This is the 11th in a series of posts in which David Steckler shares his experiences of building a vacation home at Hacienda Iguana resort on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. Here are the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth,seventh,eighth,ninth and tenth. The goal of this candid construction blog is to reduce the anxiety of people who own real estate in Nicaragua and plan to build, but are afraid of making mistakes along the way.

The last 1/4 mile of the journey

For our December visit, Marcia and I joined forces and ventured south to visit our house project to knock off some major tasks, mainly purchase lots of plants and score some furniture for the house.

There was one small hiccup on this trip, which occurred in Boston. As always I was taking along stuff for the house, which included a water treatment system that had been carefully bubble wrapped and boxed for the flight down.

During check in at American Airlines we discovered they were having a cardboard box embargo! In other words, I had to remove the water filtration tank from its long box, which precipitated other security issues like couldn’t you be hiding explosives in that fiberglass tank?

In the end I was able to sweet talk our tank through security, minus the cardboard box…..the bubble wrap was allowed through and most importantly my sense of humor was still intact.

We brought along a gigantic flatbed truck and our builder’s wife Nancy, a seasoned expert in plant selection, furniture decisions, and price negotiation. We visited nurseries in Catarina and furniture makers in Masatepe, both located in the Masaya region southeast of Managua.

It ended up being a very long shopping spree, but at day’s end when we landed back at Iguana with an abundance of beautiful plants and assorted pieces of furniture, it was entirely worthwhile. We even snapped up Zoysia grass for the side patio to fill in between the large field stone.

We made some final decisions about appliances, kitchen and bathroom layout and several major architectural features at the front entrance way that had been purposely left unfinished until we could visit and discuss several options with Tony, our builder. I hope to show you the results of our design choices in next month’s blog.

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Knight Frank included 33 countries in their Global House Price Index for the second quarter of 2009.  Unfortunately none of the markets we cover - Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize and Panama - form part of the index. We’ve written before about the lack of comparable data in Central America and how we plan to help fill the data gap for international real estate.

Still the global context is important for regional buyers and sellers, so we’ve summarized the results below.  The full data and analysis from Knight Frank can be seen here.

• House prices increased in almost half of the locations reporting prices for the second quarter of 2009.
• The picture has improved from the first quarter where double-digit falls were seen in a number of locations. In the second quarter, price falls did not exceed 10% in any country.
• Dubai recorded the largest year-on-year falls at 47%, but prices seem to be falling at a slower rate now - losing 7.5% from the first quarter 2009
• In Israel house prices increased 12.5% over a 12 month period, making it the top performer in the sample.
• The report concludes that although there are signs that the prices are beginning to bottom out, the market is still “fragile and patchy.”

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We’re excited to be hosting Carnival of Real Estate #164 this week from Nicaragua.

In our work in Central America we regularly draw inspiration from the US RE.net on online marketing and ways to equip buyers and sellers with tools to help them make better decisions. This makes us avid followers of the Carnival. We use it as a quick way into the best real estate posts each week.

Not a huge list of submissions this time round, but still a few nice articles in the mix. We’ve picked out the three we liked most and added in a runner up.

The top three real estate posts:

We enjoyed reading Jim’s advice to Rent Forever, Don’t Buy A Home posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. It’s always refreshing to see an article ”tackle the cornerstones of well-accepted advice.” You may not agree with everything he’s saying. But maybe that’s the point.

We’re always exploring rankings, rating and lists in our work to help buyers get to grips with the local market. So we appreciated Whitney Tyner’s Trick-or-Treat Housing Index: Top 5 Seattle Neighborhoods posted at Zillow Blog which lists neighborhoods that “provide the most candy, with the least walking, and minimum safety risks”. Perhaps we need to inject some more fun into our own rankings?

Also in our top three is a post from Cindy Jones on Short Sale Train Wreck Coming to Northern Virginia Soon posted at VA Real Estate Talk. She may be right about conflicts between agents as a result of the way some short sales are being handled.

And the runner up:

We’ll close this Carnival with a runner up prize to Saundra Washington for her 12 Terrific Topics for Your Real Estate Blog posted at Technology Tools for Real Estate. It seems that there can never be enough list posts helping real estate bloggers come up with new content day after day.

That concludes this edition of CORE. To participate next week please submit your best post using the carnival submission form.

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Life is good for many people living abroad.  The benefits include a lower cost of living, more affordable real estate, a sense of freedom, the experience of a new culture and warm weather. Moving abroad can also be an opportunity for reinvention and a way to escape from the drudgery of 9-5 living.

Still, living overseas isn’t for everyone.   If US-style convenience, a first world infrastructure everywhere you go, access to the food products you are used to at home and a fast paced life are important for you, then life in a developing country may not be the right choice.  And talking to American expatriates in Central America we found that missing family and friends in the US is the most common downside to living abroad.

But as with most things, it’s what you make of it.  For example:

• If you decide to move to a Spanish speaking country, will you put in the effort to learn a new language?
• How willing are you to embrace change?
• Are you inspired to learn about new cultures?
• Are you looking for adventure?
• Are you comfortable making new friends?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you may be ready to make a move overseas.

Before you jump in, remember to get to know a place more than in a passing fashion.   Visit during the off-season as well as during peak times to make sure you still like the location and that you can access the local services that you need.

Then, arming yourself with objective market information will help you make the right investment choices.   Market comps will help you determine fair value, enabling you to negotiate better deals with sellers and agents to leverage the current buyer’s market.

Do you research, take your time, get all your questions answered, and you’ll be right on track.

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Welcome to the 127th edition of Carnival of Real Estate, coming to you from Central America. We are thrilled to be hosting the Carnival and enjoyed reading all the submissions.

We found 5 winners and allocated each an award named after a tourist attraction in Central America. (We hope no one was expecting a Super Bowl theme.) The awards were given for posts on real estate that demonstrated clarity of style, mastery of the subject and power to influence.

In first place, receiving the The Barrier Reef Award (Belize) is Mike Price with Gary Vaynerchuck - “It’s Over….” posted at Mike’s Corner - Web 2.0 For Real Estate Pros. This is a lively edition of Mike’s Mic with Gary Vaynerchuck expanding on some of the themes he covered at his recent Inman keynote. Some great probing from Mike to reveal Gary’s insight into what it will take for real estate professionals to succeed in the future.

Coming in second, receiving the Panama Canal Award (Panama) is Ken Brand’s Arousal ~ Foreplay ~ Fun posted at Real Estate Magazine - Real Estate Opinion Column - AgentGenius. Yes, this post is about real estate and leaves you with the notion that “You can if you think you can. Be ready.”

Third place, receiving the Arenal Volcano Award (Costa Rica) is Rod Herman asking Did Benicia Act Too Soon When It Closed Mills Elementary School? posted at HomeSection.com. An engaging analysis of the changing demographics in the Benicia real estate market and the impact this has on school enrollment patterns. The post weaves in some personal reflections on the changing market.

Fourth place with the Tikal Award (Guatemala) is Dan Melson presenting Jumbo Loans and The Current Market (January 2009) posted at Searchlight Crusade. A technical post reflecting on the fact that in the current loan market few are offering “jumbo” loans at anything like a “par” rate. The post looks at the broader mortgage market and points to likely future trends.

And, finishing fifth with the San Francisco Church Award (Nicaragua) is Bruce Lemieux presenting The Grand Canyon can separate buyer and seller expectations posted at MoCo Real Estate. The post calls for the need to help both buyers and sellers set realistic expectations. Bruce makes some good suggestions on how to work with both sides to bridge the expectation gap and find the middle ground.

We’d also like to mention some of the other posts that we enjoyed reading. Some almost made it into the top 5 and each will give you something to mull over.

Dave Peniuk presents 8 Ways to Know if You Should Hire a Property Manager posted at Rev N You with Real Estate. Readers will find some practical lessons learned from a personal property management experience.

Patrick Duffy presents Builders increasingly taking on remodeling work posted at Housing Chronicles. The size of the market may surprise you.

Doug Willis presents Are Banks Negotiable? Buying Short Sales and Foreclosed Real Estate posted at Up2Date and covers some things you should know if you are to negotiate effectively with lenders.

Joshua Dorkin presents How High Is Up? A Look at Real Numbers Defined by the Real Estate Collapse posted at Real Estate Investing For Real. A demonstration that real estate math is a two way street and opportunity is in the eye of the beholder.

Diane Tuman presents Diary of a Refi: Things You Need for an FHA Refinance - Part I posted at Zillow Blog. A practical post - the first in a series of planned posts on refinancing.

Bob Schwartz presents U.S. Economy ? Case for Optimism posted at San Diego real estate. A short, punchy post reminding us that America is still standing.

Riley Smith | Coconut Grove Realtor presents No wonder Lehman Brothers failed…. posted at The Real Estate Coconut A good example of the carelessness of Lehman Brothers.

Raymond presents Bearish Stock Market Net Worth Update posted at Money Blue Book. A personal analysis of the current economic news and financial markets with some real estate thoughts mixed in.

C Richey presents Las Vegas remains Attractive for Foreign Investors posted at Las Vegas Homes - Henderson Real Estate.

Joe Spake presents Memphis Real Estate Sales Report for December, 2008 posted at JoeSpakeBlog.com.

Karen Goodman presents PMI Report - St. Louis Market Update posted at Arch City Homes

That concludes this edition. Thank you to everyone who participated, congratulations to the winners and best wishes from Central America

If you are interested in being considered for the next Carnival of Real Estate, please submit your blog article using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found at The Carnival of Real Estate.

What do you think of this week’s Carnival? Please feel free to comment below.

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