Make 5 Choices Before You Buy

Even before you look at Puerto Armuelles real estate to buy, you should know what you want.

If you do, you will have more fun, spend less time looking, and most likely be happier with your purchase.

Make These 5 Property Choices First

1. Beach Front, near Beach, or Non-Beach?
2. Urban or Rural?
3. Titled or ROP?
4. Owned by locals or expats?
5. Inside or Outside the 10K line?

Those 5 items can fit all the property in Puerto Armuelles.

You can decide to only look at properties that are:

• Urban
• Beach Front
• ROP
• Currently owned by expats
• Inside the 10K line.

Or something else.

Regardless of your choices, there are properties that fit them in Puerto Armuelles.

Beach or non-Beach

You are in luck if you said Beach.

Puerto Armuelles is a great place for the beach.
There is more beach front in Puerto Armuelles than in most other towns in Panama.

Much of the Town Faces The Pacific Ocean

Unlike almost every other town in Panama, Puerto Armuelles is situated at the beach.

It could be because the town was built from scratch by Americans, not Panamanians.

For whatever reason, most of Puerto’s neighborhoods are on the water.

Lots Of Beach Front

What this means is that Puerto Armuelles has much more beachfront property than other places in Panama.

This higher supply often means that the prices for beachfront are lower than in other areas.

Distinct Neighborhoods

Another thing that is unique about Puerto is its neighborhoods.  Each neighborhood tends to have a distinct feel and look to them.

If you are looking for beach property, you will want to look in these neighborhoods.

Visit this page for information on the neighborhoods of Puerto Armuelles.

Titled vs ROP Properties

Like the rest of Panama, most of Puerto Armuelles’ land is not titled.  It is Right of Possession (ROP) land.

It is a personal decision which to buy.  It is easier to buy titled property since all the research on it has already been done.  It is registered with the government and the ownership has already been investigated and verified.

Buying ROP Property

If you buy ROP land, you must do your research.  You must ensure you are buying the property from the true owner and no one else has a claim on the property.  Make sure you obtain the property’s full historical record.

Titling ROP Property

If you want to title your ROP property, it is a straight forward process that holds no surprises.  It is just a matter of jumping through all the hoops. The process is simpler and faster if the property’s title is held by the municipality, rather than by the Panama national government.

That is, its easy as long as you have done your research and have all the paperwork needed to prove ownership of the property.

San Vicente & Morgan & Morgan.

Although the title to most ROP land in Puerto Armuelles is held by the municipality or the federal government, there is a short section of San Vicente whose title is owned by a bank, Morgan & Morgan.

In that case, you, or your lawyer, must deal with the bank.  People have started to get those properties titled via Morgan and Morgan.

Expat or Panamanian owned

Some people prefer to buy from expats.  For many it means that you speak the same language and are from the same, or a similar, culture.   The implication is that both parties will  fulfill the joint cultural expectations regarding the sale of property.  It is just more comfortable.

Others don’t care one way or the other.  They simply want a particular piece of land, regardless who owns it.   Either this buyer speaks Spanish or they have a trusted agent that does.

Inside or Outside the 10K Line

Panamanian law says that no foreigner, whether in a corporation or not, can own titled property within 10 kilometers of an International border.

That being said, many foreigners do own property within the 10 kilometer line.  Even titled property.   However, technically it is against the law.

Part of Puerto Armuelles is inside that line, and part is outside that line.

The San Bartolo river, where it crosses the main road, is at the 10 kilometer mark.

Neighborhoods outside the 10 kilometer limit are:

• Pez de Oro – Rural.  outside of town. A more rural feel.
• Corazon de Jesus -Rural.  about 10 minutes from Pez de Oro.  Small beach neighborhood on a street grid system. Popular with expats
• Cucuy -Rural.  about 5 minutes further out of town than Corazon de Jesus.  Also a small beach neighborhood on a grid system.
• Coronado -Rural.  about 5 minutes from Cucuy.  A small beach neighborhood popular with Canadians in particular.  Some of the newest, and upscale ex-pat owned home have been built here.  Although, such homes are also increasing in Corazon de Jesus and Cucuy.

So that is the area to look for property, it you only want to buy outside the 10K line.

So now that you have made your 5 choices, you are ready to look at property.

Go Here For Info on Puerto Armuelles Real Estate Listings