Commercial real estate
How property is sourced, financed, valued and managed, and what that means for a buyer entering a new market.
- Commercial real estate
- Business and family capital
- Intelligence research
Any currency.
Solid ground.
Tierra Firme is a consortium of three practitioners in real estate, business and research. We produce a free show, research and seminars for people placing capital across borders, starting with Latin America.
Education, not advice. No listings, no deals, no fees on what you buy.
What Tierra Firme is
Three disciplines at one table.
A sound property in the wrong conditions is a bad investment. Most advice covers the asset or the money, rarely the country. Tierra Firme puts all three views in the same room so each one checks the others.
Business and family capital
How individuals, families and family offices build, run and hold assets and businesses abroad.
Intelligence research
The economic, currency and political conditions that set your real return, and the signals that they are changing.
The thesis
You're not broke. You're in the wrong market.
Across the US, Canada and Europe, the entry point to owning something has moved out of reach: a first home, a rental, a small business. That holds even for people with solid incomes who did everything right.
But "out of reach" is local. Whether you are stretching a fixed income into retirement or still earning and ready to build a first real asset, the same savings can buy more abroad. Three forces explain why, and each carries its own risk.
The framework
Three arbitrages, three risks.
Every gap that makes a market cheaper is also a reason to be careful. We teach both sides.
1
Currency
Your dollar, loonie or euro goes further abroad. It can also lose ground while you hold, so the exchange rate is part of your return.
2
Political
Markets others avoid often price in more risk than exists. Sometimes they price in less. Research tells the difference.
3
Structural
How a foreigner owns and operates: entities, title, tax and getting money home. These rules decide what you actually keep.
The members
Three practitioners. Equal seats.
Each member runs an independent practice. Every episode and seminar moves through the same three views.
Murphy D. Cheatham II
The asset: what a property abroad is worth, what your income reaches there, and how to own it without getting burned.
Shawn Christopher Leamon
The operation: the business or income stream you could run on the ground, what it costs to enter and what it takes to run.
Todd Allyn
The conditions: the macroeconomic, currency and country research that sets your real return, and what changes it.
How it works
Learn at your own pace.
No hard sell. We would rather you be ready than early.
1
Watch the show Free
The thesis, the framework and real stories from the ground, in English and Spanish.
2
Read the research Free
A regular research note on currency, political and structural conditions, led by Sovereo Intelligence Research.
3
Attend a seminar Dates to the list first
Small-format sessions in Bogotá with lectures, case studies and time on the ground.
Straight answers
Questions people ask first.
What is Tierra Firme?
Tierra Firme is a consortium of three practitioners in commercial real estate, business and family capital, and intelligence research. It produces a free show, research and seminars for people placing capital across borders, starting with Latin America.
Who is behind Tierra Firme?
Murphy D. Cheatham II (commercial real estate), Shawn Christopher Leamon (business and operations) and Todd Allyn (intelligence research, Sovereo Intelligence Research). Each runs an independent practice.
Who is Tierra Firme for?
Individuals, families and family offices in the US, Canada and Europe who want to understand a market abroad before committing capital, including households priced out of ownership at home and retirees stretching a fixed income.
Is Tierra Firme free?
Yes. The show and the email list are free. Seminars are paid and are announced to the list first.
Does Tierra Firme sell property or broker deals?
No. Tierra Firme teaches how to evaluate a market and a deal. It does not list property, broker transactions or take fees on what you buy.
Is anything from Tierra Firme investment advice?
No. Everything Tierra Firme publishes is educational. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. Decisions stay with you and your own advisers.
What role does Sovereo Intelligence Research play?
Sovereo Intelligence Research is a founding member and leads Tierra Firme research: the macroeconomic, currency and country intelligence behind each episode and seminar. Sovereo takes no deal fees, advisory fees or carry.
Where is Tierra Firme based?
Bogotá, Colombia, with members in Dallas and Bogotá. Bogotá holds the central bank, tax authority, notaries and ministries every foreign investor deals with.
Episodes · Research · Seminars
Know the ground before you stand on it.
Join the list. New episodes, research and seminar dates go to the list first.