Some Facts About Panama City Real Estate
(erealtyltd.com ) Panama City real estate purchase is legal and available for all the foreigners. Foreign investors buy there houses in the capacity of their second house, rest, when retiring or just to invest their money. But what is the main zest?
The price. Panama City real estate is rather cheap. They cost three times cheaper than the USA property does. Panama real estate purchase is safe. The foreigners have the same rights as the Panamanian do. There are more than a dozen of laws that were passed to protect the right of the foreigners. There is a great variety of property in Panama: one can choose from luxuriant high block apartments to tropical houses.
Real Estate Market
There is a real splash of the interest to the Panama real estate today. It promotes real estate price growth to 25 % a year. Now the price of a square meter varies from 3000$ to 300$ depending on the location of the object.
Panama City real estate purchase procedure
One can work with the realtor who knows the real estate market and can explain him all the advantages and disadvantages of any property. The panama government takes 2% of the tax for the disposal of property in Panama. This sum is based on the property cost. As it is done everywhere one should pay for notary public tallage. They will vary from $ 200 до $ 300. It a common practice but the object of the tallage payment is defined in the deal by the two sides.
The first deal stage will be a preliminary contract signing - Promesa de Compra y Venta. It includes any conditions that were discussed about by the deal participants. Together with the deal the seller gets the advance payment usually it is 10 % of the real estate cost.
One should know that all the juridical contracts are made in Spanish in Panama. If you don’t know Spanish well ask for the contract translation – this service should be provided by your lawyer for an additional pay.
After the contract signing the seller should pay 2% of the tax for the real estate disposal. It takes over 30 days but it can even take longer against the deal complication. The preparation procedure takes over 10 days.
Taxes and Expenses
Notary public service – 2% (paid by the customer)
Real estate disposal – 2% (paid by the seller)
Realtor service - 3-5 % (paid for the seller)
Income tax
Minimal income tax in Panama is 2% (3000$), maximum is 30 % (200 000$).