Setting Up in Managua

Every now and then I've posted on Facebook about our frequent trips to Managua. This time, we were to meet up with a possible attorney to set up our business, and later on, residency. I had read about Dr. Paul Tiffer on Nica Living forums, where he was highly recommended. We also asked our customs agent, if she had heard about this attorney. She had, and only positive things. As a matter of fact, they worked together on a lot of things. Excellent!

So we hopped on the express bus, which was only 20 cords per head (about $1), and which was sufficiently fast. It beats the $60 one way price that taxis charge. The trip on the express bus takes about 45 minutes to over an hour, depending on the driver, but more about on a later posting. It's exotic!

Once we arrived at the university bus stop, a familiar taxi driver was ready to take us where we wanted. He knew he'd get good money out of those gringoes. Dr. Tiffer said that normally he didn't go to the office on a Saturday, but he would make an exception for us. He'd be there around 9:30 am, and we agreed we'd be there at 10 am. It was a couple of minutes after 10, when the attorney finally arrived. It wasn't like him at all to be late, but he had an excellent reason. He had to wait for an electrician to show up on an unexpected visit at his home that morning.

It was all good, it was a Saturday morning and it wasn't all that late at all. We agreed to start up an S.A., a Nicaraguan corporation, and then go on finding our piece of land, and then applying for a residency based on the investment. Just like that. Dr. Tiffer answered all the questions that we had, and we were very pleased with the meeting. He also spoke very good English, which was essential to us...

After we concluded our meeting, he took us to see the sights in his car!!

Can you imagine an American lawyer doing that? I can't. After seeing the sights, he drove us to Price Smart, which is like a local CostCo or Sam's Club. We had applied for a membership, but we hadn't heard back from them. Dr.Tiffer knew the local manager, and he said he could arrange the card for us!

So we went to Price Smart, Chuck found the back-up battery for our computers he needed, but the manager hadn't returned Dr. Tiffer's call by the time we were ready to leave. Well, the only thing to do was to use his card for our purchases!! Can you imagine an American lawyer doing that #2??

After everything he had done for us, we offered to take him out for lunch. He took us to a Nicaraguan steakhouse, and I actually got to eat a chicken covered in delicious BBQ sauce! Heaven I never thought I'd find in Nicaragua! Unfortunately, my gringo ways are still hard to get rid of, and I hurried to end the lunch before the dessert was even suggested! Boy did I feel dumb! I need to get into the laid-back attitude of locals, there's always mañana to get things done!

All in all, I would wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Paul Tiffer's services to anyone who asks. Not only is he a competent, bilingual attorney, he is also a great person! We felt very comfortable leaving everything in his hands.