Nestled in the hills of Majagual on the West Bank of the Panama Canal, seperated by the hustle and bustle of downtown Panama City by less than 30 minutes, lies the exclusive residential development with breathtaking views which include the Pacific Ocean, and Islands of the Las Perlas Archipelago (Pearl Islands) as well as ships waiting to transit the Panama Canal.

Each of the three bedroom, single family homes has been customed designed to take full advantage of the gorgeous ocean views, including floor to ceiling windows and lots of terrace and patio areas. The ground level of the homes will consist of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den, living room, dining room with open kitchen, and maids quarters with private bathroom. The 2nd level is a roof top terrace from which to further enjoy the enchanting vistas.

The single family homes will sit on terraced lots which are approximately 600 - 650 m2 (approximately 6500 - 7000 square feet in size and have approximately 250 - 300 m2 (6000 - 6500 square feet) of interior construction area. The 8 home community will be gated, and have an automated gate system for easy entrance with vehicle and a social area with swimming pool, deck and additional parking for guests.

Majagual is as convenient as it is scenic There are 2 forms of broadband internet are availble in the area as well as Direct TV, and within 15 minutes of Majagual you can find a 5 star resort, fine dining, a shopping malls movie theater, domestic airport and medical and vet clinics.

The developers, IDC Panama have built over 2000 homes in the United States and now has several residential projects underway in the Republic of Panama, including luxury homes on the Championship Golf Course of the Cornado Resort, and over 20 homes with Pacific Ocean and Panama Canal Views less than 30 minutes from downtown Panama. The founders of IDC Panama have been building homes in the United States since 1983 and have become Panama's premier single family home builder in Majagual, Coronado and Gorgona.

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Majagual is located in area of Panama West, just 20-30 minutes from Panama City.

Pros:

• The real estate in this area of Panama offers beautiful ocean views and beach frontage within a distance of the city that can be commuted daily. The drive ranges from about 20-30 minutes to downtown Panama, and only 10-15 minutes to get to Balboa, Panama which has just about everything one could need or want for everyday living including shopping malls, domestic airport, full scale grocery stores, farmacies, video rentals, vet and medical clinics, and post offices.
• Former US Howard Airforce Base which is located just in front of the area of Majagual, and former Rodman Naval Station recently received approved legistlation to become a free trade zone for the Pacific
• The real estate located along the West Bank of the Panama Canal, was not available for any type of development until the Panama Canal was turned over to Panama in the year 2000.  Given the geography and current growth of Panama City, along with the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Panama Canal, and the proximity of the real estate along the West Bank of the Panama Canal to Panama City,  it is inevitable that this area will soon prove its worth as a real estate investment.
• The first of the developments to go up along this precious strip of real estate, is a Resort area on the road to Majagual, about 5 minutes from the actual area of Majagual. The resort is was built by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world's largest and most global hotel company, and Empresas Bern, Panama's largest hotel and tour group operator.

Cons:

• The road to Majagual though paved and fairly well maintained, does have the occasional pothole. Also, it is a curvy road and unlit during the night.
• To get to Majagual you must drive through the fishing village of Veracruz.  Like most fishing villages Veracruz is comprised of quaint, simple homes.

By José de Córdoba - The Wall Street Journal

PANAMA CITY, Panama -- When Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega gets back to this lush tropical city after a 17-year absence, the former Panamanian strongman will scarcely recognize his old haunts. I barely did.

The news that Mr. Noriega plans to come back to Panama in September after spending nearly two decades in a U.S. prison since being deposed in a 1989 invasion, is the talk of the town. His return has momentarily eclipsed the other omnipresent subject of conversation here -- the real-estate boom fueled in part by American retirees, which has turned this once laid-back city, known as a refuge for spies, arms dealers and out-of-work dictators, into an enormous building site with a Manhattan-like skyline in the making.

Good times are expected to keep rolling: The country's famous canal is about to get a multibillion-dollar makeover, and a chunk of its down-and-out colonial city center is getting a facelift.

Landing here recently for the first time in many years, I recalled Mr. Noriega's last day in Panama, which I covered for The Wall Street Journal. That day, I spent hours waiting for Mr. Noriega to come out of the Vatican embassy, where he had taken refuge from U.S. troops. Days earlier, soldiers had blared ear-splitting rock from sunup to sunset to drive Mr. Noriega out of his refuge, but to no avail. I still remember some of the rather pointed musical jabs -- Jimi Hendrix's electrifying version of "The Star Spangled Banner" and Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock."

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By Matt Landau - The Panama Report

I would be lying if I told you that in Panama, I fully immerse myself in the culture the way they recommend you do in study abroad info sessions. Unlike those who move fulltime into remote Indian villages and drink solely from the petrified shells of the coconut, I believe that my status in Panama, as well as that of many expats I hang out with, still and may forever fall under the category of tourist.

Because I do in fact enjoy socializing with expatriates such as myself, I have become, in a way, a tourist savant. My neighborhood plays home to several large and glitzy hotels frequented by travelers the world over. Large busses line up outside these hotels, loading and unloading what I can only describe as sightseeing cattle—hundreds and hundreds of similarly-pale individuals who, like mosquitoes, appear to be drawn to bright lights and sweet beverages. Seeing these groups day after day—in restaurants, around offices, at the bar—I have learned to make a number of subtle distinctions that I once quite naively overlooked.

Americans are unmistakable. We’re usually the fattest of the whole bunch and enjoy being loud enough so that in case you did not see our hefty guts, you will most certainly hear them. We generally make little effort to learn the language past the words “hola”, “gracias”, and “cerveza” and when do make the effort to put together phrases, they usually leak out of our mouths sounding butchered and maimed, like they’ve been passed through a hand-powered meat grinder. We bathe in the tubs of excess: our burgers stacked extra high, our digital binoculars donned with super zoom.

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By Robert Phillips - Real Estate Investing123

Several real-life millionaires are profiled in the book, "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor," by Gary Keller. Collectively they reveal several ways to become a millionaire by investing in real estate although each of them took a different path.

That alone is reason enough to read the book. For those of us who are serious about real estate investing, is there anyone better to learn from than someone who has actually achieved the goal and provided a roadmap? The simple answer is that there is no one better to learn from. You model their attitudes and beliefs and follow their proven plan and ultimately you'll achieve the same results. It's as simple as that.

One of the plans from the book stood out from the rest so that's the one I'll focus on in this article. But first you need to decide what you want to create with real estate: income or wealth? They are not the same thing.

Basically income is what you earn and wealth is what you keep. It's not uncommon for six-figure income earners to be almost bankrupt because they spend, spend, spend. On the other hand, it's not difficult to find others who have become millionaires on meager wages because they were smart enough to invest all they could and watch it grow.

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