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Services | Belize & Panama Property, Due Diligence & Residency Advice

Advisory Excellence

Six services that take you from first question to signed title.

Every engagement is run by Dustin Rennie, with licensed Belizean and Panamanian attorneys doing the legal work. We are paid by you, not by sellers, so the advice you get is the advice we would take ourselves — including when it is “don’t buy this.”

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Belize · Panama
Two markets, one team living in them
$100M+
Property and investment value advised
10+ years
Working in this region since 2014
Fixed scope
Fees agreed in writing before work starts

Independent advice · No commissions from sellers · Principal-led from day one

  1. 01 Property advice & buyer representation A defensible target price, a walk-away price, and every comparable checked on the ground. Deliverable Written recommendation Typical 2–6 weeks
  2. 02 Due diligence & title verification Title history, survey accuracy, encumbrances, taxes and seller background — before money moves. Deliverable Title & risk report Typical 2–4 weeks
  3. 03 Ownership structures & residency Company formation, banking introductions and residency filings, sequenced in the right order. Deliverable Structure plan Typical 1–6 months
  4. 04 Development consulting Land assessment, feasibility numbers, permitting strategy and contractor selection. Deliverable Feasibility pack Typical 4–10 weeks
  5. 05 Resorts & hospitality advisory Concept, staffing, operations and funding advice for boutique hotels and resort assets. Deliverable Operating plan Typical Ongoing
  6. 06 Setting up locally Permits, partners, payroll and the practical logistics of opening in the region. Deliverable Setup roadmap Typical 3–8 weeks

In detail

What each engagement actually includes.

No vague retainers. Every service below has a defined scope, a written deliverable and a named person responsible for it.

01

Property advice & buyer representation

Advertised prices in Belize and Panama tell you very little. Coastal and island parcels are frequently listed at two or three times what comparable land last transacted for, and the gap is widest for buyers who are searching from abroad. We give you the real number, the reasons behind it, and a negotiating position you can defend.

What you get

  • A shortlist built around your budget, timeline and how you intend to use the property.
  • Pricing context from recorded comparable sales, not asking prices, for each parcel considered.
  • Site visits we attend in person: access, drainage, utilities, neighbours, beach erosion, road status.
  • A written recommendation with a target price, a walk-away price and the risks attached to each option.
  • Negotiation on your behalf and coordination of the offer, deposit terms and escrow.

Good to know

  • Best forFirst-time overseas buyers, second-home purchasers, investors buying land or rental stock.
  • Typical timelineTwo to six weeks from brief to accepted offer, depending on travel and inventory.
  • Works withDue diligence (02) and ownership & residency (03) as a single end-to-end purchase mandate.
02

Due diligence & title verification

This is the service that prevents the losses. Almost every bad outcome we are asked to unwind traces back to something that a proper search would have shown: a boundary that does not match the survey, an unreleased mortgage, a lease sitting over a “freehold” parcel, unpaid property tax, or a seller who never held clean title in the first place. Nothing moves until this is clear.

What we verify

  • Title history and registry search through licensed local counsel, with copies of every instrument.
  • Survey accuracy and boundary walk: does the land on the plan match the land on the ground.
  • Encumbrances: mortgages, liens, caveats, leases, easements, Crown and concession interests.
  • Property tax status, outstanding utility and association arrears, and transfer-tax exposure.
  • Zoning, environmental clearance and building-permit position for the use you have in mind.
  • Counterparty checks on the seller, developer or agent, including prior projects and litigation.

Good to know

  • DeliverableA written diligence report with a clear verdict: proceed, proceed with conditions, or stop.
  • Typical timelineTwo to four weeks in Belize; timing in Panama depends on registry and notary turnaround.
  • Also used forDeals already under contract where the buyer wants an independent second look before closing.
03

Ownership structures, banking & residency

Holding a property in your own name, in a local company or in an offshore structure changes your tax position, your transfer costs and how easily you can sell later. Residency has its own sequence — Belize’s Qualified Retired Persons programme and Panama’s residency categories ask for different things at different stages. The order you do all of this in matters, and it is hard to reverse once filed.

What we handle

  • A plain-English comparison of holding options and the trade-offs for your situation.
  • Company formation in Belize or Panama, with registered agent, directors and corporate records.
  • Bank introductions and preparation of the compliance file so accounts actually open.
  • Residency route selection, document checklists, apostilles and filing alongside local counsel.
  • Coordination with your home-country accountant so nothing is filed in isolation.

Good to know

  • Best forBuyers holding through an entity, retirees, and anyone planning to spend real time in the region.
  • Typical timelineCompany and banking in weeks; residency in months, and it varies by programme.
  • BoundaryLegal filings and tax opinions are issued by the licensed professionals we bring in, not by us.
04

Development consulting

Building in Belize or Panama is not expensive because of materials — it is expensive because of what people did not check before breaking ground. Access rights, soil and flood conditions, utility capacity, environmental clearance, import duty on materials and contractor quality all move a budget more than the build spec does. We price those realities in before you commit capital.

What you get

  • Land assessment: access, topography, flood and hurricane exposure, water, power and connectivity.
  • A feasibility model with realistic local build costs, duty, contingency and absorption assumptions.
  • Permitting strategy and the sequence of approvals, including environmental clearance where required.
  • Contractor and consultant shortlists, with references we have personally checked.
  • Phasing and exit options, so the project still works if the market slows mid-build.

Good to know

  • Best forResidential, mixed-use and resort developers, and owners self-building a substantial home.
  • Typical timelineFour to eight weeks for a full feasibility and permitting roadmap.
  • Ongoing optionOwner’s-representative support through permitting and construction.
05

Resorts & hospitality advisory

Tourism is the engine of coastal Belize and much of Panama, and hospitality assets trade on operating reality rather than on square footage. We work on concept, acquisition and turnaround mandates for boutique hotels, branded residences, dive and eco lodges, and mixed rental-pool developments.

Where we help

  • Concept and positioning against the actual competitive set, season by season.
  • Acquisition review of operating hotels: occupancy, ADR, staffing, licences and deferred maintenance.
  • Operations and staffing structure, local hiring rules, and management or franchise options.
  • Distribution and revenue basics: channel mix, rate strategy and rental-pool terms that hold up.
  • Capital planning and introductions to lenders and partners active in the region.

Good to know

  • Best forOperators, investor groups and families acquiring or repositioning a hospitality asset.
  • Typical timelineThree to ten weeks depending on whether the asset is trading.
  • Honest noteIf the operating numbers do not work, we will tell you before you spend money on design.
06

Setting up locally

The logistics are where most first-time arrivals lose months. Work permits, trade licences, payroll and social security registration, shipping a container, importing a vehicle, insuring a coastal building, finding an accountant who files on time — none of it is difficult once you know the sequence, and all of it is slow if you do not.

What we cover

  • Trade licences, work permits and the registrations a new entity needs before it can operate.
  • Payroll, social security and local employment practice, with an accountant introduced and briefed.
  • Vetted local partners: attorneys, surveyors, builders, insurers, property managers and brokers.
  • Practical relocation logistics — shipping, vehicle import, schooling, healthcare and utilities.
  • Post-closing property management, caretaking and rental set-up if you will be away.

Good to know

  • Best forBusiness owners opening in the region and owners relocating part- or full-time.
  • Typical timelineRuns alongside your purchase or company formation rather than after it.
  • Works withOwnership & residency (03), so permits and filings line up in the right order.

Where these services apply

Two countries that work well together.

Most of our clients end up using both. The asset sits where the opportunity is; the structure and banking sit where they are easiest to run.

Turquoise Caribbean water and a private caye off the coast of Belize
Belize · Caribbean coast

English-speaking · Common law

Belize

Foreign buyers hold freehold title on the same terms as citizens, including beachfront and island land, and the Belize dollar has been fixed at 2 BZD to 1 USD for decades. It suits tourism-linked property, resort development and a straightforward residency path in an English-language legal system. The work that matters here is title, survey and access — not paperwork volume.

  • Freehold title for foreigners
  • Tourism-led rental demand
  • QRP residency programme
Panama City skyline at golden hour seen across the bay
Panama · Pacific & city

US dollar · Regional hub

Panama

Panama uses the US dollar as legal tender and hosts the largest banking centre in Central America, with several long-standing residency programmes. It is the practical base for structuring, banking and regional operations, and its city and coastal markets behave very differently from each other. Ownership is open to foreigners, with limits only near certain borders and on some coastal concession land.

  • Established banking
  • Company structures
  • Several residency routes

How we work

Three stages. You can stop after any one of them.

No open-ended retainers and no surprises: each stage ends with something in writing, a clear decision point, and your explicit approval before the next stage starts.

  • Stage 1 is free
  • Findings in writing
  • You approve every step
  1. Stage 0130 minutes · No fee

    Tell us the goal

    A free call to understand your budget, timeline, which country fits and how much risk you are willing to carry. You leave with a straight view of whether the plan is realistic — whether or not you engage us.

    • An honest read on feasibility and budget
    • A written scope and fixed fee if you proceed

    Decision point: engage us for Stage 2, or take the notes and continue on your own.

  2. Stage 022–6 weeks · Fixed scope

    We verify it in person

    Price, title, permits and the people behind the deal are checked on site and with licensed local counsel — before you commit anything. You receive the findings in writing, including the ones you would rather not read.

    • Title, survey and encumbrance report
    • Pricing from recorded sales, plus a walk-away number

    Decision point: proceed to closing, renegotiate, or walk away with the report in hand.

  3. Stage 03Closing & beyond

    Buy, structure and hold

    We coordinate the attorney, escrow, ownership structure, residency filings and property management after closing, so the asset is genuinely looked after once the deal is done.

    • Escrow, closing and registration coordination
    • Structure, residency and post-closing management

    Decision point: keep us on for management and residency, or close the file.

One point of contact

The person who advises you is the person who answers the phone.

Local counsel on every deal

Licensed Belizean and Panamanian attorneys do the legal work.

We will tell you no

If a property or project does not hold up, we say so in writing.

Aerial view of a jungle coastline with boutique resort villas above a turquoise bay at sunrise

We walk the land before you wire the money.

Access roads, drainage, erosion, neighbours and permits are checked in person — on the same trip your title search is filed.

$100M+Value advised
2 marketsBelize & Panama
Since 2014On the ground

Engagement & fees

You engage us, and you pay us. That is the whole model.

Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts. If a commission arrangement exists anywhere in a transaction that could affect our advice, it is disclosed to you up front, in writing, before you decide anything.

Start here

Consultation

A free 30-minute call with Dustin. You describe the plan; we tell you honestly whether it is realistic, what it will really cost and which country fits. No obligation and no sales script.

Single question

Fixed advisory fee

One defined piece of work with a written deliverable — a title and diligence review, a pricing opinion, a residency route comparison, a feasibility check. Agreed as a flat fee before we start.

End to end

Project mandate

A scoped engagement across search, diligence, structuring, closing and set-up, with milestones and a fee schedule attached. Suited to developers, hospitality assets and complex purchases.

What we do not do

  • We do not sell you our own inventory, and we do not take a hidden cut from a seller to steer you.
  • We do not give legal or tax opinions. Licensed attorneys and accountants issue those, and we introduce them.
  • We do not promise returns, guaranteed rental yields or appreciation figures. Anyone who does is guessing.
  • We do not let a purchase close on photographs. The site gets walked and the title gets confirmed first.
  • We do not hold client funds. Money moves through regulated escrow and attorney accounts, never through us.
  • We do not advise on markets we do not live in. Belize and Panama only.

Common questions

Answered before you ask.

Still unsure which service you need? Say so on the call — scoping it correctly is our job, not yours.

Choosing the right service

Which service should I start with?+

Still comparing parcels? Begin with property advice (01) so you are looking at the right land at the right price. For a property already in mind or under contract, due diligence (02) comes first — that is the step that protects the money. And when the plan involves moving or opening a business, ownership & residency (03) leads, because the sequence of filings affects everything after it.

Can I hire you for one piece of work only?+

Yes. A large share of our engagements are single, self-contained pieces — an independent title and diligence review on a deal someone else brought you, a pricing opinion before you make an offer, or a residency route comparison. You get a written deliverable and no obligation to continue.

Can foreigners buy property in Belize or Panama?+

Yes. Belize puts no restriction on foreign freehold ownership, including beachfront and island property, and foreign owners hold title on the same basis as citizens. Panama also allows foreign ownership, with limits only near certain borders and on some coastal concession land. In both countries the real work is verifying title, survey and encumbrances before money moves.

Costs, visits and representation

How much does an engagement cost?+

It depends entirely on scope, so we quote after the free call rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most people. Everything is agreed in writing before work begins, either as a fixed advisory fee for a defined deliverable or as a project mandate with milestones. There are no success fees paid by sellers behind your back.

Do I need to visit before I buy?+

We strongly recommend it and will arrange the trip. If you genuinely cannot travel, we will not let a purchase go ahead on photographs alone — we walk the site, film it, and have local counsel confirm boundaries and title first.

Are you acting as my agent or as the seller’s?+

Yours. You engage us and you pay us, which is what keeps the advice independent. If any commission arrangement in a transaction could affect what we recommend, we disclose it before you make a decision.

Legal scope and after closing

Do you provide legal or tax advice?+

No. We advise on the commercial and practical side and we manage the process. All legal filings, title opinions and tax positions are handled by licensed Belizean and Panamanian professionals we introduce and coordinate on your behalf, and we expect you to keep your own home-country accountant in the loop.

What happens after closing?+

We can stay on for property management, caretaking, rental set-up, insurance renewal and annual filings for your entity. Plenty of clients keep us for that ongoing layer precisely because they are not in the country most of the year.

Book a free consultation

Get a straight answer about your plan.

Thirty minutes with the principal — no obligation, no sales script, and an honest view on whether the deal in front of you is worth doing.

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