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Euro 1.52 Peso 1,838

This is a question for those who live in Colombia and/or plan to invest in the country.

If the dollar keeps falling what's the bottom price you have set before you decide that it's not a good investment anymore to put your money in some colombian investment.

What are your options? what other countries?

On a macro level, where do you think americans will invest in this environment? It's become expensive to invest, travel, live outside the US.

The only exception is for those who invested abroad in the last three years, they're making a killing.

By RealEstateCOL on Feb 28, 2008, 10:07 in Friendly Talkzone.

RAAAY says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:28:

Colombian real estate is still cheap..............yes, it is more expensive by far, than it was 2 years ago......one year ago..........hell........six months ago.............the feeling of having missed the boat will be strong among a lot of people...............

But this boat has only pulled away from the dock a little................there is still time to jump on..................it's got a long way to go..........

For example........An $80,000 apartment six months ago is now selling rapidly at $110,000 plus........................that same apartment will eventually change hands at $350,000 plus.....and by eventually I suggest within 5 years.

There was a recent article in El Colombiana talking about the huge spike in land and house prices in Llana Grande....outside Medellin......................Despite the rises, this stuff is being gobbled up...............it's got a long way to go..................get in now with your dollars before it is 1500..............and better. Booms typically last for seven years...........Colombia might very well buck that trend because it is starting from such a low base..............

I personally know three guys that have sold property in the last two weeks........all three are Americans..........and all three sold for various personal reasons........one moved to a different part of the country.........the other two bought bigger places.

One guy had his place sold within one week of putting it on the market........the other had it with an agent for two weeks..........the third had it with an agent for three months and had to reduce his asking price.........he had been asking way too much............however the people he sold it to...........gave him a deposit and actually flipped the place to someone else making themselves 30 mil in the process...................

.

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

darkangel305 says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:31:

man i hope colombia does not become the next miami!!
i dont understand how people bought homes so expensive in Miami.
now i dont understand how Colombians buy those expensive condos!!
eventually the ballon will pop
de ja vu

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:33:

The only exception is for those who invested abroad in the last three years, they're making a killing.

hop on the bandwagon, it ain´t too late.

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

RealEstateCOL says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:35:

RAAY, the spike was 44%, amazing. It's the most expensive area outside Medellin, for those who live in or near Medellin, you may notice the huge construction boom in that area, there are Malls, Hospitals, restaurants, warehouses, etc. all over the place.

Recently I saw an offer for one "cuadra", that's about 1.6 acres, for 1,500 million pesos (with today's rate that's $816,104 dollars).

RAAAY says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:38:

Yes .........Real...........it's unreal up there............I just added a bit to my earlier comment..

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:44:

People seem to forget that this is a third world latin american country.

What goes up, will come back down. There's not enough wealthy people here to sustain that kind of boom.

It's happened over and over again throughout Latin America.

RAAAY says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:51:

....Oh Yeah........where..??

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 10:59:

try Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil... you name it. I completely agree with durito. On this continent a country that today is the cheapest tomorrow can be the most expansive. The first years I couldn´t get this into my head but after a decade and a half I have learned.

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:01:

but I Ihave to add that Colombia has been one of the most stable places during all of my time.

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:05:

i concur with durito, although i think there is still some room for appreciation at the top.

"For example........An $80,000 apartment six months ago is now selling rapidly at $110,000 plus........................that same apartment will eventually change hands at $350,000 plus.....and by eventually I suggest within 5 years"

hmmmmmm. gotta check your work here ray. let's look at this a bit, with an open mind. i know that apartment is now costing somewhere around $100-120 a square foot (sf) in poblado. so we are basically looking at a 1000 sf place, more or less. if that same apartment sells for $350,000 in 5 years, you are looking at $350 a sf. there are only a handful of markets in the usa now achieving those levels (florida just popped, as did vegas, phoenix, boston, los angeles(parts), and others).

if this is true, then medellin in 5 years will be comparable today to markets such as san francisco and seattle. san francisco has flattened, but seattle is getting ready to break $500 a sf for condos downtown and in bellevue - they are the only market doing that right now in the entire usa (as in sustained appreciation for past 5 years / still have not leveled off / an anomole so to speak).

i think you have to look at the market sustainability factors in order to justify those numbers. ie. avg income, new jobs being created, etc.

now, if you tell me that the economic market of medellin is that of san fran or seattle, i will tell you that you are crazy. a market must have sustainability to carry that much lift. and i do not think foreign investment (multinational) is going do it personally as the jobs created will not carry that much buying power on average. i am not factoring in extraneous variables such as dirty money investments or the "gringo gold rush".

the market in my opinion will level out at some point. a good indicator is to take 5 average markets (interior) in the usa and do an average cost per sf for similar properties - that should be your ceiling.

god is in your head

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:14:

and to get to those levels of US prices (in Colombia) you would need cheap financing. That is just not available in Colombia and talk is that interest may rise even further. So in order to get the market this high you would need an awful lot of narcodollars (I know there is no shortage but...) and foreign capital (which is coming in big as well). But the general public cannot participate and I believe therefor you will see a limit in prices.

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:21:

exactly. 18 months ago you could get 100% financing for a home in the states with a 580 fico score, $20,000 in past collections/bad debts, an $11 an hour job, and no savings.

loans like that don't exist in Colombia (nor should they exist anywhere). which leads me to believe that it will be harder to create a huge bubble here (though certainly not impossible). obviously location matters and prices in the richest areas may still increase, and never fall.

i'd like to buy here in the next year, but as a place to live, not as an investment. i'm hoping the dollar comes back some though.

let us not forget the economic disasters that happened in argentina and brazil a decade ago. colombia has avoided those in the past -- but it's also never had growth like it has now.

RealEstateCOL says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:22:

There's one factor that sets Medellin apart from other colombian cities.

The problem is that there's not much available space in Medellin for new constructions, the only option is to tear down old houses.

According to some statistic published last year by the local developer's association, if the current construction level continues, there'll be absolutely no land left in Medellin for new constructions in less than FOUR years from now. So, in a way the city has a problem like Hong Kong, no space for new constructions, the only way is up. So, the prices will stabilize but not go down, I think.

For those who don't know Medellin, the city is on a valley surrounded by mountains so there's no space left to expand the city. Unlike Bogota which has huge plains to the west.

Ctg Bound says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:37:

RealEstateCOL, there is plenty of cheap space up and down the valley, although not as cheap as it was a few years ago, although certain areas are for now at least.

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:38:

There's space outside the city (though they are filling that up fast too). There's a whole group of new apartment buildings going up the mountain outside Sabaneta right now.

The current construction level is like nothing I've ever seen, it will have to slow down.

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:39:

durito says: "let us not forget the economic disasters that happened in argentina and brazil a decade ago. Colombia has avoided those in the past -- but it's also never had growth like it has now."

Good point there buddy, it will rise and eventually come back down again. It´s the latin-rule of economics... But this exactly is what makes life here so interesting. When things go bad you know they will improve in the future and vice versa.

Ekdog says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:40:

I sure am glad I live in Europe and get paid in a strong currency, the euro. Thanks for trashing the U.S. economy, Bush. Now I can afford to go to the States this year and visit my family.

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:43:

so with Big Ben Bernanke making statements, will the next cut be 50 bps??? That dollar is getting trashed now, this is only the beginning. The Fed has absolutely no interest in keeping it´s value up, they want it down. All that talk of "strong dollar policy" was a lot of B.S. and lies.

Ctg Bound says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:44:

durito, they starting building on the hill over looking the park in Sabaneta in early 2005.

Move out of Sabaneta, Itagui or North of Bello and there is shit loads of land available, I know none of the above are Medellin proper, but as with all modern Cities they expand and merge into the villgages/towns around them.

A few decades ago most of El Poblado, Enviagdo and Sabaneta was farm land.

I tend to agree there is to much construction in Sabaneta though.

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:49:

"durito, they starting building on the hill over looking the park in Sabaneta in early 2005."

I know. They just broke ground on several new buildings too. The mall is now open, and they are apparently building a huge hotel at the top of the hill. Seems a little too much too me.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=18472230

tasco66 says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:49:

"People seem to forget that this is a third world latin american country.

What goes up, will come back down."

"It's happened over and over again throughout Latin America."

Like the Nasdaq bubble, and the US housing bubble? Seems to met that things go up and down a lot more in North America nowadays, although for the US dollar it down with no ups….

Veni, vidi, vici

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 11:51:

Of course economic cycles happen everywhere. It's normal and healthy. But, the US hasn't seen a downturn like they've seen frequently down here since the great depression.

tasco66 says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:04:

Oil Climbs Above $102 to a Record as Dollar Falls Against Euro

By Mark Shenk

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $102 a barrel to a record in New York after the U.S. dollar dropped to an all-time low against the euro for a third day, prompting investors to buy commodities as an inflation hedge.

The dollar and stocks fell after a government report showed the U.S. economy grew slower than forecast at the end of 2007. The Federal Reserve may cut interest rates to spur growth, which might fuel inflation. Oil also rose on reports of an output loss in Nigeria and a shipment disruption in northern Iraq.

``All the crude oil available is being vacuumed up by investors, in part because interest rates are low and there's no alternative to commodities that looks very good,'' said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``The fall in the dollar also attracted funds.''

Crude oil for April delivery rose $3, or 3 percent, to $102.64 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose to $102.97 a barrel, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 66 percent from a year ago.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3nQCExVHxPo&refer=hom...

This is good for Colombia, oil accounts for about 20 percent of Colombian exports.

Veni, vidi, vici

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:07:

I am with Ray. But, I think prices (in COP) will be double, not triple, in five years. Dollars down to 1600 makes sense to me. Euros to 1900 also makes sense.

Larger gain in price for rural and smaller cities areas that could be interesting tourism destination, as long as the security situation keeps improving. Read Santa Marta, Urabà, Capurganà, etc.
Where is beautiful, you cannot go wrong.
Days when you could buy in El Rodadero at 1,000,000 per sq.m. will be just remote memories.
I am curious to see how it will be in five years.

There's no way back, it is just happening. And faster than anyone thought. Same discussions here two and one year ago.
Maybe just a new Chavez would stop it.

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:19:

So robi you saying that you can see the Euro trading for 1,1875 to the Dollar? Are you serious or just hoping to sell couches by the dozen?

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:23:

Well, I have no income in Dollar, most Euros and some in Pesos. So, I would hope for the contrary, but that's what I think.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:42:

The pound has come down a lot too from 4.000 cop to 3,670 cop

And just when i decided to build my farm a damm! It's costing me more!

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:50:

damn brits have all the power!

well, it's obvious to me that there are more ceo candidates on this board than cfo candidates. let's check the math, gentlemen.

first off, ray said 350k in 5 years. that is 3.5 times current value using my poblado example. robi said the market would double. let's take the conservative figure of doubling in 5 years. if that should occur, then the current average appreciation rate would need to increase from an average of 10-15% per year now to 20% per year from this point forward. that means that that demand would have to begin a double encroach on the current and future supply to cause such an increase in appreciation.

obviously you guys are not using past data to predict your future values or you all know something that the rest of us do not. has someone scheduled the olympic games in medellin that i do not know about? ;)

realestateCOL makes good points with the "built out" issue, but is seems as though expansion will occur on all sides either way. the valley will fill up and spill over in all directions.

god is in your head

jack_jason says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:55:

The only place americans can invest at the moment is in Gana.

This is just spanglish, please do not correct me

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 12:57:

bolivia still looks good.

god is in your head

untreated says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:16:

I love revaluation, because my pension is in pesos. Today I bought a nice block of BVC stock at 28.70. IMHO much better investment than real estate in Medallo.

I would surely love to buy some dollars tomorrow at 1850.

Buy some GYSLF, on NYSE, that would be a wise investment in Colombia.

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:19:

Tejas, 15% growth rate per 5 years give you 2.011 of future value per your investment of 1.
Not 20%, that would give you 2.488.
And, where did you get your estimate of the current appreciation rate of 10-15%? It is at least 16% in estrato 5-6 in Medellin (Lonja de finca raiz data). I would say nearer to 20% in Poblado.

Some more numbers for the next five years:
Yearly inflation in Colombia will be between 4% and 8% in the next five years.
Salario minimo will increase more than inflation every year.
GDP growth rate in between 4% and 9%.

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:27:

double value value in 5 years from 1 to 2 gives you 20% per annum, cierto? ahhh, i see you're assuming a compound value method - lo siento. i was quoting final appreciation over current value only.

i shopped around some back in sept/oct/nov. mainly new high rise apartments in poblado. the low was 7-8% appreciation and the high was 14-15% annual appreciation depending on the project. i was hoping to pitch american investors the units as an option against a slowing real estate market. i did not fully realize what an incredible hedge against a falling dollar it would turn out to be.

if things get any worse, i'm moving back to texas and get me a redneck mansion ;)

ya won't sum?

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god is in your head

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:31:

hmmmmm, i wonder if any of those guys were welders?

god is in your head

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:47:

I see that you were looking at new buildings. New apartments appreciate less during the first 5 years.

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 13:56:

yeppers. i also noticed that the cost per square meter was less for older buildings. it became fairly significant once the building was 5 years old. it also seemed that the admin fees were much higher for the older buildings.

god is in your head

RAAAY says on Feb 28, 2008, 15:10:

jonas says ...

........ " try Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil... you name it."

Jonas......Durito..............are you saying that properties in, even these three countries, are worth less now, than they were .......say 5 years ago..........or 10 years ago...........

The hic-up during the Argentinan crisis and the Brazillian was very short lived ........................and came about as a result of extremely extraordinary circumstances............The type of thing that would be very difficult to imagine happening in Colombia...........with it's constant Democratic goverments and close alliance to the US ...

But ,yet.............despite what happened in their fairly recent history................are you really saying that properties are worth less now......................f**k..........have you looked at any of these places recently.........

As for all the other comments from the various visionaries................it reminds me of my cousin's reaction to being told that the house he wanted to purchase in 1999 was 35,000 pounds ( pre Euro ).......He told the seller that he was off his f**kin head and to go stuff himself..................but my cousin's wife liked the house.......just had to have it.....and that was that..................so he coughed up reluctantly.......and paid 34,500 pounds.

He sold it last month and used the 425,000 Euro as down payment on his new house which is a bargin at 1.4 million Euro...........

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

expatriate says on Feb 28, 2008, 15:20:

Word from my real estate saleswoman in Cali is, the final price paid is often 50-60% of the asking price, at least around here. Sometimes a seller will get a new realtor, since the old one has not sold the property for a few years, and the new realtor will double the asking price, and sell the property quickly, at half the asking price.

The real estate situation in Medellin sounds quite different than Cali, probably because it is a much better place to live. More organized, less corruption, etc. With Cali having the most potholes per square meter in any city on earth, the new mayor actually re-hired the same guy to "maintain" the streets.

I don't know for sure whether or not real estate in Cali is going up in COP, but with the 18% drop of the USD against the COP in the last year, prices for U.S. citizens have certainly gone up, and apparently the dollar has A LOT further down to go, so soon, one of the cheapest places to live in on earth in the near future may be the midwest U.S. or south Asia.

Maybe the smart Colombians living in the U.S. sold out in 2006, and now have lots of cash to buy what they want in their home country.

That will end soon, exports to the U.S. will dry up, jobs will be gone in both countries, and the relative safeness of Colombia may be lost after Uribe is gone. Much can happen, so as a potential U.S. citizen planning to move to Colombia, sell your place now and rent, buy physical silver, and wait for Colombian prices to come down.

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 15:32:

Raay says: "Jonas......Durito..............are you saying that properties in, even these three countries, are worth less now, than they were .......say 5 years ago..........or 10 years ago..........."

Me says: No Sir, you got that wrong. What I meant is that houseprices (let´s say 12 years ago) were way up, came down dramatically, and are back up again. It´s a roller coaster. Colombia was cheap until maybe 2-3 years ago. Now prices have been flying. And I agree, they will continue to go even higher. But I am sure they will eventually cool down again.

durito says on Feb 28, 2008, 15:58:

Despite the huge increases in property prices in Argentina in recent years, the prices in dollar terms are well below their all time highs.

Obviously if you time any market correctly you can make a fortune. But, if you owned a condo in Buenos Aires right before the crash, your place was worth 1/3 of what you paid for it almost overnight.

I'm not saying that will happen here at all, I don't think it will.

But, the economy here just cannot support a doubling or tripling of real estate prices in the next few years. Are rents also going to triple? People just won't be able to afford it.

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 16:30:

Yes, durito, I was forgetting:
Rent will follow inflation, not real estate price. Net income for the owner from rent will be 3% (down from 7%) in 5 years.

So:
Price of finca raiz will double in the next five years.
Net income for the owner from rent will be 3% (down from 7%) in 5 years.
Yearly inflation in Colombia will be between 4% and 8% in the next five years.
Salario minimo will increase more than inflation every year.
GDP growth rate in between 4% and 9%.
Peroni beer price will follow Euro inflation and Euro exchange toward pesos: it will cost 250 pesos more than Club Colombia in 5 years.

jonas says on Feb 28, 2008, 16:30:

Friends of mine (Colombianos por su puesto) are looking for a flat to rent around La Candelaria at the moment. Rents are going through the roof. People ask for insane money. Some double from last year.

expatriate says on Feb 28, 2008, 16:45:

robi666, when I owned a house in Arlington, TX., I charged about 1% a month of the home's value. Of course, the property manager had to fix every little thing, property taxes were about a third of the rent, and I had to have lots of insurance. The property manager even used to get a call if a built in drawer was sticking.

In Cali, in 99.9% of the places for rent that we have seen, the landlord asks for about double what he expects to get for rent, which after bringing him to reality is about 1/2 of 1%, but he also expects you to clean the place up, put up new curtains, buy and install new light fixtures, install a new kitchen, repaint, fix the wiring and plumbing, put in a water heater if the proper plumbing even exists, and repair anything that fails in the future, etc. In other words, usually the landlord wants you to completely remodel his property at your expense, pay the rent, and then he raises the rent every year. Condo dues don't seem to be tied to the inflation index, so dues can go up 20% a year or more.

Luckily, we found a place owned by a Colombian who had lived in Florida for a few years, and we simply moved in, with curtains, light fixtures, and a full kitchen and working water heater. Besides that, it is a beautiful penthouse in a great location.

What's weird is that during the rent negotiation, she tried to sell us her old furniture and appliances for more than they cost new. That happened to us on more than one occasion. We ended up refusing everything, so she had to put all the nearly worthless stuff in storage.

The only situation we have now is that the awning is falling apart, and will take about a million COP to replace. We don't want to pay that, since we rented the place 3 1/2 years ago with an awning in good condition, and we are aware that awnings are only guaranteed for five years, so we are not sure how to handle it with the owner. Why would we want to fix up the property, but the awning will soon blow away in the wind.

I think my wife will simply inform the owner that we are replacing the awning, and taking it out of the rent, then she will hang up. Any better suggestions?

If that is not acceptable, we'll move out, the owner will lose the rent for years to come, and she will get behind in dues also, so we do have some leverage. She never paid the dues when she lived here, so eventually she will lose everything.

Colombia is in a real estate bubble. Wait a year or a year and a half, when Asia crashes, Europe crashes, and then the U.S. self destructs and goes into civil war. I think then things will be cheaper all over. There is always opportunity somewhere.

Buy physical silver, and gold when it dips below $750..

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 17:16:

"buy physical silver"

- i have been hearing that alot lately.

"But, the economy here just cannot support a doubling or tripling of real estate prices in the next few years. Are rents also going to triple? People just won't be able to afford it."

- i addressed this same issue back in October,

tejasmarcos says on Tuesday October 30th, 2007 16:08: edit

robi666 - so the question is..........

can rental prices really keep up with acquisition cost. i mean, can rents really keep going up to match prices? i kinda doubt it, atleast in areas like poblado.

i look at real estate in seattle as an example. it is $400-500 a square foot in the downtown and bellevue areas. however, you can still rent a nice apartment in the $1500-1800 per month range. that is a pretty sucky return in my books. however, the rental market won't bear that much more without sacrificing some level of non-occupancy or time on market between tenants.

thoughts regarding the above example and the hyper heated poblado market? can rents really keep up with prices?

god is in your head

robi666 says on Feb 28, 2008, 17:18:

can rental prices really keep up with acquisition cost. i mean, can rents really keep going up to match prices? i kinda doubt it, atleast in areas like poblado.

I already answered: no.
Net income for the owner from rent will be 3% (down from 7%) in 5 years.

RAAAY says on Feb 28, 2008, 17:28:

Robi...........tejas......I'm off to meet Catfish for a beer..........The Scottish joint in Lleras......9.30.............com'n over.......i'll give the pair of you an economics lesson.....................................cos.....well...........I'm a f**kin genuis...........

I'll miss the next re-incarnation of Medoblata......Spartan....Troll Troll......Baltazaar.................. wonder what his next name is going to be......??

.

.........Its useless to argue with ignorance

tejasmarcos says on Feb 28, 2008, 17:32:

it is just curious to see most people (including myself) trying to apply "back home" fundamentals to the real estate market here. it sure sounds like they should work the same. i mean it is still a box and this is still the americas.

expat - cali sounds more like the wild wild west than here in mde. however, if you know the game, it sounds just fine.

- the fact that there is no mls for rentals or sales means that we see some crazy offerings with no real rhyme or reason for the prices asked. one must be in the know with his or her market prices to accurately gauge the fairness of the deal.

*** the key is still the acquisition price paid. look for pent up equity in a deal and you can't lose, regardless of exchange rate or appreciation. i also think the key in mde is to find the deals that exist outside of poblado/laureless. look for deals in strata 3,4 up and comming neighborhoods. i think spigrimace had some good advice a while back on areas to the west of the river that were in check price wise. bank repos are highly coveted as well - robi can attest to this.

god is in your head

gringoloid says on Feb 28, 2008, 18:58:

Raay.....its rumplstiltskin

gringoloid says on Feb 28, 2008, 18:59:

expatriate.....how come you haven't posted much lately?

Ctg Bound says on Feb 29, 2008, 04:20:

robi666, rents don't necessarily follow inflation, if there is a over supply of property for rent in a area, that will stop rents rising.

Durito mentioned Sabaneta, rents there are not rising overall, in fact you can rent some good quality places cheaper now than 4 years ago, because there is to much property on the market there.

I don't see Colombia real estate going up by much overall over the next few years, certainly not 200-300%.

I have been buying and selling real estate here since 2002, that or a few years after was the best time to enter the market to make big gains, due to the Colombian real estate market been in a bear market since 1994.

expatriate says on Feb 29, 2008, 14:03:

Hi Gringoloid. Thanks for asking. I haven't commented on PBH for a while, partly due to burnout of reading the same things over and over, and party because I realized that my comments were becoming too negative. I needed some time to lighten up.

gringoloid says on Feb 29, 2008, 14:18:

expat..........if you were being negative, it is only because you were telling the truth and a lot of people here can't handle the truth.

don't lighten up too much because i for one enjoyed your take on things and hope you come back as I need some support.

i've never met you but i've learned who you are through an old avatar you used.

take care, and hope to meet up with you someday.