Buying a Condo on Ambergris Caye Part 2
Yesterday the Ambergris Daily published an article on its belief why consumers should buy a condo using the strata system, rather than by using the corporation share system. Our reason is just to make sure that the purchaser is fully protected, and although there are plenty of resorts that use the share system which works,in most cases, very well at the moment with many happy owners. The question has to be asked,when the developers decide to sell up all their real estate holdings or indeed leave them to their dependents who have never even visited Belize and who just employ a team of lawyers to maximise their profits in a clearance sale of all their now Belizean assets. All these assets could be sold to a developer who justs wants to use the slash and burn philosophy, and in our opinion this could happen.
One other huge disadvantage of buying a condo where your “title” is just shares in a corporation: Imagine looking at a great site plan and buying a half completed condo in a development under construction. You looked at the site plan, you checked your unit location and the marvelous views of the beach and ocean from your future veranda. You signed on the dotted line and placed a substantial deposit and leave the island.
6 months later your new condo is ready, you’ve paid in full, you even got your share certificate ownership (wow, that developer was quick!) and you return to the island a couple of months later for your first stay in your dream island home. The problem is, you see new foundations being built right in front of your condo and you know whatever is built there will substantially block your views. But that new building wasn’t on the site plan you checked when you bought your unit! Guess what…..TOUGH. The developer can do whatever he likes if he’s not giving you proper STRATA TITLE to your condo. You have a share certificate and that can add up to zero voting influence on what the developer wants to change on the site plan.
We’ve seen it happen. A few years ago in what was then a new development across the bridge on the beach side one developer build a cement beach bar right in front of a couple of the units. The bar wasn’t on the original plans. One or two of the condo owners lost part of their view as well as a lot of peace and quiet.
Another developer built and sold our a complete building of units several miles north of San Pedro Town and sold them out. He then proceeded to build a whole new building right in front of the first building thus blocking 80% of the views for the original “owners.”
You’ve guessed it, these developments offer SHARE “ownership,” not title. The developer can make any changes he wants to and there’s very little an existing condo owner can do about it.
If you buy a condo with Strata Title Ownership the developer cannot change the original site plan to the detriment of any of the condo owners without the express approval of a majority of the condo owners. And, of course, any such vote would be almost impossible to get. Bottom line, our advice is, if you plan on buying a condo or villa in a new development make sure you’ll be getting STRATA TITLE…accept no substitutes (or shares!)
Currently a resort that was built around 20 years ago is applying to have a restaurant complex built in the gap between buildings which provide the view of the sea to a minimum of 60% of the apartments.This means that if built all the aptts. with view,which are the ones directly facing the sea, will have the same value or more, as a restaurant has been added to their complex but the rest will suffer a significant fall in the value of their property. In this particular case the management company owns all the common areas, and the HOA is trying to stop them but at the moment , as they say, is up in the air.
