Great way to do your research on potential Southern Caribbean islands for retirement, 2nd home, vacation or investment – why not join me on the upcoming cruise March 26 – April 5, 2010. We’ll be visiting a number of islands – contact me for more details! sue@suecolemanrealtor.com

Republic of Panama – Fishing in Gatun Lake Panama

For those of you who enjoy a good fish story maybe you should consider visiting the Republic of Panama and going fishing on Gatun Lake!

http://www.knightsbridgeinvest.com/realestateblog/fishing-in-gatun-lake/

For information on real estate opportunities in Panama be sure to visit my website www.suecolemanrealtor.com.

At the moment the properties on my website are primarily listings in Panama – if Panama is not your country of choice – stay tuned – I am going to be adding some new & exciting properties from all over the Caribbean, The Bahamas, Barbados and  in the very near future.

The Republic of Panama – Toll Highway now open

The new toll highway linking Panama City & the Port of Colon opened earlier this summer and it is definitely reducing the driving time between the two locations dramatically.

On a recent trip to Panama I had the opportunity to use the toll road.  It is a fabulous piece of highway  and reduced the drive time by about 45 minutes!  The scenery is lovely & the time just seemed to fly by on this new highway.  Definitely, to my mind at least, worth the price of the toll especially as I hate sitting in traffic or ‘poking’ along on side roads when I am on business & my time is valuable.

RE/MAX – Canadian Housing Trends

Canadian housing markets buck recession and trend upwards, says RE/MAX

[September 24, 2009] 

With the worst of the recession over, residential real estate markets in major Canadian centres are poised for growth in the final quarter of 2009, according to a report released today by RE/MAX.

The RE/MAX Bricks and Mortar Report found the bounce back that began in early Spring has made this recession one of the shortest on record.  Low interest rates, pent-up demand, and improved affordability levels have all played a role in the recovery now well-underway. 

Percentage increases in unit sales from January to August 2009 were led by Vancouver, (up a substantial 14 per cent to 23,158), Victoria (up 7.4 per cent to 5,266), Edmonton (up 6.2 per cent to 13,691), Regina (up five per cent to 2,597), Ottawa (up 2.4 per cent to 10,830) and Toronto (up 1.8 per cent to 58,421). 

Click here to read the full report

Republic of Panama – Tourism discount

The Republic of Panama is offering a 25% discount to tourists between August 1 – October 31, 2009. 

Here is the link to the website for more details.

http://visitpanama.com/25dedescuento/?lang=en

Hope you have the opportunity to visit Panama soon!

If you need information on Panama please contact me or if you would be interested in joining an upcoming Discovery tour to Panama (planned for October & January) please visit my website to take a look at the itinerary, costs, etc!  www.suecolemanrealtor.com/international.index.html

Republic of Panama ~ Why Panama?

Why Panama?

• Low Taxes
• World Class Health Care
• Safe & Secure banking system
• Safe place to live
• No Hurricanes
• Democratic Government
• Year round Tropical Weather
• Panama Canal
• Pensionada Visa
• Dollarized economy
• World class deep sea fishing
• Rain Forest
• Mountains
• Pristine Beaches

Panama is known as the ‘crossroads of the world’, it offers a diversity of nationalities and cultures and the people are very friendly and welcoming.

Would you like to discover more about this wonderful country?  Why not consider joining me on a Discovery Tour to Panama.  During the week long tour we show you some outstanding real estate opportunities, have fun and show yo0 some of the beauty and wonder of central Panama.  If you are considering buying a property for a vacation home, retirement, investment or as a 2nd home there are so many advantages to Panama.  During the week you will have the opportunity to ‘ask the experts’

Here’s some pictures from our last tour in July …

Panama Canal

Pristine Beaches

Enjoying an Informal Lunch

For more information on the upcoming tours, costs, itinerary please visit my website:

www.suecolemanrealtor.com/international.index.html

and click on the ’CLICK HERE‘ link to the Itinerary.

If you have any problems at all or have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at 1-800-209-3214 or by e-mail sue@suecolemanrealtor.com – it is not too late to register for the August 31st tour but soon it will be!  Don’t delay, space is limited,  contact me today!

Republic of Panama – Fishing

For those of you who enjoy fishing and creating your own fish stories why not consider planning a fishing trip to Gatan Lake in the Republic of Panama!  Here is an article I came across that I hope you will find interesting.

http://www.knightsbridgeinvest.com/realestateblog/fishing-in-gatun-lake/

A colleague and I are planning a week-long Discovery tour to Panama August 31 – September 7, 2009 - we won’t be fishing in Gatan Lake but we are planning on going deep sea fishing  (as well as a Canopy tour, beach party & lots of other fun stuff)! 

If you would like to find out more about how you can participate in this fabulous Discovery tour, that will introduce you to the beauty of  Panama & visit some of the outstanding real estate opportunities that are available, please contact me: e-mail sue@suecolemanrealtor.com or call my direct toll free # 1-800-209-3214 (EST). 

This trip is value packed and budget priced – if August is not good timing let me know that you are interested in taking a tour and we’ll get back to you about future tour dates.

Republic of Panama

I’m back in Panama for a week and looking forward to having the opportunity to show my clients around some pretty spectacular properties whilst enjoying a Discovery Weekend!

Would you like to learn more about living, buying, retiring or investing in Panama and have fun whilst you’re doing it? 

I am the co-organizer of a fabulous week long Discovery Trip to Panama takng place July 20 – 27th!  There are still some spaces available on this fun and informative trip that will include visits to a number of real estate developments offering something to suit just about everyones lifestyle and budget – we’ll be checking out developments on the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Azueros Peninsula, in the Mountains, on the Beach and in the City. 

We will hear from experts on mortgages, legal, tax issues etc.

Rest assured it’s not going to be all real estate!  We have plenty of fun built in to the trip as well – Golf, Canopy Tour, Deep Sea Fishing, Beach party, Panama Canal and a few more surprises!  There will be absolutely zero pressure for anyone to buy anything – we really want you to come and discover Panama!

What does this fabulous all inclusive trip cost?  $1600 CDN! (double occupancy)  This includes your direct flight from Toronto to Panama, resort accomodations, meals, tours & activities and should you decide that you would like to buy a property during the tour we will reimburse some, if not all, of the cost of your trip (there are some restrictions please ask).

For more a complete itinerary or more information please contact Sue Coleman, Sales Representative by e-mail sue@suecolemanrealtor.com or on my toll free number 1-800-209-3214.

Puerto Vallarta – Water Taxi

An adventurous start to the Discovery Weekend!

All the participants for the Discovery Weekend gathered in the lounge to enjoy a cool drink, appetizers and meet the fellow attendees before we embark on the City tour.

Just before we were scheduled to leave it was discovered that the road into town was clogged and that it would take the best part of an hour to do the usual 15 minute ride into town for the city tour so one of our hostesses suggested that we take the Water Taxi … everyone was enthusiastic on this bright sunny afternoon with the gentle breeze … so we all jump into the bus and head to the Marina to pick up the taxi.

We all climb down into to the water taxi along with 2 other young ladies (not with our group) who haven’t done this before. I take a seat in the middle of the boat on the left side facing forward. The boat is dry, padded white cushions on the benches offers a reasonable amount of comfort, the boat has a canopy – should be fine.  Just before we pull away from the dock they suggest they put down the ’sides’ of the canopy (which would block our view, etc.) we implore them to leave it up – it is such a beautiful day – they mention we might get splashed but heh – we can take it, no worries, whats a little splash or two??

They passed out, and suggested that we wear, very fetching bright orange life jackets … a little unnerving but I guess it must be a safety regulation? … I, along with most of the other passengers, reluctantly put them on.  So we pull away from the dock out into the channel that opens to the Bay.

As we emerge from the channel we notice that it’s maybe a little windier & the waves are getting a little bigger – no worries … we start to pick up speed as we come out of the channel and the little boat is pointed towards downtown Puerto Vallarta …. WOW I didn’t think it was that far away…

We set off across the bay at a moderate pace. The waves are a little larger than anticipated … ‘womp’ we catch the wake of a passing power boat that generates a bit of a splash on the right side of the boat . There’s a couple of yelps along with some laughter as our poor hostess Martha takes the brunt of the ’splash’ – oops.  A few minutes, a few more ‘womps’ and some rather large ’splashes’ later the request was made from those on the right side of the boat to have the side canopy put down – hmmm … some of our group were looking a little soggy but still in good humour.

Unfortunately the side canopy didn’t protect poor Martha, the other hostess Cathy or the two young ladies sitting at the front of the boat.  The guys at the helm were trying to take it as easy as they could to minimize the splashing, etc. however Martha and a few other wet passengers eventually suggested that maybe we should go as fast as possible so ‘andele!’ was the cry by all aboard!!  We thumped and bumped all the rest of the way to the taxi dock with Martha chosing to stand whilst hanging onto a rope (looking as though she was driving a horse & buggy) trying to dry herself off in the wind. 

The life jacket did come in handy - it helped to keep my shirt dry from the splashes that did come my way!! 

Pretty much everyone in the group remained good natured about the experience - it’s one that we won’t soon forget!  I have to be honest – I thoroughly enjoyed it but, then again, I did stay pretty dry. 

Once again on ‘terre ferme’ we began to stroll along the sidewalk adjacent to beach making our way towards the Malecon – enjoying the sights, sounds, local entertainment and of course the lovely warm weather.  A few of us chose to partake of the beverages available at a local bar – especially when we realized that putting our drink in a plastic cup would allow us to take them with us!

The bus eventually managed to make it’s way into town to pick us up to take us back to the hotel.  Once aboard, we enjoyed complimentary beverages, took the time to introduce ourselves to each other and enjoyed the city tour on our return to the hotel.  A great start to a great weekend!

More to come on the Discovery Weekend …

Not sure how those 2 other young ladies were planning;on returning to the Marina!!

BTW – Apparently the ride in the water taxi is usually far less wet & bumpy so don’t be afraid to give it a go – it is fun!!

If you’d like more information on buying and living in Mexico please don’t hesitate to give me a call 1-800-209-3214 (EDT),  check out my website www.suecolemanrealtor.com/international.index.html and click on Mexico or e-mail me sue@suecolemanrealtor.com

Panama Canal

Thought you might find this interesting! It’s fascinating traveling through the Panama Canal and the locks. At a couple of the locks they have video camera’s which allows you to watch huge ships move through the locks. Here is a link to the Panama Canal website & the cameras. Enjoy
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Expansion

If you would like more information living, retiring, investing in Panama please dont hesitate to contact me sue@suecolemanrealtor.com or visit my website http://www.suecolemanrealtor.com/international.index.html & click on the link to Panama or call me 1-800-209-3214 (EDT)