Recommendation for vacation home near great diving

[Satrekker]

Here are a few threads about buying on GC. If you want more info, happy to share what we know.

Purchasing Property on the Sister Islands

Purchasing Property on the Sister Islands

Buying property vs renting for longer term stays

And here is the link to the MLS database - happy hunting!
The Cayman Islands Largest Real Estate Portal - Welcome to CIREBA

Thanks for the info!

 

[scubadada]

Interesting thread. My wife and I had a timeshare on Grand Cayman from 1996-2004, when we lost it after Hurricane Ivan, a long story. We learned at least two important things from this experience. Caribbean islands, even British ones, may not be quite as civilized as you would think. Spending so much time on Grand Cayman really limited our trips to other and new locations.

So, after diving all around south Florida for a decade, we bought townhouse in Hypoluxo, right above Boynton Beach. It's the US, I know how it works, it's quick and inexpensive to get to, and I'm 3 miles from Boynton Beach, 15 miles from West Palm and the Blue Heron Bridge, and 30 miles from Jupiter. I occasionally drive south and dive in Pompano Beach and very occasionally go down to Key Largo to get my fix on the Spiegel Grove, Duane, and the Bibb. I have to admit, we were very lucky to make our purchase at the bottom of the housing market at the end of 2011.

In the meantime, I travel several times per year to other locations, some new, some old favorites. Last year was Cocos, Roatan, Cayman Brac, and Bonaire. Galapagos and Bonaire are on the list so far for this year.

There are many ways to increase your access to good diving, I hope you all find one that is great for you.

 

[Satrekker]

Interesting thread. My wife and I had a timeshare on Grand Cayman from 1996-2004, when we lost it after Hurricane Ivan, a long story. We learned at least two important things from this experience. Caribbean islands, even British ones, may not be quite as civilized as you would think. Spending so much time on Grand Cayman really limited our trips to other and new locations.

So, after diving all around south Florida for a decade, we bought townhouse in Hypoluxo, right above Boynton Beach. It's the US, I know how it works, it's quick and inexpensive to get to, and I'm 3 miles from Boynton Beach, 15 miles from West Palm and the Blue Heron Bridge, and 30 miles from Jupiter. I occasionally drive south and dive in Pompano Beach and very occasionally go down to Key Largo to get my fix on the Spiegel Grove, Duane, and the Bibb. I have to admit, we were very lucky to make our purchase at the bottom of the housing market at the end of 2011.

In the meantime, I travel several times per year to other locations, some new, some old favorites. Last year was Cocos, Roatan, Cayman Brac, and Bonaire. Galapagos and Bonaire are on the list so far for this year.

There are many ways to increase your access to good diving, I hope you all find one that is great for you.

That sounds like a really good solution. I'm on the Gulf side, so an east coast condo in that area would be perfect for me. My wife? I'm not so sure. Still, I think I'll add that to my list. I'm in real estate, and I expect a correction here in the next 18 months to 2 years max, so prices should be even more affordable in the US imo.

ScubaDada, how did you settle on Hypoluxo if you don't mind me asking? I'm partial to W. Palm diving, and prefer diving out of Jupiter and Riviera Beach to the Keys. From a map perspective, Hypoluxo looks well positioned for fairly close access to Jupiter and Riviera Beach, while also being south towards Miami and the keys. Anything in particular that drew you to this area vs something a little closer to Jupiter to the north? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[arew+4]

Another for Bonaire, agree with everything @woodcarver, and @Trailboss123 have said, plus they now have a decent little micro brewery, and a distillary. And unless your seriously committed to the fishing thing, you don't need a boat, or a truck to pull it.

 

[scubadada]

...ScubaDada, how did you selttle on Hypoluxo if you don't mind me asking? I'm partial to W. Palm diving, and prefer diving out of Jupiter and Riviera Beach to the Keys. From a map perspective, Hypoluxo looks well positioned for fairly close access to Jupiter and Riviera Beach, while also being south towards Miami and the keys. Anything in particular that drew you to this area vs something a little closer to Jupiter to the north? Thanks for the feedback.

Hi @Satrekker

I spent 4-5 years diving SE FL from Fort Lauderdale to Jupiter before we bought in Hypoluxo. By then, I had decided that I like the reef drift diving best in Boynton Beach and love the Castor, a preeminent location for Goliath Grouper aggregation and a great dive year round. I'm 5 minutes from the Boynton Harbor Marina. I'm only 15-20 minutes away from diving in West Palm or driving to the Blue Heron Bridge. I'm only a little over half an hour from Jupiter. I dive all 3 frequently and they are quite complimentary in what they offer. I had a couple of amazing dives in Jupiter this year around Lemon Shark aggregation. In addition, it allows me to frequently get out, even when conditions are not great. It's most difficult to get out of Boynton, Jupiter is intermediate, West Palm is most forgiving. I mainly use 5 operations and have a personal relationship with them.

I spent one day on each visit down to Florida looking at real estate with a very knowledgeable and kind agent for nearly a year before finding the place we bought. We lucked out and found a nice townhouse in a smaller community just off the intracoastal (look near Federal Highway and Hypoluxo Rd). The reasonable HOA fee was a nice plus, some are outrageous. We occasionally fly out of Miami rather than Philadelphia when it is very convenient for us. There are direct flights from Miami to Bonaire and to Roatan on AA for example. You can fly direct to Cayman Brac on Cayman Air.

Worked out great for me, heading back down this Thursday for 10 days of diving

Very best and good diving, Craig

 

[KathyV]

Grand Cayman, Curaçao? But both are relatively expensive

That's true, but if you also plan to rent out the property for income, the most expensive places are often the most popular and most likely to attract renters.

 

[KathyV]

We had actually been considering this idea, we even got as far as discussing it with our financial advisor, but we have decided against it.

Here's the reason, a friend of ours had purchased a beautiful residence in the USVI and made arrangements with an established, local management company to care for the property and rent it out to visitors for rental income. This seemed like a very safe choice because he wasn't even leaving US territory.

But his home was badly damaged during the hurricanes last year; it needs extensive rebuilding, remodeling, and refurbishing - so that's a bad setback but that's why you have insurance, right?

But dealing with insurance and construction far away has been difficult and challenging. To make things worse, he transferred a significant amount of money to an account that can be accessed by the management company so they could begin the repairs, but one of their employees embezzled all the funds deposited by all the owners and disappeared! So my friend had to hire a lawyer and deal with a lot of unpleasantness just to try and get his money back. Then he had to fire his management company and hire a new company.

And months later he still doesn't even have plans finalized for the repairs or a permit! Apparently you can only hire local designers and contractors (or their subcontractors) and all the local contractors are overwhelmed with the current demands for their services - and materials are scarce and expensive, too. And besides, it seems that they all work on island time!

Plus he wants to use some sturdier materials for parts of the rebuild - like concrete for the deck instead of wood to make the property more resistant to future storms, but it is much easier to get a permit if you are just doing simple repairs - and much more difficult if you are trying to make changes and use different materials.

He's had to make several trips to the island and it isn't easy or cheap to find flights and accommodations either. He had originally hoped that they would be back in residence by Christmas 2018 but now he is talking about Christmas 2019! And while he is waiting, he doesn't have a vacation home but still has the costs, he is paying to rent vacation properties elsewhere, he's had lots of headaches and expense, and he doesn't have any rental income coming in either.

I am sure that he will be happy when the trials and tribulations are all over and he has a beautiful vacation home again - at least until the next storm comes around - but after hearing his story we decided that "owning one house is enough for us!" and we don't need the headaches of investing in another home - but that's just our decision.

 

[Doc]

I remember noting a few years ago that every single american who had gotten killed on Roatan was involved in some sort of real estate deal.

Suspend reality for a moment and imagine that is true.

Then believe this: not everybody who bought land gets offed.

I myself survived.

 

[drrich2]

This is a bit of wishful thinking, but I am wondering what dive destinations people would recommend that would make a great place for a 2nd home. I'm the diver in the family, my wife will snorkel a bit, and I'm also big on kiteboarding and deep sea fishing. With that in mind, waterfront on a canal with a dock for boat would be ideal.

Sounds like you're looking to live the dream! We've got a 5-year old kid, so with private school & such in mind, moving to a foreign destination isn't likely. It's fun to dream, though! Looking over other's replies, I'd like to hear more about your hopes & plans.

1.) Second home. How 'second' do you figure? Are we talking living there maybe 3 months out of the year, half-and-half, what?

2.) What kind of diving do you mainly want to do? What do you mainly want to see? I used to think living on Bonaire would be the bomb, but you don't see many sharks or much big stuff...how long would it be before, putting love for shore diving freedom aside, you flew off to see large pelagics, etc...? And if you're traveling to dive, why buy again?

3.) Are you child-free? I'm guessing so; the lack of requirements for educational institutions & a desire to raise kids in one's home country/culture then are non-issues.

4.) What do you like to do besides water sports? Is spending months in a place with no shopping mall where you can't drive an hour straight without flying off into the sea a problem?

5.) Are you sure nearly 365 days/year of de facto bright, sunny hot summer weather is what you want? Florida glories in being the sunshine state, so maybe so. I love visiting Bonaire, but if I lived there full time it'd get...awfully bright for me.

6.) Are you at an age (whatever that is) where you anticipate in the next 10 to 15 years desiring ready access to a physician (e.g.: getting on med.s for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc...)?

Big question: instead of just looking at a location's pro.s, ask yourself 'What would I miss if I were there 3 months?'

Richard.

P.S.: I like Scubadada's approach. You can make it down to Key Largo for colorful shallow reef diving or deep wrecks, enjoy deeper reef diving closer to home, view the larger animals such as goliath grouper and various shark species close to home, and maybe hit Blue Heron Bridge for a neat mix of critters. Plus it's U.S., with the amenities of home and the U.S. health care system.

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

I'm thinking about being an ex-pat in the next 10 years or so. I completely understand the LOB sentiment, and I agree, but I'm looking for a place to live. I'm in real estate and have experience with foreign investment, so it's not a deterrent to me. I'm interested in some feedback to help clarify a shorter list of locations to research.

The more I think about it, the more SE Asia begins to creep up my list, but it's not nearly as convenient of a locale from which to travel back and forth to NA.

As an ex-expat, I recommend finding a location and living there before looking to buy anything that locks you into that location. Heck, I recommend that for anyone looking to buy a house domestically. Add in all the complications of being an expat, and figuring out if it's for you without the baggage of owning a home there makes even more sense.