House Hunting: Island Style

While we’re not new to buying or selling real estate, making a major purchase in another country is uncharted territory. The process is largely the same but there are some key differences in the realtor’s role, inspections, background checks, contract terms, attorneys and taxes, to name a few.

The hardest part is that none of our questions can be answered with a simple internet search. It’s all about who you know and how much you’re willing to trust what you’re told. We’re very fortunate to have friends with local contacts and recommendations, but it still feels pretty daunting.

After closing on the boat in October, we took a few months to breath and enjoy the holidays with friends and family. All the while, we’ve been plotting our next move: a scouting trip to the Bahamas.

In an effort to leave no stone unturned, we expanded our search area to include just about every inch of Great Abaco and the surrounding cays. The houses on our list range in size, area, condition, price and age. This weekend, we returned to the Bahamas to see some houses and explore some new areas to narrow things down.

While many of the houses are simply on the list so we can check out the neighborhoods they’re in, several are real contenders. We lined up a realtor on our first day to get inside the top two choices and opted to drive or walk by the others on our own time. Since this was a quick trip, it would have been impossible to get inside all 11 houses on the list.

The first house we toured was built in the 1950’s, but recently gutted and completely renovated. It has new fixtures, appliances, fresh paint and a new roof. While many of the design choices would not have been ours, it’s all fresh and new. The home has a private back yard and beach access down the street. It’s also in a nice neighborhood about 20 minutes from town.

The second house was built in the late 1990’s and certainly needs some updating. The home is about double the distance from town as the first house and situated just north of a small community. There are three structures on the property, including the main house, a large garage with loft space and a small laundry building. The biggest selling feature is that it’s on the water with 90 feet of beachfront.

These houses were complete opposites, and it was so helpful to juxtapose the two in one morning.

While the first house was a very nice house, it felt like a house you could find anywhere. We came away from the second house feeling inspired. She has so much potential. It was evident in every room, even with the distracting ocean views. We also came away with so many new considerations about renovation costs and risks of living directly on the water and further away from town.

The rest of the weekend we drove the neighborhoods and walked the islands to explore the other areas on our list. There are several areas we’d absolutely consider but the houses available are either too big or too expensive. We couldn’t help but compare everything to that beachfront home we saw on day one. We even drove back to walk the property again on our last day.

If we’re going to buy a home in the Bahamas, isn’t the whole point to go for something unique or that we can’t find (or afford) in the states?

There’s so much to consider. The prospects are equally exciting and terrifying. If it was simple, everyone would do it. And, we still have much to learn.

Enjoying the adventure and process of “getting there” is at least half the fun. Ultimately, this weekend was a total success! We met some awesome new people, looked at beautiful properties, soaked in some incredible Bahama-blue water and successfully drove several hundred miles on the wrong (to us) side of the road without dying.

Decisions, decisions. Exciting things to come!