Bahamas info?
 

Hey Guys!

Looking at buying a small piece of property on Andros Island in the Bahamas, any input? I understand the water is quite nice, anything I should be aware of, or cautious about?

ANY input is appreciated!

Michael

Mike I`m an retired Navy vet. I`ve been to Andros many time. If I had the money I would jump on any property that I can afford. When I was in the Navy I would get up early in the morning find the nearest coconut tree get 2 or 3 fresh coconut, stop by the chow hall get breakfest go to work, then I would drill holes into the coconut add fresh juice (orange strawberry etc..) make sure the heliocopters take of safely, go to the beach and listen to Bob Marley as the sunrise with my coconut drink by my side. Man I missed that place.

Andros is very isolated, less traffic going in/out and that is going to exponentially raise your costs of travel to/from and more importantly building on. Empty land in the Bahamas is so cheap because of the hassle/costs of building there.

Right now I am looking at 3 acres (all waterfront) for around 100K, how much more are building costs than other areas of the Bahamas? I am not looking at building anything huge or fancy (1500 sq ft) would be plenty.

Right now I have a home (in the city) and a small cottage (1000 Islands) and would like to sell the house, spend the money building a small place in the Bahamas and live at the cottage in the summer, Bahamas in the winter.

THANKS! For the input and please keep it coming!

Muchael

Dont forget Hurricane season and the tidal surge if youre looking at waterfront.:poopoo:

my uncle had a condo in the bahamas. one of the hurricanes took it out. years later they havent rebuiltso he basically owns, well not much of anything anymore besides a piece of paper.

this is a safe height. and I cant tell you who's house that is below us.

A few things to consider on outer islands:

Power- Islands are mostly run on diesel generators. Andros will probably not have any type of grid which means you have to generate your own power. Some of the smaller islands were having self imposed "brown outs" to conserve fuel this summer. Power on the grid for 12-15 hours, dark for 9-12 at night.

Internet/Phone- Outer islands won't have provisions for this. Sat phones/internet are your only option

Construction- Outer islands require a trip to bigger islands for everything. There is no Home Depot around the corner! The lack of supplies extends the construction process, imagine running short of nails and construction stops until you can make it to a bigger island only to find the supplier is out and waiting for supplies to come from the US. A box of nails could hold you up 2 weeks! Then the labor disperses for other jobs and you may wait another week for them to return to finish your job.

Depending on your situation but before dumping 100K on a dirt lot, I would look into a condo or something in the FL keys. Something that is easier to get to, potentially finance, sell, rent out, etc. Easy to maintain, more stuff to do (plently of diving, fishing etc) and a couple hours drive time to Miami (depending on how far south you buy).

I will email a buddy of mine and get him to remind me why he didn't move forward on a deal on Andros about 5 years ago. He had a sizable deal lined up and I don't remember what the reason was that him and a couple partners bailed but they spent a few weeks on Andros looking at everything. One of the partners had a Cessna so they were constantly flying back and forth.

He is coming back from Greece this week, I should have something to post by the end of the week.

Finance! that was the problem, every backer pulled out of the islands for a time. someone who had built a large number of projects there told me the first thing you do is take a valium. The pace will drive you nuts. count on $300 sq foot minimum, and twice as long. Then you have to get there in every kind of weather. I've got 6 years of southern living and 34 years of going to the islands and its no cup of tea. fly down rent a place for 6 months and see what its like.

Michael,

Good advice here, building in the Bahamas is 2-3 times the cost of the same in the USA/Canada and 3-5 times the cost if you build in the islands other than Nassau or Freeport. It can be done, but it will test your mettle. I have a friend who wants to sell his place in Bimini, its already built and livable, good harbor and close to the mainland it would be easier and cheaper to go this route rather than build something from scratch. Alan

I'v been there fishing buy something on USA soil aka Keys!Hospitals/power/roads/sewers phones etc etc!If you pay 100k and build a home for another 400K ??Also will you ever recoup your 600k??Friends dad passed away there years back what a project to get things done bring body home big$$$Then again you want to ruff it go for it!Good luck!

Great advice guys! I really appreciate the input! I had considered the hurricanes, but, never thought of the tidal surge. I figured building on the Island would be a few dollars more, but, 3-5 TIMES! Wow, that's pricey

I had previously looked at places in Florida, the problem was (still is?) anyplace with gulf or ocean access was crazy expensive, and that only left places like "LeHigh acres" which I was told to STAY AWAY FROM, no matter how cheap it was!

Alan if you could forward me some details on Bimini I would appreciate it!
Anyone with advice or links to areas to look I would appreciate that in advance too!

THANKS! to everyone again for the input, it's appreciated!!!

If you are spending 100K on dirt, 100K on build then 200K will get you a waterfront condo in the keys or a small house on a dry lot easily. Convenience is going to be priceless in the keys compared to anything in the Bahamas. Similar water, but way easier to visit/enjoy too!

Bimini is nice since it is so close to the US (about 45 miles east of Ft Lauderdale). But Bimini is very small, a few bars/restaurants but still small. I recently heard the new resort Bimini Bay closed for 60 days to wait for the winter rush to start. Bimini Bay was trying to sell condo units (2/3 story buildings, not hi rise stuff) but the prices were insane (300K for a 1 bedroom with a window shaker a/c unit). They pitched that you could rent it back through the resort for income but the resort is no where near busy enough to ever give you any type of ROI.

Bimini bay is impressive on the website but not as impressive in person, kind of "glamour shots" type photos on their website and the casino has still not opened (though the resort is a couple years old now).
THANKS! to everyone again for the input, it's appreciated!!![/QUOTE]

Even buying in bimini seems like a bad idea, I am not a fan of bimini bay so we usually stay at bimini sands. The last place we rented was $375/night 2 bed with a loft and 3 bath, $40/night more for the slip. They happened to have the place for sale and are asking $460,000!!!! How are you ever going to make money at $375/night on a place that costs $460K. Of course you can usually rent it all summer but that would be when you would want to use it. We always rent vacation homes wherever we go, keys, bahamas ect. you can rent multi million dollar houses for $5000-$10000 week, I just don't understand why people ever buy them, but I am glad they do!

Bimini
 

Alan - If you can PM me details on the place in Bimini, I'll appreciate it.

try on Lyford Cay for size

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