
It is Palestinians – not Israelis – who [url=http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/48123709517/hamas-and-islamic-jihad-members-dance-in-the-streets-of] dance in the streets (literally) when innocent civilians are murdered [/url]. Some of them may have cheered if one of the airliners you recently flew on had been blown out of the sky by a terrorist bomb. When was the last time an Israeli terrorist blew up a bus or airliner full of innocent civilians? Why no condemnation of them sir?
I must repeat my earlier comment: I think those who belong to neither side of a conflict but consistently point out the brutality practiced by one side and are strangely silent about the even greater brutality of the other deserve to have their motives questioned.
[/quote]I agree. And when I hear opinionated [b]anti Semitics[/b] use terms like “[b]junta[/b]”…”[b]war criminals[/b]”…”[b]terrorists[/b]”..being applied to Israel I simply have to have a good laugh and wonder “what planet are these people living on”.
I don’t think any of these complainers have ever lived or can fully appreciate living under the rule of the likes of: [b]Stalin…Hitler…Mao…the Ayatollahs…Castro…Chavez….Idi Amin…Mobutu Sese Seko….Kim Jong….Assad….Mugabe…Pol Pot….only t o name a few[/b]
You want to talk about “war crimes” read a little bit about the above individuals (which is only a sampling of [b]REAL[/b] war criminals and then hop on a plane and spend a week in Israel and let me know whether you [b]REALLY[/b] feel the people there are living under a war criminal regime.
For the record: I am NOT Jewish…i [b]HAVE[/b] lived in Kinshasa, DRC during the Mobutu era. I [b]DID[/b] live in Rio, Brasil after the expulsion of Joao Goulart when the country was run by a military dictatorship and their “[b]death squads[/b]”.
I [b]DID[/b] live in Entebbe, Uganda when Idi Amin ruled the country. To my recollection—-[b]NONE[/b] of these characters passed out leaflets…called residents….or announced to the populace that fact that were getting ready to attack.
[quote=”squigglesrus”]Ok – so it’s been mentioned by several folks now that they “got out” of the market. So, I have to ask — where did you put your money and how well has it worked for you? I am one of those with the majority of my investments sitting in the US market. I’ve done very well since 2008, but I too believe that’s it’s a completely propped-up system that is due for a reset at some point soon. I’d rather not see everything disappear overnight!!
Thx![/quote]
You’re doing the right thing it would seem. Just try and remain “[b]diversified[/b]”. Although a “correction” may occur there are no indicators suggesting the end of Western Civilization. Doom and Gloomers have been around forever and continue to get it [b]WRONG[/b]. Christ: I still have Ravi Batra’s “[b]The Great Depression of 1990[/b]” and I’m STILL waiting for a “[b]Great Depression[/b]”.
[quote=”sweikert925″]Bogino and sprite, you’re both somewhat right. As bogino rightly says, investing in anything comes with risks and it is silly to pretend that there is a risk-free way to invest your assets. Sprite – yes, there is a chance that some large economic event could put any investments at severe risk. We only need to think back to 2008 to remind ourselves of that.
But to answer the question posed as the topic thread – No, I don’t think it’s time to exit the stock market, at least no more so than usual. There are disturbing trends that should give an investor pause – but then there always are. There are also trends that point to a positive future – just as there always are. How you balance those conflicting trends is always a subjective decision.
My 401K is invested in various stock funds and for 5 more years I will allow that to continue. What will happen over that 5 years? Who knows? But I do have some idea based on what has happened to my investments over the recent past. Here is a annual change to my 401K balance for the past 9 years based on investment returns:
2006 +3.7%
2007 +2.2%
2008 -6.9%
2009 +3.2%
2010 +5.1%
2011 -0.4%
2012 +2.9%
2013 +4.0%
2014 +3.6% (Jan-Jun)I would certainly hope that the average over the next 5 years is closer to 2010’s than to 2008’s, and that is the bet I am making by leaving my savings invested in the stock market. In 5 years I will be able to tell you for certain whether that was a good or a bad bet.
[/quote]Well Put.
