You have surely come across videos showing how people have bought a property in tropical places and how beautiful it is. Not only are such places paradise on earth, but they are also one of the best real estate investments you can make.
Namely, Belize is exactly one of the destinations that many Americans visit because of the climate and beautiful beaches, and blue seas. However, the real estate market there is hot and constantly growing, which makes many people interested in such investment.
In this article, we’ll talk about everything you need to know when buying a house in Belize. This will help you get the property you want and make the whole process go smoothly. Keep reading and find out more.
How Does the Buying Process Go
To show you hoes does house buying in Belize goes, we prepared all of the steps needed to finalize this process.
Start Searching for A Property
The first thing you need to do is research present listings on the market. You can do this in multiple ways. Firstly, you can go through a basic internet search to see the usual offers. After that, you can visit realtor sites where they post their listings. To remain safe, it is best to use established sites and find properties to your needs as Remax Belize suggests.
Select a Property According to Your Needs
Belize offers a variety of areas where you can look for listings that are all dependent on your needs. For example, if you are a person who is looking for a chill spot in the hills then Cayo is the perfect place for you.
On the other hand, if you want a beach house so you can spend your days in the sun, Ambergris Caye or Placencia are the right places. At last, if you want to be in touch with the locals and integrate into Belizan culture, look for houses in Corozal or Dangriga.
Come with An Offer and Negotiate
After deciding on an exact house, and consulting with the realtor about the features that the house possesses, it is time to come up with an offer. This is the process where you go back and forth with the seller until you reach an agreement.
Be sure to negotiate and create pricing that will leave you more space for the renovation and decoration process.
Find a Lawyer
Even though the purchase agreements are completely the same as in the US, it is always a great idea to hire a lawyer for protection. They can go through a title search to see whether there are possible taxes that are not paid, mortgages, or liens. Also, they get to collect information about dimensions and whether you are allowed further building on that land.
When you consider the costs of the lawyer of only one percent of the total sale price, it is surely smart having this sort of protection.
Sign the Purchase Agreements
If everything is going nicely, and you get to an agreement over the price, it is time to sign the purchase agreement. After that, you get to pay for the house in full. However, if you don’t have the whole sum on you, there are a couple of financing mechanisms you can explore.
Cover the Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is among the final steps of the whole journey. It costs around five percent of the total sale amount. This is paid to Belize so they can transfer the title to your name. After paying this expense, you will be waiting from thirty to sixty days to get everything in your name.
However, it is important to understand that the country is calculating the worth by itself, so there can be slight differences in the stamp duty costs.
Finalization
After receiving the title, you are done. Congratulations on your big purchase and being an owner of a personal piece of paradise. All you get to do now is furnish and decorate your house which is always the most beautiful part of the process.
What Makes Belize’s Real Estate Market Popular for Americans
To understand why are many Americans interested in purchasing a house in Belize, we prepared a short list of benefits that this country provides.
There Is No Limitation on Ownership Rights
The first and most important thing is that there is no limitation on ownership rights in Belize. This means that you as an American have the same rights as citizens. When compared to other tropical countries where there are additional steps you must go through before the purchase, Belize is much simpler.
This means that you can purchase any type of property including a house, apartments that you can rent, or even plain land. However, if you plan on doing business, you’ll hire Belizean people. In the case of purchasing land, there is an additional tax you’d have to cover.
Close to Home
Another reason why many Americans are interested in Belizean house investment is that they are close to home. This is especially important if you are planning a retirement there, so you are not far from your children.
Taxing Benefits
The biggest benefit of such investment is that there is no tax for capital gain. This means that you can purchase a house, renovate it and sell it while keeping all of the profit. The property taxes are also affordable with houses worth more than $200,000 US paying less than a thousand dollars in taxes.
Language
Moving to Belize or even running a business is exceptionally easy due to the absence of a language barrier. English is the official language due to colonization in the past, so you will have no problems.
Also, the contracts for the property are the same as the ones in the US. This means you’ll not have a problem understanding the documents. However, hiring an attorney is still a wise idea to keep yourself protected.
Affordable Houses
Due to the affordability of the houses compared to surrounding countries and similar US areas, Belize’s market has been constantly growing. Even though the prices of houses went up in the past period, they are still more affordable than any of the alternatives.
