YOU WISH TO PURCHASE PROPERTY?
Excellent, now RemaxRoatan.com help you like no other Real Estate company can.
You may wish to conduct a search of real estate yourself, and by all means you should. (CLICK HERE FOR ROATAN REAL ESTATE SEARCH) A realtor is not even necessary so long as you have a lawyer who knows everything there is to know about a particular area or property. Finding a lawyer who does will be almost non-existent. RemaxRoatan does not charge clients to help them search and research for thr right investment. A licensed Roatan realtor MUST abide by the written code of ethics if they wish to keep their license. If you are in search of a real estate agent you may think the one that responds to your email request immediately is the best choice. This is not always the case. (Judging a book by its cover analogy comes to mind). In fact, good real estate agents are usually the busy ones who are out in the field with a buyer or being pro-active to sell your property. A response within 8-12 hours is realistic response time.
Picking a company and Realtor?
- RemaxRoatan.com is a website used to promote real estate and Roatan online. It is also works in association with Re/Max Roatan which is also backed by the real estate powerhouse Re/Max International.
- Re/Max has brokerage membership with CANABIR (Honduran National Real Estate Association) and the International “Realtors” Association. Along with Re/Max International, you should feel confident that your interests are handled professionally through to completion.
- With over 50 years combined experience, Re/max Roatan (and RoataFirst.com) has a wide variety of listings to chose from. By chance if we do not have what you are looking for, Our MLS search engine will bring all the properties for sale that may interest you. Re/Max is also in touch with the island of Roatan and can even find property available that is not listed.
Investment in the Caribbean has for many years had very favorable and exciting returns. Back in the 80′s one could purchase a property in the Cayman’s or the Bahamas for pennies on the dollar compared to today. Roatan and the Bay Islands are starting to see the early stages of this dramatic rise due to major foreign international investment by well known companies and tourism.
Although the current economic issues of the world has slowed down many investments throughout the Caribbean, one should not be surprised that prices have remained steady here in the Bay Islands rather than retreat. Real estate investment is not new to many Americans and Canadians, in fact many are familiar with seeing solid returns from their out-of-country investment.
Purchasing your property should be an enjoyable experience. Why wouldn’t it be, you’re in the Caribbean – a new adventure – wonderful people – stunning beaches and perfect weather 10 months of the year. Combine this with a no-pressure realtor who listens to your wishes and who performs solid research, should make this a fun experience.
Up until 2007, most property purchases had to be a 100% cash deal. Financing for the most part was unheard of. Nowadays this standard of purchasing property is still preferred but not necessary as financing can be found at higher end developments which in turn have their own financing through major Honduran banks. Another option which has been quite successful in recent years is Owner Financing. This is offered by the seller and the terms are usually a little more flexible.
There is another possibility that is not well known and that is purchasing your property with either your IRA, IRA-SEP, 401K etc. To the IRS an investment is still an investment where ever it is so long as they know of its location. I have had a few clients purchase properties with a company from California called ENTRUST which can be found at http://www.newdirectionira.com. And have been very happy with the outcome. This maybe a good idea for you if you no longer wish to have a money manager play with your money in the stock market.
Because the Honduran Government guarantees foreign ownership, your property purchase is safe within your name or under a Honduran Corporation you may wish to set up specifically for property purchases.
A foreign investor may purchase up to 0.72 acre under their personal name. If the property is larger, a Honduran Corporation. A Honduran Corporation can easily and inexpensively be formed and stock issued proportionately.
Title Insurance – For the most part, properties do not have a problem other than specific areas which your realtor will advise you of. All properties listed from any member of the Roatan Realtors Association must be of clear title and free of liens unless otherwise specified in the documentation. Either way, a good lawyer will always run a full analysis on the property before any money changes hands. If you wish for Title Insurance, our company works with “First American Title” which you may contact directly for further information.
As a starting point this should be regarded as the cliff note version to investments and financing. If you feel you wish for more information, please sign up for the investment guide which will explain more of the ins-and-out regarding Bay Island investments.
