Absentee Ownership of Property

Now this is a thorny question, not answered easily.

I honestly can't say which would be the best; buy a piece of land and just let it lie, let it be cleaned once a year or putting a caretaker on it.Both can lead to bad experiences, but only so because of Paraguay's justice system that's such a mess and about reforms they've only been speaking for the last 3-5 years.Probably still take 5 more until they do something finally. 

If it was me, and I just had to buy a piece of land in advance of occupying it I think I would go with a caretaker.He's of-course gonna cost you money (and head-aches) but I think its a bit safer that way. IF you should choose a to go the caretaker way, JUST MAKE SURE TO SIGN A CONTRACT with him, which should cover everything, form day 1 till the day you pay him his last salary. The only lawyer firm I can recommend (and which I think lots of other expats living here will second me on that) is the Llvieres Lawyer Firm, they can be located at Avda. Brasillia ALMOST Avda. Espana RIGHT IN FRONT of DHL. All my fellow countrymen use them, the Mennonites up in the Chaco use them, what more can I say.
They will also be perfectly able to counsel you in what kind of contract to make with your caretaker so as to avoid any unpleasantness upon contract termination.They do also speak English.

If you should opt for the just let it lie option, at least try to have it cleaned as much as possible.Another option is to rent it out, BUT PLZ!! also make a contract!!

About finding/getting an honest, reliable caretaker, I can only say: Good Luck.

I think if your buying a piece of property that has ANY construction on it and you will be absent from you are only asking for serious trouble without a caretaker.  Maybe in the middle of Asuncion if you had a house with a secure gate/wall surrounding it, and knew your neighbors enough to get them to agree to keep an eye on it for you this wouldn't be the case.  Otherwise use a caretaker.  The reason for this is that locals who have a bent for larceny will zero in on any house or property owned by absentee owners.  It's just too tempting, your place could become like the neighborhood "Home Depot/Lowes" while your away.  You run the risk of anything not nailed down walking off or even being dismantled and carried away. 

As an example, a brother in law bought some land to build on and had an 8 foot brick security wall with locking gate put up for use when he had building materials delivered for construction.  So once the wall was done it just surrounded empty ground.   After the wall was finished it took about a month for the first work crews to show up for the home construction to begin.  They found only about 1/3 of his wall remaining!  And this was in a fairly built up residential area on the outskirts of Asuncion called Luque.

To find a caretaker I'd check with anyother expats in the local area who may use one or have used a caretaker in the past.  If you are lucky (or unlucky enough &^) to have used a realtor you could ask them if they know of anyone reliable.  Previous owners may also be a source of information, especially if they are staying in the area or have long term family connections there.  I would focus on asking people that are staying in that community your property is in and that have some sort of motivation to make a good recommendation to the "new guys" that will move in and be a new neighbor/fellow expat/friend/customer/etc...

By all means sign a contract that lays out what you expect the caretaker to do.  Be specific and don't rely on common sense or "assumptions".  Don't know if you need a lawyer, a good notary can lay out the ins and outs of employing someone in PY

One final note, it's common if you buy undeveloped land to put up signs similar to "Prohibida la Entrada" & "Propiedad Privada" in order to keep some squatter from throwing up a shack that you would play hell legally getting them out of.

Thanks for the ideas. Right now I'm leaning toward buying vacant land and the "Prohibida la Entrada" & "Propiedad Privada" signs make sense. However, how would that work if the property is not fenced? I think it would be cost prohibitive to put a fence around a property of say, 20 hectares or so...and in line with what you reported, the fence itself might "disappear."

Quite honestly, I wouldn't think that the signs are going to keep folks off the property, anymore than a fence is really.  What they do though is establish proof that the property is "owned" so it might (notice the use of the word "might") be easier to get someone off the land legally if they become squatters.  So one thing you'd want to do once signs were up is take pictures of them in order to show that you did properly post the land so no innocent person could "mistakenly" believe it was their property.  I honestly don't know how worthwhile the signs are, but Paraguayan friends have told us it's the minimum you should do upon purchasing a piece of land.  And the way I look at it, it couldn't hurt.

One thing I omitted\forgot to say the first time around was whenever buying a piece of land it is of crucial importance that you get a surveyor to measure your land, that way you're certain you're getting what you're buying and it will be one hell of a aid should any future dispute arise.

p.s. The Lawyer firm I recommended is not only a lawyer firm, they are a family business, lawyer, notary and book-keeper all included.

Thanks! A great suggestion!

Sir, that wasn't meant as a suggestion, it's simply a MUST for any Expat whenever buying a piece of land in Paraguay.

Nic'opy, what is the name of the lawyer firm you are recommending? Do you have a telephone number or e-mail address for them? I currently live in the US, so i am not able to drop by their office.

My parents bought 50ha of land close to Asuncion in the 1970s. After reading this thread, it seems almost unlikely for me to be able to sell this land, due to squatters. I don't think my parents posted a "no trespassing" sign.

Thanks for all your input.

Hi all and sorry for me taking so long in responding...

@malibusurf, I really can't recommend a lawyer, thank the Big one I've never been in need of one, so I can't really say I recommend this person or that one...
I only know, that that Livieres firm I was referring to is used almost exclusively by my fellow country-men, when ever the word "Livieres" pop's up in a conversation, if there's a person around that has had some dealings with the law in this country he\she knows Livieres and I've never heard a bad word spoken about them.

Their nr. 595-021-228-623
Their e-mail: [email protected]  (not sure if its right, got it via SMS...)

But its like I said, I can't really "recommend" because I've never really used them or anybody else for the matter...I have heard from other ex-pats already here they have used lawyer "so-and-so", some who is even active on this site, but I don't know any of those lawyers, maybe someone else with first-hand experience could help a bit more.