Time Machine – If We Could Go Back in Time and Buy Property

This week, I want to talk about a real-life time machine. No, not the Orson Welles fictional kind – although that is a powerful image, isn’t it?    

A Time Machine – Imagine the Possibilities

We probably have all fantasized about what it would be like to go back in time, haven’t we? It would be great. Imagine the possibilities.

Perhaps we’d go back to change something we said. Maybe we’d give ourselves a new chance at something that didn’t work out as we planned. Probably, too, we’d have made some investments that, in hindsight, we know would have done well for us.   

What if you could go back to 1982? Would you buy 10,000 shares of a startup company called Microsoft? How about a condo or a beach home in the BVIs or Cayman Islands 20 years ago? Would you do it?  

A Beautiful Home in the Caymans

Absolutely. We all would, right?

Imagine. If only we had a time machine. Then the unfortunate words, “I should have…” or  “I could have….” or “I wish I’d….” would exist no more.   

Sadly, we don’t have a physical time machine. But, fortunately, we do have something just like it. Hindsight and experience.  

Our minds are built-in time machines. Bell, Edison, Dell, Gates, and many others have seized upon this rich resource inside our brain and put themselves in front of the future. They did pretty well, didn’t they?

The Path of Progress Map – Your Real-Life Time Machine

You can use your time machine, too. We all can, but few do. “Path of Progress” opportunities are clearly visible if we just know where to look. Most people don’t or won’t. You do. You are reading this newsletter. This is your advantage.   

And right now, let me point you to a specific place, at the right time, for the best path of progress opportunity in the Western Hemisphere today.   

It’s a big, bold statement. It is. But if you’ll read on, I think you’ll agree with me that there’s no better opportunity in the Americas today for property ownership smack dab in the middle of the path of progress.   

Ambergris Caye, Belize, is the spot. The transformation of the tourism industry from niche to mainstream is why the time is right now. The convergence of high and increasing demand, with scarcity of a product type, mainstream tourist demand is the key to the opportunity.   

This tiny island is the next Caribbean hotspot on the fast track to mainstream popularity. You want to be a part of this.  

Ambergris Caye  – The Right Place in Belize Right Now

Let’s go back in time to another sweet spot in Belize history. This is long before it was “discovered” by the mainstream tourist and cruise ship passenger. A time just before my first visit in 1994, when only serious divers and fly fishermen were going here. It was hard to get to. Accommodations were basic and spartan. There was definitely no cheeseburger in paradise.   

Back then, a good friend of mine, Ron, purchased over 3 miles of beachfront in Belize for less than $400 per acre. His friends in Texas laughed at him and thought he was crazy. “Where?” they said. “Belize? You’re crazy?” 

Maybe, but he cleared over $20,000,000 on that tract alone, now full of homes, hotels, restaurants, and condominiums. How many of his friends now wish that they could climb into a time machine and go back to 1990 and get “crazy” with Ron? Most, I would bet.   

My name is Mike Cobb, but I’ve been called “crazy” before, too. I remember 18 years ago, walking down the street in Shepherdstown, WV, and two of my Rotary colleagues called me crazy for buying property in Panama for my Teak plantation.   

Early investors in our Teak plantation in Panama have done very well. Just the land is up over 800% with the paving of the roads past our property a few years ago.  

The timber harvest is now just 7 years away. Then our investors will make many more times their initial investment. I like this kind of “crazy,” don’t you?

Mike Cobb and a Few Teak Investors at the Plantation in 2015

Foresight and time together are powerful allies. I’m still Mike, but I’m also “crazy” happy about the Panama investment. Our investors are, too.

Right now, the next big opportunity is in Belize. Ambergris Caye, specifically. But you have to be willing to step outside the box and appear a little crazy to your friends. Maybe you already do.   

I’ve seen a lot in my 24 years of working, living, and traveling in Belize and throughout the Caribbean and Central America. I know quite a few folks that have made millions by having the foresight to get in while the getting was good.  

Sadly, there aren’t too many opportunities remaining like this one I’m going to tell you about. The low hanging fruit in the region is nearly all picked. However, what’s happening right now on Ambergris Caye is powerfully unique.   

The opportunity in Belize is like the blossoming of the Agave Americana, also known as the century plant, since they were thought to bloom only once every 100 years. The plant does bloom about every 10 years. But even so, like most great opportunities in life, the blooms are few and far between.   

The Agave Americana – Catching a Bloom is All About Timing

I have personally watched the tourism industry mature for 24 years on Ambergris Caye. We are at the sweet spot of a market that is trending up and beginning to surge. Your timing to engage is phenomenal.   

Belize recently hit the fast lane and they’ve got the pedal to the metal. Tourism has grown more than 10% per year on average for the past decade. Cruise ships have been docking since the mid-2000s, exposing hundreds of thousands of mainstream travelers to Belize each year.   

Southwest and WestJet Affordably Bringing Mainstream Travelers to Belize

As a result of this cruise day-trip exposure, airlift has more than doubled in the past 3 years. These are repeat visitors who want to spend more than one day in this Caribbean paradise.    

TripAdvisor and all the major consumer ranking institutions place Belize, and specifically Ambergris Caye, a small 26-mile long island off the coast of Belize, at the top of every list.   

And please, know this. Ambergris Caye generates more than ⅔ of all the tourism revenue for the country of Belize. If you are looking for the bull’s eye of tourism in Belize, this is it.  

There are many opportunities in a market like Ambergris Caye today. But, usually, one jumps to the top of the list for a variety of reasons. Reasons like building standards, operational efficiency, professional service, an experienced team, and track record.  

Imagine. You have the opportunity to own one of the first branded residences on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Put yourself squarely in the path of progress.    

This is your real-life time machine. Door Open. Ready to go. Right now.   

Mainstream tourists are now coming to Belize in droves. They want to enjoy a familiar, branded product. Something that is nearly non-existent on the island of Ambergris Caye…yet.

Own a Branded Residence in Belize

Get in. Use your time machine. You will own a world-class, luxury, resort residence, directly on the Caribbean Sea overlooking the Belize Barrier Reef. This is full ownership of a condominium in a branded residence program from one of the world’s largest hotel brands.    

Imagine. Your time machine is waiting to take you back to the Cayman Islands 20 years ago. You get a do-over. You get to own something right now, knowing the path of progress in other similar locations. You know what that means as the market grows and expands to serve more and more mainstream travelers to Belize.    

Get onboard. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities usually only happen…well, once in a lifetime. Like the American Agave, this is your chance to catch a rare bloom.

So, join me. Let your friends call you crazy. They will. But then when we are enjoying our foresight, they can sulk in the “wish I’da” club 10 years from now.  

You know that place, right? Wish “I’da” bought Microsoft in 1982. Wish “I’da” paid attention in typing class. Wish “I’da” bought a condo in the Caymans when I was there 20 years ago.   

Well, wish “I’da” good-bye. She’s not that great of a date anyway. Make a decision to seize the moment. You have the time machine. You’ve learned from history. You see the power in path-of-progress ownership.  

They are the keys to your time machine. Do this and you’ll be very, very glad that you did.

I hope you enjoyed reading: Time Machine – If we could go back in time and buy property. Here are a few additional articles I think you will also love!

5 Reasons Ambergris Caye Belize is a Caribbean Tropical Paradise

Get Insider Tips for Visiting Belize 

South of San Pedro – Chronicles of Life in a New Land

Michael K. Cobb is the CEO and co-founder of ECI Developments which has properties throughout Latin America. He speaks all over the world on international real estate and is a board member of the National Association of Realtors.