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November 24, 2008
Economic Woes
Recent downturns in the global economy and, perhaps, more importantly, investor confidence have resulted in a marked downturn in real estate investment activity in the Caribbean. Projects have slowed-down and, in some cases, halted entirely. Developers are scrambling and sellers are getting more aggressive and motivated. One interesting development, which should be a long-term positive is: non-residents are seeking more local financing to acquire properties. While most all sales were closed in cash in previous years, more and more people are seeking mortgages from island banks. Terms are fairly favorable and there seems to be better liquidity in some cases. Islands where this appears to be most prevalent include the Caymans, the ABC's and St Maarten. We will keep an eye on these trends and keep you posted.
October 1, 2008
A considerable slowing has occurred throughout the Caribbean basin in overall sales and price appreciation. Time on market is continuing to grow and sellers are becoming much more motivated.
August 13, 2008 Costa Rica Squatters Threaten Absentee Owners' Properties
An alarming trend in Costa Rica is becoming more and more prominent. On unimproved property, squatters are simply coming-in, throwing-up simple shanty homes and waiting things out. If the (usually absentee) titleholder fails to notice their actions for long enough, the squatters can develop implied rights of title, which make them nearly impossible to evict. If they are on the property for more than a year, your property may be effectively lost. Whereas most British common law systems (the US, former British flag islands and such) require possession to be openly adverse to the owner and to continue unabated for periods as long as 21 years, it takes as little as one year to gain possessory rights and only ten years before the squatters can apply to have titles issued in their names. Many absentee owners bought larger parcels in the hopes of developing them as the market ripened. Unfortunately, failure to vigilantly monitor the land and aggressively seek removal of squatters may destroy those plans. Also take note of the great legal difficulty in pursuing eviction proceedings here. Expect delays of a year or more through the Costa Rican court systems. Owners beware.
April 30, 2008 St Croix - the momentum is building
First, Marriott takes-over the Carambola resort (under the Renaissance brand), now Wyndham is coming to the island. Throw-in a new conference/convention center at the airport and major momentum on the larger, multi-use projects and St Croix appears poised to finally break-through into the upper echelon of Caribbean destinations.
January 25, 2008 Even more new air service
Air Jamaica new service to Grenada from Montego Bay (connecting from Atlanta or Miami)
Cayman Air renewed service to/from Chicago and expanded service from NYC (JFK)
Delta once weekly non-stop service from Atlanta to Bonaire and St Kitts on Saturdays
JetBlue daily, non-stop service from JFK to St Maarten (SXM) and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Also daily flights from Orlando to Santo Domingo begin in March.
November 13, 2007 Updated Air Service Listings to the Caribbean (We'll be adding listings into the season) From the United Kingdom British Airways: London Heathrow - service to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos (connection in Nassau); Nassau, Bahamas and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (connection in Nassau) London Gatwick - service to Antigua; Barbados; and Kingston, Jamaica with further connections to St Lucia; Grenada and Port of Spain, Trinidad; Tobago
Virgin Atlantic: Antigua St Lucia Barbados Grenada Tobago Jamaica (Kingston and Montego Bay) Cuba
BMI:
November 9, 2007 Updated Air Service Listings to the Caribbean
American Airlines to the Caribbean (does not include American Eagle flights within the Caribbean): Antigua (Newark, Boston) Aruba (BWI, Boston, Dallas, Miami, JFK, San Francisco) Bahamas - Georgetown (Miami); Nassau (Chicago, Dallas, Ft Lauderdale, Miami) Barbados - Bridgetown (Boston, Houston, Miami, JFK, DCA [Reagan], St Louis) Curacao (Atlanta, Detroit, Miami) Dominican - Santo Domingo (Boston, Dallas, Ft Lauderdale, Las Vegas, LAX, Miami, Newark, JFK); Punta Cana (Las Vegas, Miami, JFK); Puerto Plata (LAX, Miami); Santiago (Miami, JFK); La Romana (Miami) Grand Cayman (LAX, Miami) Haiti (Dallas, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, JFK, Orlando) Jamaica - Kingston (Miami, New Orleans); Montego Bay (Dallas, Miami, JFK) Panama - Panama City (Boston, Miami) Puerto Rico - San Juan (Boston, BWI, Chicago, Dallas, Ft Lauderdale, Hartford, Las Vegas, LAX, Miami, JFK, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, Dulles/IAD) US Virgin Islands - St Thomas (Boston, BWI, Dallas, Hartford, JFK, Miami) St Croix (Miami, LAX, Raleigh) St Maarten (Boston, JFK, Miami, Philadelphia, St Louis) St Kitts (Miami, JFK, DCA/Reagan) St Lucia (Miami, Minneapolis, JFK) Trinidad (Miami, JFK) Turks and Caicos (BWI [schedule shows direct flight in, none out], Miami, JFK)
Belize (Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DCA & IAD) Mexico - Cancun (Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, JFK, Miami, LAX, Reno, St Louis, DCA/Reagan) Cozumel (Dallas, Miami) Guatemala City (Dallas, Denver, Miami, San Juan) Costa Rica - Liberia (Dallas, Miami) Honduras (Miami)
American Eagle from San Juan: Anguilla Grenada Antigua Dominican Republic Aruba Panama City Virgin Gorda Guadeloupe Bonaire Trinidad Barbados Costa Rica St Vincent/Grenadines US Virgin Islands (St Croix, St Thomas) Dominica St Kitts Martinique St Lucia Nevis St Maarten
November 2007 Updated Air Service Listings to the Caribbean
JetBlue offers service to: Aruba (from Boston & JFK) Aguadilla (JFK & Orlando), Ponce (JFK, Orlando through FLL) and San Juan (JFK, Orlando & Boston) Puerto Plata, Santiago, Santa Domingo - Dominican Republic (JFK for all, Boston for Santiago) Nassau, Bahamas (JFK & Boston) Cancun, Mexico (JFK & Boston) St Maarten (JFK)
November 2, 2007 Barbados Airport Improvements The Barbados government has committed to having their Grantley Adams International Airport up to Category 1 aviation standards by the end of 2007. This change was necessitated by the increased air traffic to the island. Current estimates are that more than 2.3 million visitors pass through the airport each year.
Dominica - some tax changes! November 1, 2007 The island of Dominica has many of the tax advantages foreign investors look for. These include: No capital gains taxes. No estate taxes. Also, it is english-speaking, offers fairly easy opportunities to create locally registered companies and no restrictions on repatriation of monies Effective January 1, 2008, the government of Dominica is phasing-in some changes to their tax structure. The withholding tax will be a fixed 15%. Individual income tax rates will be: 0 for the first $20,000 EC; 15% for the next $20,000 EC; and 25% for the next $20,000 EC and 35% above that. Withholding taxes apply to all monies paid to non-residents.
August 13, 2007 New Air Service to the Caribbean: from the New York area - American Airlines - St Kitts and St Lucia Air Jamaica - Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia Cayman Airlines - Grand Cayman Continental - Bonaire Delta - St Thomas, US Virgin Islands JetBlue - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
from Atlanta - Delta - Montego Bay, Jamaica; Martinique; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Tobago
from Detroit - Northwest - St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
from Ft Lauderdale - Jet Blue - Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; St Martin, Netherlands Antilles
August 1, 2007 US Virgin Islands A recent ruling by a US Federal Court has struck-down the several year old "Personal Use Tax" created by the Virgin Island Legislature, which placed a 4% levy on all goods valued over $1,000 brought into the islands for individual use. Good news for those bringing-in cars, appliances, etc.... or even those hoping to negotiate better prices on these items with the island's vendors! |
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