Buying Property in Tobago .... Debate

[Paul Tallet]

Ladies and Gentlemen

I have an issue ... I don't want this to be seen as critical of non-tobagonians buying property in Tobago or, indeed, critical of tobagonians that choose to sell their properties to those willing to buy.

I would be interested to see some views on this ...

I see that alot of people are interested in buying property in Tobago ... it's a nice place ... who wouldn't be interested?

Real Estate business seems to be growing nicely which I guess is OK where developments are in the pipeline specifically for this purpose.

I also see that non-tobagonians are buying into property in towns and villages (communities) and that there are some localised Housing developments for some communities where subsidised housing is available for purchase by tobagonians.

I recall a conversation a few years ago that I had with a tobagonian who is aware of my regular frequency in his area and he asked me if I would 'buy into' it ... there were loads of places for sale !

... I told him that Tobago is a place that I like to visit, it is my second home ... but not to own ... if I made it my home then I would probably compete for his job, my family could interact with his community and deprive the community of ownership of the property that I inhabit ... I might even try to cultivate a lawn!! ... whilst, of course, they all run to to occupy that nice housing development on the hill !

The problems that I see in buying into local communities are as follows:-


1. An invasion of the fabric of the local community

2. The prospect of pricing the local community out of their ability to afford to buy property for themselves in their own place


Another thread on this forum referred to the damage caused in the Costas of Spain over the last 20 years by non-residents.

Tobago is basically a nice place that, apart from it's natural beauty, gives us all that extra dimension in terms of a holiday experience due to the unique interaction between the community and the visitors ... we feel so welcome ... it is quite natural for non-tobagonians to want to 'buy in' to this way of life ...

... I will never buy a piece of Tobago ... ever.

Tobago is just a nice place to go and I hope it stays that way for the sake of those that live there and visit there.

RIP Barbados !!

Regards

[Lisa Keith]

Hiya Paul,

For the most part, I wholeheartedly agree with you... but the daily commute from Essex is killing me!!!

All joking aside, I agree that it shouldn't be TOO easy to buy here. However, it appears that the choice is that either Europeans will buy, or Trini's! I have nothing against the Trinis at all - but the Trini's will keep buying whilst the Tobagonians keep selling, and if that's the case, with all due respect, what's the difference WHO buys?! Tobago will, sadly, change whether we like it or not, unless the THA decide that the Trini's can't buy either, and that's just NOT going to happen!!

Maybe the Government should look into only issuing a specific amount of permits per year, or bringing in legislation that says that foreigners can only buy property being sold BY foreigners to keep the numbers in check or something. I'm not sure there IS a solution, in all honesty!

Perhaps there should be legislation into the amount of time that people are allowed to spend in their holiday home, if, indeed, it's a holiday home that they're purchasing?!

From my own, personal, perspective, I've been here nearly five years now, and renting the whole time. I love Tobago, and I've no wish to see it changed. My desire is not to have Tobago adapt to me, but I would hope that I've adapted to the way of life that is here. I work hard here to bring TO the island, not to detract from it. I realise that sadly, that's not always going to be the case and I'm not trying to make myself sound like a martyr or anything else, but the one thing I DO miss about the UK is that I had solid roots there! My house was exactly that - MY house!

As I say - it's interesting, and it should make for a topical debate! I can only speak from my own personal perspective!! Lets see what others say!

Regards,
Lisa.

[Carol Townsend]

Hello Everyone,
I am inclined to agree with Paul and Lisa.
Although admittedly we stayed in a property owned by a British non resident, I do think that ownership of properties by non -residents shoud be limited.
Too many "holiday homes" can change the atmosphere and character of a community, pushing prices up, and resulting in "ghost towns" where clusters of holiday homes are left to stand empty for much of the time. This can result in the locals becoming resentful, as has been seen in the UK in places like Cornwall and Wales.
Ultimately, it is, of course, for the Government to decide what's best for its people, and you can only hope they make the right decision.
Regards
Carol

[David Watkins]

Hi All,I agree.I was looking to buy,however,when I spoke to local people they made sure that I knew that it would not be popular.Instead I am going to look at a long term lease where the money and the property stays in local hands.
David

[Paul Tallet]

Interesting ...

I had not realised that alot of Trini's were buying into Tobago.

I knew alot of Trini's had holidays there.

Having said that it seems quite obvious that you would buy a holiday home in a nice place close to home.

Then again, I visited Trinidad last March and it is a beautiful place too ... nowt as strange as folk is there ?

As Lisa says ... things will change I guess ... the one thing going for Tobago is the terrain and the protection of it's rainforest ... hopefully any such changes/development will be limited by natural factors.

Regards

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Paul

You would be really surprised. I don't have any figures (hopefully someone reading this may be able to provide some), but from my experience, I would say that the vast majorty (75%+) of villas in the lower-upmarket range (circa TT$2.5-3.0m/US$400-500k/£200-250k) are owned by Trinidadians. Even by the time you get to the upper market (double the above figures), Trinis still represent at least half of the market.

In a perverse way, the real problem with housing shortage is not foreign buyers - its Trinis. The effect is identical to 'Londoners' buying holiday homes in attractive/desirable country locations in the UK (I should know, my immediate neighbours were just that until they retired and moved here full time last year).

I further understand that over recent years, the national and local governments have announced/created a number of 'affordable' housing developments on Tobago to try and resolve the housing problem. Purchase has been strictly limited to locals. Who has bought them? You've guessed it. I'm told that some of these developments are like ghost towns during the week. All the Trini owners are back home working.

I'm not criticising - after all, as I've said, we've got exactly the same problem here. In fact you've got the same problem pretty much everywhere in the world. I honestly don't know what the answer is. It is just very sad that the actions of the politicians in charge of Tobago are driven by their own overt racist opinions.

[Sebastian]

It seems like they are afraid that they will lose right/control of their own island and so not allow people to actually "own" land but instead just the "property" on it (while the actual "right" of the land remains in the hands of the local government).
I have heard of this elsewhere.
If they don't do this than wealthy business men will find ways to own the island as they have done before, sort of a legal "coup d'tat/coup de gráce", legally by International Banking Law.

The government certainly doesn't want this to happen and are aware of it.

But on the upside, good to hear that "renting" IS allowed.

[Jennifer C]

I was thinking along the same lines as Steve. I live in BC Canada. One of the jokes around here is about living in "Hong couver" (aka Vancouver). Asian foriegners (and other internationals) have bought up so much of the lower mainland real estate that the prices in the lower mainland have skyrocketed. No young people (or average income people) can afford to live there. As a consequence of the sky high prices, the people that lived in Vancouver have now started to buy up land and houses on Vancouver Island (which incidently is about the same ferry and plane ride distance away from Vancouver as Tobago is from Trinidad). Now the price of housing here on the island is going sky high. Not many young people can afford half million dollar starter houses. Anyway, my rant is that everywhere around that world people will take advantage when they see the opportunity. Is not right but it will keep happening .