What should I know before buying a home in a new housing development in Belize?

Here in Belize, I meet so many wonderful, adventurous people, all of whom are looking for somewhere to buy. I would say the best advice for someone looking to buy a home in a new housing development here is to know that you should be here for a good three to six months before you make your decision to buy.

 

As much as I want loans and as much as realtors want to sell you properties here, there is no regulatory body for real estate here in Belize. Even I could...

Here in Belize, I meet so many wonderful, adventurous people, all of whom are looking for somewhere to buy. I would say the best advice for someone looking to buy a home in a new housing development here is to know that you should be here for a good three to six months before you make your decision to buy.

 

As much as I want loans and as much as realtors want to sell you properties here, there is no regulatory body for real estate here in Belize. Even I could sell real estate, if I really wanted t,o even if I have never been registered and I have no qualifications as a realtor. So you are really dealing with some sharks most of the time.

 

Belize has so much to offer. It has mainland, coastline, the jungle, farmland, and the Islands as well. Each one of them offers a different lifestyle. So it is actually lovely if you have the time over the year while you are planning on expatriating and making that investment that you actually spend a good amount of time in each of the areas that you are considering. As an example, personally, I would not consider living in the jungle. I like to visit it, but I love island life. I love the ocean. I love diving. It is just great for my daughter and me. So just try to live it first and make sure that you get legal advice to get every piece of documentation moved over.

Before answering , please allow me to make clear that there are many great individual homes, condos, and land to buy in Belize that are not part of a larger, multi-home development, and that the rest of my answer has to do only with buying a home in one of these new, multi-home developments. 

 

If you are considering this, please make sure that you are not just giving money to someone who would live a large life and not really build you...

Before answering , please allow me to make clear that there are many great individual homes, condos, and land to buy in Belize that are not part of a larger, multi-home development, and that the rest of my answer has to do only with buying a home in one of these new, multi-home developments. 

 

If you are considering this, please make sure that you are not just giving money to someone who would live a large life and not really build you anything.  When considering a multi-home development, it would smart to buy in a development that already has a dozen homes built. I would make sure the infrastructure is already in, partially in, or is being put in, as you are buying and not just hold on to a promise that, for example, the power or the water is coming. You need to make sure that it is done or credibly getting started.

 

Check references. Know who the developer is and who the builder is. Ask the developer what they think about the builder. For example, after you ask 20 different people in the village of Placencia (where I live), you can get a pretty decent opinion about the developer; you would know if they have a good track record.

 

I know a builder in Placencia who did not check the progress of what they were building and spent all the money that the owner gave them. The house didn’t get finished. Obviously, these expats did not do their minimum research. I would definitely do some research and ask some twenty other people.