+44 (0) 115 871 2040
Address
Cayman Islands Real Estate Co. UK
3 Petersham Mews
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 1HS
United Kingdom
The investment strategy of buying land abroad can produce excellent results if you do your homework. Land investments produce returns in the form of capital gains on selling the land and regular returns through renting out. The last option will typically involve constructing a residential or commercial building on the land. Capital gains result when you sell the property at a price above what you paid for it. This can happen only if the price of the land goes up in the area where you invest in. So you check for the existence of factors that can lead to land price increases at the location. Land price increases occur when demand for land goes up. The demand can go up owing to population increase because more people in an area means more demand for accommodation and land. Demand can also go up owing to increased economic activity that again tends to increase the demand for commercial and residential accommodation. The major feature of land is that its supply at a location cannot be increased by making new land. Owners of existing land can thus expect the prices of their land holdings to increase as demand goes up. What they have to ensure is that increased demand will not lead to other people dispossessing them of the land. Such dispossession can happen in a country where rule of law is weak. It can also happen if the system of land records maintenance is so poor that disputes can arise about the identity of a piece of land and its owners. Losses can also occur if buyers have no reliable way to verify whether the property has been charged to a third party by way of mortgage or otherwise. Buying land abroad will hence have to involve a due-diligence research to check on the political stability, rule of law and land records maintenance system.
In Buying Land Abroad we discussed the issues of investing in land properties abroad. We mentioned that investors firstly have to select locations where land prices are likely to appreciate significantly. This has to be followed by a due diligence to check upon the situation regarding the rule of law and other issues that make the investments safe. We also mentioned that increase in population and increase in the level of economic activities are two major factors that could lead to significant land price increases. In this post we look at the situation in a specific location and its attractiveness for land investors. The location is the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, a British Overseas Territory where British Common Law operates. The Cayman consists of three main islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. All the islands share the Caribbean attraction of great beaches The Cayman Islands in the Caribbean consist of three main islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. All the islands have great Caribbean beaches facing the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Additionally, each of them have its own unique, world-class tourist attractions. As the tourism industry picks up after the world comes out of the current economic slump, demand for accommodation will increase on the islands. The Cayman also has two other groups of potential clients for land and villas, the high net worth employees of its financial centre and wealthy retirees from all over the world who choose to settle down in the sunny and tropical environments of the islands. Cayman is a top financial centre of the world in addition to being a top tourist destination. Nearly a thousand banks, including reputed institutions like UBS and Merrill Lynch, operate from George Town, the capital city of the islands. Cayman Islands are British Overseas Territory with a governor appointed by the British Monarch and a democratic parliament elected by local citizens. Cayman government allows foreign citizens to hold freehold title on local property. The system of land records maintenance is also quite good and zoning regulations to segregate residential and commercial areas are also in place. Considering all the above factors, and also the fact that the country has one of the highest living standards in the world, investors seeking to invest in land abroad will find the Cayman a great location to invest.
