Saturday, July 28, 2007

Finished units at Red Frog

Does anyone know how many villas are finished at Red Frog? And where are they putting the guests who go down on the exploration tours?

Mick O.

Utility charges at Red Frog

Does anyone know how much we should expect to pay monthly for electiricty, cable and Internet. I know how much it is here in the US, but no idea what the charge would be in Panama. Also, when do the HOA dues become effective?

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/29/07
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Utility charges and MUCH more! Reposted from Red Frog Beach Forum (Thanks, Jake and Bob). Having owned vacation rentals, I would expect such charges. However, what surprised me is that they are about same as we pay in California or Hawaii! (Have to pay for all that brand new infrastructure?)

One of the contributors alludes to costs in Costa Rica being better, but does anyone have hard facts? I know that beach front properties are going for much more than we paid for a villa on the Caribbean. There are also considerable building restrictions. Without doing any research at all, I know Trump is investing in building a high rise in Panama City as he is doing in Honolulu. Though that doesn't help us at Red Frog, it does show that the investment climate may be better in Panama than Costa Rica.
===================================
PROJECTED COST AT RED FROG

Monthly Yearly Property Management Cost:
  • Trash (monthly) 30.00 360.00
  • Water(est/monthly) 35.00 420.00
  • Sewer (monthly) 26.00 312.00
  • Power (est) 225.00 2700.00
  • Direct TV (monthly) 49.00 588.00
  • Internet (monthly) 60.00 720.00
  • Lawn Care (twice month) 80.00 960.00
  • Pool Cleaning (Non Rental/Large Pool) 35.00 420.00
  • HOA fee: 350.00 4200.00
  • Property Tax: Land ($498,205.00) (1% assess) 4982.05
  • Improvements ($265,875.25) None
  • Insurance Cost: Homeowners (monthly) 195.00 2330.00
  • Liability (monthly) 66.00 792.00
  • Contents (monthly) 55.00 670.00

TOTAL $19,994.05

Other Costs:

  • Mortgage ????
  • Yearly Corporation Fee 650
  • Boat & Marina Fees ????
  • One Time, Up Front Cost ????
  • Elect Cart Insurance ????
  • Red Frog Fee Inflation ????
  • Supporting Amenities on Site ????

*** References all found at "Living At Red Frog Beach Club" (http://redfrogians.blogspot.com/)

Friday, July 27, 2007

The Strike

The strike has been going on for 6 months now (just a few days short of). I have a few questions for the members: Is 6 months an unusual length of time for a strike in Panama? Are unionized workers in Panama allowed to find temporary jobs while on strike? My guess is that they are technically not allowed to do so, but that they do it anyway because it must be hard to support a family on just the union benefits during a strike. And yet the Red Frog Beach Club management is NOT allowed to hire any temporary workers - right?

Does Suntracs do more harm than good? Is it a relevant organization?

Nice blog, Mick!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Welcome to all our new members!

Everyday we are building our list of owners by website and blog referrals as well as other owners getting the word out. Thanks to everyone... now we just need some information.

As far as I know, the only person who actually lives at Red Frog has left the building. Ron @ 11 took his name off the registry. I hope he comes back.

In the meantime, I will continue to solicit information and post topics that might be of interest to the rest of you in the hopes that eventually people will feel confortable enough to post. Certainly some of you have a lot to say, considering the many e-mails I've received in the last several days.

But it is not my place to post things that other people say to me unless they give me permission. So while I appreciate hearing about others' experiences, I am hoping that eventually some of you may contribute your experiences to the blog.

Currently Janis and I are in the process of putting IRA money into our boat slip at the Marina. It has been a learning experience since I am new to the concept. After many mistakes, I think I am closing in on how to invest retirement funds into a Panama corporation. I've added to my earlier post which I will continue to update until I have successfully transferred the money!

Wish me luck!

Mick O.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Using retirement funds to purchase property at Red Frog

Has anyone out there used retirement funds to purchase all or part of your property? We have, but at the time, Legacy Benefits was the buffer between us and Pillar Panama so I have no idea how they handled the documents.

To date, I am still trying to get IRA money out of our Entrust account to pay for a percentage ownership of the slip we bought. My problem is trying to fill out the Buy Direction letter, particularly with regard to the percentage of ownership. I think I know, but I want to be sure!

If anyone else has gone through a similar experience I would love to get some feedback. A small percentage of personal funds were put up for the reservation fee, and now the balance is coming from the IRA. Sure could use some help!

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/25/07
===================================
When we purchased the boat slip, we put up cash from our personal funds for the reservation fee.
  • Total slip price 100% - Introductory price of $79,900 (of which 50% due for down payment)
  • Initial cash for down payment was about 15% of total slip price - $12,550
  • Balance due 35% of total slip price - $39,950 which will come from the IRA
I'm really good at math, but what confuses me is this; when we create the minutes of the meeting designating percentages of ownership in the company is it based on the percentage as it appears in the downpayment or of the purchase as a whole.
  • Initial cash down is about 15% of the total slip price, but over 30% of the down payment!

See my confusion? I am working with JJ at Pardini to get the new subscription documents. I'll let you know what we find out.

Mick O.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Tranquilo Bay has a new website

On a lighter note, you may have seen the latest e-mail notice from Renee at Tranquilo Bay. If you didn't see it, here's what she says:

We have been listening to the suggestions regarding our website. It has taken a bit of time, but now we have a new look and feel. Please take a look at the revised website and let us know what you think. We continue to look for ways to improve so we will listen to anything you have to say.

We appreciate your business and hope you will come stay with us again!


I like it. We are currently looking at a redesign of our website too.

Mick @ Lot 83

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Panama on the Rush Limbaugh Show

Roger Hedgecock was filling in for Rush on Friday, and, at the end of the first hour he was pointing out how we have spread democracy all over the world, and went on and on about Panama. He certainly did not talk about Red Frog or the union thugs, but he did say that because of the small government and low taxes it has become a haven for foreign investors.

Mick @Lot 83

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Rights of Possession and Titled Property transfers

Today I sent a note to Scott Harris regarding an issue that was not discussed in the conference call; that is the conversion of rights of possession property to titled and wondered if the lawsuit they alluded to involved that issue.

His brief reply came in an e-mail he wrote as he was waiting in the airport for a flight home. (I wonder how much of the budget involves the principals traveling to the states and back - oh, that's mean!) He said the following:

Regarding the conversion to Title, I guess I didn’t think to include it [in our conference call] as our application is still pending in the offices of the Land Use Ministry and though our attorneys keep putting pressure on the authorities to get it resolved, it is a slow process and so I really don’t have any new news. But rest assured that it is a very key initiative for us and so we are doing all we can including calling in favors to get this done.

In closing he did say that the lawsuit was with regard to a small piece of land was in an ROP territory between Pelican Bay and Cayman Beach.

Mick O.

Getting to know each other - Mick @ Lot 83


I thought it would be nice to find out a little bit about my neighbors, so I am asking if anyone else is interested in doing a short autobiography. I'll start and see where it goes from there.

I was born in December, 1949 and raised in Davenport, IA, and graduated from West High School in 1968. Shortly after that I left for Colorado with my first real rock and roll band (I play electric bass) where I spent about 5 years around the Boulder/Denver area in places like Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville and finally owning a little place in Pinewood Springs (near Estes Park) with my first wife, 2 dogs and a cat.

I was finally lured back to the road by one of my high school friends and was asked to join his group to tour the midwest and Canada. This ended my first marriage. The band cut 2 albums before we broke finally up. I moved west with one another band member and a woman I had met in the Quad Cities. All 3 of us settled in Marin County, CA (north of San Francisco).

When she got pregnant with our only child, Angela, in 1981, we married and began moving around Marin practically every year (renting) until we eventually split up about 3 years later. I wandered around from place to place and job to job until I got into computers in 1989.

By 1996 I had survived another marriage (and divorce) and finally pulled enough money together in 1998 to buy a little 2 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath condo near the Marin County Civic Center. About a year later, I met Janis and my life changed forever! I can't begin to tell you how great it's been since then, but I'll try.

We decided to wait a year before moving in together. Almost a year to the day we went looking for a place (both of our places were too small), and by that evening we'd made our first offer on the place we are living now. We had 3 chances to buy it, and finally got it on the third try! We've never been happier.

Since then, we've bought and sold several places in Hawaii on the Big Island, still have condo at Kolea (if anyone's interested!) in a beach front community, a condo in Honolulu where my daughter lives and goes to school, and have owned other rental properties. So far, our biggest adventure has been buying in Panama.

At the time I heard about the project, I had been to Central America only once, visiting Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. I loved the warm Caribbean waters, so when I saw the Red Frog presentation at a Wright Thurston seminar in South San Francisco, I jumped at the chance to invest there. My experience of what I had seen in Costa Rica several years earlier led me to believe this would be something special if we got in on the ground floor. I still believe that today.

I know I wrote about my trip to Bastimentos in my first blog post, so I won't bore you with telling the story again, but after several trips and lots of phone conversations with the Red Frog Team, I am still bullish on the project. I am certain their intentions are honorable, though I'm sure they never expected many of the challenges they've (we've) come up against.

Others may see it differently, and in the end, they may be proven right. But in my mind, there is no up side to being negative. I'm in (for better or for worse) and will wait to see what happens. I hope to continue posting to this blog and sharing information on the project. Hopefully the strike will end soon and work will begin again. Let's make the best of it and get to know each other.

Thanks for listening.

Mick @ Lot 83

Friday, July 20, 2007

Comments on the conference call today?

We recorded the call, though the quality is not great.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts about the conference call we had today. It was unfortunate that they could not announce the strike over; that is why I thought the call had been postponed, and may have been.

Overall, it was pretty much what I expected, other than the announcement that the deposits would be put into escrow in order to enable Red Frog to secure construction loans. I think this makes sense from a business perspective.

Mick @ Lot 83

Updated 7/23/07
===================================
Since everyone is posting comments I thought it might be appropriate to post the outline/highlights as they appear on the Red Frog website here so as to give readers one place to look and evaluate comments.
===================================
July 20th 2007 Conference Call

Here is the outline/highlights of the Conference Call where we shared a progress update on Red Frog Beach and a few issues we thought we should bring everyone up-to-speed on.
We included a few topics that clients have asked us to address and also included some additional information that you should find useful. As always, it is best to send questions about Red Frog Resort Management/HOA to Chris and any other questions to Scott.

ANAM
  • After over two years of working on the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) required by the government of Panama, building phases 4-12 are approved to proceed. The Red Frog team is now ready to move forward with what the Panamanian government will allow. This is great news and we will be focused on moving these portions forward.
  • Another important milestone that resulted from the ANAM approval was the approval last week of the Anti-Proyecto/Master Plan for building phases 4-12. This also entailed over two years of planning, engineering, and designing to be in full compliance with legal development requirements. This is a major milestone for the project because it secures the density plans for the additional units including a boutique hotel, grand marine village, grand marina, activity center, the canopy tour, walking trails, a 2nd logistics center, and total supporting infrastructure. Now with this approval and our environmental approval, we are nearly set to begin pre-construction activities in this area.
  • Unfortunately, the Panamanian government did not approve plans for the golf course and the aquarium. This is disappointing to some of you and we understand that, but given the cards we have been dealt, we’re currently working on developing partnerships with other area developers to find a solution for our golf enthusiasts. This will take some time and we will keep you updated on these endeavors.
  • We are considering other amenities in the original golf site that will add value and reflect our commitment to the environment, such as botanical gardens and nature trails.
  • In this effort, we have narrowed our bids to 3 groups, all internationally recognized. The new vision is to be able to integrate the environment into the development, creating both a destination for tranquility and health, as well as education as we hope to integrate many of Panama’s indigenous flora into the garden plan. As soon as we have reached a decision, we will be sure to announce the chosen group to you all.
  • Just as we have always planned, we are preserving more than 70 percent of the natural areas at Red Frog Beach. Looking at the island as a whole, the Red Frog footprint will remain relatively small (only 3%) in comparison with the island. This 70 percent natural area footprint (about 6%) meets both the government’s vision and the Red Frog Beach vision of what this special place should be.

FINANCES

  • We have taken the opportunity during the last few months to bring in financial architects to look for ways to improve our financial structure. As the project continues to grow and mature and as our property appreciates, we need to meet the needs of our new buyers and the major recommendation was to start taking future deposits into escrow and use large institution financing to fund the project. So we have been perusing that initiative and we are down the road several months on this 6-12 month process with many interested financial institutions. We are pleased with the interest the financial community has in our project, especially since we do have completed homes and an impressive infrastructure as well as all of the important ANAM and Master Plan approvals,
  • Along with that we have developed a relationship with a new international bank and just yesterday signed papers to close on a new deal with them to finance our construction. They bring us a higher line of credit and fewer restrictions than our previous Panamanian bank which will allow us to work faster.
  • While the labor issues are important, keeping Red Frog’s finances stable and flexible is the most important.
  • We, of course, want to return to regular construction schedule as quickly as possible and this financial restructing will help this to occur.

STRIKE

  • As of now, we have not been able to reach a final agreement with the union. This continued delay is disappointing as we had hoped to announce the end of the strike on this call but rest assured that we are forging ahead as best we can with what we can do, and are still hard at work in these final moments at the bargaining table.
  • Obviously, this strike has an impact on progress. We’d all like to see this development done, and we’re all impatient for our full workforce to be back on the job. But we want to protect your investment and the quality of work you expect. Our local legal and labor counsel is doing a great job protecting the interests of Red Frog Beach as a whole.
  • Also, our teams of engineers and architects continue to remain hard at work preparing for Startup. We have recently completed many designs including the Beach Club.

RESORT MANAGEMENT

  • We have had several hospitality companies approach us to express interest in providing resort management services to Red Frog Beach. One major hotel group has even gone so far as to deliver a Letter of Intent which we are presently considering. We understand the power of a brand but also want to make the rental process as profitable to you as possible. Suffice it to say, although we can’t tell you the names of the groups interested in managing the property, they are strong brands you would recognize and they have great track records. They are enthusiastic about what we have done so far and about our recent approvals and are interested in moving forward. We will let you know more about our findings as they happen.
  • We have also been in talks with an International Marina management company who would manage our both of our marinas. They are excited about working with Red Frog because of the location, the deep water, the protected cove, minimal tidal change, the countless islands to explore and most of all -- no hurricanes.
  • We have set in place an efficient reservation system to follow up and help prospect renters through the reservation process.
  • We have improved communication with villa owners through monthly recaps with details on reservations, income and services performed on their villa.
  • We keep implementing new services available for full time residents. Grocery delivery, maid service etc. We are also developing a wide range of services and activities for renters staying at the villas.
  • The team keeps growing to attend the different needs such as maid services, client concierge, maintenance, boat drivers, pool cleaning, gardening, beach cleaning.
  • We have invested in land and water transportation to improve service for both returning owners and villa renters.
  • We have worked to protect unfinished villas and pools from the environment.
  • We have started and are moving ahead with the condo selection process. We also continue to move strong with the villa options as well. Finalizing this information will help us move ahead faster once construction starts and client cooperation during this stage is greatly appreciated.
  • The common areas for the condos are being developed; areas will include Bohio, Pools, Jacuzzi, Seating / Sun bathing Area, bathrooms, landscaping etc.
  • We continue our quest of improving and focusing on the quality of our products: new window manufacturer for upcoming villas /condos, new materials for pool areas etc.
    We are also keenly focused on the quality of construction. We have hired new inspectors and new villa managers that will make sure the designs are being built in accordance to what was determined with you during the options process.

LAND DISPUTE AND LAWSUIT

  • As you have probably heard by now, we filed suit in the U.S. District Court system in Houston to protect the legal rights of a small piece of land at Red Frog Beach. This legal action is in addition to the legal proceedings on file in Panama.
  • We believe this course of action is prudent and necessary. As these cases wind their way through the legal channels we will keep you appraised of them as best we can.
  • We feel confident that we will prevail and we will win this in the high courts.

PROPERTY TAXES

  • We have had many, many questions about the laws of Panama and the property tax situation. First and foremost, our best advice is for you to have your own Panamanian legal counsel provide this information. Since we are not attorneys, we are not in a position to give legal advice.
  • But we can explain the current process at Red Frog. As a large developer with a large project that is well known to government officials, we are essentially required to bring in a qualified appraiser (we are using the highly esteemed Panamericana de Avalous) who assigns a value to the land based on a simple formula of square meters times a specified rate. This is then given to Catastro (land use ministry) for their approval and then that becomes the assessed value of the land.
  • To think that the government would overlook our project and the value that putting in all of the utilities as well as the forthcoming amenities is not reality based thinking. So while we do know the process, it is ultimately up to the government officials to assign the value. And at this point, we are told that we have been getting some of the lowest evaluations for beach property with our infrastructure and amenities in the entire country. But that can always change and that is why we ask you to seek your legal advice from qualified professionals.

CONCLUSION

  • We are excited to see all of our plans coming together and it was exciting for me to recently see one of the newest amenity that is coming to Red Frog Beach. We have acquired in trade a beautiful and practically brand new 35 foot Silverton Motor Yacht that is on its way from Costa Rica as we make this announcement. This yacht will be available for paid charters so for those of you who have always dreamed of island hopping in a yacht, here is a great opportunity for you to do that.
  • Once it is renamed and registered in Panama, we will be bringing it up to Bocas and it will be the first of many fine vessels to grace the marina at Red Frog which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
  • As we have continuing news regarding the project, we will be sure to keep you updated by email and on the website. Thank you to all of you great clients and as always, please feel free to contact us with any questions.

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Quiet converstation with Joe's mom!

Hello Red Frogians,

Janis got got a call today from Janice Bartone made some headway in talks that could increase our choices of furniture. Joe's mom is really nice. I think she got sucked into the business of when she asked Mr. Haley what he planned for furniture and he said, "Furniture?"

It really makes sense with what I know about the Red Frog Team. They have been very kind and considerate when dealing with us right from the beginning. I'm sure there are a lot of things they never considered about building on an island in a foreign country.

And trying to get all the owners to decide on furniture choices seems arduous at best. I think if we are patient, things will open up. For those of us who have to make our selections sooner rather than later, that may be a little harder.

But at this point, not having any furniture is not an option. We want to put our villa in the rental pool as soon as possible, and getting furniture to Bastimentos seems like it could turn into a project we are just not willing to take on.

I know there is a lot of talent in our group; a lot of designers and others in the trades. For that we are grateful.

Mick @ Lot 83

Internet Access at Red Frog Beach Club

Owner Ivan Ho, one of our neighbors on Turtle Beach, wrote the following to the blog:

I agree we did not have enough time to make our choices. My question is: why are they charging me $1,000 for internet allowance. In the original contract it says we would have internet access. Ryan can not tell me the difference between the two. All he says is that RFB had to pay for all the equipment for the internet. I understand that but the villa is to have internet access at no additional charge. Does anyone know anything about this?

Mick @ Lot 83 had this response:

As for the Internet, we don't remember this agreement specifically. I do know that Ryan said the cloud was over the whole project and of course, we would need a router in each villa (which we bought in our villa selections). I would expect there to be a monthly access charge since RFB is paying for Internet access through their ISP. We will check and see if we can get this clarified for you. We may also hire an attorney to look over the contact again and give us his interpretation of what we should and should not get.

Ryan Bullock's response to my e-mail request to clarify the Internet Allowance was this:

Yes, you purchased the internet allowance for your villa, and that allowance includes a router that will distribute the wireless signal throughout your Villa. I will try to clarify what exactly is meant by the “Internet Allowance”.

Basically, we have invested in the infrastructure in order to make internet access available to all of the villas on the project. There was no internet access on this part of Bastimentos island before Red Frog Beach, but we “created” that access for our clients when we made the necessary arrangements with Cable and Wireless and when we invested in the installation of a communications tower that would distribute the signal throughout the Property and to all of the villas, condos, etc. In order to take advantage of that access clients must have an antenna and a router installed for their unit, and this is what is included in the Internet Allowance.

There will be a monthly access fee for internet service, but I do not know exactly what that fee will be. We may ultimately be able to offer different connection speeds at different rates. I anticipate that the fee will probably be something around $60 per month.

I hope that I have been able to answer your questions. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can explain.


I still find the definition of Internet Allowance a little confusing since he does not specify if this charge includes any monthy service and, if not, when will the monthly service charge start? (Maybe Ron @ 11 knows since he is living there.) I have asked for a clarification and will post it when I hear back.

It was not my understanding that all Internet service would be free and would expect to pay for monthy access as with any of our vacation properties, but I can't speak to what RFB agreed to with Ivan's family.

Mick @ lot 83

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

I know, I know...

I decided to limit the use of this site for registered authors only. Please pass my e-mail mick@sfresidence.com to the other owners and let them know they are invited to participate. In this way we can keep our exposure to a minimum; to only people who WANT to participate, not those who are spying or whatever...

I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions on whether or not this is a good way to go. I can always change it back.

The exchange of ideas and information is critical, and I resent that anyone would attempt to shut down free speech. A blog is the place for this type of exchange.

Mick @Lot 83

Incredible opportunity for a beach front lot on Red Frog Beach!

Not sure if anyone knows about this yet, but in my research for information about our project in the Bocas Breeze, I saw the following ad:

My first thought was, which one of our neighbors is selling? But then I saw "non-club" which got me curious. So I shot off an e-mail and got a pretty quick response from Don at Bocas del Toro Realty who is originally from Florida and lives in Bocas; very nice gentleman. We traded several e-mails around 11:00 out time so he was up really late! And again early this morning.

I don't want to get into too much detail, but if you know someone who is looking for property right on the beach and are balking at the prices for a Red Frog beach front lot, this 3-lot parcel is available for $395,000 unimproved (no water, sewer, electricity, etc.) and is on the west end of Bastimentos Island near the Red Frog Beach Club with only one lot (non-RFB) in between.

Now the disclaimer: If I have any of this information wrong, I apologize. I have not been there or seen it, but it looks lovely.

This picture is a peek-a-boo out to the Caribbean which hasn't been cleared better (I'm told) because it might encourage campers to pitch a tent!

I felt it was something I should share in case one of our friends or relatives might be interested in it. If so, please contact Don at Bocas del Toro Realty Services, Inc. E-mail him liveyourdream@bocasparadise.com. office 011-507-757-9401, cell 011-507-6-633-8050, fax 011-507-757-9397. Tell him Mick sent you...

This is not a paid commercial!

Mick @ Lot 83

Furniture continues to be the topic today

Hello again. After numerous e-mails between interested owners, there has begun a discussion about the selections from Interior Jam and that being the only choice offered to us.

Ron @ Lot 11 says there is a fine distributor in Bocas who has imports from Indonesia, but getting them to Bastimentos is the hardest part. So close, yet so far away... unless you pay thousands of dollars for Red Frog to accept the container at their facility. This may not be a big issue, particularly if the quantity is there from owners who wish to enlarge their world of choices. Our combined purchasing power could fill up a container pretty fast!

My experience with the Red Frog has been their openness to making changes for the better. Perhaps this will be the same. But I think we need to make our objections known. Unfortunately for us, we are so close to having to make the decision that we may decide to have the villa delivered to us unfurnished.

Mick & Janis @ Lot 83

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Anonymous posts will not be posted

Because of the positive nature of what we're doing, only comments from people who can be identified as either owners, or by e-mail address will be published.

Mick @ Lot 83

Open letter to Scott Doggett - Article in Oct. 2006 issue of The Bocas Breeze

Today I stumbled across a publication I had picked up at the airport on my way home from my visit to Red Frog Beach. I noticed on the back a website for the magazine's online version at www.TheBocasBreeze.com.

Of course, I didn't have to look very hard for something negative about our project. It was written by Scott Doggett in the Oct. 2006 issue entitled, "Don’t let it happen here". Like most of the people who write negatively about the project, they know NOTHING about the environmental hurdles our guys are going through to make sure that what they do is in line with the environmental agency.

As I've stated, I have a few criticisms about the project and some of its organization, but their committment to environmental friendly solutions is NOT one of them! Mr. Doggett claims to know the RFB team though he admits he's never met them. Well then, I know Mr. Doggett, though I have never met him.

And in my opinion, he is another bleeding heart who seems to think that if we went away, Panama would be a lot better off. Well, let me tell you what's going on at the other end of the country.

On the San Blas Islands at the other end of Panama, the lifestyle is very rustic. I stayed there in a bed and breakfast which should really have been called a "bug in breakfast". The bottom floors were sand and sleeping in a hammock was recommended because sleeping bags attacted critters in the night.

And my experience with the bathrooms went like this. Every morning the maintenance people would fill up the water barrel in our second floor room to use for our shower and toilet. Once you were done going to the bathroom, you'd flush and the waste would drop through a pipe right into the reef below. NO SEWAGE SYSTEM! It has been this way for years!

One of my biggest beefs with environmentalists is that they seem to think nature can't survive without us. Tell that to the coyotes now hunting humans in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco! True, man has created some messes and caused some animal species to go extinct, but nature has been doing that for years without our help! Remember dinosaurs and sabre tooth tigers?

Anyway, more to the point is this. Only 9% of Bastimentos is actually scheduled for construction, and of that the home sites are mostly land. As we've seen in Panama, the land is fertile and with the amount of rain they get, even the fence posts sprout leaves! Included in the development is one of the most sophisticated water and sewer treatment plants you will see anywhere. Dennis Stears has proudly seen to that.

And what of those houses on the beach? Does Mr. Doggett think we are going to be out there hunting for turtles or their eggs? If someone is stealing eggs, it won't be us! I guarantee it! And we are not capturing dolphins or monkeys or birds or red frogs (though we might grab an orchid or two!) or any of the other creatures among which we want to live.

Bastimentos is an enchanting place; a thing of beauty and wonderment. We will keep it that way!

Mick @ Lot 83

Upgrade Specifications form letter

Here is a copy of the upgrade specifications form letter we received. Of course, this may change over time, but it might be helpful to know what's coming!

Dear ___,

My name is Ryan, and I will be working with you to decide whether on the options selections and upgrade specifications for your Red Frog Villa. Lot 83 has now come up on our schedule, and I am writing you today so that we can go ahead and begin the process of really making your Villa very special as your Tortuga is to be built on a beautiful beachfront lot. I feel like this process will be enjoyable, and I believe that we will be able to move through the Villa Specifications Process smoothly and without any real complications.

The Villa Specifications Process is divided into two parts. First, we will need to define and finalize any options selections that you may choose for your Villa and the interior. These selections include appliance upgrades, exterior color combination options, additional TV outlets, etc. This part of the process is relatively simple and straight forward, and we should initiate this part of the Villa Specifications Process right away. Then, in the coming weeks, we will initiate the second part of the Villa Specifications process: finalizing the designs for the Pool & Patio areas of your Villa.

As the machinery gets rolling again at Red Frog Beach within the next few weeks, maintaining and keeping up with our construction schedule is obviously a very high priority. The date that I have been given for finalizing and submitting the options selections for your Villa’s interior to our Construction Operations Department is Monday, July 9th, 2007. This gives us two weeks to discuss and finalize any selections that you may choose for your villa, and I really do appreciate your investing the time to move through this part of the Villa Specifications Process within this time frame. To facilitate this part of the Process, I have already prepared an initial quote for the various upgrades and options that we have available for your Villa’s interior. I am sending the quote as an attachment to this email so that you may review it, and I will also have a hard copy of this email and the attached document sent to you via UPS so that you will have it for your records. Finally, I’ll go ahead and have some exterior color paint chips sent to you by mail so that you can begin considering which of our five color combinations you will want to choose for your Villa. We should go ahead and plan a time very soon that we can speak by phone and discuss in greater detail the various options that appear in the attached quote document. The sooner we can begin discussing these options the better, and I’ll have Erika from our office call you tomorrow so that we can schedule a time to speak by phone sometime this week.

This is all I have for now. Please take a few minutes to review the attached document, and please take a look at your schedules to see when might be a convenient time for us to speak by phone. I really look forward to talking with you very soon, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me should you have any immediate questions regarding the attached document or the Villa Specifications Process in general. I am traveling this week, but I will be checking and responding to my emails regularly. If you write to me directly, I will certainly get back with you but it may be later in the afternoon or early the next morning. I appreciate your cooperation, and please work with Erika to schedule a time for this week that we might speak by phone.


I am in no way criticizing this letter. I am posting it so that others may see what they can expect in anticipation of their villa and/or condo construction. (I would have loved to see this some months ago so I would know what I was to expect. The only complaint I had was the timing which may have been exaggerated because of the holiday week.)

Ryan has been great. All of our questions by e-mail were answered promptly, either the same day or early the next morning.

Mick @ Lot 83

Naturally we're eager to get going, but...

A short post about the construction call we had. On June 25th of this year (2007), Ryan Bullock contaced us by e-mail saying that he wanted to have a conference call to get our Villa Specifications because our villa had been put on the construction schedule.

That basically gave us the following week to make our choices because the week after that was the 4th of July week where we (and practically every other Californian) would be out of town. His report was due the following Monday, July 9th.

The paint selections didn't arrive in the mail until the end of the week that we were out of town (and it may have even been as late as the Monday that Ryan's report was due - another Interior Jam issue) so we could not make an informed decision.

My only point is this... the lack of flexibility. We have been on hold since 2004 when we first made our purchase and then given "10 minutes" (I'm exaggerating, of course) to make all of our choices. Certainly owners should have a little more time to make these very important decisions. It's frustrating.

So to possibly help alleviate other people's frustration, we are willing to share our experience with anyone who may need help figuring this whole thing out. If you have any questions about the process that occurs BEFORE the furniture selection call, let us know and we'll be happy to shed some light on what we know!

Mick & Janis @ Lot 83

Not too sure about Interior Jam

We recently have had dealings with Interior Jam, and are wondering if they are the right choice for Red Frog. Here's my concern:

For one thing, Jan Bartone has a hard time getting names right, even when corrected. I am Michael and I go by Mick. So far I am still "Mike" though she has been told otherwise. Okay, so I'm willing to overlook that. But only one or two of my e-mails has been responded to and that concerns me. She does, however, respond to Janis in a timely manner, so perhaps it's me! :-)

Just as Legacy is history with regard to the retirement plan management for Red Frog because of their poor (and slow) customer response, could this end up being the fate of Interior Jam? Just wondering because here's our biggest concern.

We have dealt with a furniture company in Hawaii called Island Collections. They make their furniture on the mainland and in other countries and are very good at supplying their stuff to island locations using containers... which I would think is key to getting stuff delivered to Panama. When we spoke with Isaac, the owner, he told us he has a factory close to us and would be happy to speak with Interior Jam about being a furniture supplier.

This company has GREAT prices and GREAT furniture, which is essential for Janis who has back concerns. Island Collections has a great recliner that is the only one we've found that suits our purposes... and it was relatively CHEAP! Another point is that they are a huge furniture supplier for lots of large resorts all over the place, so I know they are aware of the challenges of customs.

In short, we asked Jan Bartone at Interior Jam to just TALK to Isaac and see if Island Collections might be a possible furniture supplier. Judging by the prices on the furniture options we've received, her suppliers NEED some competition (plus let's not forget Janis's back issue!). Here was her response:

"...I did not call Issac as; at this time I really don’t have the where for all to set in motion a new vendor..."

You don't have the where for all? I thought it was about service and giving the clients the best deal, not what's convenient for Interior Jam. Now when all is said and done, maybe the vendor choices Janice Bartone has made ARE the best ones. But how does she know??? All we are asking for is one phone call just to see. So here's our dilemma. Does Red Frog know about this lack of flexibility and are we the only ones who think this? I'd love to hear some feedback.

Mick @ Lot 83

Beach front lot 83

When we purchased the deal was 50% up front because the land was not titled while others enjoyed only having to put up 30%. As we move toward the start of construction, we understand this may change for us, but we'll see.

Our first call was the options call where we chose a rough set of things we wanted to upgrade, such as the maid's quarters, the bigger pool and some other things to get a budget. At that time we were encourage to purchase a furniture allowance to add to the total so that we could finance it along with the villa.

So we had our lot premium, our villa cost, our options cost and our furniture cost. Of that amount we had to put up 50% of the total. We used some of our retirement money, but most of it came from personal holdings. (The condo downpayment was 100% IRA money! More on that in another post.)

Right now we have just had our first pre-construction conference call and made some of our choices. Next comes the furniture choices, then the pool and patio conference call. I'll keep you updated.

Mick @ Lot 83

Early Days

I posted a similar story on Ron at 11's blog before it went kaput about our early dealings with Red Frog. I think it is insightful as to how the business practices have developed.

In the beginning, I went on the exploratory tour that Red Frog offered very early in the process. We were not in the first phase, but we were close. I heard about the project at a Wright Thurston real estate investing seminar and decided I wanted in.

At that time we were told no investors were allowed in until they had made the trip. I made it clear that, although we could not make the journey for a couple of months, we wanted a beach front villa.

When I finally arrived (Janis could not make that trip... and I'm glad she didn't!) I was told that all the beach front lots had been sold. Of course, I was livid, since I was very specific about what we wanted or I would not have made the trip. Dennis Stears assured me there were going to be plenty of beach front lots. After talking to several of the principals (Chris, Scott, Darrell, etc.) and making my objections clear, they were very accommodating in offering an option on one of the lots which had not been surveyed yet. As a result we ended up with our lot 83. So right off the bat, they got my vote as being very honorable guys. I was promised a beach front lot before I went on the tour, and I left with one!

The reason I was glad Janis hadn't gone was that there was nothing to see! This is very common when one wants to get in on the ground floor. The risk is higher, so the prices were lower. Anyway I spent several days hiking up hills to look at lots and got spattered with mud from the rain soaked dirt tracks that were "graded" for the ATVs.

I remember getting stuck and the tractor shooting up mud into the trailer where some of us sat and thought, "Boy, am I glad the Queen is not here!"

Shortly after that, the first condos were offered and we immediately invested in a penthouse in building 200. And when the boat slips were initially offered, we jumped on one of those too. Eventually Janis did take the trip and enjoyed her time there. The roads were wider, much of the power plant had been built and some of the homes had been started. We plan to go again before the end of the year... as soon as Janis gets her new passport!!!!

We'd love to hear your stories, both funny or sad.

Mick @ Lot 83

Hello, everyone!

This is Mick (and Janis) at lot 83. We are sad that Ron at lot 11has shut down his blog, so we decided to start one up.

Our first task will be to contact all we know who are owners at Red Frog and ask them to contribute. In order to add you to our list, please e-mail mick@SFResidence.com and ask to be added as a contributor using your e-mail address.

We hope this proves to be a well read blog loaded with ideas, tips and articles helpful to the community at large! Welcome!

Mick Orton
Lot 83