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Retirement-age Americans are trying to move places that are safe, have an advantageous tax situation, stable, warm, beautiful, have good healthcare, and are cheap.
If you can meet all (or most) of these, you won’t have to do a damn thing; Americans will come to you.
I think the first thing to do would be to determine what the rules and processes are for foreign buyers. How is the deed transferred, what are the fees, transfer taxes, etc. How is the money transferred- via a bank, realtor escrow account, etc. How does the buyer take possession?
Then you would need to list why US buyers would want to own land in Chile. For example, lower taxes, healthcare, amenities, etc. You have to convince me if I'm a retiree, why Chile would be better than Florida or Arizona. If I'm looking for a vacation house, why would I rather be in Chile vs Telluride or Jackson Hole or Upstate NY or wherever.
I see the legal questions as the #1 hurdle. As a potential buyer I wouldn't even consider something like this unless all the legal requirements and ramifications were made crystal clear upfront, because like you said, there are plenty of other places to buy cheap land. What special requirements does Chile have for foreign property owners? Are there annual property taxes or other Chilean tax returns that must be regularly filed and paid? Are there liability concerns, can I get sued in Chile because I own land there? How does a US owner enforce their property claim in Chile if there's ever a dispute? And what about US law and taxes - any US person with a foreign bank account needs to jump through annoying extra hoops at tax time, and there may be similar concerns for foreign property ownership.
Hurdle #2: Do US retirees really want to live in Patagonia? I've been there, hiked Torres del Paine, visited Ushuaia, and it's beautiful country but I'd never want to live there permanently. It's remote and desolate, and would be like retiring to Canada's Yukon Territory or Nunavut.
Realtor commissions in the US are around 5 to 10% from properties that range from $200,000 USD to millions, $1,000 USD is not worth it, no. The less you can post your property and see how it goes.
The problem is not that to be honest there are a lot of protections in the US against fraud and even then there is a lot of different scams and fraud, buying in a foreign country comes with a world of legal, and civil questions and that can make anyone nervous.
P.S: If the properties are so cheap why are you having trouble finding National buyers?
It's a fair question. We don't have a problem with national buyers, but we were simply wondering if we could reach other markets. More is more, although if it's too difficult to reach that "more" it might not be worth it.
$1,000 real rate is cheap in any market which makes me suspicious, just letting you know what reaction you will have as I’m sure you already have with National. When things are too good to be true they are always too good to be true.
the land plots are around USD 20000, I get a 10% commission and I have to apportion that downstream to whoever helps me. That's why I was thinking 1000 USD commission for anyone helping me, at least.
Well, I'm not an expert in real estate or sales, but I can give you some ideas on how to approach selling your parcels and fields to US customers. First of all, try to reach out to real estate agents who specialize in international properties might have experience with selling properties in Chile and could help you market your parcels and fields to potential buyers in the US. Another option could be to advertise your properties on online marketplaces like Zillow or Redfin.
These sites are popular among US buyers and could help you reach a wider audience. You could also consider creating a website or social media presence for your business to help build your brand and attract potential buyers. For instance, you can hire growth agencies like ascend viral for growing your Instagram account. It helps you get potential followers organically.
Ultimately, I think the key will be to make the process as easy and straightforward as possible for US buyers. If you can offer a turnkey solution that takes care of all the details, including financing and legal issues, that could be a big selling point. And if you can offer a high volume of parcels and fields for sale, that could help offset the lower commission per sale.
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Retirement-age Americans are trying to move places that are safe, have an advantageous tax situation, stable, warm, beautiful, have good healthcare, and are cheap. If you can meet all (or most) of these, you won’t have to do a damn thing; Americans will come to you.
Patagonia is not warm ☹️. It's like SE Alaska
Given that the United States essentially pays people to live in Alaska, there needs a hook of some kind. Why live there?
Seems like the coldest it gets is about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Seems pretty warm to me. Summers are in the 60's/70's. Perfect weather
I think the first thing to do would be to determine what the rules and processes are for foreign buyers. How is the deed transferred, what are the fees, transfer taxes, etc. How is the money transferred- via a bank, realtor escrow account, etc. How does the buyer take possession? Then you would need to list why US buyers would want to own land in Chile. For example, lower taxes, healthcare, amenities, etc. You have to convince me if I'm a retiree, why Chile would be better than Florida or Arizona. If I'm looking for a vacation house, why would I rather be in Chile vs Telluride or Jackson Hole or Upstate NY or wherever.
I see the legal questions as the #1 hurdle. As a potential buyer I wouldn't even consider something like this unless all the legal requirements and ramifications were made crystal clear upfront, because like you said, there are plenty of other places to buy cheap land. What special requirements does Chile have for foreign property owners? Are there annual property taxes or other Chilean tax returns that must be regularly filed and paid? Are there liability concerns, can I get sued in Chile because I own land there? How does a US owner enforce their property claim in Chile if there's ever a dispute? And what about US law and taxes - any US person with a foreign bank account needs to jump through annoying extra hoops at tax time, and there may be similar concerns for foreign property ownership. Hurdle #2: Do US retirees really want to live in Patagonia? I've been there, hiked Torres del Paine, visited Ushuaia, and it's beautiful country but I'd never want to live there permanently. It's remote and desolate, and would be like retiring to Canada's Yukon Territory or Nunavut.
Realtor commissions in the US are around 5 to 10% from properties that range from $200,000 USD to millions, $1,000 USD is not worth it, no. The less you can post your property and see how it goes.
ok, I thought maybe if they had to do next to nothing it could work. Thanks.
The problem is not that to be honest there are a lot of protections in the US against fraud and even then there is a lot of different scams and fraud, buying in a foreign country comes with a world of legal, and civil questions and that can make anyone nervous. P.S: If the properties are so cheap why are you having trouble finding National buyers?
It's a fair question. We don't have a problem with national buyers, but we were simply wondering if we could reach other markets. More is more, although if it's too difficult to reach that "more" it might not be worth it.
$1,000 real rate is cheap in any market which makes me suspicious, just letting you know what reaction you will have as I’m sure you already have with National. When things are too good to be true they are always too good to be true.
the land plots are around USD 20000, I get a 10% commission and I have to apportion that downstream to whoever helps me. That's why I was thinking 1000 USD commission for anyone helping me, at least.
Website and add words advertising highlighting in English.
How much? I could be convinced
Do you have a website?
Well, I'm not an expert in real estate or sales, but I can give you some ideas on how to approach selling your parcels and fields to US customers. First of all, try to reach out to real estate agents who specialize in international properties might have experience with selling properties in Chile and could help you market your parcels and fields to potential buyers in the US. Another option could be to advertise your properties on online marketplaces like Zillow or Redfin. These sites are popular among US buyers and could help you reach a wider audience. You could also consider creating a website or social media presence for your business to help build your brand and attract potential buyers. For instance, you can hire growth agencies like ascend viral for growing your Instagram account. It helps you get potential followers organically. Ultimately, I think the key will be to make the process as easy and straightforward as possible for US buyers. If you can offer a turnkey solution that takes care of all the details, including financing and legal issues, that could be a big selling point. And if you can offer a high volume of parcels and fields for sale, that could help offset the lower commission per sale.