Expert: David Finzer - 1/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: What do you think of the $1,900 DISCOVER URUGUAY 7 days vacation package?

From Boston, MA what are the quickest flight times?

What business opportunities are there for Americans in Uruguay?


ANSWER: Hello Richard:

I really don't know anything about the vacation package you mention, so I can't comment very much on it.  If it includes airfare, the price seems reasonable.  You can find some unbiased and non-commercial hotel and aparthotel listings on a website I sponsor at:  http://www.uruguayconnection.com/viewtopic.php?f=90&t=39.  It will give you an idea of what to expect and prices.  Nothing was posted there without a recommendation from one of our readers.

I don't know about times from Boston, but the quickest connection will probably include an American Airlines non-stop from Miami to Montevideo, which takes 8.5 hours.

Doing business here is problematical--their is a huge bureaucracy and lots of hoops through which to jump.  It takes 2-3 months just to form a local corporation.  While salaries are generally low, employer social security payments are high, at least in percentage terms.  And of course, most recently a personal income tax was introduced last year on income earned within the country (while still excluding foreign earned income).

All of that being said, there appears to be a tremendous number of opportunities in real estate.  There are also opportunities in the free zones which exempt you from local taxes on all income gained from sales made outside Uruguay from a free zone.

In my own case all of my business income is earned outside of Uruguay, so I have a relatively small local footprint.

I sum up Uruguay in this way:
*  Uruguay is a wonderful place in which to live.
*  Uruguay is a pretty good place from which to do business.
*  Uruguay is an extremely difficult place in which to do business.

I hope this helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: David, Where are the opportunities in real estate? What can you get for 2 to 3 hundres thousand $? Thank You.

Answer
I never make investment recommendations and am not a real estate specialist.  But I can suggest a few information sources.  www.coastaluruguay.com tends to focus on real estate  on the coast (obviously).  There are also some real estate websites you can pore through which I have attached below.  I want to make a cautionary note:  the best deals are usually not on the web and prices noted on the website are usually at least 10% higher than the locally offered price.  At the very least, these will give you and idea of the local market.

http://www.casas.com.uy/
http://www.buscandocasa.com/
http://www.avisar.com.uy/
http://www.inmuebles.com.uy/

Also, the travel writer Lee Harrison has a small about about  investing is Uruguay which is worthwhile.  He can be contacted at laharrison@adinet.com.uy.  Avoid "Uruguay: The Owner's Manual by the a major international living publisher. It is terrible, expensive and out of date.

I hope this helps.