In many Central American countries it can be very hard to obtain a loan from a local bank for real estate investing and, where it is possible, the interest rates are not competitive to the US and terms can be unfavorable. 

Panama stands out in this regard as competitive financing is comparatively easy to obtain.   In most countries you can normally find private lenders offering loans based on refinancing US assets and an ever increasing number of developers are offering owner/developer financing although this number is still small in absolute terms.