- No Annual Property taxes, no Income Taxes, and no Capital Gains Taxes – no direct taxation whatsoever
- Extremely low crime rate compared to other Caribbean Islands.
- Close proximity to Miami as a major travel portal with many other US and international gateways Direct flights to UK.
- Stable democratic government.
- Balanced and harmonious social community.
- Good medical and educational system.
- Beautiful warm climate during the entire year.
- Professional Business community with all the leading international law firms, accountancies, banks, builders and architects.
- Property investment is simple and transparent with a public land registry system.
- Professional Real Estate Association that governs integrity and ethical practice of the member realtors.
- Excellent Island Infrastructure.
- Sophisticated technological resources for consistent and reliable global communication.
- No restriction on foreign ownership of property - anyone can buy, they don't have to live here or have a partner to buy and can come and go as they please.
copyright : Paul Aiken
Remax Cayman Islands
Grand Cayman
Prepare the interior of your home for sale
This is a very tough time to try to sell a home. The market is flooded with properties and buyers have plenty to choose from. For these reasons, you must make your home the best that it can be. Whether you want to invest a bit of money or not, there are many ways that you can make your home look smashing. Follow this checklist and you will have buyers eating out of the palm of your hand.
Get a pad of paper and a pen and write down things you notice. Now think about the existing space and what is in it. Do you have Elvis posters on the wall or hot pink carpet in the living room? Do you have a room dedicated to Precious Moments figurines? All these things are great, but please consider pre-packing them.
You must appeal to as many people as possible. Remember your home is now a product for sale, so you must think like the buyer, not an owner. You also need to decide if you want to invest money into your house. If you follow the suggestions below, you will make back your money. However, it does depend on the value of the home. You do not want to put the most expensive carpet in an average priced home just as you do not want the cheapest faucet in a high end home. Keep in mind; buyers want a "Move-in ready" home. * Treat each room like an individual project. Each one will have different tasks to accomplish. Keep in mind what you may not like about the room and what the buyer may not appreciate. Write them down and tackle them in order of importance.
* What does your entryway say about your home? This is very important because this is where the first impression starts. Make it open & inviting.
* What color(s) are your walls?
White is not permitted. It gives a very cold and uninviting feeling. Neutral colors are obviously the way to go. However, you can use some color. It is alright to give your home some personality. Soft colors of yellow, green, and even blues have a place in every home. Don't forget about the ceiling. By painting the ceiling a shade lighter than the walls can make for a very cozy room. Ask your local paint store for help with color.
That's what they do all day long.
* If you have wallpaper, take it down! There is a good possibility that the buyer will not appreciate the pattern or color. Remember, they want "Move-in" ready.
* Slap on the spackle. Repairing holes or cracks in drywall is an easy & inexpensive way to take years off of your home.
* What condition are your floors in? There may be a few things to tackle here. If your carpets are in good condition & a neutral color, make sure they are clean. If you have flooring that is not neutral, replace them! You don't want your buyers walking away because they don't want to replace the carpet. If you have tile or wood floors make sure you have rugs down.
Especially in a living room, a rug can pull a room together and really warm up the atmosphere.
* Declutter your home. The easier buyers can move through the space, the easier they can picture themselves there. Keep children's toys in their room. Take down the wall collage of family pictures. Pack away some knickknacks. You want the buyers to focus on the architecture, not your belongings.
* Storage is very important to buyers. You do not want your home to look like it is bursting at the seams. There are several ways to make sure your home has plenty of storage.
Pre-pack, pre-pack, pre-pack! Clean out your storage areas! Eat or donate some of the food in your overly stuffed pantry. Pack the out of season clothes. Add shelving. Whether it is in your closet, laundry room or in the garage, shelving is an affordable way to increase the storage. Don't forget about the countertops.
If you have too much on them, it appears there is not enough cabinet space. By having additional room in your storage places, it gives the impression there is plenty of room.
* How much furniture is in your home? Sometimes less is more. By just taking out a loveseat, bookcase, or leaf in a table you can make the appearance of the room look much larger.
* Get rid off or store old, beat up furniture. Frumpy looking furniture will make for a frumpy looking home. If you cannot afford new furniture, please get some new throw pillows or blankets to try and update it.
* Hire a home stager! For a small amount of money, we can place furniture and accessories, or provide a detailed list of necessary changes.
* Do you have a room in your house that you use for storage or don't use at all? Give it a purpose. It's like telling a story. You need the buyer to be able to visualize that room with furniture in it. Whether it is making a home office or even an exercise room, allow this space to have meaning.
* Shed some light on the subject. Upgrading you light fixtures will set your home apart from the other 10 homes your buyer is looking at. This can be an easy and inexpensive way to update your home. Find some fun, unique lighting for the kitchen
and bath.
* Are you window coverings old, outdated, cheap looking, or too heavy?
Get rid of them! You can get very inexpensive curtains or blinds from about any discount department store. Choose a color similar to your wall color. This allows the eye to keep moving, not stop and admire the "loud" coverings.
* What does your home smell like? Unfortunately, if it has a particular odor, you may be use to it. Ask someone who does not live in the home what it smells like. Having an odor can be a huge turn off to buyers. It gives the impression as poorly kept up or dirty. This doesn't mean you have to bake an apple pie every time you show the home.
Invest a few dollars in air fresheners. Choose a mild scent like
fresh linen.
* Kitchens can be expensive to update, but well worth it. If your appliances, cabinets, or countertops are dated, replace them. You will be amazed at the difference. Choose a grade that reflects the value of your home. If you cannot afford to replace your cabinets, paint them and add new hardware to the doors. Add under cabinet lighting. This is an inexpensive way to add uniqueness to your kitchen. This is a great room to paint an actual color. It can create a contrastwith your cabinets.
* Make your bathrooms luxurious. Notice many hotel bathrooms are very soothing and rich looking. Who doesn't want that? Create that same felling in your home. This is an excellent place to spend some money because how many people actually upgrade their bathroom?
* Garages are unknown importance to buyers. The focus is always on kitchens and baths, but don't forget about the garage. A few simple changes will go a long way. Organize and clean it. Do not use this as a storage area. For a small amount of money you can rent a storage box. Add storage which could include shelving and/or cabinets. Give it a fresh paint job.
* Odds & Ends- Add plants. They give life to a home. If you have a space that is small or doesn't have a lot of light, add a mirror. If you have a lifeless room, consider adding trim. Whether it is crown molding or a chair rail, these will add character to the space.
Again, it's all about setting your home apart from the others on the market. Invest in what you can see. Buyers do not appreciate non-cosmetic changes as much. Think about what you look for when shopping for a home. Remember, the harder you work on your home, the better the results will be.
Commercial Investing in Cayman- Multi Housing Units
Interested in Commercial Real Estate investing? There are so many options to real estate investing from residential properties to multi unit housing. Multi unit housing is a common investment, although it can be risky, there is great potential to make a lot of money.
There is not a steep learning curve to multi unit housing, it is very similar to buying a home, or second investment property just on a much larger scale. Like buying a home, you have to find a property that suits your needs.
1. Does it fit in your budget?
2. Do you want to cater to the lower income tenant?
3. What kind of revenue will it produce? Usually lower income rentals will reap a larger return on your investments because you can buy a cheaper property in a less desirable area and still command great rental rates by offering smaller rooms with low rents, but more occupants i.e. higher density.
4. Is it in a highly rentable location? Meaning, how rentable is it? I recommend trying to find a complex that is closer to the George Town and/or Seven Mile Beach. These locations are where a larger percentage of the Islands workforce is located. Your tenants want to be as close to work as possible.
The process to find a multi unit may take a bit longer; it's not like the residential market where new properties are on the market continuously. You have to be a bit more patient when finding those perfect multi unit properties in Cayman.
Once you have found that perfect property, it is now time to make the purchase. This seems to be the point when most multi unit properties don't become multi unit purchases. Your down payment for the bank is a bit higher because banks in Cayman view this as a business investment. The amount is considerably larger than the down payment on an average single family home, which scares a lot of people off. However if you can get passed this point, the chances of making money on a multi unit property is much higher.
This is best part, once you have completed the purchase there is so much you can do. You can fix up the property and find tenants for your suites. You can hire a property management company that will take care of the building operations. Most companies in charge between 8-10% of your gross income. You can even turn around and sell the property after have it completely renovated and full tenanted.
Investing in multi unit housing can be a great experience. It is a fabulous way to make large profits. If you are serious about these types of investments, there's information available on the Internet or ask me for more info.
Is Your Home Value Decreasing?
With all the recent hubbub about the state of the real estate market in Cayman, you're probably more curious than ever to know your home value. There are several factors contributing to this fall in the market, and there isn't really much homeowners can do directly about falling home value prices and decreasing property values. If you're considering moving, don't get hung up on how lousy the market may be doing or what a crappy time it is to sell (which isn't necessarily true). Instead, focus on the factors of your home value that you CAN have some control over, and that could be seriously decreasing your home value.
First off, don't think just about the home value, but the property value as well. That includes the home and the total of any land. You have to take into account home value AND property value - you may have the biggest, baddest home in the area, but if it's surrounded by weeds and cars on cinder blocks, you're asking for the total home value and property value to be lowered.
Home value isn't just based on the physical factors within your property, but on the desirability of the home and neighborhood as well - is it a place that other people would want to live?
The more desirable a home, the higher the home value and the higher the likelihood of finding homebuyers easily.
Unfortunately, if you're trying to sell your home, it's not just your property that is on display to prospective buyers, but your whole neighborhood.
There are 4 main factors that can go a long way to increasing or decreasing your home value:
1. Condition of homes - your home may be well-maintained, but what about other houses in the neighborhood? Do your neighbors keep up on repairs and landscaping, or are their broken shutters and junky lawn bringing down your home value as well as theirs?
2. Condition of streets -
Is it time to talk to your Politian about taking care of your street? Call the Public Work Department; tell them you have problem roads. Convince other home owners in your neighborhood to call or write letters. You have to care for the streets, keeping them clean and in good repair. Do they drain water well? Being surrounded by shoddy streets is a sure way to bring down your home value. If your streets aren't up to snuff, you can contact your homeowners' association or the proper authorities and see what you can get done about it.
3. Crime - how does your neighborhood statistics stack against other areas'. Obviously, the more crime-free the neighborhood, the higher the average home value is bound to be.
4. Zoning - what is the future of your neighborhood? Is it pretty much going to stay small and quiet, or might the city widen the streets to allow more traffic, or build a shopping strip across the street? A home may have a higher home value when it's first bought because it has wonderful views - but if zoning allows that view to be turned into a strip mall, you've lost an edge in the market and your home value is bound to be affected. Sometimes this could work in your favor e.g. If you are located in a really old run down street that is far from coming back and it is rezoned commercial, then your property becomes more valuable regardless of the condition.
These 4 factors affecting home value may seem like they're out of your hands, but in reality, they are all things you can have a say in by getting involved with your neighbors or form a homeowners' associations, I really think that Cayman needs more Homeowners’ associations and keeping on top of any changes going on in your neighborhood.
By becoming a more active member of your community from the start, you can keep an eye on these factors and enact change when necessary, especially if you get backing from others in your neighborhood.
The fact is, you can't really do anything about home loan rates, or an economic slump, but you CAN get involved with these factors that affect your home value. If you keep your eye on them from day one, you're more likely to have a bit more control over your home value and property worth.
