New Listing with Special price Offering as of 6/09
We are offering for sale a very beautiful and exclusive seven and a half acre tropical mountain forest hacienda in Yamaranguila, Intibuca Honduras..... ”Hacienda Los Olivos”.
About Honduras........
As of late Honduras has been called the best kept secret of Central America, and the next Costa Rica and Panama. Having a government and culture that is very friendly to foreign investment, a stable and growing economy, freedom to live a peaceful and family-friendly life; coupled with some of the world’s most picturesque scenery and temperate climate, it is no wonder why many expatriates and investors alike are excited about this special Central American locale. Foreigners in Honduras have the constitutionally-protected right to sovereign ownership of land, without any Honduran residency requirements. (We are very familiar with this as we are non-Honduran resident, U.S. citizens ourselves) Also, foreigners can easily set up bank accounts and business entities in Honduras. (As we have also done) Honduras is becoming very popular with foreign expats and retirees as they can live very comfortably on $500 every 30 days. Health and dental care is modern and very economical. Honduras has a population of approximately six million, with about 40% of its population living in the three major metropolitan areas of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba. The other 60% live throughout the beautiful coastal and inland rural areas spread throughout the country. Honduras is centrally located in the middle of Central America. It is about 2,000 miles from the United States via the newly renovated Pan-American Highway, or a 2-3 hour direct flight from Houston, Atlanta, or Miami. The currency, the “lempira” is currently trading at approx 18.9 lempiras per U.S. dollar.
About Yamaranguila, Intibuca........
The Spanish colonial-era village of Yamaranguila is located in the department (state) of Intibuca and is approx 7 miles from the Spanish colonial-era town of La Esperanza, the capital of Intibuca. La Esperanza has a population of about 12,000 people. La Esperanza is a thriving and peaceful city with a full-service hospital, dental facilities, full-service banking, a number of English-speaking private schools, and a Canadian hydro-electric project that supplies affordable energy to the area (70% of Honduras’ energy is supplied through hydro-electric sources). Currently La Esperanza is a scenic 2 ½ hour drive from either San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa. The highway is newer and easy to navigate. Yamaranguila is a quaint little town that is becoming a very popular location for Hondurans who want to build a nice getaway vacation home. The department of Intibuca is home to the majority of the country’s native ”Lenca” population (the indigenous Indians of Honduras) and boasts of some of the most temperate and fertile land in Central America. Due to these conditions, as well as the agrarian lifestyle of the Lencas, Intibuca produces about 80% of the produce consumed in Honduras as well as some of the world’s finest high altitude cloud forest coffee. The area is picturesque with abundant pristine mountain water and air, with breath-taking cloud forest views. Currently there is a new highway (not a “hustling and bustling” one like in the U.S.) that is being completed that will link the city of Copan with Tegucigalpa (Honduras’ capital) and will run through he scenic “Lenca Trail”. This new stretch will be the new Pan-American link from Guatemala to Tegucigalpa and southern Central America.
No crime and stress problems here.... just a beautiful, clean lifestyle.
About our property, “Hacienda Los Olivos”........
Hacienda los Olivos is located about 1 mile from Yamaranguila at an elevation of 5,700 feet. It sits at the base of the 6,700 foot cloud forest peak of mount “Los Olivos”. The average daily temperature is between 70-76 degrees farenheit, with nightly lows of 55-60 degrees (no heaters or artificial a/c needed here!!!!). The rainfall is ideal..... simply put, the climate is perfect. Prior to four years ago (when we bought it), Hacienda los Olivos was an organic strawberry and blackberry finca that had been in the same family for many years.
This area is being highly sought after by people who want a peaceful and safe getaway with ideal weather conditions. There is electrical and phone service, as well as a protected pristine mountain spring drinking water system. When the new Copan Ruins-Tegucigalpa scenic highway (non-commercial traffic route) route is completed in 2009 (runs only a quarter mile from hacienda los olivos), the property could easily triple in value from that alone. We have newly fenced and cross-fenced the entire property with barbed wire and upgraded hardwood posts, and double fenced 100% of the property with additional imported sheep/goat fencing. There is a very nice spring-fed mountain stream on the property which runs year-round. There is always a nice breeze that blows through the mountain pines, producing a wonderful ocean-like sound. There are mature pine and oak trees on the property as well as 4-5 other local exotic varieties. There are also wild edible fruits/berries. There is an organic orchard with approx 25 lemon, grapefruit, apple and orange trees. About 90 days of the year the pasture (not other vegetation) on the property looses much of its greeness (but not nutritional value), and the rest of the year the pastures are very, very green. Due to the elevation and inland location of the property hurricanes are a non-issue here. The area is home to many tropical bird and butterfly species. There are no wolves, coyote, big cat, snake, or predatory bird problems. The front of the property has road access..... however, one car every week or two is the norm.
Other improvements to the property:
We are building a beautiful entrance gate area and a 700 ft long road (95% completed) leading from the front of the property to the house. The road is approximately nine feet wide and made of 9” of reinforced concrete with a stone and concrete surface. A road of this type would run well over $100,000 in the U.S..... there is only about 15 feet of the road to be completed. We are also nearing completion (90% completed) of the house. It is approximately 2350 square feet under roof and is built to very high quality standards. The hacienda is constructed of adobe, cement and exposed pine with 90% of the materials originating from the property. It is a three bedroom, two bath home with cathedral, lodge-type ceilings of native pine. The roof is tongue and groove pine, with plywood decking, double-layered asphalt paper, and Andalusa (the finest) Spanish tile. The home is designed after the Spanish “hacienda” style with a 360 degree patio incorporated into the design. The walls are 12” adobe with a one inch thick covering of stucco cement and a quarter inch finish coat of pulido (smooth) cement. At 14”+ thick the home stays at a constant 68-70 degree temperature with a wonderfully warm “feel”. The house is built into the side of a sloping hill and has a 9” reinforced cement foundation surrounding it with 24” footers. The porcelain stone-like floor tile is made of tile imported from Spain. There is a stucco fireplace in the master bedroom and the master bedroom has views of the Los Olivos peak and french doors leading to the patio. The center of the house has an exposed beam loft that could be easily configured to a fourth bedroom (however we have left it open as a nice light atrium). The windows are pine framed with beautiful full-closing external pine shutters. The home is being painted with a soft yellow look outside with the trim and ceiling in white. Only low-vapor, water-based paints are being used. The inside is white with a lighter redwood stain on the wood surfaces. We are installing high-quality stainless steel appliances in the kitchen and all cabinetry is custom, hand-made.
Other Information....
In Honduras there are three types of land ownership. First is a “private document or deed” (some are centuries old), which can be legally disputed. The second is a registered “private title or deed” (many have this), which the government can technically exercise eminent domain on like in the U.S.... third is the “Escritura Publica” (sovereign registered document), which is an absolutely sovereign title. This document can be difficult to acquire at times because land owners have “legally” stripped their land (trees) bare to the dismay of the government (land prices commonly triple with this type of title). Hacienda los Olivos is titled as a registered escritura publica with easily transferable, totally sovereign ownership rights. There are no property taxes. This property is ideal as an investment and as an offshore investment all profits are non-taxed for foreigners. Cheaper, lower quality Central American property is selling online and on the local market for much higher prices. We are listing Hacienda Los Olivos for only $250,000. I am willing to owner finance our property at this price with a 25% down payment with a 10% fixed rate APR (Honduras APR average is much higher).
The price includes the completion of the road, the entrance gate area, and the house (all of which are currently undergoing final construction). Showing is by appointment (we travel a lot on business), and on a first come basis.
Thanks for your time and interest,
Shimone
