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Rancho SantanaSubmitted by dhwillia on 13 May, 2006 - 15:53.
I am interested in purchasing property in Rancho Santana or Hacienda Iguana as a vaction home and investment. Does anyone have any advice regarding these two developments (or others)? Any local knowlege would sure be appreciated. David ( categories: )
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PollWhich location appeals most? Apartment in the city 2% Home in the city 10% Home in a small town 30% Rural or small farm 52% Big farm 7% Total votes: 61 A ThoughtDime con quién andas y te diré quién eres. Tell me with whom you walk and I will tell you who you are. |
Rancho Santana
I recommend Hacienda Iguana over Rancho Santana. There are several reasons for this and if you want I can comment at length. I also know of many more properties in the sw pacific zone. Sam Bauer
RS Vs. Iguana
I'd recommend Santana over Iguana but in truth...they are both totally different communities. One can not compare the two. Iguana will end up being a golfing community with smaller pieces of property however, to make up for that...has an awesome beach.
RS is larger and has rolling hills. There are more choices for one to build on, and more affordable IMO.
One has to see both places and see what appeals to them more.
investment
what does that mean to you? whatever it is remember that if you buy in a place like rancho, you are already paying way too much as you are paying for advertisement, commissions, and very high magins... I would suggest to talk to someone like sam bauer who could in fact find you something you like and find it at a price that makes your purchase an actual investment.
Tsunami's
Me, I dont worry about them. If you live in Florida and worry about Hurricanes or in California and worry about earthquakes, or live in the midwest and worry about twisters...then why bother about living anywhere.
Canta no LLores
tsunami
Tsunami's are a part of life on the Pacific coast...infact, a small one just hit a few months ago. RS was not impaired in anyway but there were waves in a few nearby towns from what I read. Personally speaking, like Jim, I bought up in the hills for this very reason. One may not come today or tomorrow but I don't want my house wiped out along with everything else I've worked so hard for. I haven't looked into the insurance situation yet, but I'm sure it would be a bigger nightmare to deal with in Nicaragua then in New Orleans when Katrina hit.
I don't know about that...
My flood+hazard insurance in New Orleans went from $1500.00 per year to 9,000.00 per year after Katrina. Oops, you said bigger nightmare, not more expensive, jajajaja.
9000 per year
that's enough to rent a place here and have a pretty decent life! save it for 2 years and you can even have a 18K pot to rent a place, buy a few furniture, and invest the rest to make a decent monthly income.
Thanks for thinking of me...
I wound up selling it. Have health, family and a good career - so we are very blessed. Nicaragua (at least full time) is still down the road for me.
--- I am trying to be the man my dog thinks I am.
Tropical Living
Now...I have no one "quote name"...but...I read..long ago. If you want to live in the tropics...you best expect .to to replace everything 100% at least once in your lifetime. Sounds about right. Guess the "tropics'means...coastal benefits....weather.water etc. Live on he coast...live in the hils.. (the safety unless the mudslides are a hazard). At least most of us can chose. We are not stuck subsistence farming in some area that gets wiped out every ten years...and we have no choice. I was in Mid-West USA last Spring...it scared me(again..after Texas years ago..and watchng a tornado come roaring straight towards us)...tornados...oh yeah...and although the lightening etc was beautiful from a distance...talking with local people....I heard some pretty hairy stories. The mall had a corridor" shelter. The motel had no place for tornado get-away....the manager gal said.OH...now honey...don't you worry...just ...get in the bathtub...I said...OK. Insurance..I have heard that so many people are still fighting to get their benefits or being denied from Katrina ! Your insurance went to $9000.??? That is horrid !!! Insurance companies will not take any loss. Insurance is a scam. Even cut and dry claims...they prolong it...keep the interest money coming in and prolong setlements People jump through hoops.hire attoneys who take 1/3-1/2 opf setlments. Seems like collusion.. Corporate psychotic/sociopathic behavior. i don't know where to turn.I can't stand this stuff...but...how to survive without them ? Give up and go on the road.I'm too old...I need a decent bed... Willow
You're
You're better off buying insurance from the mafia - they actually protect you for your premiums.
--- I am trying to be the man my dog thinks I am.
what do you.....
think of ray school bus nagin?
Actually
I don't think very much of him. I don't give him any airtime, mindtime, vote, nadda. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya, best of luck and all that crap. I don't know that anyone else would have done any better leading up to the storm - it was his lack of leadership and damage he did after the storm that makes me vomit. That and the bad faith of the insurance companies (sorry Zen).
--- I am trying to be the man my dog thinks I am.
Actually
Thunderdial....that's one of the best profiles I've ever read...totally kreative!
Which part of his profile did you like Tegan?
Don't tell me you have implants.
Personally I can't stand them. Might just as well get it over with and buy an inflatable doll.
Yours
Yours isn't so bad either! Which personality are you today?
--- I am trying to be the man my dog thinks I am.
Ours
Hmmm, haven't decided...the personalities are fighting within themselves to be let out...
Jejeje...
good one! Zingggg.....
What do you think...
What do you think of the insurance industry? I think they are gouging their customers and the republicans are allowing them to do it.
glad you asked peluquero de un vaquero
The insurance business can be very profitable but it is extremely risky. There are hundreds of insurance companies and they are all in direct competition. If you don't like how much your company is charging then you will switch to a company with a lower premium. If one is charging too much it will lose customers until it adjusts it's rates or goes broke. It is called free enterprise.
Naturally they are going to charge as much as the market will bear, they are trying to make a profit plus enough extra to carry them through years when they have extraordinary loses such as from Katrina. Insurance companies set their rates using very accurate actuary tables that work very well for life insurance but not so well for natural disasters.
I often wonder why you feel so compelled to lambast the Republicans. We have two lousy political parties running the country, why to you invariably criticize only one of them. Who brainwashed you in the first place, your father or your teachers?
JD both you and John are sick
why do you insist on being truthfull?
come on Why?
Lyin' Farmer John Wayne
Flood Insurance
is not a private insurance program. It is a government run agency (under FEMA). None of us in the insurance underwriting business sell it or underwrite it. Your local agent serves as your access to it and we may be used to provide claims services but it's your government that sets the rates and runs the program. My industry may do lots of things but we don't gouge on flood insurance.
You got a complaint about your flood insurance rates, call your Congressman or Senator, not the insurance people you want to blame.
Nah...
I just decided not to buy it anymore - that'll teach them. I'll take the risk going forward and self insure. What? I won't be qualify for future distaster assistance if I don't? Awwww. Between my dad and I, with periodic increases in coverage to insure that we were properly covered, thus insuring the success of the insurance companies and their familes, do you know how much that amount is with a very safe interest rate over 50 years?
--- I am trying to be the man my dog thinks I am.
Not Flood Insurance
He said BOTH policies had huge premium hikes. Probably the homeowners policy (issued by an insurance company) is the biggest whopper. I know it is for me. In fact, MY government flood policy has not increased significantly, while my homeowners policy has tripled.
I don't "WANT" to blame the insurance "people", but who else should I blame - they are the "people" that are overcharging their customers - and the republicans have given them carte blanche to do so. If the government must step in to aid the insurance industry when they cry because they have too many claims - how does that jibe with free markets? Then the insurance companies turn around and gouge their customers, anyway.
Republicans?
Which ones are you blaming, since there are no federal insurance regulations on other than flood, you must be referring to all those republicans running the states. If you got a complaint, go to them, since many of the chief regulators are elected or appointed by an elected governor. They are usually responsive to people who complain. I think you'll find lots of democrats running the insurance regulatory agencies as well.
And I would love to see any evidence you have that we overcharge. Most people think we overcharge if they have no claim, but they got what they paid for, a guaranty to be made financially whole within the limits and requirements of the policy if a loss occurred during the contract term.
You are free to change carriers at any time (and shop the rates). You are free to change agents (many of whom are independent of the carriers) if you think you are getting a bum deal.
Assert yourself as you would for any product. Ask your agent if he is independent or works for the carrier. If he works for the carrier, understand that your options presented by him will be limited. If he is independent, ask your agent how much commission he is making on the sell. Ask him if the commission rate is a deciding factor in his insurance recommendation? Ask him about the Best's rating regarding the stability of the company and how it handles claims. if he balks, go find another agent.
Then read the policy and coverage forms before buying (and make the agent explain it).
Once you treat the insurance transaction as something important, then cry to me about how you are being treated.
Does it show that this is a touchy subject with me? LOL
The insurance business is just another busines.
It is a very risky business and as every investor know, the more the risk the more you can win or lose.
The world's 2nd richest man Warren Buffet owns Berkshire Hathaway whose 'A' shares just broke the $100,000 per share barrier. Much of his money comes from insurance companies that Berkshire Hathaway owns.
Berkshire Hathaway's shares were not doing so well not so long ago, the problem was in 2005. From a profit before taxes of $387 million in the third quarter of 2004, the insurance group swung to a loss of $897 million in the third quarter, sometimes called the hurricane quarter, of 2005. Then things got better. The rebound in 2006 was remarkable. That $897 million loss turned into a $2.5 billion profit.
Buffet has attributed the turnaround to good luck. Well, partly, since the stunningly good results in the third quarter of 2006 were due to an absence of hurricanes, just as the stunning losses of 2005 had been the result of an overabundance of big storms, including Katrina. That shift reduced the losses that Berkshire Hathaway's insurance businesses had to cover, and, as is typical in the insurance business, the huge losses of one year led to a huge increase in premiums in the next.
Berkshire Hathaway also took conscious risks in 2006 that led to maximum returns from that "luck." In some cases, Berkshire Hathaway became the insurer of "only resort" after all other companies refused to underwrite a risk. That let the company reap the maximum advantage from the post-Katrina increase in insurance premiums.
zenpilgrim
you are just shillin for the man.....
I know...
and I feel so dirty and used.
foul, foul
no coffee alert warning!
overcharge? on the basis....
of what evidence? are you an actuary?
Price gouging
Can you believe some people charge $200 for a haircut? I usually pay $10, and that includes a substantial tip. I wonder what kind of consumer would be crazy enough to pay $200 for a haircut.
If you are going to make money as a barber
you have to specialize. Maybe just do cowboys.
Ya' know
In this ever changing world we live in....
we have to TRY....
to now be PC... on the old movies all the listings said Barber..
NOW it's HAIRDRESSER..
I still can't forget or get it out of my mind.... POMPADOR TOM
ROFLMCO
Lyin' Farmer John Wayne
Doctors Lawyers and insurance agents
All belong to the same club..the club that says you have to pay them. I have gotten away from two out of the three...If it were possible I would get away from the insurance people too. Why do you think they make so much money? Because they can.
Canta no LLores
why do divorces cost so much?
bc they are worth it.
Worth it?
If I were to get a divorce I would get a mediator and do what was right. Not pay a lawyer to make money from my wife and I. I say they are not worth it. It only takes common sense and a person to decide what is right. In the U.S. tell me why law school is one of the most popular of the academic persuits? Might it be that money has something to do with it? Same with doctors....How many of them are just helping people for the joy of it? Not many I dare say.
Canta no LLores
Hey HHBob
both are a nessessary EVIL just like the USA
Lyin' Farmer John Wayne
Well, thats what they say.
What ever happened to living life naturally and just taking care of yourself and your family? We have been conditioned to go along with what they say, John. And if we go along with it, what choice do we have?
Canta no LLores
i most humbly....
apologize for the botched joke. i did it bc i got an incompetent one. and no one deserves that.
I understand
So why do we need them? because I guess they say that we need them. Down here you do need them because you cannot do any action at all without one. But they dont make so much money that they can screw you like they do in the U.S.
Canta no LLores
Miskito Alan once said
They are on a different LEVEL...
I think he meant pay scale.. screwing is screwing...
And that Kerry joke, I love 'em like the Hillary ones...
ROFLMCO
Lyin' Farmer John Wayne
get it?
botched joke, that was john kerry's response.
too funny....
no coffee alert.
i pay $3
and tip 1$ 33%, i am a big tipper!
The blame game
I blame the people who choose to live in areas with such high premiums :-)
You might try living your life without looking for people to blame all the time. Just let it go. Enjoy life.
Hometown Heroes
Oh, really? You find your insurance premiums to be just peachy keen? I'm happy for you that you enjoy giving your money to insurance companies. You are right. They are heroes! Heroes! Nothing to see here folks, move along. Don't Worry - Be Happy!
I'm not complaining about my rates
I enjoy paying insurance premiums about as much as you probably enjoy paying taxes.
big difference....
taxes you have to pay. no one but you requires you to get insurance.
That may depend on the state
Mortgage companies may require you to have it.
right, but who
requires you to buy a house? or who requires you to pay with a mortgage? you do, your choice, no?
I wasn't going to go that far, but
You're quite right. Pay cash for your house, and you're a free man. Neither a borrower nor a lender be. You could choose to rent a little place above a store and do nicely.