Barbados Real Estate

Located north of Venezuela, Barbados is an island along the Carribean that is only thirty km long and twenty-three km wide. It stretches from Florida on the North American region up to the South American mainland of Guianas. The island consists mostly of coral limestone deposits. It is generally circled by coral reefs. It ascends from the west going east, leading to Mt. Hillaby, which is Barbados' highest point. The land immerses in the Valley of St. George, which isolates the primary limestone terraces from a limestone point in the lower area.

Barbados enjoys an estimate three thousand hours of sunshine annually. The temperature is usually between 23 to 30 degrees celsius. The wet season in Barbados is between the months of july and november. Meanwhile, the dry season is between december to may. Because it is located at the far eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean, most of the time the island is safe from hurricanes and tropical storms.

The Barbados people, also known as Bajan, are mostly descendants of African slaves in plantations of sugar canes. The demography of the island includes Anglo-Bajans, Bajan-Chiney, Bajan-Hindus, Arab-Bajans, a mixture of Afro-Carribean and European and Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The island was emancipated in the year 1966. From being dependent on sugar production, its economy improved thanks to the tourism and the offshore sector. Offshore finance and banking has contributed much to Barbados' economic development. The increases in manufacturing, production of sugar and tourists have also helped the economy a lot. The economic situation led the way to decreasing the unemployment rate in the tourism, construction, and services sector.

Because tourism has a direct effect on the economy, the government has made a move to hopefully stabilize the tourism in the island. One of the government's plans is to hold big sports events annually, for instance the Golf World Cup and the Cricket World Cup. The government has also made deals with cruise liners to further improve the tourism status.

Barbados is very rich in aquatic resources, from fresh fish to other seafood. It is best known for the flying fishes which live around Barbados' warm waters. It is abundant in fossil fuels, which is the island's primary source of oil and gas, mostly used for local sustenance. The government struck a deal with a neighboring country that led to the Barbados National Oil Corporation refining the island's crude oil in Trinidad and Tobago.

The government also plans to produce local cotton since recent studies revealed that the island is suitable for such industry. The only setback is that there is a current lack of manpower since most workers are either working in Asia, Latin America or in neighboring Carribean islands.

In the real estate aspect, the island is rich in coral-inspired homes, office buildings, elegant villas, upbeat resorts and hotels, and classic churches. Luxuries homes are mostly located along the West and South Coast. Elegant villas are also found in port St. Charles harbor in the north-west district of Barbados. Local property management companies are also helpful for those who want to own location homes in Barbados.

Non-Barbardians can purchase land and property in Barbados, but permission must first be sought from the Central Bank of Barbados. The transfer tax of the property, which is ten percent of the real estate's price, will be shouldered by the vendors. The full purchase price must be registered at the Central Bank of Barbados. It is recommended that the help of a lawyer and a credible real estate agent be employed to help in the business deal. The legal fees usually connected with these transactions are at a going rate of two percent of the purchase price.