THE CHILEAN PESO CALLED THE DOLLAR PEAK PLUS LAND FOR SALE IN CHILE...

originally published Thursday, November 01, 2018

All Misc Articles

Gold and silver are strong this morning, and the dollar is dropping hard. Thus, it is interesting to observe that the dollar is showing definite signs that it is topping out against the Chilean Peso.

“The Chilean Peso? – big deal!” - I hear you say, but kindly permit the indulgence, which arises from the fact that I live in Chile, because even though Chile is a relatively insignificant economy, if the dollar is topping out against the Chilean Peso, it probably means that it is topping out against a load of other currencies too. That has been my experience in the past.


There are a lot of traders who are dollar bulls because they believe that the Fed will continue with its rate rises , which will keep it propped up. But here’s the thing, even if they do, the Treasury has the power to clip the dollar’s wings, and it looks like they are set to do so after the mid-term elections. One big reason that the Treasury and Trump want to bring the dollar back down is that China has succeeded in at least partially circumventing Tariffs by letting the Yuan sink lower and lower. There is an interesting and timely article about this by Jim Rickards in Zerohedge entitled Rickards – Be Prepared for a Cheaper Dollar.

While on the subject of Chile I would like to bring to your attention that I am selling an attractive piece of land here, in case any of you are interested. Without going into detail, the reasons for Northern Worlders to buy land down here, even if only as a vacation bolthole, are growing, and include the increasingly dangerous social polarization and maxed out debt situation in the US, and the impending siting of NATO medium range nukes in Eastern Europe, which may result in Russia, that will see them as an existential threat, taking them out, which could lead to a major war involving the devastation of Eastern Europe and possibly Western Europe. Does this sound far-fetched? What happened during the 1st World War would have sounded far-fetched to most people in 1912 also, yet look what happened. My reason for selling the land is that I am getting older and don’t want so much to look after, and secondly, there are some things I want to do with the money – like go and see some of Poland and the Baltic States while they still exist.

Now to the land itself. It is a 0.7 Hectare (1.73 acre) plot situated on a hill overlooking Lake Villarrica in the Chilean Lake District (see map 1 below). Lake Villarrica is in Chile’s 9th Region known as La Araucania, and can easily be found on Google Earth. It is in a very sought after area off the lakeside road between the fast growing tourist towns of Villarrica and Pucon, with a lot of interest from buyers who have had enough of Santiago and arid northern towns, and a lot of interest from overseas buyers. The area is developing rapidly with various new facilities under construction, including a quality shopping mall and a new regional hospital whose founding stone has just been set, so prices for the most favorably situated plots are set to appreciate over the next several years. Note that clicking on the maps below will popup larger, clearer versions.


On map 2 you can see in more detail where the plot is situated with respect to Villarrica, whose eastern edge can be seen on the left of the picture. The new hospital is being built on the land to the right of the town in the shaded area. The plot, which is almost flat, is sited up a hill and within a gated condo, known as Condo Alto Pinar, which deters would be burglars. Visible on this map, down on the lake, are the private vacation resort of La Puntilla and the boatyard of Puerto Pinar. The German school is to the right (east) of the Condo.


On map 3 you can see my 3 contiguous properties, with the one on the right, with the white boundary, being the plot in question which is up for sale. The long rectangular wood to the left of my properties has been logged, as has the smaller rectangular wood towards the bottom right. Both of these were commercial pine plantations.


On map 4 you can see that the plot, Plot 10A, is a deciduous wood with some open areas that are like meadows. On the north (top) side it is bounded by a small stream or creek that runs for many miles, and on the south side by the access road, that carries very little condo traffic.


Now to look at the plot in more detail. We’ll start with a photo taken by a drone which shows it from the east. You can see the access road on the left, and the northern boundary on the right is a stream. The trees look dead because this photo was taken in Winter, but they are very much alive.


The following photos taken on the plot show what it is like. The wooded part of it, which is about 70% of it, of mostly 23-year old regrowth of local native trees, but there are 3 much older trees, two of which are oaks thought to be about 100 years old, and one really big mighty old oak thought to be 200 – 300 years old. There are a lot of what is known as “maqui” bushes in the understory that you will see in the photos which provide a lot of nutritious fruit in January – they have more antioxidants than blueberries. Clicking on the photos will popup larger, clearer versions.

The path through the center of the plot…


The mighty 200-year (?) old oak…


80-year old oaks and maqui bushes…


The maqui bushes carry much nutritious fruit in January…


The English Oak in the Fall…


English Oak leaf silhouette…


The Alstroemeria ground cover…


The Boldo bush, whose leaves can be used to make herbal tea…


The meadow…


Hydrangeas on the stream boundary…


There are quite a lot of locals clamoring to buy this plot, but I am reluctant to sell it to them, because most of them have little appreciation of nature, and I am quite sure that they would clear most of the wood. I am therefore looking to sell it to someone who is more environmentally aware, and that probably means a “gringo”. The ideal buyer would of course be a member of the German green party who would revel in constructing a house in the wood or beside it, involving the minimum of clearance of the trees. But there are many potential Canadian and US buyers who are maybe city dwellers and would be happy to take possession of it, perhaps to construct a vacation home where they can escape the northern Winter.

Practical considerations: it is quite possible for foreigners to buy property in Chile, you just have to obtain a provisional registration here, and I can of course assist with that. I am looking for offers in the region of $130,000 which is very cheap by northern world standards, especially as the buyer may have the opportunity to chat with me on the fence line about stock charts (unless I see you there first, of course). Note that the purchase includes shares in the condominium. Anyone interested may contact me at my normal Email address clivemaund@gmail.com


Posted at 2.00 pm EDT on 1st November 18.

The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment or securities advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market technical analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Investment Advisor or Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks cannot be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.