Real Estate News, Realty Guide

If you’re looking for a summer vacation with mountain fresh air and mild temperatures, then Lake Tahoe is the place for you. The average summer temperatures are in the 70s and 80s. Tahoe is known for its clear blue water and beautiful mountains surrounding the alpine lake some 4,500 miles above sea level. The lake’s western shore in California offers several activities for summer vacationers. From Tahoe City down to Emerald Bay, the west side has lodging, restaurants, boating, kayaking, boat cruises, swimming, hiking, rafting and tours of historic sites.

Tahoe City, the largest city on the western side, offers several options for your summer vacation. The city has many places to stay and eat with plenty of lake side dinning choices. The Sunnyside Lodge offers the mountain grill on their large deck overlooking the lake. The grill has a casual atmosphere where kids are welcome. The menu consists of appetizers, sandwiches, seafood dishes and salads. The Calamari steak sandwich is my favorite menu item. Sunnyside is also a lodge that has been a landmark on Lake Tahoe since the 1950s. Their location is right on the lakefront with 23 guestrooms and suites.

Rafting and boat cruises are also popular activities in Tahoe City. You can take a leisurely, self guided raft down the Truckee River. The trip is a five mile float down the river ending up at the River Run restaurant. About half way down the river along the shore is an ice cream vendor. This stop is a nice break and provides a cool treat on a summer afternoon. You can also enjoy a nice meal along the river at the restaurant at the end of your trip. From the restaurant you can take a bus back to your car on highway 89. There are two different rafting companies on highway 89 offering rentals.

Departing from Tahoe City, the North Tahoe Cruises offer sightseeing boat cruises on the Tahoe Gal. They offer four different daily cruises; a shoreline brunch cruise, a lunch cruise to Emerald Bay, a cocktail cruise and sunset dinner cruise. We took the sunset dinner cruise that goes along the northern shore. This cruise features views of some of the luxury lakefront homes and beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Further down the shore on Tahoe’s west side, between Homewood and Meeks Bay, is Sugar Pine Point State Park. The park has many miles of inland hiking trails and a variety of trees including the park’s namesake, the sugar pine. The park also has two miles of lakefront, but the beaches are too rocky for many beach activities. Another attraction here is the rustic three-story Ehrman Mansion which was built in the early 1900s and is open for guided tours.

In Meek Bays at the Meeks Bay Resort and Marina, you have several summer activities to choose from. Boat, canoe and kayak rentals are available along with access to beautiful white sand beaches, barbeques and designated swimming areas. Meeks Bay also offers fishing, hiking and the Washoe Cultural Art Festival. The Meeks Bay Resort offers a variety of lodging choices. You can stay in log cabins along the lakefront or stay in a historic mansion. The Kehlet Mansion rests on the bay’s north point and offers impressive views of the lake.

Emerald Bay is located in the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe and is home to a unique Vikingsholm mansion built in 1868 and features Scandinavian architecture. The bay also has a small island, Fannette Island, where a Tea House was built. This is the only island to be found on Lake Tahoe. You can get to the Vikingholm by boat or by hiking down the trail from the parking lot on Highway 89. The hike is about one mile and drops 500 feet to the base of the bay where the house is located.

Down the road from the Vikingshom parking lot, you will come to the Eagle Falls Picnic Area parking lot on highway 89. From here you can hike the trail that leads to the Upper Eagle Falls which is about a one-third a mile away. The hike is very rocky and has steep areas that drop off suddenly. The trail offers several breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe. If you keep climbing further up the trail you’ll reach Eagle Lake. The hike is two miles round trip if you go all the way to the lake.

Location Location and Location are the 3 most important factors to consider when investing in a property. The Riviera Maya, the stretch of beach line where Playa del Carmen is located, is the second world tourist destination, behind Orlando in Florida. Playa del Carmen is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in the north east of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, located at 20.62° North, 87.07° West.

Tourism to Playa del Carmen began with the passenger ferry service to Cozumel, an island across the Cozumel Channel and world-famous scuba diving destination. While passing through, many people realized that it was a nice place to relax away from the crowds of Cancún but with the same quality beaches and turquoise waters. Playa is in the perfect location and there are many opportunities for day trips from Playa del Carmen to explore Mayan ruins, snorkel, swim in a cenote (underground cave), or explore the charming island of Isla Mujeres.

One of the main advantages of Playa del Carmen is that is easier to get to than most destinations in the Caribbean, with many direct flights from USA and Canada. The area has an average of 325 sunny days in the year assuring that you will enjoy a splendid time in almost every visit. In front of Playa del Carmen and all along the coast up to Belize, runs the second largest and virgin barrier reef in the planet, and in most places is not very deep and is not necessary to scuba dive to enjoy the wonderful exotic life forms that populate it.

It is nice to own property in the Caribbean but notice that this Caribbean property is located in Mexico. The Mexican Republic, is the 4th. most popular destination in the planet. In Mexico you will enjoy the result of mixing the Spanish European culture with the Aztec, and Mexican Indian nation. From that, an entire new cuisine, art, and religion syncretism come alive. Other facet of this region of Mexico is the Mayan civilization. It offers several Mayan sites to explore, with pyramids, temples, painting, sculptures, ancient tombs still waiting to be discovered lay in the deep jungle. Also the friendliness of the Maya people that still preserve native tongue and manners. This is one of the main reasons why people visit Playa del Carmen, to go native.

Mexico has one of the widest ranges of outdoor fun and culture, making it a tourist haven and great investment in tourism. The crime rate in this area is almost zero. Playa del Carmen gives you 3 vacations in one. First you are in the Caribbean, this means beach, sun, fishing, snorkeling, water sports, night life, relax. Second you are in Mexico, and you have the colonial cities, colourful towns, Mexican people’s food, arts, and crafts. Third you are in the Mayan civilization, ancient cities buried in the jungle waiting to be discovered, pyramids to explore temples to witness ancient ceremonies, in a word; adventure. Having into consideration that variety is the second human need, we must acknowledge that variety is the most important feature of any vacation destination, Playa del Carmen offer unparallel variety, visitors never get bored here, your investment here will not worn out.

Mexico is now rated one the best countries for investment opportunities in real estate growth as well as one of the safest for real estate investments. Foreigners can own coastline land anywhere in Mexico with Trusts held by Mexican banks. These Trusts are set up as 50-year renewable lease without limitations. Foreign Land owners and homeowners can enjoy rights of ownership equal protected by the Mexican government. To encourage foreign investment, in 1973 Mexico adopted a Bank Trust system called Fideicomiso, which permitted foreigner to buy and own coastal and border properties through a trust deed. This allowed foreigners to exercise complete control over real estate in the restricted zones. Under the Fideicomiso, the Mexican bank, through the trust, hold the title to the property in any restricted zone.

Just like in the United States, the owner who is the beneficiary of the trust, administers the trust and therefore controls the property. He or she may transfer ownership, lease or improve the property at will. Foreign owners may also enjoy capital gains on sold property and can also instruct the trust to pass on the property to future generations without the cost of inheritance tax. Mexican law also protects trust beneficiaries from any problems the Bank may have. Never can a trust be seized to satisfy judgments against the bank

Visitors coming to the Grand Strand could see a big new attraction in Myrtle Beach over the next few years. The city wants to bring a SkyWheel Ferris wheel to the beach by next summer.

The 175 foot-tall wheel near Plyler Park will feature 42 gondolas that would be heated and air-conditioned so that it could be used all year long.

Developers plan to tear down the Golden Villas Motels on N. Ocean Boulevard near Plyler Park and put up a building that will house a restaurant, retail shops and a SkyWheel ticket booth.

City officials said the spot is a perfect location that could mean not only a positive boost in revenue for businesses along the boulevard but also a memorable experience for riders getting a view of the entire city.

Nakheel, the property arm of Dubai World, has begun paying away contractors who owed less than Dh.500,000 and will resume work on short-term projects within weeks, a Nakheel spokesperson has announced.

Nakheel has begun to pay claims by contractors that carry a value less than Dh.500,000, the spokesperson confirmed, although he did not reveal a total value or the number of claims under Dh.500,000.

Construction will begin on all short-term projects that were delayed to restructure the company, and the work will resume in weeks, the spokesperson has confirmed.

Oman-based engineering and construction firm, Galfar has announced it has won three major road projects in India. Galfar won a OR32m ($83m) contract for the Indore-Ujjain road, a OR140m for the Bhubaneshwar-Chandipur road, and OR130m contract for the Aligarh-Ghaziabad road. The firm also said it will have the right to collect tolls after the completion of the projects.

A real estate and hotel group owned by Dubai’s ruler announced a heavy loss for the year 2009 on Tuesday, less than a week after it’s  sister company sought to delay its debt payments.

The loss by Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group includes major write-offs that reflect the slumping property market in Dubai, where the global downturn has cooled the city-state’s once red-hot growth and left many of its companies mired in debt.

The group said it posted a 23.5 billion dirham ($6.4 billion) loss for last year, including major write-offs that highlight weaker property demand, falling prices and delays in finishing projects. Without the write-offs, it said the net loss was 1 billion dirhams ($270 million.) That compares with a net profit of nearly 10 billion dirhams ($2.7 billion) in 2008.

“The decline in revenues and operating profits reflect the decrease in land sales due to the significant reduction in demand within the real estate market and the re-phased handovers of projects,” said a company statement.

The group is part of a holding company owned by Dubai’s ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It includes three real estate companies and the luxury hotel operator Jumeirah Group.

On Thursday, the company’s investment wing, Dubai International Capital, said it was seeking to delay debt payments until Sept. 30.

Also last month, the indebted Dubai World conglomerate said it had won support for its $23.5 billion restructuring plan from leading lenders.