Caribbean Home Builder - Property Investment

The Dominican Republic - A Property Hot Spot

nospam@example.com (Deb Andrews - Editor) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:58:12 -0500

Thinking of moving to the Caribbean? You may want to consider the Dominican Republic which is becoming increasingly popular as a place for relocation or a second home. Many property pundits and investors are agreeing that it is a hot spot for buyers in the Caribbean.

There are excellent opportunities for investment in the Dominican Republic (DR). It is one of the most stable countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Dominican Republic also has very low labour and living costs that, together with the laws to promote Foreign Investment, have made it very attractive for those who are looking for high profitability and security. The relatively low cost of living in the Dominican Republic is also attracting retirees who are looking for a place to live comfortably on a finite income.

Tourism is growing at a phenomenal rate in DR and thus there are more infrastructure developments in the country, greater variety of activities and increased opportunities for renting property. Getting to DR is easy as it is serviced with a multitude of direct flights from all over the US and Europe. From Miami it takes only 2 hours to be in a completely different world!

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What is a Condotel?

nospam@example.com (Deb Andrews - Editor) — Wed, 3 Sep 2008 19:16:08 -0500

As a writer I love learning new words and a few weeks ago I was told one so new that when I looked it up in the dictionary it did not appear. The word is ‘Condotel’

I was privy to learn this new word through a conversation with our International Property Adviser, Wini Dean, who was also gracious enough to explain what on earth it means! Apparently a condotel is a fusion of a condominium and a hotel and even though the concept has been around for about 20 years it is only now becoming popular as one of the latest trends in property developments. In a condotel an individual owns their condo within a building that is operated by a hotel group who provide a variety of services to the occupants. So even though you are in your own home you can enjoy some of the luxuries of staying in a 4-5 star hotel.

Condotels are mostly bought as a second vacation home and thus has the added benefit of being an income generating investment when you are not occupying it. By signing an agreement with the hotel operating group your condo becomes part of the rental pool when you are not around and can be let to other clients on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
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Time to Jump

nospam@example.com (Stewart Andrews - Contributor) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:10:43 -0500

For anyone living in the UK or Europe, who has been sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy a Caribbean property, now may be the time to jump and make that property purchase in the Caribbean. Movements over the past month have seen the pound and euro fall around 5% in value against the US$Dollar, which is used for pricing most Caribbean properties.

It is difficult to predict whether this slide will continue, as the international money markets weigh the relative strengths of the US economy against the Eurozone. However, with little growth predicted through 2008 and 2009 and the threat of recession looming; there is a very real chance that the recent slide in the value of the pound and euro could continue to erode the value of these currencies possibly back to the levels sustained for many years through the 1990's, where the dollar stabilised at around US$1.55 to the pound.

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Farmland is the Caribbean’s Hottest Property

nospam@example.com (Deb Andrews - Editor) — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Caribbean heads of government recently met in a two-day regional Agricultural Investment Forum to discuss the rising cost of food and the crisis it presents the region.
James Moss-Solomon, a Jamaican businessman who headed the planning task force for the forum said “there has been no other time in recent Caribbean memory when such a concerted effort has been made to grow more food.” As the region pours more resources into growing more food the future looks bright for agricultural investments in the fertile land of the Caribbean.

In fact the overall global trend in the price for agricultural land has shown a sharp and continuing increase. For example, in 2007, the price for farmland in Iowa, USA was, for the first time, rising faster than property in Manhattan! This shift in the cost of land is occurring from Argentina to Australia and is signaling an increase in rural rather than urban development.

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The Essentials of Ecolodges

nospam@example.com (Deb Andrews - Editor) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Buying or developing an ecolodge can be an inspiring and savvy decision as the Caribbean region puts more promotion on ecotourism and travelers become more conscious of where they put their vacation dollars.

Unfortunately some ecolodges fall into a trap of ‘green-washing’ and substituting hardcore eco-principles for a few energy saving light bulbs and towel reuse policy! Whilst these are good baby steps, there is a lot more to ecolodges than a few pieces of gadgetry and a load less washing!

The International Ecolodge Guidelines is an essential book for anyone contemplating investing in an ecolodge property. The crux of the book is the essential criteria for what constitutes an ecolodge and the various chapters emphasize and go into detail on these principles.

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Going for Green - Being an Eco-Property Investor.

nospam@example.com (Deb Andrews - Editor) — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 08:00:00 -0500

The United Nations recently issued a report on the need for property investors to invest in eco-properties. This is a timely piece of advice for the real estate industry which has managed to create a huge carbon footprint and can be very destructive of natural land and environments.

The report entitled “Building Responsible Property Portfolios,” was authored by University of Arizona professor, Gary Pivo and submitted to a United Nations environmental conference last week. The report urged investors to adopt the six Principles of Responsible Investment and emphasized the power of investors to influence property fund managers to make their portfolios ‘greener’.

The report also advises that being an eco-investor means good economics as well as good ecology. Most eco-properties which utilize renewable energy end up being more cost effective in the long run than traditional properties. In addition as demand increases for sustainable properties, the price for these investments will be higher for traditional developments.
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