Property in Tobago

[Marc Jones]

I know... one visit etc...

But does anyone know about any rules etc re buying property in Tobago?

Or indeed going there to start a business?

[Tony J]

Hi there

We are buying a property very shortly in Tobago, there are rules - such as you can purchase a property with up to one acre of land without permission, anything over that will need the okay from the relevant department. Best to speak to an agent for up to the minute info.

Property in Tobago is expensive and if you want the dream house by the sea with great views, those are hard to find - and if you find one - very expensive.

There are plenty of good estate agents around - the best is to hunt around on the internet for 'tobago real estate'. I would have mentioned the ones we dealt with, but i might get into trouble for advertising!!!

What we did, was search online first and printed off all of the properties we liked. We then contacted the agent and told him/her the date we were flying down. When we got to Tobago we spent a few days looking at different places - it's amazing how you change your mind when you start getting a feel for the place. Loads of land available to build your own, but that will take time - builders like to take time and you would need someone to watch over them just to make sure that they are behaving.

All the agents will give you great advice especially if you want to go into business. But buying a property does not give you the right to live there... now that's a shame!!

hope this helped a little

Sara

[Horst Heiser]

Hi,
if Tobago is the destination, You were dreaming about, go there and buy some property.
You can buy 5 acres/person without any special permission.
Don´t try to get a work-permission. No chance.
If You don´t have a rearly (!?) good friend on Tobago : Never buy some property from a private person. Never.Please.Look for a estate-agent You can trust.It will be much more expensive.But much more cheaper than to loose all Your money.Most of the Tobagonians don´t care about propper deads. And do You know something about the family-affairs on this funny island ?
And, if You want to built a house, hopefully You are a mason, plumber, electrician in one person...
Please no misunderstanding : Go to Tobago, buy some property, built a house, plant a tree and (there was something else, I forgot) .We did and we are still happy on this crazy island.
Be careful ! I guess You should contact a notary (Mr. Kelshaw?), who can tell You something about the so different rules.
Have a nice day

Horst Heiser

[Alan Cb]

Looks like some Tobagonians are (understandably) starting to raise their voices in opposition to foreign ownership of second homes and land in Tobago. Will be interesting to see what the THA does about it.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... d=70989099

[Scott Henderson]

Or you could also do what I did. That is become married to a Trinidad and Tobago citizen and have no limits to what you can buy as long as its in thier name. Our home in Mt Pleasant is in her name and we had no issue's buying privately. You MUST have a trusted lawyer to do the title search and have patience as things go muchslower in Tobago than most countries.

[Ronald]

Also, check what the law say. I was told by a person who has been in business in Tobago for many, many years, that if a person (non sitizen) married with a local break up, getting a divorce, he/she doesn´t get anything. If there´s no special agreement , the T&T sitizen get everything by law.

According to him that happend a german lady who was married with a tobagonian, she lost the house, the land, everything into the house, all bought with her money.

I also know a triniwoman married with a man from Europe, he did use his insurence money (his pension) to by land & house in Trinidad. She was living into the house for some years with their little shild.
Than, peoples from her family was able to take the house from them! Somehow they where, by law, no longer the owners. They also lost everything.

Now, I don´t know for sure that the law is always working like that, but I would for sure check the law with a trusted lawer before buying anything.

[Jennifer C]

Hello,
I too have been seriously considering buying land in Tobago. I have been reading the few posts on the forum but still have some questions. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long the process takes after one finds the land/property that they interested in until they actually get the Title? I was thinking about how to plan my next trip time wise.
Thanks,
Missing Paradise

[Mariann G.]

My personal opinion on this is that if all of us foreigners started buying land in Tobago then soon the local people would not be able to afford to buy anything. The laws of demand and supply...

And then, what will happen in the future? If locals cannot afford to buy their children property anymore, then the crime rate might increase, along with resentment towards foreigners. And so we might find that all of a sudden locals will not be welcoming us so warmly anymore. And we definitely don't want Lovely Tobago to become like that!

You do not need to own land to be always able to spend you vacations there, especially with very affordable accomodation around.

So, very sorry, but I am making a strong stand on this.

Mariann

[Alan Cb]

Well said Mariann.

[Stewart T]

Am with you both on this one!

Talking to a cab driver in Tobago last week, we spoke of how hard it was for the young locals to establish a family home on the Island. We visitors are already helping breed an appetite for 'fast money' so why exacerbate things by pushing up property prices.

Cheers all, Stewart.

[Dr Stefan Rustscheff]

Concerning property: expat homes create work by giving work opportunities in building ,repair and maintenance. My friends who built a villa had, when it was to be inaugurated, noticed a few defects. They had to remake a few inessentials such as the piping, electricity, roof, pool and floor. I believe the walls were very sturdily made. Another of my friends who built his villa 3 years ago has leaks, mold, rot and a non-working water supply to fight. The climate is not as tender towards houses as towards us. This creates a healthy economy and not a fast buck. If Tobagonians feel resentment towards the few filthy rich who can afford to build I say-use the opportunity, as I do when I go down to say in them;-).That does NOT cost a fortune. I would NEVER consider building and RARELY owning. But I do support the brave few who do. They are much more of a support to the local community tht us loafers who spend 1000 TT´s on 10 days of supplies at PennySavers.

[Terence H]

I think its a bit late.
Land prices have rocketed in the last few years.

I dont think foreigners buying land is the major reason.
With the increase in tourists there is quite a rush to build guest houses, extend properties etc , by locals as much as anyone else . So I think this pushes up prices.
When a development takes place like the new shopping mall in Lowlands, this puts up land prices. The properties in that area have probably tripled in value.
I think land prices globally are increasing. Its everywhere, not just the caribbean.

Going back to Marcs question about rules of buying.
As far as I am aware , as a foreigner you can buy an acre of land for domestic use or five acres for business purpose.
In my opinion it would be advisable to use an estate agent.
You will need a local solicitor who will do a search.

If you purchase land and then want to build you will need builders.
You will need to draw up plans and get them aproved by Town and Country and Health.
There is a lot of development going on.
Builders may be difficult to find , and as in any country , there is plenty of opportunity to get ripped off.
Building material can also be difficult to find.
You have to decide if some-one is going to manage the project for you.
If not, you need to find a hardware company that will supply your materials and then manage the project yourself, including sorting out water and electricity.
There are also kit homes available which may remove some of the problems.

On a uk passport you can stay 3 months.
So you may need to go back and forth.
Although I believe you may be able to extend your stay by applying at immigration.

[Bryan Guignard]

Wow, this thread has remained active since 2004! Now that's longevity. Ok, here's my contribution to this good effort. First let me say that everything Terrence H wrote on Feb 22 is correct, with the possible exception of the Town and Country approval issue. This seems to be a matter of some debate on the island. While getting approval is certainly encouraged, when I spoke with them in Oct 2005 they made it fairly clear (but not crystal clear) that in some cases getting approval may be optional, or at least it may not be enforced. Such cases would mainly be when the home builder is funding the building cost out of pocket. In other words you don't need to get a mortgage for your home. Town and Country approval is required any time you need to deal with a local financial institution. Pay cash and you may be able to avoid them. Anyway, this is a minor issue, since getting approval is apparently free and done relatively fast is you have some decent building plans and are not planning anything too radical. Town and Country seems to be eager to please most of the time.

Moving on. I'll relate my own experience. About 1 year ago my wife and I (she's a Trini, I'm Canadian) purchased 4.5 acres of prime agricultural land in the Arnos Vale area. We dealt with a local real estate agent, and compared to Canadian agents, this woman was a real gift from heaven. She was polite, very helpful, eager to please, and above all HONEST. We were truly impressed with the service we received. She walked around barefoot with us through mud, across the Courland river, and through piles of weeds and quickly helped us find the ideal piece of land. So I strongly recommend using a local agent if you intend to buy. If for no other reason than they know of properties that you may never discover on your own. Such was the case for us. Our new property is off the beaten track, tucked behind a hill and a river, and obscured from sight by a bamboo grove, but it's a veritable paradise. We never would have stumbled across it on our own. Most of Tobago is very rugged and with many hidden nooks and crannies of magnificient beauty.

Next, every dollar you spend on legal help, a surveyor, or any other professional help/advice IS WORTH IT! Tobago is a real estate can of worms. Why? Because of the way land was distributed several generations ago. Without getting into a detailed history of Tobago, suffice it to say that when the estate/plantation system fell apart in Tobago, the big land owners simply allowed their workers to squat on portions of the estate lands so they could grow gardens to feed themselves. No deeds or documentation were created at the time. Today this is a MAJOR problem for the island. Land ownership is rife with confusion, family squabbles, and ownership uncertainties. Many times there aren't even any clear boundaries. I was witness to this myself nearly every time I entered a govt, lawyer, or surveyor's office. Most of the people in the waiting rooms of these offices are locals attempting to deal with this mess (and the locals are very talkative). As a result, it is of the highest importance to purchase only property for which a valid deed exists. To Tobago's credit, the problem is recognized, and ongoing efforts are being made to create deeds for as many properties as possible, but the task is large, slow moving and far from complete. The golden rule is DON"T BUY PROPERTY THAT DOESN"T HAVE A VALID AND LEGAL DEED. If you do, you are asking for trouble of the worst kind. Unless you have money to burn, it's just not worth the risk, not even for a slice of paradise.

Cost is on everyone's mind of course. In the past 5 years prices have skyrocketed, due to many factors which have already been discussed. Pricing is very inconsistent, so do expect to see it fluctuating in strange ways. For example, a tiny property with a shack on it in Charlotteville (the most remote village on the island), perched precariously on a mountainside can easily command a price tag in the millions. It's a matter of supply and demand. There's hardly anything for sale in that village, but it's a scuba divers paradise so everyone want's a piece of it, and some will pay whatever it takes to get it. I've also seen nearly desolate and abandonned coconut plantation land (all but worthless) divided into small subdivision lots (not far from the new Hilton) go for insane prices, while a full acre on a magnificient hilltop (across from the Government House) in the beautiful Mary's Hill district listed at about the same price. Many land owners are simply trying their luck I guess (who can blame them with the current high prices). On a square footage basis I would say that land in Tobago right now is as expensive as land in major cities in Canada and the US, regardless of where it is on the island. It's expensive from Charlotteville to Crown Point.

Regarding building costs. All building materials are imported into Tobago, mostly from Trinidad. As of last October, the figures I received from several contractors is that building materials in Tobago are about three times more expensive than in Trinidad. I'll leave it to the reader to figure out what to do with this information. The supply of materials in Tobago can also be spotty. This is largely due to big construction projects (new mall), and the unreliability of the ferry system from Trinidad (the boat for big trucks).

If you don't already know, Tobago is infested with two types of termites. The type that lives in the ground, and those that build nests in trees. Building a house out of wood is ill advised (and I certainly wouldn't buy a wooden house unless you intend to tear it down). If you do you had better invest in a lot of chemicals to treat the wood. My father in law treated all his lumber 20 years ago when he built, and the termites are already chomping away at his floor and walls. He will soon have to do extensive repairs to the house. That's a pretty short lifespan for a home. Everyone recommends using only cedar or teak. These are the only local woods with any resistance to these insects. Everything else is simply a termite buffet, even with chemical treatments. The advice of a local tradesman or contractor can be invaluable. Thankfully I have several in the family.

If you are married to a local then your land purchase will be somewhat easier. Otherwise you will have a few extra forms to fill out and a few extra fees to pay, but nothing too serious. And don't even think about doing it without a lawyer.

As for the length and complexity of the process I would say that it's no more difficult that purchasing property anywhere else (if you purchase something with a valid deed). Don't try to cut corners, it's not worth the risk. If you get any doubtful information, get a second opinion. We dealt with a local real estate company and they do such transactions under a 90 day contract. They require 10% down payment upfront (non refundable if you cancel the deal). That down payment will prevent the owner from selling to anyone else for 90 days. During those 90 days you are expected to do your part in completing the transaction. At the end of 90 days you are expected to pay the outstanding balance of 90% to finish the deal. During the 90 days you will need to get all the legal stuff done. We also decided to get the surveying done during that time.

Overall everything went smoothly, with only a couple of minor glitches. Money transfers were carefully set up and everything went smoothly. The only fly in the ointment is a small matter of an access road being slightly in the wrong place (it doesn't line up with the property boundary between myself and the neighbor). A redefinition of the boundary or a bulldozer will easily fix the problem.

Apart from that I have excellent neighbors, and I can't wait to get started with house building.

[Alan Cb]

Here are links to two articles recently appearing in the local newspapers, which reflect the current attitudes and feelings of the THA and Tobagonians towards the foreign ownership of land in Tobago:

- Tobago News, Friday May 5th 2006, London writes Manning on land grabbers - http://www.thetobagonews.com/index.pl/a ... id=6807945

- Trinidad & Tobago Express, Sunday May 28, 2006, Many Tobagonians against land sales to foreigners - http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =160954978

These articles would tend to suggest a growing unhappiness of Tobagonians over the foreign ownership of land in Tobago.