Getting yourself on the property ladder is a big deal so you need to make sure you’ve thought everything through properly. Do you have a good credit score? If you don’t consider getting a credit card with no credit so you can improve your mortgage offer. Will moving be sustainable for you? Make sure you have enough money for the move. Where are you going to move to? A lot of people are saying Nicaragua.
Is Nicaragua right for you? The first thing to consider is that, despite the recent hype, an extended or permanent stay in Nicaragua is a bold and major lifestyle change. It would be wrong – and seriously misguided – to expect living in Nicaragua to be remotely similar to settling in a more traditional warm-weather retreat, like Florida or Costa Rica, for example, and the process of determining whether Nicaragua is your cup of tea should not be taken lightly. You may find that speaking to the top real estate agents in San Francisco is a better option for you in the long run, so spend the time to think about it.
The first question you should ask is: “Why am I moving to Nicaragua?” If your answer has to do with something you read in a real estate brochure, flashy magazine article, or get-rich-quick scheme you found online, then you’ve got some more research to do. If your answer has to do with curiosity, adventure, learning Spanish, starting a long-term business, or retiring to a more relaxed lifestyle, you’re on the right track. However, if you decide to retain the property you leave behind, you always have out of state real estate investing opportunities where you can make money by renting out your property while you’re living it up in the sun.
This book does not purport to “sell” you on living in Nicaragua and it does not turn a blind eye to reality. Rather, it will allow you to consider the advice from places like At Home with Daneen on finding your perfect home, and provide you some researched facts and the insight and experience of the authors, whose relationship with Nicaragua dates to the previous century: we have both worked and lived in Nicaragua since 1998; Randy married a Nicaraguan and built a home there, dealing with contractors and every bureaucrat in the city. Joshua (a.k.a. Josu) has led service trips and film crews around the country and continues to seek its untold stories.
In addition, our combined network of expatriate friends and colleagues, from long-term expats and extended volunteers to spouses and entrepreneurs, played an enormous part in the writing of Moon Living Abroad in Nicaragua and making sure that this book represents a range of experiences and opinions.
