Panama Legal, the Panamanian law firm received recognition today from the Martindale Directory of Legal Services as the law firm with the best visibilty on the internet in Panama. The No. 1 position comes as the Asset protection specialists move to prestigious new offices in the Global Bank building on Panama City’s 50th Street.

Founded by Gisela Martinez Saenz and Gilma Chiari Guerra in 2006, Panama Legal has expanded rapidly on the back off the rising interest in Panama as an offshore Tax Haven. The law firm specialises on offshore company formation, Corporate trust agreements and various offshore banking facilities including trust and anonymous banking in Panama and Guatemala.

A spokesperson for the company said that they had benefitted, not only from the resurgence in popularity of Panama as a tax haven but also because of the increased regulation and uncertainty in European Tax havens following breaches of Bank security in the region.

“Panama has always been a destination for those looking for privacy and security in their private arrangements” the spokesperson remarked.

“Since the 1970’s we have been at the forefront of Asset protection for clients. With the problems that are now being faced in Europe, our privacy laws and trust arrangements have meant that we can now offer clients what European tax havens can no longer offer. Complete privacy and security. Our banking system is as modern as any in the world and in Panama, confidentiality is sacrosanct. We cannot be intimidated by external government as they are trying to do in Europe so we are seeing many individuals and companies moving to Panama to protect their assets”

Living on the eastern coast of Spain, driving along the coast road with the deep blue sea in my sights has always been a blessing to me. My mind catches glimpses, from time to time of the life I led before as one of the drones. Up at six in the cold and dark, getting ready for work. An hour for lunch and then home in the dark to Eastenders and bed. God, what a life! On a clear day I can see Ibiza from the hills surrounding Moraira. The party island is only some 50 KM from the coast and you can travel by ferry from Denia, a town half an hour up the coast from me. Hotels in Ibiza can be found cheaply enough although the week-end party ferry goers tend to sleep on the beach. If you are looking for a cheap hotel to accompany your holiday travel whether it be hotels in Ibiza or hotels in the Costa Brava or Costa del Sol there are always plenty available. The Spanish motel system provides a great number of hotels in the Costa del Sol. In recessionary times there are likely to be fewer travellers from the UK this year but exchange rates have not affected the rest of the Euro Zone, so I expect it to be as busy as ever in our small corner of heaven.

If you are looking to sell your house or even if you have a holiday rental and are looking to manage the bookings yourself there are now a vast array of websites looking to offer services to you to advertise your site. Out of the thousands, maybe millions of websites out there, most will not provide what you are looking for. Website design these days is relatively cheap and a ‘pretty’ website is not an expensive product to produce. the key to success for you, the advertiser however, lies in the amount of traffic that visits the site, ( The number of individuals looking for what you are selling/or renting.) In the competitive world that the internet has now become, unique visitors are the domain of the Page 1 Club, or more specifically, the Google Page 1 Club.

The reasons for this are simple. Google now accounts for over 70% of all search traffic on the internet. Whilst from a website owners point of view the 30% shared between all the other search engines is important, from an advertisers point of view, looking to maximize your return on your advertising dollar or Euro, you can discount the minions and concentrate on the main event.

The other interesting statistic is that 85% of people searching on Google never look past the first page of results. 95% never go past page 3. So if you are looking for traffic and visitors to your house sale or rental advert you need to concentrate on the sites that occupy the Page 1 results on Google.

The next step is to find out which search terms are the most used for your rental or sale. the search terms are the keyword or phrase that you type in the box when you are looking for something on Google. Statistics are kept on who searches for what and how many times, so you can determine which terms are most relevant for your type of property and whether you are selling or renting.

Search terms can be split into two categories, major traffic keywords and more specific minor keywords. There is a line of thinking that people start there search for a product or service by using general keyword searches. As they become more focussed on what they are looking for they also become more specific in their keyword search terms. Therefore, when considering the search terms that apply to you, you need to consider not only the high traffic keyword searches that will get the site you advertise on, the highest number of visitors. but also cross-reference the sites against the websites found on the more specific keyword searches. Ideally you are looking for a site or sites that appear on Page 1 for both. Alternatively, look to split your marketing between sites that cover both areas.

Once you have decided on a website, the single biggest mistake made by advertisers is rushing their advert, thinking that if they get it up and running with the minimum of information it will attract visitors and enquiries. There is a simple rule in the internet game- Content is King. This means that you should provide the maximum amount of descriptive information that the website will allow. Turn your advert into an essay about your property and its benefits. Talk about the local amenities, the area, the town etc. The more content you provide, the more small keyword terms will register with the search engines and it is quite possible that your advert page will rank by its own for some of these terms that match identically with your description. If someone searches for the term, - A pretty little house with a dock in Mount Pleasant SC, - and this was part of your description, its quite likely you will be on Page 1 for this term. It could be the difference between a sale or enquiry.

The internet is governed by content, so use the space provided to the maximum and good luck.

Neil Ebsworth is the founder of AMLASpain, The Spanish Property MLS for properties in Spain and Villa Rental Spain

Last Thursday, (10th April), Treasury Secretary Paulson finally admitted what most people have known for some time. Speaking to the Council of Institutional Investors in Washington, D.C. he remarked that the US economy ‘has turned down sharply’.

The comments came during a week when central banks around the world made little headway in easing pressure on the dollar with just a 0.25% cut in base rates by the Bank of England. Meetings this week between delegates from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank whilst focussed on injecting liquidity into the markets, will undoubtedly turn to some discussion on the strength of the Euro, which has helped force the rise in oil price that has so adversely affected US households and stifled the spending that was the backbone of the economy.

This ongoing mortgage crisis seems almost ‘old news’ these days, but with millions of sub-prime mortgage companies resetting interest rates shortly, the ability to meet repayments is still the main focus for many homeowners. This is never more so important than for investors who have rental accommodation.

One of the hardest sectors hit in a recession apart from the homeowner market is the rental sector. The ability of tenants to make their rental payments can seriously affect the liquidity of an investment project. Whilst all the news is focussed on the plight of the homeowner, there is little sympathy, or coverage, for the individual who has invested their hard earned money into investment property for rental. For many of these investors, their property purchase has been geared with a mortgage and it is the rental income that allows the investor to make the mortgage payments on the property. If a tenant starts to default on his or her rent, then it is the investor who has the problem in meeting the financial commitment against the property to the mortgage lender.

This problem can be most evident in small rented units. In these two or three family units it is normal to find that the owners of the property are not large corporations, but are more likely to be first or second time investors setting out on their first forays into private investment opportunity. It is these ‘everyday’ people who are also most likely to suffer when defaults on rental income make meeting the mortgage repayments difficult. There is less to fall back on, and eventually the investment property will become just another statistic in home repossessions with the investor not only losing his original capital, but also at risk to his other personal assets, which may have to meet any shortfall from a forced sale by the lender.

It is this section of the rental market that also suffers most from inadequate tenant screening. Small investors are less likely to screen tenants and obtain sufficient credit inquiries. When the economy is vibrant this burden of credit worthiness is often bypassed by the individual investor. Renters in stable employment can often be the only checks that a landlord may make. A recession however, puts even the security of employment to the test and it is now that new tenants, and also existing tenants in a position to renew an existing rental contract, should be screened to ensure that they will be in a position to maintain their rental commitment. It may only take one defaulter in a small three or four family unit to put the whole viability of the investment at risk.

Recessions are by nature a time of financial burden and all possible steps should be taken to secure that the least risk is taken when securing the financial liquidity of an investment project. It may seem harsh to tighten the financial screws on existing tenants, but forewarned is forearmed, and ultimately it will be the investor that that will suffer along with all his financially secure tenants if a defaulting tenant puts the property into foreclosure. A situation that may easily have been avoided with adequate renter screening.

About the Author

Tenant Reports is a credit check company dealing in obtaining tenant screening reports.

If you are thinking of getting married to a US citizen and moving to the USA getting the paperwork right is essential. It is a story close to my heart and when it comes to the USA these days, getting the paperwork right has never been more important. Anyone who has travelled to the US on holiday knows of the legendary status of the US immigration service. The queues and wait after the six plus hours of flying. The humourous nature of the staff…god they crack me up with all their smiling and joking around! I got interviewed once because I didn’t carry enough luggage! and I am married to a US citizen!

So obtaining through the correct channel a  Fiancee Visa, or a K1 fiancee visa is your first priority. This must be done by the American half of the couple and must be filed in court under a petition for an Alien Fiancee. I was somewhat lucky in that I wasn’t looking to live and work in the US before I got married so I didn’t need to file form I-129F with Homeland security.

If you follow the procedures following the filing of your petition for your K1 visa you are well on the way to a life in the states. It’s a great country to live in, once you get past the immigration line!