As the traditional economies of the West experience more and more uncertainty each year, some investors have started to take a closer look at emerging economies. Apart from Asia, South America seems today one of the most interesting places to invest. All regular candidates have their pros and cons. While Argentina suffers from legal insecurity and Brazil from corruption and crime that is still widespread. Still, they are by far the largest and best known countries.
However, Chile has won them in the last 10 years or so. Chile offers a very balanced place: there is a high level of literacy and education, the highest average income (although it is not yet evenly distributed), very good infrastructure and well-functioning institutions. It is also worth mentioning the low levels of corruption at the institutional level.
On the other hand, Chile offers both institutional and private investors a wide range of interesting objects. For the institutional investor, or the investor who mainly seeks profitability, Chile has tourism projects, and more importantly, agricultural lands and mines.
For the private investor looking for a second home or land, there are great bargains, whether it’s lakeside land in the Southern Lake District, prime farm land at less than $ 5,000 per acre, or just one. beach house in Viña del Mar or further north.
The five things to know when investing:
1. Can anyone buy land in Chile?
Yes. But what you need to buy land in Chile is a so-called RUT, similar to a social security number. It is issued by the Chilean tax authority and is easy to obtain. You will get it without any problem but you must request it personally in Chile at the tax office (Internal Tax Services).
2. How can I make sure that the property I buy is legally in good condition and that the seller is the owner?
When you have found the property you are looking for, you should contact an attorney to verify the legal limitations and ownership of the property. The lawyer will request the information from the Conservador de Bienes Raices, the Chilean institution that maintains all records of all properties. You can also request registration right there. What you need is the ROL number, the property identification number.
3. Looking for farmland
If you are considering investing in agricultural land (because food prices are going to go up), it all depends on whether you intend to cultivate it yourself or whether you want to rent it out to other farmers. In the first case, you will probably want land that can produce exportable fruits, such as grapes, walnuts, or apples. Then, look in the Regions near the Metropolitan Region: V. and VI. Region. If you want to rent the land, we recommend that you look further south where you will find land that is cheap and favors crops that do not require a long investment period such as corn or maize.
4. Take into account the Mapuches
The main tribe of Chilean Indians are the Mapuche. They have been granted a bit of land after the colonial rulers had taken it all from them. Now the problem is that the Mapuche believe that the land cannot belong to anyone and legally they do not have the right to sell the land to non-Mapuche people. If they sell it anyway, the contract may be illegal. If you buy in the south (Region VIII-X), ask your lawyer to review this point. In other regions it is not usually a problem.
5. How to know when is a good time to invest in Chile
After the Chilean central bank announced the daily purchase of 50 million dollars until the end of the year, the dollar has gained about 5% against the Chilean peso. However, it seems likely that the weight in the medium term will recover its loss and even rise to higher levels than ever. The reason is copper from Chile. It is the main export of the country and its price has risen. The other major export, fruits, has also seen higher prices over time. If these trends continue, the peso will continue to climb. This could make it more expensive for you in the future. Although no one can predict the exchange rates.
For more information on all these topics, visit the site http://www.property-in-chile.com.
