Welcome to Roatan--and to these Forums!
So you want to find a good business and move here. Excellent!
But boy is there TONS you need to know!!!
But that's what this list is for, right? <smiles>
My intro?
I am not a real estate agent on Roatan--(around here some would say
that's a good thing <grins>) I DO own a profitable B&B on Roatan with
my wonderful hubby--incorporated--am now a 7 year legal resident owner
here--from Louisiana. We both have degrees from LSU--mine's in
Business. Prior to coming here I ran an insurance agency of my own for
15 years--dressed in suits--made tons of money--and worked 80 hour
weeks. Waylon also worked in management for many years with Miller
Brewing.
Then we quit. We opted for a better life--for sure a slower one.
So, maybe, I know of thing or two you might need to ask about?
And I've been known to be "bone-chillingly honest." <chuckles> Though
some are not easily able to accept such honesty Honduran style.
So just be prepared. 'Cause much of what you'll get for honest
answers about Roatan living is weirder than tap shoes on a sea turtle!
But it's still true!
First things first--you should know that mortgage financing like you'd
expect stateside is pretty much unheard of here. To put it bluntly, we
bought and paid for our place IN CASH. Most folks here do.
Financing--if you do it--will be done stateside with cash then brought
here--or some RE sales are owner financed here--but at interest rates
that may shock you and most often over shorter periods of time.
Scared yet? <grins>
Don't be. What you want IS doable--it just will be done differently.
Second thing. There is no real regulation of much of anything--no laws
actually being used to monitor real estate people here. Some have put
together something they "call" an MLS to share listing info. But
licensing here is still a new concept--enforcement is nil. In short,
anyone can and does become a real estate agent here. Some are
great--some are downright awful and crooked--some "claim' to be
representatives of a USA franchise agency household name brand so
you'll 'think" you know they're kept honest--but they aren't. Maybe you
should check first--maybe the franchise wants no part of them--and
never did???
Unfortunately, you may get several responses by RE agents to this
e-mail. But the ones I'd use myself (or anyone who lives here would
use) are not out here waiting to respond to you on the WWW--they're
WA--AAAY too busy!
How to do it safely? Well NOT over the Internet that's for sure!!!
You need to come here--without the children to distract you from 24/7
leg work you'll be doing--without vacation plans. In Honduras it is
VERY important to get serious about doing your homework before you
invest--in person--yourself! Put some time into this HERE!
Look for someone to talk to who is NOT going to profit from getting you
to buy this property over that one. And it never hurts to talk to
someone who IS actually doing what you want to do. Networking isn't
just a good idea on Roatan--it's the ONLY way.
Not all atty's are honest here either--again little control over their
business practices makes it easy here to get away with all sort of
things you'd never expect. Look up that title at the courthouse
yourself!!!
Is everyone a crook?
Of course not!!! There are wonderful people here--and lots of honest
ones too! The trick is figuring out which ones are which, eh?
How to meet the good guys?
Hang out where the local expats (folks just like you want to be)
do--buy some beers--talk to people who have moved and jumped through
the hoops and then lived here [B]nonstop[/B] for several years to get
the "rest of the story".(this nonstop thing is important--many will
"say" they've been here 20 years--but that means without being legal
residents-- 2 weeks a year here 50 weeks stateside--or no time at all
during several years)
Want to buy a B&B? Ours is for sale. We're not antsy to sell it as it
is beachfront in a nice locale and appreciates very nicely each year we
don't sell. And it pays for our lives here with lots of time off when
we want to take it.
But, at some point, we'd like to completely retire to a small place
with less maintenance work. So it's for sale--at a fair price but not a
"steal" (beware good deals here usually are NOT!) The good places will
always have a good price on them. Isn't that true where you come from
too?
How to find out if I am real? Or anyone selling a beachfront spot?
It's actually pretty easy. Book a room for a couple of weeks and sit
and watch. Then you'll know what we charge--how we handle guests--what
facilities we have--and how it all works, right? There are things like
generators, phone and Internet hassles, water wells, cisterns, septic
systems, road access and all sorts of things you'll need to check out
that won't be very visible with a casual walk through.
Want to buy something else and stay here for Q&A sessions til dawn? No
problem--really--we get investors here most often. Sitting up til 2 AM
answering questions about how we did it and making good island
introductions has turned into the stock and trade that keeps our rooms
full.
We're small--quiet--and a good place to get a "feel" for what it's
actually like to LIVE here--because--well--we do! A hotel owner who is
no longer on Roatan did weeks of Q&A for us 10 years ago when we first
bought--now we're just trying to return the favor. <smiles>
But all of that stuff aside. Welcome to the Forums. You CAN get some
basic info here that may be of use to you to better plan your leg work.
Check out the search function of the site and you can read any and all
posts by any poster who interests you. LOTS of useful info is in
already the archives here!
And if you have more questions just post them!
As always, we hope this helps!
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