Buying a property in the Caribbean

You usually have plenty of choice when you want topractices are regulated and a real estate investor
buy a property in the Caribbean. From the Bahamasshould check out the specifics of the regulatory
to St Lucia or the Barbados, the number of placesguidelines before doing anything if they are interested
you can go to is wide with approximately 7,000in buying a property there.
islands, islets, reefs and cays!Notable exceptions include countries like Haiti for
But because this area is a hot spot for tourists, theexample, which is actually the poorest country in the
price of properties can vary greatly as you certainlyWestern Hemisphere and which has a real estate
will not be the only one around looking to buy amarket plagued by corruption.
property in the Caribbean.Certain countries like Cuba for example, disallow
The geography and the climate in this area can varyforeign freehold ownership of immovable property.
from one island to another. You will find islands thatThere are often ways around these rulings with black
have a relatively flat terrain as well as island withmarket property deals being done quite regularly. Any
mountains everywhere. Usually the climate of thereal estate investor considering working outside of a
region ranges between sub-tropical to tropical. Andcountry's constitutional laws should be aware that his
even though the weather is usually great throughoutsubsequent assumed legal rights to own the property
the year, hurricanes are a common thing in this regionassets purchased will not be enforceable in a court of
of the world!law.
As well as having a wide range of islands to chooseBut most of the Caribbean countries are not like
from, there are also plenty of types of properties toCuba and countries like Barbados, Jamaica and
buy like houses, villas, apartments, condos...But peopleTrinidad and Tobago have active policies to
looking for the ultimate overseas property to buy inencourage foreign direct investment and have
the Caribbean should keep a close eye on theregulations in place to not only allow for foreign
market as they could come across a small islet forfreehold ownership of real estate but they have
sale and be offered the chance to own their island....regulations in place granting foreign owners the same
A large percentage of the Caribbean territorieslegal rights as their domestic citizens when it comes
usually have a requirement that real estate agencyto their property assets.