Our valued sponsor

Efficient markets/jurisdictions to put 20-30m in real estate for passive income?

OKboomer

Member Plus
Nov 29, 2019
94
58
43
66
Register now
You must login or register to view hidden content on this page.
As per the title. Are there are any countries to buy lots of apartments for rent in as a non-resident / off-shore company?

A wish-list:

1) Net yield from rental not being nothing (1-2%) after taxes of all sorts
2) No extreme pro-tenant laws where they can refuse to pay you and you cannot kick them out
3) Ownership of apartments is permitted for non-residents without onerous extra charges
4) Minimal bureaucracy (some countries with a good rental yield on paper have so many hidden small problems (e.g. manually paying multiple local charges they send on a piece of paper, mandatory government paperwork or safety inspection visits), it ends up costing you more in time wasted with paperwork and inevitable penalties than it you made less with no paperwork
5) No expropriation laws obviously. Rule of law and respect of private property / ownership.
6) USA excluded.
7) No lazy culture where your property managers consistently screw up management of your property and costing you percentage points from profit.
8) Not obsessed about AML/SoF nonsense and assuming everyone off-shore is a criminal.

I have been researching this for a long time, but nothing interesting so far. Each country I have looked at had at least 1 out of 8 problems above, usually many more.

Anyone found anything interesting?

Happy to provide my stories about research experience.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
P.S: This is a memo of something similar to what you're looking for, which was recently shared by my clients.


1) Georgia (Tbilisi & Batumi)
✅ Net yields: 6-9% (short-term rentals); 4-6% (long-term)
✅ No pro-tenant laws (easy eviction)
✅ Foreigners can own freely (except agricultural land)
✅ Minimal bureaucracy, easy property purchase
✅ No capital controls, no real AML harassment
✅ Low taxes (5% rental tax if structured properly)
✅ No real risk of expropriation

Downsides:
  • Short-term rentals are competitive in Tbilisi
  • Some local property managers are unreliable
  • Economic fluctuations (but real estate demand remains strong)
  • Russia is literally next door. Good or bad depends on how you view it.


2) Montenegro (Budva, Kotor, Podgorica)

✅ Net yields: 5-7%
✅ Easy eviction laws
✅ No restrictions on foreign ownership
✅ Low taxes (9% corporate tax, rental tax options)
✅ Reasonable bureaucracy
✅ No crazy AML harassment

Downsides:
  • Some property managers are unreliable
  • Economy is small, so rental demand can fluctuate
  • Slightly harder to liquidate property quickly


3) Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya)

✅ Net yields: 5-8% (Istanbul); 6-9% (Antalya short-term rentals)
✅ Can qualify for citizenship almost immediately after buying properties worth 250k or more.
✅ Foreigners can buy freely (except near military zones)
✅ No extreme pro-tenant laws for furnished rentals
✅ Low taxes (usually 15-20% on rental income, but structuring helps)
✅ Minimal bureaucracy (property purchase can be done in days)

Downsides:
  • Currency risk (but if you buy in USD/EUR-denominated projects, it's mitigated)
  • Property management quality varies
  • Short-term rental regulations can change


4) Cambodia (Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville)

✅ Net yields: 6-10%
✅ No crazy pro-tenant laws
✅ Foreigners can own apartments (via strata titles)
✅ Low taxes (rental tax ~10%)
✅ No AML nonsense (relative to the West)

Downsides:
  • Economic stability concerns
  • Infrastructure issues
  • Some areas are overbuilt


5) Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad)

✅ Net yields: 5-7%
✅ Pro-landlord legal system
✅ Foreigners can own freely (except agricultural land)
✅ Low taxes (rental tax ~15% but can be optimized)
✅ No over-regulation or excessive AML

Downsides:
  • Some property managers are inefficient
  • Real estate prices are rising quickly, reducing future yields


Countries That Almost Work But Have Issues

❌ PortugalGolden Visa changes, bureaucracy, low yields (2~%)
❌ Spain – Overregulation, high taxes, pro-tenant laws (you can literally get your house stolen see: (https://www.idealista.com/en/news/l...in-spain-understanding-spain-s-okupas-problem)
❌ Greece – Pro-tenant laws, unpredictable, annoying bureaucracy
❌ Thailand – Foreigners can’t own land, leasehold risks, lots of scams, see.
❌ Latvia – Poor long-term economic outlook, shrinking population, no mans land, unless you are into fintech, then it's different.


So, For a balance of high net yields, property rights, minimal bureaucracy, and non-hostile AML environments, my top recommendations are:

1️⃣ Georgia (Tbilisi, Batumi) – Best all-around choice for yield, low taxes, and ease of ownership.
2️⃣ Montenegro (Budva, Kotor) – High rental demand, solid yields, and Ok-ish legal system.
3️⃣ turkey (Istanbul, Antalya) – Good yields, reasonable taxation, and easy foreign ownership (plus citizenship).
4️⃣ Cambodia (Phnom Penh) – Strongest yields in Asia, simple tax structure, and low bureaucracy.
5️⃣ Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad) – Business-friendly, low taxes, and high rental demand.

To answer your question @OKboomer, If your main concern is AML nonsense and anti-offshore attitudes, Georgia and Cambodia are the best choices. If you want a balance of EU access, strong yields, and minimal headaches, Montenegro and Serbia are solid options.
 
Last edited:
@ActionMan very amazing list.

For citizenship in Türkiye, isn't it 400k USD minimum?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ilke
P.S: This is a memo of something similar to what you're looking for, which was recently shared by my clients.


1) Georgia (Tbilisi & Batumi)
✅ Net yields: 6-9% (short-term rentals); 4-6% (long-term)
✅ No pro-tenant laws (easy eviction)
✅ Foreigners can own freely (except agricultural land)
✅ Minimal bureaucracy, easy property purchase
✅ No capital controls, no real AML harassment
✅ Low taxes (5% rental tax if structured properly)
✅ No real risk of expropriation

Downsides:
  • Short-term rentals are competitive in Tbilisi
  • Some local property managers are unreliable
  • Economic fluctuations (but real estate demand remains strong)
  • Russia is literally next door. Good or bad depends on how you view it.


2) Montenegro (Budva, Kotor, Podgorica)

✅ Net yields: 5-7%
✅ Easy eviction laws
✅ No restrictions on foreign ownership
✅ Low taxes (9% corporate tax, rental tax options)
✅ Reasonable bureaucracy
✅ No crazy AML harassment

Downsides:
  • Some property managers are unreliable
  • Economy is small, so rental demand can fluctuate
  • Slightly harder to liquidate property quickly


3) Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya)

✅ Net yields: 5-8% (Istanbul); 6-9% (Antalya short-term rentals)
✅ Can qualify for citizenship almost immediately after buying properties worth 250k or more.
✅ Foreigners can buy freely (except near military zones)
✅ No extreme pro-tenant laws for furnished rentals
✅ Low taxes (usually 15-20% on rental income, but structuring helps)
✅ Minimal bureaucracy (property purchase can be done in days)

Downsides:
  • Currency risk (but if you buy in USD/EUR-denominated projects, it's mitigated)
  • Property management quality varies
  • Short-term rental regulations can change


4) Cambodia (Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville)

✅ Net yields: 6-10%
✅ No crazy pro-tenant laws
✅ Foreigners can own apartments (via strata titles)
✅ Low taxes (rental tax ~10%)
✅ No AML nonsense (relative to the West)

Downsides:
  • Economic stability concerns
  • Infrastructure issues
  • Some areas are overbuilt


5) Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad)

✅ Net yields: 5-7%
✅ Pro-landlord legal system
✅ Foreigners can own freely (except agricultural land)
✅ Low taxes (rental tax ~15% but can be optimized)
✅ No over-regulation or excessive AML

Downsides:
  • Some property managers are inefficient
  • Real estate prices are rising quickly, reducing future yields


Countries That Almost Work But Have Issues

❌ PortugalGolden Visa changes, bureaucracy, low yields (2~%)
❌ Spain – Overregulation, high taxes, pro-tenant laws (you can literally get your house stolen see: (https://www.idealista.com/en/news/l...in-spain-understanding-spain-s-okupas-problem)
❌ Greece – Pro-tenant laws, unpredictable, annoying bureaucracy
❌ Thailand – Foreigners can’t own land, leasehold risks, lots of scams, see.
❌ Latvia – Poor long-term economic outlook, shrinking population, no mans land, unless you are into fintech, then it's different.


So, For a balance of high net yields, property rights, minimal bureaucracy, and non-hostile AML environments, my top recommendations are:

1️⃣ Georgia (Tbilisi, Batumi) – Best all-around choice for yield, low taxes, and ease of ownership.
2️⃣ Montenegro (Budva, Kotor) – High rental demand, solid yields, and Ok-ish legal system.
3️⃣ turkey (Istanbul, Antalya) – Good yields, reasonable taxation, and easy foreign ownership (plus citizenship).
4️⃣ Cambodia (Phnom Penh) – Strongest yields in Asia, simple tax structure, and low bureaucracy.
5️⃣ Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad) – Business-friendly, low taxes, and high rental demand.

To answer your question @OKboomer, If your main concern is AML nonsense and anti-offshore attitudes, Georgia and Cambodia are the best choices. If you want a balance of EU access, strong yields, and minimal headaches, Montenegro and Serbia are solid options.
Interesting, thank you for the detailed list.

I have had experience with 4 out of 5 shortlisted countries from your list (no Cambodia), and they all had issues with unreliable (or even thieving) local managers, lots of little bills to pay manually, which somehow always goes wrong (i.e. water bill is credited somehow to the wrong apartment and you need to send someone to talk to bottomfeeder bureucrats to dispute your 10-20$ loss per bill, or just ignore it; same with some other contributions or even taxes, in many cases requiring filling up some idiotic paperwork that literally kills your brain-cells. In some cases locals don't get any crap, but you do as a foreigner because of corruption (e.g. the balkans), so in the end after paying your people and charges, long-term rentals give you net 2-3%.... and then you just wonder whether it is worth the hassle.
 
Register now
You must login or register to view hidden content on this page.