When my wife and I recently acquired a beachfront hotel in The Grenadines, many friends and relatives congratulated us on our decision to relocate to the Caribbean and focus on real estate development there, rather than development in America and Europe. Many considered our move to be the first step in living out the tropical paradise daydream and in some ways they were right.   Although both of us chose to continue to work - my wife with the hotel, and myself with real estate development - we do consider ourselves fortunate to be able to live and work in our new tropical setting.  We fall asleep to the sound of the waves rolling ashore, and wake up to a stunning view of the crystal clear ocean and the immaculate white sandy beach, so in that regard we are indeed living a dream.  It is, however, a dream which is not, by any means, limited to a fortunate few individuals with deep pockets.  While a large hotel investment may not be what you are looking for, there are numerous other more affordable opportunities to purchase your own little piece of paradise.   Not a day goes by without a guest expressing a serious interest in purchasing some land, an apartment, or a house on our beautiful island.  The country, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is a former British colony, and it remains a member of the British Commonwealth.  As such, the legal system out here is dependable, with laws allowing foreign nationals to own land.  Parcels are surveyed, the government keeps track of all titles and change in ownership, and all in all the real estate system is functioning fairly well.  When you combine that fact with a stunning natural beauty, a friendly local population that you can easily communicate with, an almost crimeless society, a very comfortable climate, low property prices, a hurricane-free location (the last one passed in 1955), and one of the last spots of truly unspoiled Caribbean, it is little wonder that our guests are enthusiastic about investing out here.  We did extensive research before we made our decision, and we considered many other destinations in the process.  After considering all of the above factors and many more, we came to the conclusion that in Union Island, we had found the right place for us. Although there are some magnificent properties available at unbelievably low prices in Union Island, prospective buyers should know the many pitfalls to be aware of before making any decisions.  It is not entirely without risk to purchase real estate in The Grenadines, for a few different reasons, which I shall make clear in the following. Your first challenge will be to identify properties, which are actually available.  There is no real estate agent in Union Island, and as a general rule, you can be certain that the few properties that make it to a real estate agent from another island, are either greatly overpriced, or utterly worthless.

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Pricing is done somewhat arbitrarily by many sellers.  If a small parcel directly on the beach has sold for 30 EC$ per square foot, another seller who might have 10 acres for sale in a much less desirable location, will also expect to get 30 EC$ per square foot for his entire parcel, which is unrealistic.  Not all sellers behave in such a manner, but it is difficult for many buyers to establish the actual market value is for the properties they look at.  When we first came out here, I spent 5 weeks from morning to evening, looking at every property that might be for sale.  I made a spreadsheet with all the properties, which allowed me to compare the different deals, and get a somewhat complete picture of the available properties, and the asking prices.  It turned out that I had paid too much for a piece of land I had already bought, but the ground work prepared us better for subsequent deals.  The tourist that only has a week or two out here, should be careful to understand the full picture before signing any agreements.

Identifying a piece of land, and agreeing with the seller on a price, is merely the first hurdle to overcome.  Many people will claim to own land, without actually being the registered owner.  The country has a law by which someone who has had possession of some land for 12 years or more can "claim possession", and in theory become the rightful owner.  This process, however, involves the claimant actually filing a claim with the courts, that no one disputes the claim, and that the claimant is eventually awarded a title for the land.  The problem is, many of these potential sellers do not have the means or the initiative to file their claim with the courts.  However, that does not deter them from trying to ask for a 10% down payment upon signing of a contract.  A few buyers out here have lost whatever money they paid to the seller, without any land to show for it, because something went wrong in the process.

Another issue to be aware of is that there is a lot of land out here that originates from a matriarch or patriarch, who might have been dead for generations.  In some cases, one or more of the relatives will seek the title on behalf of the estate, and possibly also get it.  Now, they will appear to a prospective buyer as the rightful owners, and will be able to show you the papers to prove it.  However, you still cannot be sure that you will end up with their land.  If the seller (or his ancestors) was never properly appointed as the administrator of the estate, on behalf of all the family members who have a claim  to the land, then you run the risk of some family member showing up one day to claim the land, which may very well end up being awarded to him or her by the courts.  I specifically know of a case where the granddaughter of a deceased man, has claimed all of his land as her own based on her grndmother's will, and received a title in her name.  Now, it turns out that the man had 10 children, three of whom are still alive, and these children have a much stronger claim to the estate than the granddaughter who inherited the land from her grandmother, who was never the rightful owner anyway.  The children have only now learned of the granddaughter’s actions, and are going to the courts to get the land back.  I would hate to have bought that land from the granddaughter in good faith, only to lose it to the rightful heirs, years later.

Your next challenge is that there are a few crooked lawyers out here, who will not tell you how things truly work, and who will be only too happy to prepare paperwork for you that may or may not hold water.  One particular attorney is trying to sell land that is not his to sell.  He has the deed and the title, but he received it from someone claiming to represent a company, which the attorney was well aware the seller could not possibly represent.  The attorney is advertising the land for sale online, despite the fact that his right to the land is being disputed, and that he is under criminal investigation for his behaviour.  Rumour has it that he plans to escape the country with the proceeds from the sale of the land. Some poor buyer may never discover that something is wrong until it's too late.

Lastly, you may incur dishonest sellers, who will simply try to sell you land that is not theirs to sell.  They may share a last name or have some distant relations with the rightful owner, without having any rights to sell the land.  However, if they can get a 10% deposit out of you, they will make more money from that, than they would in years working in a regular job, and some fall for the temptation.  Buyers that are not very careful may end up losing their money.

The above warnings are not meant to discourage you from buying real estate here, but to warn you that it is not as simple as buying land in the States or in Europe.  However, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, you may end up with an amazing property at a fraction of the cost  in other tropical locations.

The high demand for property here and the difficulty potential buyers experience when they try to acquire real estate,  has prompted us to buy a number of desirable parcels around Union Island.  We will take the time to sort out the proper ownership, clear the titles, and divide the parcels into smaller, (than the usual 2-4 acres) more affordable lot sizes.   Some of the land will be developed with luxury villas, some will be developed with more affordable apartments, and some will be left undeveloped for buyers to build the house of their dreams.

Today, it is almost exclusively undeveloped land that is available in Union Island, with the exception of a few luxury apartments being offered by us at Bigsand Hotel, and perhaps a few local houses in residential areas, which normally do not attract foreign buyers.  Occasionally a house will be offered for sale, but the lack of a proper real estate agent, makes it difficult for buyers to know when something becomes available.  There is no mailing list to put your name on to receive information whenever a house comes up.

The American developer Donald Trump has fallen in love with the area, and he is currently constructing a number of luxury villas in a resort on our neighbouring island Canouan.  The Trump villas are priced between 2,000,000 and 4,500,000 US$, and Union Island is already benefiting from Trump’s marketing campaign. We are only 5 minutes by speed boat from Canouan, and many of their visitors come to Union, where bargains can still be had, with a little effort and a lot of patience.
 

The author can be contacted at escape@deluxetraveller.com to read graphical version click on www.deluxetraveller.com/union_island_paradise.pdf