Life Rich Real Estate Inc. (is not a real estate brokerage) It is a company whose sole focus is educating buyers, sellers and realtors on International real estate. I am proud to say that I am a co-founder of this company.

What do we do?

We hold workshops for buyers contemplating buying off shore and for REALTORS looking for help & information so that they can assist their clients who want to buy International real estate.

We work with developers and perform a due diligence review on their properties before we include them in our portfolio.  We educate them on what a buyer information they should have available for International buyers. The information in our portfolio is is available to clients, their lawyers and advisors.

Life Rich Real Estate Inc. requires that any developer that has their property in our portfolio must provide an EXCLUSIVE money saving offer for our clients – this is in addition to any other incentives they may offer to a client who is buying one of their properties.  These offers include such things as discounts, upgrades, reduced interest rates, travel reimbursement. As these are EXCLUSIVE offers for clients of  Life Rich Real Estate it is essential that you contact us BEFORE  you contact the developer if you wish to benefit!

Upcoming events

We have a number of events coming up that I’d like to draw your attention to:

May 26, 2012 – Americana Resort, Lundy’s Lane, Niagara Falls – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  This is advertised as 50+ trade show – any age is welcome.

June 10, 2012 – Toronto - Toronto Womens Expo Days Hotel & Conference Centre, 185 Yorkland Blvd., Toronto, ON.   Life Rich Real Estate Inc. will be an exhibitor at the event and I will be speaking on International Real Estate – where do I start?

June 12, 2012 – Oakville – 6.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m. At this event we will review Vista Bahia, a development in Costa Rica, and we will discuss how you could use your RRSP to purchase in this development.  This event is being held at a private residence and the address will be sent to you with your confirmation of registration.  If you would like to register for this free event please  click here

November 3, 2012 – Burlington – this is a 50+trade show – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Again any age is welcome. The event is being held at the Burlington conference center.

If you are interested in finding out more or need assistance in buying your piece of paradise – please contact us at 1-800-209-3214 or e-mail me

As a REALTOR involved in International Real Estate I’m sure you know that I did have a business reason to visit Trujillo, Honduras!

As I mentioned in a previous blog during my trip I visited the developments of Campa Vista and Alta Vista.

If you have been contemplating buying a piece of paradise and think that you have missed the opportunity – take heart!

Honduras (in my opinion) offers a fabulous opportunity. It is estimated that property in Trujillo is probably about ⅓ the price of similar properties in Costa Rica.

To give you an idea of the price of some of the available lots:

• ½ acre – US $49,559
• ¾ acre – US $47,599
• 1 acre – US $54,300
• 1½ acre – US $63,299

What is included in the purchase price of your lot?  Services: water, electricity and roads as well as being graded and tested.  It is also located in an exclusive gated community with 24/7 security.

Foreigners can own property in Honduras as a result of a change in the law in 1990.

The process of transferring title is similar to how it is handled in Canada.  In Honduras there is a registry system and the title is held in ‘fee simple’ – in your personal or if you wish a company name.  You do receive a deed to your land.  As in Canada you are advised to get title insurance.

Another question a buyer will ask when considering buying a lot – do they have to build immediately or is it possible to buy a lot and hold?

Whilst the developer would prefer to see people building in the developments, with the exception of the lots located in the beach community where there is a requirement to build within 3 years, there is no requirement to do so in the other areas.

When the development opened several years ago the price of construction was US $75 psf.  Today construction costs are approximately US $95 per sq. ft. Even at this price you will see it is still possible to build a home in paradise for a very reasonable price!  Building sooner than later would also make sense as it is anticipated that building costs will go up again in the coming years.

The developments are within gated communities and owners will, when it’s completed, have access to the Trujillo premier beach club which will feature swimming pools, hotel suites, full service bar, green areas.   Until the club is completed owners are able to use the Trujillo Campamento Beach Club and its facilities.

A question often asked when discussing real estate opportunities in Central America is about the political stability of a country.

Honduras has a democratic political system with a strong constitution that has been in place for 30 years.

Economic growth has been spurred on by the close ties established with the U.S. resulting in building business and infrastructure – a free trade agreement was signed with the U.S.in 2005 which has seen the amount of business increase.

During my recent visit to Trujillo, Honduras my host took me to visit some of the hotels and resorts that people choose to stay when coming down to take a look around at Campa Vista and the Alta Vista developments.

Banana Beach Resort.

This resort is owned by an American gentleman Rand and run with the help of his daughter Jenna.  It’s a small resort again right on the beach.  They have 2 – 2-storey, 2 bedroom cabanas with full kitchens for rent, fabulous new pool, and ‘The Mystic’ Beach club, restaurant & bar.

We ate at the restaurant a couple of times during my visit – they have a selection of local and N. American items on their menu – the dishes I had were excellent – especially the fish!

Campamento

This resort is owned by a lovely Honduran couple, adjacent to Tranquility Bay, located on the beach – 17 rooms/cabanas, restaurant/bar, several raised areas to relax out of the sun, pool.  

We stopped in for a cool drink (fresh coconut water is fabulous) before we took a walk along the beach and around the lovely grounds.

Casa Alemania

This resort is owned by German gentleman, Gunther and his lovely Honduran wife, Paula.  26 room resort on the beach. Restaurant & bar, new pool.  This was where I enjoyed ‘Oktoberfest’ the night of my arrival. I didn’t have my camera handy so sorry no pictures.  Although it was dark and I couldn’t see the beach I could hear the waves rolling onto the shore.

Christopher Columbus Hotel.

This is a larger, more traditional low rise hotel/resort with 72 rooms. Set on a beautiful beach.  They have 2 pools one for the adults and another for kids.

They have both a formal and a more casual restaurant/bar under a large palapa in the outdoor activity area.

Tranquility Bay

This resort is owned by a Canadian couple and situated on the beach, 5 charming cabanas, restaurant.  They have kayaks for rent and other water sports. Guests can use the pool at the adjacent Campamento resort.

We were walking around the grounds when a friendly monkey appeared to harass the dogs and then take up residence on a shoulder – thankfully it chose Randy’s shoulder over mine!

There are many other hotels in the Trujillo area – these are the ones that are closest & most convenient for people coming to the developments of Campa Vista & Alta Vista.

Residents, owners and visitors visiting the park see many indigenous fruit crops being grown (pineapple, palm, mango, papaya, banana, passion, star fruit) in addition to some native animals (all rescued) that are found in Honduras within the park system.

When the park system is complete it will include four parks:

• Agriculture, Marine & Animal Park
• Riverside Village Park
• Historical Park
• Wildlife Park.

The Agriculture, Marine and Animal Park will be the first park to be completed in time the first cruise ship visit to visit Banana Coast Cruise ship terminal in Trujillo (anticipated in late 2012).

I had the opportunity to walk around the park which is ‘growing in’ during my recent visit.  Here are some of the photos from my visit to Campo Del Mar Nature Park in Trujillo.

Visitors to the park will find indigenous plants, trees, fruits, flowers and herbs, indigenous animals in spacious enclosures (these are rescued animals) and enjoy the wonderful beach and beach club.

All information believed reliable but not guaranteed.

Day 2 of my visit to Trujillo was spent with Cathy M. who took me to have a closer look at the homes inside and out.

I was very impressed with the design and construction of the homes – attention is paid to every detail.  Stunning Mahogany entrance doors & woodwork, spacious principal rooms, high vaulted ceilings, granite counters, quality cabinetry throughout, large windows to take advantage of the stunning vista’s, large covered decks, sparkling pools – absolutely beautiful homes.  All of the homes are situated on the lot to maximize the view and more importantly, to minimize the environmental impact.

Cathy works with the clients & the construction company to assist and support clients throughout the entire purchase and design process to completion & delivery.

After visiting the developments Cathy drove me around Trujillo to get an idea of the town – it’s laid out on a grid system and fairly easy to get around. We visited a great place for locally made souvenirs at Made in Honduras Craft Co-op.  Members of the co-op are responsible for the day-to-day running of the store and every item in the store will have been made by a member of the co-op.

The variety and creativity of the members is amazing:  jewellery, painted silk scarves, bags, shirts, embroidered tortilla covers, bookmarks made of bark, woven baskets made of candy wrappers and pine needles, nativity figurines made out of beads, candy wrappers and clay, you could spend hours going through all the nifty products made by these people from the Trujillo area.   I did what I could to support the local economy and picked up a number of souvenirs.

I also bought a book called “A Walk in My Shoes – our lives of hope” put together by Diane Karper.  It contains the life stories of 18 people, many members of the co-op.  It was truly amazing to read these stories and realize how fortunate and VERY grateful I am for everything I have.  Diane was instrumental in bringing the Co-op to life; there are approximately 60 people involved in the Co-op.

One of the women profiled in the book, Gladys Ramires, was working in the store that day so I had her sign the book for me – it made reading her story very special.  Something that Gladys said in her story really struck me as so very sad … she said ‘I don’t know when I was born since nobody ever celebrated my birthday or my life.  I am so amazed that anyone would even ask me to tell my story, but have always wanted to tell someone that I am here’.  It is wonderful to see that she has found a voice through this book and the opportunity to make a living through her work at the co-op.

After finishing our shopping we drove on into downtown Trujillo.  Cathy went off to do some banking leaving me to spend a few minutes wandering around the main square; the people of Trujillo were very friendly and welcoming.  Around the town square is where you find a lovely park, the Catedral de San Juan Bautista and the Forteleze Santa Barbara.

After doing the banking it was lunchtime and so we drove out along the beach road to one of my host’s favourite restaurants – Louisa’s with the magnificent beach view.  We were joined by a number of people – several long term residents of Trujillo (originally from Canada and the US), Randy and his Honduran project manager, Martine and Mark, some friends of Randy & Cathy’s who were visiting from San Pedro Sula – it was certainly a lively lunch table.  Eating out in Trujillo – there really is no such thing as fast food!  Everything is cooked fresh and to order and is absolutely worth every minute that you wait.

After lunch we headed back to Campo del Mar and it was time for a siesta!

Dinner that evening was at another restaurant along the beach road – unfortunately the name escapes me.  Food was excellent, although, as you can see from the menu the description of the preparation options were a little odd (sweated fish??).

Eating in Trujillo is a very social activity – don’t think I saw anyone at a table for 2.  Dinner seems to be quite early around 5.30/6p.m.

After we got back from dinner it was time for my hosts to head to bed.  It wasn’t that it was very late it’s just that the sun sets very early (dark by 6pm) & rises early as well – so people tend to go to bed early and get up with the sun.  Not being in that rhythm or feeling tired (especially as I had had a siesta!) I settled into the family room to watch a little bit of TV.  Fortunately there were a number of English language channels to choose from.  I have to say I didn’t last long – think the fresh air in Trujillo had an effect on me and I found myself having a somewhat early night!

More to come on my final full day in Trujillo …

All information taken from sources believed reliable but not guaranteed

Trujillo was the first mainland landing spot of Christopher Columbus in 1502 during his fourth and final voyage to the new world.  This was the first time Christopher Columbus touched the Central American mainland.

Trujillo was settled in 1524 by Spanish conquistadors under Hernan Cortes.

Cristobel de Olid (1487-1524) is regarded as the founder of the town of Trujillo. He was a Spanish adventurer, conquistador and rebel who played a part in the conquest of Mexico and Honduras.  The location of Trujillo was strategic for Spanish interests in the New World.

Trujillo and its citizens were subject to frequent pirate attacks throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries.  This led to the construction of the Santa Barbara Fort beginning around 1575.  It’s large cannons overlooking the Bay provided protection for the town.  The Fort remains fairly intact today.

In the town square you will find the Catedral de San Juan Bautista (although Trujillo was the site of the first cathedral in Honduras the original church was destroyed many years ago. The current Catedral de San Juan Bautista was built in 1832 and remodeled 1930–1939) this very colourful octagonal building and just a short walk away is the fort and park area.

We drove by the entrance to the cemetery where the infamous & very unpopular William Walker, who was shot to death in Trujillo in 1860, is buried.

All information taken from sources believed reliable but not guaranteed

Having visited Central America previously, thankfully, I did have some idea of what to expect of the driving and road conditions …

Along the highway to Trujillo my very capable chauffeur, Cathy, dodged potholes, maneuvered over some serious speed bumps, cows, goats, passed slow moving cars, buses & trucks as we rumbled along the generally asphalt highway.

Once we left the city of La Ceiba, the scenery along the road to Trujillo, was truly stunning.  Against a backdrop of magnificent lush green mountains, we passed through banana and palm plantations, fields of corn & sugar cane, orange groves, fields of pineapples, mango and papaya trees. Obviously much of Honduran exports are the fruits they produce, palm oil and of course they are famous for their magnificent wood – especially mahogany.

Upon arriving in Trujillo we drove straight to Casa Alamania for Oktoberfest.  Cathy and I sat down and were joined shortly thereafter by my host, Randy, his partner Cathy, her daughter Martine and her husband Mark (all Canadians).  A few minutes later some more folks joined us – more Canadians – everyone seems to know everyone here and before too long the atmosphere was festive!

The owners of Casa Alamania are a German gentleman by the name of Günter & his lovely Honduran wife (whose name I regret to say I have forgotten!) and they were wonderful hosts.  Günter was chef for the evening and the food was authentically German and  there was plenty of it!

It was a great, relaxed way to begin my visit to Trujillo and have the opportunity to meet and chat with Canadians who have made their home in Honduras – most of the folks at the table live in Trujillo year round and love it!

As it was dark when we arrived at Trujillo I really had no sense of the scenery – I could hear the waves coming on shore as we sat at the beach side restaurant and enjoy the fresh clean air – I’d have to wait until the morning to see where I really was!!

Casa Alamania, in addition to being a restaurant, is also hotel and a spa right on the beach in Trujillo that comes highly recommended as a place to stay when visiting Trujillo.  Günter’s proud new addition this season is a beautiful pool.

After a very enjoyable dinner we transferred my luggage from Cathy’s van to Randy’s truck and off we drove to my home away from home for the next 3 days.

I have to admit to having a couple of THOSE moments on the drive in the dark to Randy’s home – bumping along the rugged, unlit, unpaved and rutted road, past some shacks with tin roofs, splashing through the occasional, deeper than anticipated, water filled pot-hole before finally arriving at the gates to Campo Del Mar. The guard promptly let us in and we drove up the lengthy driveway & parked under the covered portal.  Bags were unloaded and I was shown to my room.  I took a few minutes to freshen up and then went back out to join my hosts at the ‘bar’ in the great room.

Looking around I couldn’t miss all the artifacts around the house so, being a curious sort, I asked about them.  Randy explained that he has been keeping anything that they had unearthed or find when building, putting in the roads, building homes or clearing the grounds.

These artifacts will eventually form part of the display in the Cultural Museum that he is going to build.  He has also discovered that part of the original 15^th Century Spanish Road runs through a portion of his  property.  He is planning to restore this section of road and build the Cultural Museum in the same area.  The cultural museum will be open to visitors as well as the residents of the communities that he is building in the Trujillo area.

After spending a short while with my hosts discussing the activities of the upcoming days I took myself off to bed.  It had been a long but very interesting day.

The next few days were going to be very interesting as I was about to discover what it is about Trujillo that has so many Canadians decide to make it home.

to be continued …

I flew to San Pedro Sula airport in Honduras via Miami and then took a short flight (less than half an hour) to La Ceiba

Upon arrival in San Pedro Sula the Honduran Customs and immigration staff were efficient, and friendly.  I left the baggage claim area and maneuvered my way through the mass of people waiting for their friends and family and found the SOSA airlines counter where I was to pick up my ticket for my flight to La Ceiba.

The friendly Honduran ground staff found my reservation … “Susan (very informal – no Mrs. Miss or Ms. Coleman – just Susan), be at Gate 7 by 11.50 a.m”.  She wrote this information on the inside of my boarding envelope into which she placed my laminated re-usable boarding card … hmmm … a little unusual.

I went to the currency exchange to pay my Honduras airport departure tax of 38 Lempira (US $2) and change some US cash into the local currency of Honduras, the Lempira, as I find it handy to have at least little local currency on me.

I cleared security and went into the waiting area.  It was small, however there was a duty free store, a couple of souvenir shops, a snack shop and a small bar.

Whilst waiting for my flight I decided to indulge in a local Honduras beer called Port Royal Export (knew my Lempira would come in handy). It was a nice light beer – perfect for a thirsty traveler!

I found the sticker on the hand dryer in the ladies restroom reassuring!

Time to board so off I went to Gate 7,  handed in my boarding pass and followed the other 14 passengers out onto the tarmac and towards the small dual propeller aircraft – it reminded me of a plane from an Indiana Jones movie!

Given the size of the plane I couldn’t help but wonder where the luggage would be stowed? As I boarded the plane my question was answered – at least some of it was behind the last row of seats with a net thrown over it!

I made my way to the only seat left – in the first row – right behind the pilot.  Although awkward to get to it worked out well as there was a little extra legroom where I could put my computer bag on the floor and just have my purse on my lap.

The pilot and co-pilot were last to board and climbed into the cockpit.  It was interesting to listen to them run through their preflight check.  There were no announcements to turn off electronic devices, fasten seat belts, etc. it all felt a little surreal especially given what I’m used to dealing with when flying these days!

A few minutes later we were on our way.  We reached the runway, the propellers began to whine, the pilot released the brake and we started rumbling down the runway and, a few short minutes later, we were airborne.

Cruising altitude was not very high as evidenced by the pilot opening his window to get some air – the air-flow was appreciated – until it started to rain and I started getting wet!  The pilot apologized and closed the window.

It was a very short flight – took a look out at the lush green scenery passing below, started reading my book and the next time I looked out we were just about to touch down on the runway at La Ceiba!

Within a few minutes of our arrival the luggage was offloaded from the plane from the nose compartment and also the interior of the plane.

I picked up my luggage and quickly found Kathy, my contact in Honduras (and originally from Alberta).  It was easy to find her – there were not too many blonde N. American women in the terminal area!

We loaded my luggage into the van and set off for my final destination of Trujillo on the North coast of Honduras – a drive of about 2 hours.

Having visited Central America several times previously, thankfully, I did have some idea of what to expect of the driving and road conditions ….

To be continued …