Playita Del Faro on Isla Iguana

Yet another warning about buying real estate in Panama. One of Panama’s most beautiful island’s is apparently for sale. I came across a real estate listing for a 6 hectare oceanfront lot on Isla Iguana. This ad was placed by a real estate agency in Panama and also on Craigslist.

Isla Iguana is a wildlife refuge and is owned by the government. There is no way that any land on Isla Iguana could be for sale. The island, off the coast of Pedasi, was declared protected in 1981. The island is home to giant iguanas, crabs and an incredible array of sea creatures and coral can be found just off the coast of the island. Because the island is a refuge, visitors must pay to even set foot on the island.

When I came across the listing I called the real estate company. They seemed unaware of any restrictions of selling land on the island. I am not going to name the agency, since they genuinely seemed surprised when I told them they are selling something that only the government owns (lack of due diligence on their part). They informed me that they were approached by a person claiming to hold the Possession Rights of this property. They promised me they would look in to it. Two days later they removed the listing from their website and offered an apology.

A search on the National Environmental Authority (ANAM) website will bring up the original executive decreefrom June, 1981stating that the land and surrounding water and coral of Isla Iguana is fully protected from anything that could possibly damage the natural environment. Article 4 of the decree clearly states (in Spanish) that it is strictly prohibited to possess or claim any land on the island.

This recent incident goes to show, once again, that buying real estate in Panama is tricky. I blame the real estate agency for not doing their research, but I think more of the blame falls on the scammer that claims to “own” land on the pristine island.  This goes to show, if you’re thinking of buying property in Panama, do your research.

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Filed under: News, Real Estate on October 6th, 2008