Advantages
Readers considering purchasing a house or villa on
Tobago, either as a private holiday or retirement home,
or as a rental investment property, may wish to consider
the following points:
Advantages of buying Property “Off the Plans”
Tobago Properties actively encourages clients to
purchase a property prior to completion and even before
construction commences. Substantial cost savings due to
reduced bank finance, and agency fees can be passed on
straight to the purchaser. A reduction in government
stamp duty can be obtained by buying a property before
building commences too (ask us for details). Before
completion the client can then choose colour schemes,
wall paint finishes, floor and kitchen tiles, some
interior lay out and bathroom tiles. With your input we
can customize your wishes to truly give you “the
Caribbean villa of your dreams”. Environmentally Friendly
Tobago Properties actively tries to pursue
policies that are environmentally friendly. Local woods
are often better and of a higher standard. Trinidad has
some sustainable plantations (especially teak), local
hard woods resist termite and other infestations where
imported soft woods become easy prey. We only buy timber
from suppliers that do not illegally take it from the
rainforest reserve. All wood on the site is wherever
possible “recycled” and used again on the site (the
fence of villa frangipani is made from stripped down
1’x12’s planned down and ripped into 1x4’s). Otherwise
the wood is used again as form ply on the next site.
This makes good environmental and good financial sense.
Alarmingly due to the lack of a natural sand deposit on
the island, locals have regularly resorted to “sand
mining of beaches”. The majority of houses and many
villas have been built using beach sand. This although
now outlawed, has obvious harmful effects to the
environment and causes beach erosion, not mentioning the
terrible effects the salt content of the sand has on any
steel within the building! Due to inadequate policing by
local authorities this practice goes on, importing red
sand from Trinidad is on average four times more
expensive , but we are committed to excellence in
building and to fight against the harmful affects of
“sand mining”. Low Maintenance Designs
All our villas and houses are generally wherever
possible designed to utilize natural gradients in
plumbing designs thereby reducing the likelihood of any
blockages. All bathrooms and kitchens have shut off
valves allowing them to be isolated should any repairs
become necessary in the future thereby not
inconveniences the residents. Minimal bends, plenty
clear outs, exterior pipe work and minimal underground
or buried pipes all mean low maintenance for property
owners. Electrics in Tobago are of the American 110 volt
220 volt standard. We make sure not to overload circuits
especially in areas like the kitchen or other high load
areas and reduce the possibility of tripping in the
panel! All properties built near the sea can be
susceptible to sea blast, we take care to reduce the
effect of this by using the correct least corrosive
materials. Potential to Rent
There is a high demand for villa rentals in Tobago,
general their is a lack of supply, this has been alluded
too in the Sunday Times in autumn 2004.Villa owner’s can
choose to get a financial return of between
US$1,750.-$2,500. per week and above at Christmas and
Easter.
Pitfalls in purchasing Caribbean properties
The problem of “sand mining” and poor build quality
have been mentioned many houses have been literally
thrown together and then cement plastered over to appear
nice. All our buildings are done with full Town and
country approval , including the Health department that
inspect drainage and septic tank designs and completion
certificates. All electrics are down with continual
inspections from the THA electrical inspectorate. We
take photos of the building as it goes along, and in the
cases of clients that pre-purchase we take digital
photos and e mail them to you approx every 2 weeks.
Anyone buying in Tobago should be aware of poor land
title (land that has been squatted - quite often for
decades, but with no title). Much of the housing stock
on the island has no planning permission and no approved
plans. We only build in approved areas on approved lots.
The foreign investment act states that foreigners are
allowed to buy up to one acre for residential purposes
and 5 acres for commercial purposes. Some foreigners
feel they are “getting around the law” buy using shell
companies but this is still illegal. Often builders of
villas try and make substantial savings by poor pool
construction, this can cause cracks should their be a
tropical storm or earthquake. We only use professional
pool builders and monitor the construction carefully. |
