Thread: Newby living in Bocas

Hello Forum,

My wife and I are living on our sailboat in Bocas Del Toro and will be in Panama for year or more.

We Sold our property management business and three properties in Colorado, bought a sailboat, put some cash in the bank and left. That was two years ago.

We have been cruising the Caribbean living the good life and looking for investment opportunities. From what I've seen Panama still offers more than most of the other countries south of the USA.

We are headed to the Chirique Province next week to look some rental properties. Still not sure how the numbers will add up, but we are hopeful we can find some place to safely put our money. Letting it sit in a bank is starting to frustrate us both obviously because the cash is not generating any income.

I look forward to chating with you all, this forum looks like a wealth of information. If you have any advice or hot tips on good deals for a turn key rental property, please let me know.

Best Regards,
Jon and Jules Meckem
S/V Ocean Mandalay

hi , welcome , with the amount of interest they pay on CDs here you might just want to park your money there , no hassles with collecting rent etc , just a thought .

Originally Posted by Meck

Hello Forum,

My wife and I are living on our sailboat in Bocas Del Toro and will be in Panama for year or more.

We Sold our property management business and three properties in Colorado, bought a sailboat, put some cash in the bank and left. That was two years ago.

We have been cruising the Caribbean living the good life and looking for investment opportunities. From what I've seen Panama still offers more than most of the other countries south of the USA.

We are headed to the Chirique Province next week to look some rental properties. Still not sure how the numbers will add up, but we are hopeful we can find some place to safely put our money. Letting it sit in a bank is starting to frustrate us both obviously because the cash is not generating any income.

I look forward to chating with you all, this forum looks like a wealth of information. If you have any advice or hot tips on good deals for a turn key rental property, please let me know.

Best Regards,
Jon and Jules Meckem
S/V Ocean Mandalay

Got an extra cabin on your boat?

One of the mods here, Mr Woohoo, advised me to check out the Bocas area for my liveaboard places of interest. My main concerns are security, marina fees, and anything else that you like or dislike about this area.

Thanks and happy sails.
S/V Siamese Senorita

Originally Posted by Meck

Hello Forum,

My wife and I are living on our sailboat in Bocas Del Toro and will be in Panama for year or more.

We Sold our property management business and three properties in Colorado, bought a sailboat, put some cash in the bank and left. That was two years ago.

We have been cruising the Caribbean living the good life and looking for investment opportunities. From what I've seen Panama still offers more than most of the other countries south of the USA.

We are headed to the Chirique Province next week to look some rental properties. Still not sure how the numbers will add up, but we are hopeful we can find some place to safely put our money. Letting it sit in a bank is starting to frustrate us both obviously because the cash is not generating any income.

I look forward to chating with you all, this forum looks like a wealth of information. If you have any advice or hot tips on good deals for a turn key rental property, please let me know.

Best Regards,
Jon and Jules Meckem
S/V Ocean Mandalay

Congratulations on being able to do what you're doing! I'd declare victory if I were you and NOT go back into business or owning rental property. Neither is "safe" IMO compared to a bank and certainly owning rental property in Panama (or anywhere) else may require you to drop anchor for too long to make sure the place isn't picked apart by your tenants.

If you want higher returns than the pitiful interest being paid, you might consider foreign currency CDs--interest plus appreciation. As to what foreign currency? I'd avoid the EURO and USD. The Swiss defend their currency so maybe some CHF.

Originally Posted by Siamese Senorita

One of the mods here, Mr Woohoo, advised me to check out the Bocas area for my liveaboard places of interest. My main concerns are security, marina fees, and anything else that you like or dislike about this area.

Thanks and happy sails.
S/V Siamese Senorita

Hi Danniel, We have been enjoying Bocas for a little over six months now and we really like it. I don't think there is a better place to live aboard in panama. There are three marinas, Red Frog, Carinero and Bocas Marina. We have spent time in all and all have good points and bad. Catamarans get hosed at all three, you can be side tied not taking any more space than a root cellar and the fee is still 30% more. Why? Because they can... The fees are all pretty close to the same; 11 or 12 dollars per foot is your monthly fee plus electricity. They all seem to have their share of noseeum flies, so ask for a slip as far away from land as possible. We bought some of Grubers Jungle Oil up in Boquete and it works really well against those miserable little insects. Red Frog has had problems with their Internet, they are rather far away from the town and they have fewer facilities than the other two. They do have new floating docks which are really nice, they have the best beaches and it is very quiet. Marina Carinaro is a bit noisy when it's party time in Bocas Town, but their facilities are the best and Mary is a real fuss budget when it comes keeping the place safe and clean. It is also the most convenient to Bocas Town and shopping. They have good Internet, and a TV room. Bocas Marina is the biggest, they don't have very good options for catamarans and what ever you do, don't get talked into tying off on D dock, it is bug infested and stagnant. Unfortunately that is their favorite spot to stick a cat. The onsite restaurant is nice, with fun special events, but they are expensive compared to most. They have good Internet as well. Well, I am out of time for now, but I do have your e-mail from the PM you sent. I will respond via that so fell free to ask more questions, it will be easier on my personal e-mail. Cheers, Meck

Originally Posted by Meck

Hi Danniel, We have been enjoying Bocas for a little over six months now and we really like it. I don't think there is a better place to live aboard in panama. There are three marinas, Red Frog, Carinero and Bocas Marina. We have spent time in all and all have good points and bad. Catamarans get hosed at all three, you can be side tied not taking any more space than a root cellar and the fee is still 30% more. Why? Because they can... The fees are all pretty close to the same; 11 or 12 dollars per foot is your monthly fee plus electricity. They all seem to have their share of noseeum flies, so ask for a slip as far away from land as possible. We bought some of Grubers Jungle Oil up in Boquete and it works really well against those miserable little insects. Red Frog has had problems with their Internet, they are rather far away from the town and they have fewer facilities than the other two. They do have new floating docks which are really nice, they have the best beaches and it is very quiet. Marina Carinaro is a bit noisy when it's party time in Bocas Town, but their facilities are the best and Mary is a real fuss budget when it comes keeping the place safe and clean. It is also the most convenient to Bocas Town and shopping. They have good Internet, and a TV room. Bocas Marina is the biggest, they don't have very good options for catamarans and what ever you do, don't get talked into tying off on D dock, it is bug infested and stagnant. Unfortunately that is their favorite spot to stick a cat. The onsite restaurant is nice, with fun special events, but they are expensive compared to most. They have good Internet as well. Well, I am out of time for now, but I do have your e-mail from the PM you sent. I will respond via that so fell free to ask more questions, it will be easier on my personal e-mail. Cheers, Meck

Good to have people from Bocas posting here.

hina.rose,

Just because someone is there does not give me any sense of security anywhere. If something like a boat is unattended for months, they may just forget to check the night they tell their cousin to check it out. This happened to me in the Philippines. Some security is just a watch for an opportunity. I need to really check it out or actually have someone on board most of the time. Shucks, this happened to a fellow at an end tie in San Francisco, CA too.