National Colony Realty

Most Condominium developments that you purchase in the Turks and Caicos Islands have an onsite management company, that is responsible for taking care of your condo unit in the rental pool. The management company will rent the unit, pay the expenses associated with its upkeep (Power, common area fees etc.) and depoist any revenue owing to you. The management fees split is usually around 60/40%.

While, most Condo projects, makes it mandatory for you to use their management team, some do give you the option to use an alternative service. When this is the case, you can find a number of property management companies that are associated with the real estate companies on island, to take care of your long or short term rental needs. These companies are also convenient not just for condos, but for the purchase of a villa or home which you want to rent out long or short term and you are not able to manage them yourself while residing off island.

Warm wishes to you on this holiday. Happy Canada Day from National Colony Realty. Enjoy your day!

When the market get ’soft’, especially when there is a recession, the market appears more favourable to a Purchaser rather than the Vendor and hence we tend to say it is a “buyers market”.

Unfortunately, one person’s hardship may become another person’s opportunity as the market may become flooded with homes or land parcels as the Vendor might have mortgage bills and other expenses that he has to meet. Therefore, will be desperate to sell quickly.

This is an opportunity for Purchasers to obtain properties at a reasonable price. If you are one of the fortunate with the savings to buy a vacation or retiree home, you can find good values on properties in a “buyers market”.

(This entry is a general statement being made, this is in no way directed at a specific country at this time, just information that I thought to post about today).

To stray away from the regular Real Estate posts, I thought I would write about what is happening on the island of Turks and Caicos this week. This is a very important week for teachers and most of all students. Why, its graduation week. The end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Students  will be saying goodbye to the four walls of Highschool, close friends and teachers who have inspired them in shaping their future. Some will be heading to college, while others will be stepping into the work force. In summary, this marks the beginning of change.

Church services were held on all islands on Sunday, 28 June 2009 for all government high schools. While, starting from tonight and unto Friday night there will be a graduation ceremony from island to island. Best wishes goes out to all graduates of the Turks and Caicos Islands from the team at National Colony Realty.

As a native or non resident of the Turks and Caicos Islands, you can obtain free hold title to your real estate purchase, i.e. Land or developed property.

Freehold title simply means free and clear title to real property with no set termination date. As a Freeholder - one who owns freehold interest in real property, you are free to sell, convey or leave your property as inheritance. You are free to disburse of your property as you see fit.

This is one of the benefits of purchasing property in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

In the Turks and Caicos Islands, the real estate agent is not responsible for drawing up contracts of sale and purchase like in some other parts of the world. Instead, this is the job of an attorney and hence we encourage all Vendors and Purchasers to retain an attorney to assist in the final stages of their real estate transaction (s). However, the real estate agent can assist by suggesting an attorney that you can work with and also assist the attorney in obtaining all necessary documentations to make the transaction move smoothly and in a timely manner where needed.

The attorney will be responsible for drawing up contracts and making sure that the interest of the Vendor/ Purchaser is protected as well as registering of freehold title to the land or developed property. Attorneys will charge from 1% of the value of the transaction and in some cases a flat rate. Every attorney method of arriving to a fee is different.

In some instance where financing is involved, the Purchaser tends to use the bank’s attorney but he/she is free to use another attorney of choice. Also, there are instances where the Purchaser may choose not to use an attorney and review all the paperwork themselves. This is an option I rearly recommend as I believe that you would want your interest to be represented in every possible way.

A belated Fathers day greeting to all fathers from the Staff at National Colony Realty. We hope that yesterday brought you joy.

West’s Encyclopedia of American Law explains Restrictive Covenant in such an easy way. It states that “A restrictive covenant is a clause in a deed or lease to real property that limits what the owner of the land or lease can do with the property. They are intended to enhance property values by controlling development.

Land developers typically use restrictive covenants when they subdivide property for residential developments.  A land developer, after platting the subdivision into lots, blocks and streets will impose certain limitations on the use of the lots in the development. They may include a provision restricting construction to single-family dwellings or specifies a minimum square footage for dwellings, and even specify a time to complete construction once you begin to build among other things. There may be a variety of other restrictive covenants that seek to control the way the development looks and is maintained.

A person who purchases a lot in a development with restrictive covenants must honor the limitations. When the purchaser resells the lot to a buyer, the new owner will take the propety subject to the restrictive covenants, because the covenants are said to “run with the land”. ”

Well explain, don’t you think! with that said, please be sure to ask your realtor if there are restrictive covenants associated with any piece of property that you decide to purchase as some people prefer to live in a development with such covenants while others prefer not to.

In April of this year, the government of the Turks and Caicos Island had granted the approval for the extension of the reduction of Stamp Duty effective 1 April 2009 to 30th June 2009. In which, Stamp duty was reduced from 9.75% to 6% in Providenciales and from 5% to 3% on all other islands, including North Caiocs, Middle Caicos, South Caicos and Grand Turk. The 30th of June is now only 11 days away.

At this time we cannot say if stamp duty reduction will be expended once again, we would only know this information when the date is up. Therefore, if you have made up your mind to purchase within these Turks and Caicos Islands, now is the time to act before this opportunity pass you by.

Canal lots in the Turks and Caicos Islands can vary from $150,000 to $695,000 per lot depending on the size, location and of course your budget.

If you are someone who is into boating and have a boat of your own, a canal lot would be one of the obvious choice of purchase. This would eliminate you having to pay docking fees at a marina and also it means a short walk to your boat and onto the water.

On the other hand, if you do not want to go through the processing of building you can always purchase a canal home starting from $429,000 up to $3,000,000. Or town home from $429,000 up to $600,000 located on the North or South of the island.

Contact your local real estate agent or one of our qualified agents at National Colony Realty if you are not currently working with an agent, and let us help you achieve your dream of living on the canal.