Special Features
Farmers prepare for Agro Tourism
By Jacob Ehrler
One of the lessons that tourism promoters have learned as tourism grows to be one of the main economic activities in the country is that tourists seek authentic experiences. And in a nation with a skyscraper metropolis, it hasn’t been easy for all to understand why a tourist would actually prefer an hojaldre (traditional fried bread) for breakfast instead of pancakes.
The Ministry of Agriculture has seized on this growing trend for “experiencias autononas” (authentic experiences): Agro Tourism. Over the past two years the ministry has organized the Agro Tourism Multiple Services Cooperative (Coosmatur), an organization which helps farms prepare to receive tourists on their properties to observe and even work an the farm.
Farming is a tourist attraction and the Panamanian
agro sector is getting ready.
Coosmatur grants approval to certain farms, relying on data collected from international tourism organizations and advice from neighboring countries, to assure that the experience will be ideal for the tourist. All Coosmatur farm animals have also been duly vaccinated.
Some 30 farms have already been certified and more are applying each day, says Yamiset Acevedo of the Ministry. Only production-oriented farms qualify for certification, the Ministry will not assist in the promotion of farms which function only for tourism purposes.
The benefits of Agro Tourism in Panama’s farmlands are twofold. Tourists receive immediate enjoyment and farmers receive immediate compensation which boosts their income. But in the long term, Agro Tourism can work to keep land in the hands of Panamanian farmers, which will maintain a lower cost of living for all in the republic.
According to the Ministry, the sale of lands by Panamanian farmers to foreign speculators in recent years, especially in Pedasí and Boquete, is of concern because as owners sell their farms, the lands often end their productive contribution. Supplementing farmers’ income with Agro Tourism, says the Ministry, could be the deciding factor to push land owners in favour of not selliing.
As a result of the growth in this activity (which is also very popular in Italy), the Chirqui branch of Universidad Latina has added Agro Tourism to its curriculum.
Real estate buyer rights in Panama
By Eduardo Achurra of Pardini & Asociados | +507-223-7222 | www.padela.com
Today, Panama is one of the world’s top retirement destinations and many buyers acquired pre-sale apartments in Panama City perhaps because its skyline reminded them of Manhattan or Singapore. But the personal wealth of many will have been affected by the economic crisis and there may be civil or criminal claims against real estate developers, builders and others for refunds on investments. Investors will also more carefully examine the properties they are buying for defects, damages and other problems.
It is therefore essential to review recent developments favoring buyers regarding usual terms and conditions of real estate buy/sell or promise to purchase contracts or agreements.
Abusive Conditions
According to the Third Court of Appeal of Panama decision dated November 27, 2007, all property purchase and sale agreements must follow new rules in regards to the conditions agreed upon between developers and buyers, protecting all new property sellers and buyers from what is called Abusive Conditions.
Abusive conditions are understood as those conditions where one of the parties (usually the buyer) is limited or unable to negotiate the contents of the agreement, granting abusive control to the seller/developer over the other party. This was a very common practice by developers until a Court of Appeal decision declared it to be illegal.
Panamanian law considers consumer rights a matter of public interest. Therefore, even when the affected party did not file any legal complaint due to abusive conditions or illegal clauses in a buy/sell agreement, the “Autoridad de Protección al Consumidor y Defensa de la Competencia” (Consumer Protection Agency, formerly CLICAC) is bound and entitled to verify, pursue and file a formal complaint before any competent judicial authority in order to protect consumers within the Panamanian jurisdiction. In practice, most claims are filed at the initiative of the buyer or groups of buyers.
Specific Examples
These are some examples of clauses or covenants that are now considered abusive:
1. Any condition entitling the developer to increase price of sale agreed due to construction costs will be considered illegal as long as the agreement does not represent an exact date of project delivery.
2. Purchase agreements must not contain any condition that may limit the rights of the purchaser to demand compensation when developers decide to abandon the construction or finalization of an ongoing project.
3. When it comes to outstanding balance or past due payments arising from force majeure situations, buy/sell agreements shall state mechanisms to settle the breach of payment.
4. No agreement shall bind the parties to renounce or waive the right of judicial assistance.
5. Limitation of liability of the seller.
Term of Liability
One of the most common problems in real estate arises when the unit (house or apartment) is delivered to the buyer. At this moment, the house or apartment may exhibit some construction defects, either in the finishes or the structure itself. Some defects or damages are not readily obvious, and are considered “not revealed” or “hidden”, and may not show until one or two years later. The standard agreement limited the responsibility of the seller to one year. This clause was considered abusive according to the Court ruling dated November 27, 2007 and also contravenes the Panamanian civil code which states a responsibility of ten years to the constructor and even the architect who designed the project, for “not revealed” or “hidden” defects.
Many of the court rulings stated above have been confirmed by means of the Law 29 of 2008, which modifies and improves the present Consumers Rights Law (Law 45 of 2007).
Our law firm, with over 25 years of solid experience in a wide range of matters, would be glad to provide you orientation if you are considering a claim for defects, structural damages and/or others, please contact our experts in the litigation and commercial department.
Containers serve as dwellings and offices
By Jacob Ehrler
Mateo Nuñez at his latest project
near Universidad Latina.
Arquitainer has completed 120 projects. Nuñez is quick to mention two of his most famed customers: an office for residential promoter and developer Provivienda as well as office space for the construction material company Hopsa. The irony speaks for itself.
Container City in London was the first largely-publicized
container development.
The use of containers as housing has probably been in practice since containers existed, but the idea made headlines in the early 2000’s when the London neighborhood of Trinity Buoy Wharf became host to a community based on this nontraditional housing solution: Container City. The first phase of the city included 12 studios and 30 workspaces. The containers were stacked a maximum of five-high and arranged to create a unique appearance from the outside, with some container ends jutting out more than others and circular windows.
Nuñez says that the idea is catching on quickly in Panama. He was working around the clock last weekend to complete a “two stack” job. It can be seen on Via Ricardo J. Alfaro (commonly called Tumba Muerto) next to Universidad Latina, on the right hand side as one drives out of town. Two bright yellow containers are stacked to provide a deposit space below and an office upstairs, accessible by stairs that Nuñez’s men can weld up in no time.
Colon Province developer Mayds Levy checks out the
interior of Arquitainer’s latest project on Tumba Muerto.
An investor is reportedly working out the details with Nuñez to create two model homes to promote sales, one for Panama and another for Colon. Nuñez sketched out a mini-mansion that requires six containers: four stacked 2 x 2, spaced a ways from two stacked 1 x 2. By removing interior walls and installing a roof, he can create a large three or four bedroom home which on the inside, looks nothing like a container house. Anyone with a knack for geometry or building blocks will soon find that the possibilities are endless.
The Arquitainer warehouse and model unit are located in Pedregal, near the Tocumen International Airport.
Visit www.arquitainer.com, call 238-7510 or 6681-9249 or write arquitainer@gmail.com for more information.
The perfect investor
By Kenneth J. Jones
If you were to write a profile of the perfect investor for Panama, you may find a parallel in the story of Kirtland Barker, a resident of Boquete, who owns nearly 1000 acres of land in various parts of the province of Chiriqui.
He first became acquainted with Panama when he visited on a sailboat in 1995 and later took a job with a company exporting teak logs from Panama’s western provinces. As a graduate of the Yale Forestry School he was an expert in the subject and decided to set up a sawmill to contribute added value to the export of the wood and also invested in a furniture business in partnership with a talented local woodworker.
He had worked previously as a consultant with The World Bank Latin American and Asian environment divisions, and also USAID reforestation research projects in eight Asian countries.
With this background, he became fascinated with the opportunities for reforestation in Panama. So he decided to make the Republic his home. And began buying land.
His goal was to preserve existing forest and plant trees, not just teak which is the species of choice for so many reforesters, but native varieties, and in such a way that habitat for animals and birds would be restored. By matching tree species with soil and environmental conditions it is possible to construct an economically viable forest which can be harvested sustainably and still provide habitat and control erosion.
He first purchased 150 acres at the Rio Caldera Canyon in the Boquete area where he built a home for himself and his Panamanian wife. The canyon is a beautiful place with waterfalls and natural forest. Kirt has to date planted 70 acres of the surrounding former cattle pasture with trees such as Roble, Amarillo, Cedro Espino and Quira. He is also experimenting with teak, a species not normally grown at this altitude.
Investment team in the garden of Hotel Panamonte, l to r: architect David L.
Andersen, businessman Lee Pattenden and investor Kirtland Barker.
On this, his “home farm”, he has established a large garden where his workers can cultivate their own food. “Their diet is very inadequate, too much rice”, he says, “So I encourage them to grow beans for protein, corn for amino acids, pineapple for vitamin C and other foods which add to a healthy diet”.
His second aquisition was 500 acres at Boca Chica on the Pacific coast to the east of Chiriqui’s capital city, David. It is a magnificent tract of land overlooking Playa Hermosa and the Parridas Islands. He has planted over 207 acres with Guayacan whose spectacular yellow blossom marks the middle of Panama’s “summer”, Cocobolo the renowned dark hardwood tree more often associated with the Darien, as well as Almendro, Amarillo, Espave, Mango, Jacaranda, Joba and other fruit trees to create a natural “corridor” for monkeys and other wild life.
He couldn’t resist buying some land on the Caribbean, and found a farm of 320 acres above Rambala in the province of Bocas del Toro. Here he doesn’t have to plant any trees, since the land is covered with old forest and is home to five species of native cat including Pumas, Jaguars and Ocelots. “The owners had begun to cut the trees” explained Kirt, “I bought the farm to stop the cutting”.
All of this acquisition and planting was getting expensive, so Kirt has now decided to carry out some development. On the Boca Chica land he is offering a limited number of large lots for residential development with the condition that buyers also commit to the purchase of a substantial tract of reforested land.
On the Rambala farm, he envisages an eco-resort in order to leave the forest untouched.
His plans for the benign commercialization of his land include collaboration with Lee Pattenden, a British businessman and David L. Andersen an architect from Minnesota. Mr. Pattenden, is a partner in the Blue Lizard Group, a U.K. investment company currently building a house at the Playa Hermosa farm. Mr. Andersen has a long association with Panama, having been an OAS consultant working here on projects for the Panama Tourism Bureau such as the visitor centers in Bocas and Boquete. He is currently the architect for the Blue Lizard house and is designing a whale research station and eco resort in the Boca Chica area.
To contact Kirtland Barker, write kirt.barker@gmail.com or call 6614-0081.