Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller provides a comprehensive look at life in Latin America, touching on various aspects of expat life, including the use of cooking oils, document security, and cultural differences in trust and privacy. He also explores the potential for expat-run businesses, particularly in the coconut oil market, and discusses the current state of the real estate market in the region.
Johnny begins by introducing the podcast, The Expat Files, which focuses on life in Latin America, covering work, play, and retirement. He discusses the prevalence of olive oil and coconut oil in the region, highlighting the high cost of imported olive oil and the availability of cheaper options at stores like Costco. He also shares his personal experience with obtaining a Costco membership, including using a photoshopped ID, and emphasizes the importance of carrying digital copies of documents instead of originals to avoid identity theft. Johnny also touches on the cultural differences in trust and privacy between expats and locals, noting that locals are more trusting and less aware of the risks of sharing personal information.
In the next segment, Johnny discusses the challenges expats face with privacy and data collection in their host countries. He highlights the ineffectiveness of local governments and the need for expats to be cautious about sharing personal information. Johnny suggests using encrypted flash drives with fake documents to maintain anonymity and avoid being tracked. He also touches on the topic of olive oil and coconut oil, explaining their uses and differences, particularly in cooking and health benefits.
Johnny then shifts to the cultural use of machetes in Latin America, contrasting the commonality of machetes with the relatively low incidence of domestic violence. He provides practical advice on safely extracting coconut water using a machete, emphasizing the importance of not cutting through the coconut entirely to preserve freshness and avoid contamination. He also explains the additional culinary uses of coconuts, such as the soft translucent layer inside, which is enjoyed by locals but not commonly found in coconuts sold in places like Cleveland. Finally, he touches on the historical perception of coconut oil as a harmful saturated fat, contrasting it with the modern understanding of cold-pressed coconut oil as a beneficial oil.
In the next segment, Johnny discusses the historical and current use of coconut oil in Latin America, contrasting it with the widespread use of cheaper palm nut oil. He explains that while coconut oil was once a staple in the region, it has largely been replaced by palm nut oil due to its lower cost. However, in certain Caribbean and coastal towns, coconut oil is still produced by older black Caribbean women, often sold to tourists. Johnny highlights the potential for expats to create a business by collaborating with these women to produce and sell coconut oil more efficiently.
Finally, Johnny discusses the potential for an expat-run coconut oil business, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in the market. He notes that the coconut oil sold by local vendors is not in high demand due to poor presentation and quality issues. Johnny suggests that expats could capitalize on this by producing and exporting coconut oil, but acknowledges the complexities of international regulations and quality control. He also mentions the potential for networking and business ideas at his expat wisdom seminars, as well as the current state of the real estate market in Latin America, which is showing signs of a bubble due to oversupply and declining prices.
Topics
Introduction to The Expat Files, Olive oil and coconut oil in Latin America, Costco and similar stores in Latin America, Identity theft and document security for expats, Cultural differences in trust and privacy, Privacy and data collection, Anonymity for expats, Use of encrypted documents, Olive oil and cooking, Coconut oil and health benefits, Handling coconut water, Cultural use of machetes in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:16 Introduction to The Expat Files 00:00:33 Business Opportunities for Expats 00:00:59 Olive Oil in Latin America 00:01:34 Costco Membership for Expats 00:03:14 Identity Verification and Document Security 00:05:20 Cultural Differences in Trust and Privacy 00:05:33 The Ineffectiveness of Governments and the Need for Caution with Data Sharing 00:05:36 Expats' Awareness of Privacy Risks and the Importance of Anonymity 00:05:42 Avoiding Being on Lists and the Desire for Privacy 00:05:45 Why Expats Choose to Live in Areas with Less Surveillance 00:05:51 Staying Off Lists and the Importance of Being One Step Ahead 00:05:52 Expats' Advantage in Maintaining Anonymity 00:05:56 Staying Truly Anonymous and the Risks of Providing Documentation 00:06:02 The Consequences of Refusing to Provide Documentation 00:10:59 Machete Use in Latin America 00:11:07 Contrast Between Machete Use and Domestic Violence 00:11:30 Practical Advice on Coconut Water Extraction 00:13:20 Culinary Uses of Coconuts 00:14:41 Historical Perception of Coconut Oil 00:16:34 Coconut Oil's Historical Use in the Caribbean 00:17:44 Shift from Coconut Oil to Palm Nut Oil 00:18:27 Finding Locally Made Coconut Oil in Caribbean Coastal Towns 00:20:46 Opportunities for Expat Businesses in Coconut Oil Production 00:22:33 Coconut Oil Business Potential and Challenges 00:25:59 Real Estate Market Trends and Bubble Concerns
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America the show that tells you just what it's like to live Work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started Now here's something that really bugs me and it also makes for a very good business Opportunity for any expat who has very little cash and a lot of time on his hands sounds like most of us doesn't it? But first some background on this now for all of you guys and gals who've been listening to Gary null show over the years
[00:49] You'll know that the two big cooking oils that everyone should be aware of our olive oil and coconut oil Of course, there are a lot of other good healthy ones and some very bad ones too But olive oil and coconut oil are the big two now down here in Latin America. I see olive oil everywhere It's in every grocery store You can buy it by the pint and by the gallon and it's always imported and that's probably because I've never seen anyone with an olive Tree down here. That's not to say they won't grow here I'm sure they will everything else does and I mean everything but just to mention you can get olive oil down here And of course, you're gonna pay more because it's imported from generally Italy Spain Greece and Portugal Now as much as I dislike Walmart and Costco In fact, I have an aversion to all big box stores
[01:34] But I have to tell you that you can get their brands of extra virgin olive oil down here too in gallons and half gallons and pints Whatever and you could get it half again as cheap as you can any other Imported brand of olive oil that you might get at any other grocery store For example, I was just at Costco the other day And yes I admit I do have a membership card because there are just some things there that you can't get anywhere else which Translates into a lot of great business opportunities for expats down here because think of it if there are products You can only get at Costco. That means you've got no other choice and no other competition You see what I mean? Anyway, don't think that's the business opportunity. I was gonna tell you about that's coming up in a little while So don't touch that dialogue. Yep I was talking about having a membership at Costco and in fact nearly every gringo and expat
[02:22] I know down here has a Costco membership Even if in general they dislike big box stores as much as I do and would like to see every extended member of Sam Walton's Family boiled in his own cheap olive oil. Wait a minute. That's Walmart, right? Well, that doesn't matter They still deserve to get toasted Anyway down here in Central America where I am now some of the cost goes are known by the name price smart And there's one called food club, too And like any big box store you have to pay a yearly membership fee, which is around 20 to 25 bucks Anyway, since I'm an anonymous under the radar kind of guy I make a really awful face when they take my photo for the plastic membership card And when they asked me for an ID I hand over an adulterated photoshopped copy of an old driver's license
[03:07] And of course, I've photoshopped a completely different name and address on that photoshopped copy of my driver's license And because I'm a gringo they readily accept that and hotels do too And if anyone ever asked me for an original which they never have so far. I'm well prepared for that eventuality, too I'd just refer them to that page on the United States State Department website That says when in Latin America or any place in the third world don't carry original documents on you Leave them in a lockup at your hotel and actually the State Department and most first world government agencies Don't use the term third world anymore They become rather PC about it and are replacing the term third world country with the kinder gentler term Developing country the term third world has a lot of baggage, you know corruption poverty chaos the usual suspects, right?
[04:00] Whereas a developing country seems like a much nicer place one. That's pulling itself up by the bootstraps now, doesn't it? Anyway, like I said, the US State Department website says never carry your passport or IDs on you Always leave them at your hotel lockup. In other words carry a copy and that's your get out of jail free card Literally, so remember that if you're carrying a copy and someone asks you even a cop to produce an original And if you have any trouble doing that just invite them to come down to your hotel with you But believe me, they're way too lazy to do that. They'll never come so I wouldn't worry about it. I mean face it I've been down here more than 20 years I've never been caught in a spot like that and now with these tiny little flash drives You could and should scan your documents in high resolution color, then you'll be ready for anything
[04:46] You don't even have to carry a paper copy of any documents anymore if you're at a hotel just stick your flash drive into their computer or Take a walk down to their business center and make a copy of it But do remember you should have a partition set aside in your flash drive. That's completely encrypted So if you do stick it into someone else's computer or if you lose it or get it stolen It won't do anyone else any good to have it or copy it now Here's something a lot of under the radar expats do and they'd probably toss you in the clink in the states for it But down here nobody gives a damn or I should say it's not that no one gives a damn It's just that Latins would never pull such a thing They're so very gullible and trusting that they give up their IDs to practically anyone who asks But you really can't blame him because Big Brother has really not affected him down here much yet
[05:33] And the governments are weak and ineffectual So they don't see the harm in giving up all the data people ask for but us expats we know better We don't want to get on anyone's list That's one of the reasons some of us came down here in the first place to have a smaller footprint get away from Big Brother And get off of lists It's only gringles and expats who are one step ahead of the crowd on this one And I'm talking of course about ways to stay truly anonymous down here, and you don't stay anonymous In fact you raise red flags when people ask for your documentation for one thing or another and you refuse so Many low-profile expats have found the best way to play that game is to play the disinformation card that is you never tell them who you really are or Where you really live and here's one easy way to do it you actually have two encrypted partitioned segments on your flash drive
[06:26] I'm talking about a tiny little flash drive that you carry around with you whether in your pocket on your keychain or in your Hidden pouch where I have mine so like I said you have two Encrypted partitions on your drive one for your real documents and one for the ones that you've photoshopped And you use those altered photoshop documents when some nosy Nelly or unofficial Institution like a store or delivery company asks you for copies of your documents like for example when buying a cell phone When you're renting a place when you sign up for a membership at a health club or a big box store like Sam's Club Or anytime some half-wit fool behind a desk Insists that you show him or her your docs or you won't be getting their service My advice is to never give your complete name or address unless absolutely necessary
[07:14] That's one way to stay completely off the radar believe me and of course it's dishonest But who gives a damn in this day and age when you're losing your privacy by leaps and bounds Little and medium white lies like that will allow you to keep at least some of your privacy in some ways It's pretty much your only option and remember being a gringo you have the gringo advantage going for you So Latins are always obliging no matter what kind of documents to give them most times you could hand them a 20 year old library Card and they'd take it with a smile since most Latins can't read or write English anyway So as you might imagine when you're off the tourist trail when it comes to ID documents You could really get away with murder, but when it comes to their own residents They're very strict and ask for the passport or the official personal identification card called a DPI
[08:00] And by the way if you get permanent residency you'll get one of those DPI's yourself But that doesn't mean when you're buying a cell phone for example that you have to show it to anyone you can still whip Out a copy of your 20 year old Photoshop to Cleveland library card and don't laugh. It'll usually work oops. I guess I got sidetracked again, huh? Man, did I get off the track there? I was talking about olive oil now wasn't I so anyway a couple days ago I was in Costco And I just bought a half gallon of their members choice extra virgin olive oil for about 12 bucks And yes I've heard all the rumors in the controversy about where that oil actually comes from and that it might be a stale blend of who Knows how many olive crops and it's surely not from Italy at all a place where the best olive oil supposed to come from
[08:46] But probably a mediocre blend from Spain or even diluted or counterfeit if you can believe half of what you see on the internet these Days, but still it says extra virgin olive oil on the bottle So what I'm saying is you can get it down here And it seems to be pretty cheap pretty much exactly what you'd pay for it at Costco in the States and for those of you Who are olive oil gourmet's that is you can actually tell the difference between all the different kinds Well, you don't have to buy the mediocre Costco or Walmart junk You can get the expensive name brands, too But what I really want to bring up is coconut oil now if you're into the health thing at all You know you can't really cook with olive oil at all once you heat it up. It becomes denatured It can't take high heat so for all you guys and gals out there with that didn't know that if you buy expensive Olive oil and cook with it. You're throwing your money down the in a door. Oh, which is the toilet in Spanish
[09:36] That's in a door. Oh, anyway, olive oil is supposed to be used poured directly on the food right out of the bottle Not heated if you heat it you're ruining all the properties you hope to get out of it in the first place So then what are you supposed to use for cooking? Well coconut oil is by far and away the best it'll take all kinds of heat and won't get denatured and like I said If you listen to Gary, you'll know it's got a million and one health benefits besides the fact You can put it in your hair on your skin and in your diesel Mercedes if you're in a pinch and the weather is warm Because below about 70 degrees Fahrenheit coconut oil turns white and kind of hard And looks like lard and you might remember maybe a half year ago I spoke about coconut water down here and that since coconuts are virtually everywhere
[10:21] You can pretty much have it absolutely fresh anytime anyplace and down here They drink it right out of the coconut no glass or copper utensils necessary Except you'll need a straw and by the way I advise you to bring your own straw that is since the little guy or gal who's just Macheted your coconut will hand you one of his straws That's been a landing strip for flies all day and spend baking in the Sun since 6 in the morning So definitely bring your own straw Anyway aside from that Like I said, there are little guys and gals on street corners selling coconuts And they'll take a big machete and chop the end off for you right then and there Yep down here in Latin America the guys and the gals are experts at wielding those two and three foot long razor sharp machetes
[11:07] That's why I find it so strange when I hear these stories about rampant practically epidemic Spousal abuse domestic violence and wife-beating I mean since so many women can wield a machete like Indiana Jones You'd think you'd read about a few thousand husbands and boyfriends being castrated each year But you don't know there's always hope so anyway just a word of advice Before that little guy or gal lops off the tip of your coconut ouch. That didn't come out right now. Did it? I mean that's done to give you access to the coconut water right anyway You should instruct the person with a machete to cut it just short of exposing a hole to get the water That way the coconuts still hermetically sealed and when you want to drink it You could just take your little Swiss army knife and in two seconds make a little opening to stick your straw in
[11:55] In other words you could keep that coconut in your car or wherever for a couple of days And as long as you don't puncture through the hole the water will remain perfectly fresh But if the guy with the machete cuts the slightest hole through the center chamber where all that water is You have to drink it within a couple hours After that it won't be long before you taste that the water's gone off and that starts happening as soon as outside air Gets into that water chamber And there's another reason not to let that guy cut through your coconut with his machete Not all the way through to the water chamber that is that's because you don't know where his machete's been I mean they use those things as a general-purpose tool to slice the dice to eat off of to lay on the ground in a gutter They'll wipe it on their pants They'll use it to pry open lids Torqued down screws cut through raw chicken fish and meat and once I even saw an old guy shaving with his what I mean
[12:47] Is if a guy cuts through the top of your coconut with his machete There's no guarantee that he hasn't injected some nasty bacteria into the very place you're gonna stick your straw So bottom line tell them to cut it a bit short So how much coconut water can you get out of one of those things? Depending on the size and shape of the coconut you could get anywhere from 10 to 16 ounces of coconut water For around 50 cents that's when you're off the tourist trail when you're on the tourist trail It could be anywhere from 2 to 5 bucks for exactly the same thing and definitely most expensive when you're on a tourist beach Now a screen goes we just drink the coconut water, but for the locals. That's just the beginning of that coconut treat When it's a really fresh coconut that hasn't been off the tree for more than a couple weeks
[13:32] there's that white soft rubbery layer a translucent layer about an eighth to a quarter inch thick that circles the inside of the coconut too that's the part that the Coconut water was in contact with the whole time and the locals just love to scrape that down with a spoon and eat it now When you get coconuts up north in Cleveland at your local grocery store After you break them open to get the water if there's any water in them You'll rarely find that soft translucent layer It's usually dead hard inside of an old coconut like that and that's why when I first saw it myself I actually thought there was something wrong with that coconut. I was thinking why is there a soft gummy? Translucent layer like that yuck after all to me it kind of looked like an eighth inch layer of translucent jello Gross looking at first, but you live and learn right and it is quite tasty
[14:20] But messy to dig out so I never do it, but the locals do it all the time So they whack the coconut a couple more times with their machetes And then they have a nice big snack or a small meal so basically for locals You're coconuts like a slowpoke sucker it lasts all day Am I dating myself there folks anyway? I'm sure you all remember some years back when coconut oil was deemed by conventional medicine to be a very bad oil for you Too saturated they said meaning bad for the arteries And you know saturated fats like butter and lard and Crisco are mostly solid at room temperature Just like coconut oil and I remember back in the 60s 70s and 80s Practically every packaged good and bakery item that came out of mass packaged food production plants on the label
[15:09] It would say contains Hydrogenated vegetable oil and then it would say in parentheses coconut oil or palm oil etc and for those of you who know anything about chemistry Hydrogenating a vegetable oil means Eliminating all the double bonds and turning them into single bonds with hydrogen atoms attached to them and with all the double bonds now Single bonds loaded up with hydrogen. It's called saturated ie a saturated fat versus a polyunsaturated fat a phrase you see printed on so many oil jars in the grocery store But ninety nine point nine percent of Americans have no idea what it really means except They've been told it's better for you than saturated fat so years ago They were using palm and coconut oil all the time though like the label said it was
[15:56] Hydrogenated and that's a high temperature and pressure Artificial process done for among other things to give oils a much longer shelf life and make them more stable And you know that kind of coconut oil used in baking when they hydrogenated then the molecules are altered It's completely denatured and it's not good for you But in the last five years or so food scientists in the know have figured out that cold-pressed coconut oil What you might call extra virgin coconut oil for lack of a better term well it turns out That's one of the best oils of all but you knew that right now I'll tell you down here in Latin America there are coconuts everywhere and 30 or 40 years ago That's all people ever used coconut oil same thing throughout the Caribbean islands, too There were coconuts everywhere, so nothing, but coconut oil was used that was until the big industrial food
[16:46] Giants figured out that they could make oil really really cheap out of palm nuts And we're not talking about a coconut palm tree here. We're talking about a palm nut tree They do look quite the same actually except for the fruit They produce and you see the coconut palm nut tree down here, too Practically everywhere because cheap cooking oil is a huge international business in fact there are vast plantations I'm talking miles and miles rows and rows of these things but instead of producing coconuts it produces big round bunches as big as a basketball of Little round berries or nuts each a bit smaller than a ping-pong ball Then they cook the hell out of those things in giant vats and produce a very cheap oil That's no good for you at all and in fact isn't all your cheap packaged food products up north and your cookies and bakery
[17:35] It's kind of like the universal cooking oil for the world and guess what because it's so very cheap the people down here in Latin America who are always on the edge Financially completely switched from coconut oil to cheap junky unhealthy palm nut oil about 20 or 30 years ago So what am I getting at well? Here's the problem expats and gringos that come down here to Latin America that are in the know about Nutrition are always looking for coconut oil, and it's almost impossible to find except in the high-priced first world health food stores I mean those horrid ripoff franchises that have arrived like GNC for example so anyway if you're in Central or South America even though there are coconuts everywhere You can search high and low and you still might never find locally produced oil Even though it was a staple down here 30 years or so ago even with all the coconuts everywhere people don't know how to make
[18:26] It it's a lost art The only place I found that you can actually buy locally made coconut oil is in those little Caribbean and Atlantic Coastal towns along the eastern border of Central and South America for example if you go to a Caribbean Coastal town in Nicaragua or Belize or Honduras or Guatemala when you're walking through one of the markets You'll find there are some old ladies Selling coconut oil in pint and liter bottles, and I'm not talking about the Latina or Latina ladies These are black ladies mostly of black Caribbean slave ancestry the older black Caribbean Latin culture still can make it But in very small one-off quantities. It's all done in a kitchen with a few pots and pans No mass production not by a long shot, and they're not cooking with it or using it themselves
[19:13] They're selling it to tourists usually and they'll make specialty items like coconut cookies and coconut bread with this stuff But only to sell not for the family or themselves and like I said there's no large-scale production at all most of the time They'll sell it to you in half pint or pint whiskey or wine bottles They don't even have their own bottles to fill or labels for that matter They recycle booze bottles from the men in the family and when you hold the bottle up to the light You'll see little floaters in there. Even when it's hot out. It's not transparent The coconut oil is a little cloudy not a hundred percent clear and filtered like you'd get from a big manufacturer So you know it's definitely handmade so for me anytime. I'm on the Caribbean coast I always ask some of those old ladies
[19:59] And they're almost always very old ladies for a couple of gallons of the stuff and guess what they never have that much on hand Instead I always give them a little deposit and they tell me they'll have a couple gallons ready for me in like two days And you know I can't always wait a couple of days for that so occasionally when someone's coming down from the states I'll have them bring me a couple of jars usually from a company called vitacost They make a good product, and it's cheap And they sell a half a gallon of organic cold pressed coconut oil for about 20 bucks now down here Of course when the old ladies hand make it you can get it for a lot less than that However since they're almost always selling half pints and pints for a big order like a couple of gallons They need time to collect the coconuts and do their thing to make the oil and as quaint and as cool as that sounds
[20:46] I tell you there's a great opportunity there for a business-minded expat and here's how I do it You just go down to the Caribbean coast Let's say in la seba or tell a Honduras for example or even Livingston Guatemala And you round up all those old ladies and make a co-op out of it have them all working for you making the stuff So you won't need a manufacturing plant their kitchens and backyards are the manufacturing plants You'll just have to collect this stuff have your own bottles and labels and do some filtration on it So it looks a little more consistent and consumer friendly. You know what I'm talking about anyway You're talking about almost no investment and no overhead and the cool thing is coconut oil almost never spoils and rarely goes rancid Like honey. It's one of the few natural foods that has a shelf life of years
[21:33] Now you might be wondering if everyone in Latin America uses that cheap palm not oil well Then who's buying those little pints and half pints of coconut oil from those old ladies in their kiosks? Well, you know what they sell it to the odd tourist as skin lotion and suntan oil because remember the expensive suntan oils like Hawaiian tropic if you open the bottle it smells just like coconut oil because that's one big component. That's their niche They're selling coconut oil So there's a pretty good demand for coconut oil products wherever there are beaches Because after all those coastal Caribbean towns even the ones way off the tourist trail have their share of beach comers Mostly expat gringo backpacking beach comers by the way and not many of them either So those ladies don't sell much coconut oil in fact
[22:20] They generally sell all kinds of junk at their little kiosks and little bottles of coconut oil take up Just a tiny little space on their little display stand kind of like an afterthought fact is they hardly sell any of the stuff Lucky for them. It has a shelf life of years, right now for a long time I thought about doing this kind of business myself But there's only so many hours in the day and I don't want to be tied down to another project So I'll leave it up to some adventurous expats to put together that kind of business In fact believe it or not I think you could go worldwide with this thing since coconut oil that you get from vitacost and on Amazon and stuff is Coming from guess where the Philippines and you got to be able to make it just as cheap or even cheaper down here It's much closer to the real market the States
[23:05] So if you end up selling it there shipping will be much cheaper and what about quality control and licensing and stuff Well, of course being a gringo you will have inbred first world standards and you'll see right away That the pints and half pints that you buy from those old ladies sometimes look so crude and rustic in those discarded booze bottles That one of the reasons why they don't sell much of the stuff at all is because it simply has a bad Presentation and as we all know for first worlders, especially Presentation is everything. I mean, let's face it up north people buy absolute junk Trash as long as it's hyped up and it comes in a pretty box And the fact is these ladies have just the opposite problem They have got a great product that comes in an ugly box and about getting permits and the license to sell and export
[23:52] Well first, of course, you will want to sell it in the country. You manufactured it That'll be your testing and proving ground And the first thing you'll try to do is sell it through specialty stores And of course in high-end residential areas and in the grocery and health food stores in and around the high-level Expensive shopping malls and of course in residential areas where gringos live and shop and once you've got that started It'll be easy to sell in all the other Latin American countries because they've all got free trade agreements with each other now the tough part of course will be trying to sell that stuff in Europe and in the states because now you've got any number of Alphabet agencies like the FDA and OSHA getting involved in the act, of course It's done all the time But it could well cost some thousands of dollars to get the paperwork in order and the testing done
[24:38] Because it will be scrutinized in a lab before the US allows it to be sold or even shipped there So if any of you expats gringos or wannabes do get a little coconut oil business going like that I promise I'll be your first customer not to mention I know a couple dozen more expats standing in line right behind me. Oh and while I'm at it Let me mention again that if you're interested in coming to one of my expat wisdom seminars Again in Central America, which I'm trying to put together for this January if you're interested I'll put you on my contact list. So shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com And you know, I have to tell you those expat wisdom seminars are just great places to network with people In fact every time I have a seminar like that like-minded people end up hanging with each other and percolating any number of great
[25:24] Business ideas and just by coming down to my seminar and meeting up with brand new gringos and expats Some new expats are already living here and doing business with people they first met while networking the first few days They got here and I got a feeling at this next seminar There's gonna be a lot of talk about this coconut oil idea because the way it looks to me a business like that is not about Having money. It's about having the time and good organizational skills to put it all together That's what's gonna make this thing work now before I finish today I like to mention something that should be of great interest to you guys and gals who are thinking about coming down That real estate bubble I've been talking about is showing big cracks around the edges Now the thing is when you have a bubble That means you have way too many units out there and not enough people that can afford to buy them and the problem is for
[26:10] Those who are in the real estate business new units and projects keep coming online all the time without any increase in people that can afford To buy in so the first crack you see in a real estate market is generally a huge oversupply of vacant units that end up on The market for so long that owners start getting nervous and the prices get very soft in fact just last week I was searching out apartments for a couple of expat listeners who are coming down to live in a month or two and I looked At about ten apartments two and three bedroom jobs about three quarters of them were new construction and believe it or not some of them had been on the market for a year to a year and a half already without a single person walking through and One of them was a little three-bedroom unit a house that I actually had looked at four or five years ago
[26:57] And at that time the owner wanted 600 bucks a month for it Well, guess what last week that very same unit in that very same guarded residential complex is going right now for 400 a month and that includes maintenance security cable water and you only pay electric and I said to the guy look I'll pay you six months in advance, but you got to drop your price to 350 a month And he said no, he couldn't do that The next day he called me up and said he would accept the deal and I said no, that's okay I'll check with you in a couple months. Then we'll talk about 300. Can you see what's happening here? You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border
[27:43] Email me the expat files at gmail.com and don't forget to check out expat wisdom calm to sign up for your Reports on Latin America. See you next time knows famous