Harliquin Property just announced this morning that they are now offering fractional ownership in their residences at Buccament Bay Resort!

 London, England:  Hot off the presses…I just received confirmation this morning from London that Harlequin Property has just announced that they will be offering fractional owernship purchases for their residences at Buccament Bay Resort.  You will recall that I discovered this 5-star resort last September while sailing around St. Vincent. It is a spectacular resort right on the beach with all of the amenities one would expect. You will also recall that Harlequin Property is developing 5-star resorts in five other locations in the Caribbean. We are now a part of their worldwide marketing groups that represent all of their resort projects, from the Caribbean to Thailand.

In addition to the fractional ownership opportunities at Buccament Bay, Harlequin is offering their 100% financing package to those who qualify. It is a brilliantly simple financing structure that Harlequin Property has created that allows for a much broader group of buyers to participate in resort property ownership.

The developers of Buccament Bay have also created one of the biggest water gardens in the Caribbean within the resort.  They have contracted the services of Mr. Peter May, garden designer, author and water-landscaper, and editor of Water Gardener Magazine.  His January 23rd article was about this project. Mr. May flew to St. Vincent last November to preview the project and see if it was one that his firm would be willing to take on.  It has just been announced that Mr. May’s firm is going to take the lead on this project.

Mr. May says, “There should be a mass of material created from this adventure to show readers how to build water gardens in the tropics. Part of the excitment is that I don’t know what the challenges really are until I get started. One of them will undoubtedly be the weather, plus the exrtremes from one season to another, the sun and the heat are going to make water gardens become swampy lagoons in no time unless there is a plenty of oxygenation and a good balance of plants. Resorting to technology will also be imperative rather than an option with a project of this magnitude.”

St Vincent is the location for many of the scenes in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the bay next along from where many of those scenes were shot is the site of a new pretigious holiday resort that has been is sensitively designed to blend in with the beautiful landscape. If you want to get an idea od what may be involved, take a trip to Buccament Bay and check out the site plan and the artist’s renditions of what is in store for those special few that purchase full ownership or fractional ownership residences in this 5-star resort on St. Vincent.  Your Caribbean lifestyle detective remains on duty.

In the past six months the impact of fractional ownerships in the Caribbean is impacting the resale of homes and condos!

The smart developers saw it coming and they are building the product for the demand - fractional ownership of resort properties!  Up until just two years ago if you were going to purchase a home, villa, or condo in the Caribbean, that would have been your choices.  In 2004 the Ritz Carlton at Red Hook, St. Thomas started seeing their gamble of selling just a portion of a residence start to pay off.  What is happening today is a BIG parade of world wide developers joining the game. And, what they are delivering to the Boomers, Brits, Europeans, Canadians, and Latin Americans are a multitude of choices of part time living in Paradise. ( Check out one of my past postings on fractional ownership.)

Just last week I was on St. Thomas speaking with one of the key real estate Brokers in the USVI.  He and his company are the foundation of the resale market in the Virgin Islands. During our discussion I asked him some very pointed questions regarding the impact that fractional ownerships were having on the resale market for homes, villas and condos. He said it has been dramatic! Todays buyers for Caribbean properties are generally not going to be living here year-round.  They are typically on-island in the Caribbean about a month a year, and then they are either back to their home country, or they have another fractional ownership in some other part of the world - following the snow or the sun. 

The fractional ownership model allows for the developer to maximize the value of the property because they are selling it to the buyers for a premium price since there is a management company as part of the package, plus the developer has each villa or condo completely furnished. So, typically there are twelve owners of each property, each of them purchasing a month of the ownership. The buyers are willing to pay much more per square foot for a fractional property than they would for an individual home or condo because of the amenities and the management contract.  Just for example, I did some homework with my calculator and discovered that I could purchase a villa for about $350 per square foot.  Hang on to your hats…the developers of a fractional ownership resort are able to sell each unit for close to $1,000 per square foot, and the buyers are standing in line to buy them!

The appeal is no hassles of management, they arrive to a fully furnished home or condo, they have ownership that can be sold or transferred to their heirs as is the case for any other real estate they own, and the property is in an ultra-luxurious resort setting on the beach or the ski slopes of the most sought after locations in the world! Now do you see why the fractional ownerships are the hottest real estate opportunities happening right now! Remember, the blog posting I wrote about Aruba’s fractional developments that are waiting to be built numbered in the thousands!!! If you want more information about the many fractional ownership resort opportunities in the Caribbean, email me.  I will send you lots of information that will allow assist you in making a purchase decision. Until next time…your Caribbean lifestyle detective remains on duty.

The choice of adventures to celebrate my 60th b-day was a chartered sailing adventure in the BVI

I have been missing in action on our Caribbean Islands Realty site for the past two weeks because of taking time with my wife and friends chartering Double Feature - a Lagoon 57 with Jonny as the Captain and Kelly as the First Mate / Chef.  What a time we had exploring old and new adventures in the British Virgin Islands! We started our adventure by checking out several real estate projects in the USVI and the BVI that have contracted our real estate marketing services; Dolphin Cove Resort; Ritz Carlton Residence Club; and, Raffles Tortola. We had hoped to fit in some time on the Turks & Caicos visiting L’Emeralde, but our travel schedule was changed because of weather.

We took the ferry from Red Hook and met Double Feature at Village Cay Marina with our charter guests and immediately sailed to Norman Island at The Bight for our first anchorage. That began another adventure of a lifetime! The activities on a chartered sailing vacation are over the top; snorkeling, diving, water skiing, wakeboarding, wind surfing, kayaking, reading, napping, journaling, and the non-stop 5-star meals from Kelly’s galley, and fine wines from around the world and Captain Jonny’s daily cocktail menu. None of our guests on this charter vacation had ever done it before! And, for the last ten months of planning I told them that there is no way to truly describe the experience that will happend during this type of Caribbean adventure. If you ever run into this crew they will tell you I was correct. They could not believe what unfolded during our time on Double Feature.

In addition to all the work we do in serving our Caribbean real estate clients, I have a charter yacht vacation brokerage company, Navigations, that not only books charter vacations in the Caribbean, but all over the world - from Europe, Mexico, and the South Pacific! (If you want more information about this type of adventure, email me.  I will send you all you need to know about the cost and planning required.) There will be lots more information coming on future blog postings regarding my 60th birthday sailing adventure, but for now, I need to plug back into the world of real estate and my Caribbean lifestyle dective work.  Until next time…

Jim Walberg and Ann Marie Nugent received the Platinum Award For The success of their company this week!

Atlanta, Georgia: This week Jim and Ann Marie, owners of Caribbean Islands Realty, were at the international convention of Keller Williams Realty in Atlanta, Georgia, participiting in their mastermind conference with 8,500 other Realtors. At the conference’s award banquet, Jim and Ann Marie were honored with the company’s Platinum Award for the 2007 successes of their company. This award is given to the top 1% of Realtors in North America and the Territories. Their dedication to non-stop customer service and just plain hard work as Realtors allowed them to achieve this accomplishment.

In addition, to the awards banquet, there were three days of idea sharing among top Realtors with a focus on internet marketing. Jim and Ann Marie’s results from their Caribbean Islands Realty blog site / website was an example that was used to exemplify what can be done to connect with a worldwide audience searching for the “Tropical Experience” that are awaiting anyone who wants to discover the Caribbean islands. For further information contact them today.

  St. Thomas is the location of the most recent luxury residence project in the Caribbean

Some of you remember my article about the Dolphin Cove project last September. There were many comments from you about how my predictions about Dolphin Cove’s completion date were very optimistic. Well, you were all correct! Ground breaking finally started last week for Phase 1 of this very exclusive project.  It is now projected to be completed by 2010, and some of you may still think that is optimistic.

Dolphin Cove is right next to Secret Harbor on the Red Hook end of St. Thomas. It was the first dolphin training center as it became evident that this mammal was highly intelligent. The training and research center did not have any holding pens.  The dolphins came and went as they pleased at this facility. The objective of the dolphin training was to assist with locating ocean mines during World War II. The original concrete training areas on the water are still there and they will be preserved as part of this luxury resort. The Dolphin House, the 5-star restaurant that is part of the resort, will be built on the cliff above the original training center.

Dolphin Cove will be made up of approximately 150 townhouses and Villas with exceptional floor plans, spacious living areas, gourmet kitchens, balconies, and decks overlooking the Caribbean Sea. This exclusive gated residence resort will also include tennis courts, salt water and fresh water pools, a fitness center, coast side hiking trails, and two private beaches. And, when you are dining at the Dolphin House you will have some of the most spectacular views on St. Thomas of Nazareth Bay and St. Croix. Besides the water sports activities available at the beaches next to the original dolphin training center, Dolphin Cove will also feature a completely self-sufficient community, with it’s own security system, water treatment plant, and stand-by generators.

Dave Marriner is the visionary for this long anticipated exclusive residence community on St. Thomas.  Marriner has the track record to complete such an ambitious project because of his work with Taylor-Woodrow in the development of Newport Beach, California, and the contribution he made to the development of ski community of Incline Village, Nevada, along the shores of Lake Tahoe. Marriner has a very successful real estate company headquartered at Incline Village, however, he will be on-island most of the time, managing every detail required to have Dolphin Cove exceed the expectations of the vision he has been developing for the past four years of this becoming one of the true jewels of Caribbean living.

I will be on St. Thomas this week personally checking out the progress of Dolphin Cove so you will be getting a first had report by next weekend. During my time in the Caribbean I will also be anchoring at Lambert Bay on Tortola, BVI, as I check out the progress of Raffles Tortola, another exclusive residence project that will also come on line by 2010. For more information on the pre-sale reservations for Dolphin Cove and Raffles Tortola, email me and I will provide it to you. Until next time…

Pelican Marina Residence Resort is another example of this expanding market!

Fractional residence resorts continue to expand in the Caribbean. Another one to check out is at Pelican Marina Residences on the Dutch side of St. Maarten the shores of Simpson Bay.  St. Maarten / St. Martin is the smallest island in the world shared by two nations with a melting pot of French, Dutch and Caribbean traditions. Right in the middle of the action is the Pelican Marina Residences. The Caribbean fractional condos at Pelican Marina Residences offer 83 two-bedroom villas sleeping up to six people. All condos can be locked off into a one-bedroom suite for four and a junior suite for two.

This fractional ownership project is located in one of the best beach locations on the island, within walking distance of all the water sports, bars, restaurants, casinos, and shopping you would ever want in the Caribbean. St. Maarten is also the location of one of the premier IYM marinas in the islands. If you remember, this is the marina company that has developed Yacht Haven Grande in St. Tomas, USVI.

Pelican Marina Residences are just a 10 minute drive to St. Maarten’s capital, Philipsburg, and is only a 20 minute drive to Marigot Bay in St. Martin. The residence villas are fully furnished and include all the amenities for a Caribbean stay. They have a state of the art fitness center and Spa, and with a luxurious pool in the center of the ocean front residences. As an owner you are also able to use all of the facilities connected to the Pelican Resort that is right next door.

Remember, fractional ownership is an exciting and fast growing concept in resort luxury vacation home ownership. Think of it as you and three friends buying a vacation home together. Each owner has the ability to own there very own vacation home, but they do not have enough time to use it as much as they’d like. So, with a fractional ownership each owner enjoys the benefit and convenience of having access to the vacation home for a fraction of the year. Their investment and ownership is matched to the expected use, and the costs are kept lower by paying only for the portion that actually used. This allows a fractional owner to have all of the luxury associated with spending time in the Caribbean, without the hassles normally associated with owning and maintaining a vacation home. Most all of the fractional vacation homes in the Caribbean are professionally managed and maintained for you by the fractional resort development company.

I love this two-nation island. It has all three aspects of the Dutch, French and Caribbean flavors all mixed into one. It is an easy island to get around on, and the beaches are over the top! I enjoy spending an afternoon at the world famous Orient Beach on the French side because it always feels as if I am in St. Tropez. Let me know when you check out St.Maarten / St.Martin, in the Paradise called the Caribbean chain of islands. Until next time…

After 30 years of sailing in the Caribbean islands, it is still a thrilling moment to step aboard a BIG catamaran and shove off for another sailing adventure in Paradise!

The packing mantra for a Caribbean sailing adventure is, “Less is best!” For the first-time Caribbean sailing guest, they usually bring three times as is needed for this type of laid back vacation.  So, layout on your bed all you want to bring for your voyage then immediately put half of it away. You should probably go through this process twice! You will then pack your small pile into a soft-duffel bag because it will need to be rolled up for ease of storage on the yacht. If your duffel bag is too big for carry-on you have packed WAY too much stuff!

During your voyage you will be wearing the least amount possible because the temperature is 85 degrees F, and the water is the same temperature;

• Bathing suits ( Tops are optional most of the time for both men and women. When you are going ashore on any of the British Crown Colony islands both men and women will need to wear a t-shirt.) When you are on your yacht you can wear as little as you want.
• T-shirts,  tank tops, shorts and boat shoes, or sandals/loafers are the remaining clothing required for this type of adventure.  The women may want to have a light Summer dress for evening comfort, and men may want to bring a pair of light weight linen pants and a Tommy Bahama shirt, also for the evenings.
• Polarized sun glasses and a wide brimmed hat are a must,  plus a baseball cap.
• A light windbreaker will be all you need for a boat jacket.   I also bring a pair of light pajama bottoms and a light sweatshirt in case the evenings on the yacht are a chilly 70 degrees F,  which is not likely.
• Sun block - non-oily, will be used all the time,  and so will moisturizing cream.   There are no biting bugs when you are sailing,  but Avon’s Skin So Soft seems to work very well when you are walking on the sand and the “no-see’ms” show up.
•  Be sure to bring a camera.  Everyday at dusk you will witness an unforgettable sunset.  You will also need the camera to record moments each day that demonstrate what it means to be “limin’ in Paradise”. You can even buy the disposable cameras that work under water.
• I bring my own diving mask and snorkel,  and/or regulators for SCUBA diving. I have found that guest’s personal mask are the best way to achieve the most comfortable snorkeling and diving experience.   The yacht will have a variety of fins for your use.  Also, there will be water skiing, windsurfing, kayaking, and “floaties” to be used by those that just want to relax in the water and still get some sun.

The reason I bring all of this packing information up for your review is because I am about to gather my gear for another Caribbean Sailing adventure next week with three other couples. We have booked a Lagoon 57 - “Double Feature” with Captain Jonny and 1^st Mate / Chef Kelly. You will be getting daily postings of our adventure starting on February 16^th.  Stay tuned. On my last voyage some one snapped a photo of me dancing with a goat at Foxy’s. I am still looking for that photo and will pay top dollar for it.

This is the title of Herman Wouk’s first novel and it is a must read for those that love the Caribbean experience!

When anyone is about to have an adventure in the Caribbean, they need to immediately order “Don’t Stop The Carnival” by Herman Wouk. In fact, this is the book I would suggest is required reading for ANYONE interested in the Caribbean lifestyle! This was Herman Wouk’s first book! It is a book about escaping middle-age crisis that takes place on a fictional island of Amerigo. An excerpt of the novel describes Amerigo as;

“Kinja was the name of the island when it was British. The actual name was King George III Island, but the islanders shortened that to Kinja. Now the names in the maps and guidebooks is Amerigo, but everybody who lives there still calls it Kinja. The United States acquired the island peacefully in 1940 as part of the shuffling of old destroyers and Caribbean real estate that went on between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. The details of the transaction were, and are, vague to the inhabitants. The West Indian is not exactly hostile to change, but it’s not much inclined to believe in it. Meantime, in a fashion, Amerigo was getting American-ized; the inflow of cash was making everybody more prosperous. Most Kinjans go along cheerily with this explosion of American energy in the Caribbean. To them, it seems a new, harmless, and apparently endless carnival.”

One of my favorite Caribbean characters is Jimmy Buffet. He bought the rights to “Don’t Stop The Carnival” in 1996 and wrote an operetta using the story line as his inspiration. It did not have a very long stage life, but I loved it! You may not remember, but Jimmy Buffet is an amazing writer, not just a concert icon! He has compiled a list of the books he would require if he were stranded on a Caribbean island. Here goes;

• Follow the Equator - Mark Twain
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
• Don’t Stop the Carnival - Herman Wouk
• Winds of the Carolinas - Robert Wilder
• One Writer’s Beginnings - Eudora Welty
• The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
• A Gift from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• The Fables of La Fontaine - Jean de la Fontaine
• West with the Night - Beryl Markham
• A Collection of Poems - Pablo Neruda
• The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck
• No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

So, as I look at turning 60 in two weeks I found these comments for me to consider, “We are indeed the people our parents warned us against! Our generation, the Boomers, have been through a lot - some of it joyous, some of it painful. We are now approaching the second half of our years. Part of that stage of life is reflecting on what we have done and what we will do with the time we have left. Jimmy Buffett does that in his best-selling book, A Pirate Looks At 50. Jimmy turned 60 in December. We are growing older, but not growing up.” I am turning 60 in February. Here are some quotes I am focused on during the start of the second half of my life;

• Never mistake motion for action. Ernest Hemingway
• No one gets out of this world alive, so the time to live, learn, care, share, celebrate, and love is right now. Dr. Leo Buscaglia
• Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. Sir J. Lubbock

So, if you are on your way to the Caribbean, pick up Don’t Stop The Carnival. If you are about to be stuck on a Caribbean island for an extended period of time, buy the rest of the books. And, memorize the three quotes. You may need them someday soon. Until next time…

The chic Caribbean fractional ownership destination is now the DR!

So, will you be surprised if I tell you that the Ritz-Carlton is one of the KEY players in the fractional ownership 5-star resorts in the Dominican Republic? Well, hang on to your bathing suits, it’s TRUE! You have probably never heard of Cap Cana either, have you? Cap Cana is one of the best kept secrets in the beach community of the Caribbean. That is where the Ritz is building their next deeded fractional ownership residence resort! What a location - five miles just south of the eastern tip of the DR, with three of the top beaches in the Caribbean!

Cap Cana is also going to be the site of THREE Jack Nicklaus signature golf courses! Cap Cana is expected to be one of the real jewels of the Caribbean! In addition, there is one of the largest marinas in the Caribbean being built right next to one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the Dominican Republic. How in the world did I miss this one? The Ritz-Carlton Residence Club is to open in 2010 with a two phase $1 billion project. If the Ritz has committed to the DR, more are right behind.

J. W. Marriott Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International recently said, “Cap Cana has envisioned a bold luxury tourism and real estate development project that promises to be one of the most exciting new destinations in the Caribbean. We are excited that our Ritz-Carlton brand will be represented at Cap Cana and are hopeful that one or more
of our other hotel brands will also fit in with Cap Cana’s plans for this world class destination.”

Other international resort players who are rushing to Cap Cana are;

• Westin Resorts: beach club, spa, aquatic center, and a Nick Faldo-designed golf course. The 360 varied private residences include beachfront homes, jungle bungalows, and “EcoDream” villas with spa-appointed roof decks. Properties here range from $400,000 to $4 million.
• Trump Faralon Estates: Trump Farallon Estates will include 68 estates with at least 1.5 acres each, all within a gated community high on a bluff overlooking the ocean. But… you’re SOL if you want in on this action; all 68 homes, ranging in price from $3 million to $12 million, sold in a single day in May 2007. Can you believe it? Where have we been?
• The Estates At Punta Cana Resort & Club: Julio Inglesias is one of the key investors that are developing three luxury communities called The Estates which includes La Cana golf course and four miles of unbelievable beaches! “Corales” is the most exclusive of the three communities with 140 home sites at $1.8 million each! Yikes!

This is all happening RIGHT NOW in the Dominican Republic. Where have you been hanging out in the Caribbean? You better hurry up and get to the DR before it gets out of reach as St. Barts has already done to most of the world. I will keep you posted as to the latest developments as I explore other parts of the Dominican Republic. There are still some GREAT bargains left, but not many. Until next time….

The biggest event in the Virgin Islands is coming April  6^th!

THE biggest event in the Virgin Islands each year is Carnival!  In fact, the Virgin Island Carnival is one of the biggest celebrations in the WORLD!  The highlight of the three week celebration is the grande finale - “Adult Parade”. It is the event that most of us think of as Carnival - colorful and BIG costumes, steel bands, floats, and the world famous “Mocko Jumbie” stilt walkers.  (Jumbies, they are stilt dancers who have their origins in West Africa where they were used to scare away evil spirits. You can find them appearing at street festivals and carnival all throughout the Caribbean.)  Every year it is an unforgettable experience. In addition, Virgin Island Carnival on St. Thomas has calypso competitions, local foods, arts and crafts, beauty pageants, concerts, and jump up parties.

The 2008 Virgin Islands Carnival plans have started way ahead of schedule. The plans started today! Beverly Nicholson Doty from the Virgin Island Tourist Board just joined the Carnival Committee, along with Ira Rosen from the States to assist with the planning. Carnival Committee Chairman, Kenneth Blake, and Executive Director, Caswil Callender, announced this year’s festivities Tuesday morning at a press conference at Palms Court Harbor View Hotel. The committee praised the participation of Gov. John deJongh Jr. in this years’ party. “He has done what he said he would do to work with us. We sat down with him two weeks ago and listened to his suggestions. He didn’t try to press anything on us just because he is the governor; he really listened to us.”  The hurdles each year are getting corporate sponsorship.  There are thousands of dollars that are earned by the local businesses in the Virgin Islands, but it is still a challenge for the committee to get the local businesses to give back to this critical annual event.

Mr. Rosen said, “We need to increase the number of cultural tourists. We need to promote Carnival because it is safe, because no passport is needed in the Virgin Islands, and because of what we have to offer to cultural tourists over leisure tourists. The cultural tourist will spend three time that of the leisure tourist, and will stay three times as long.” Mr. Rosen may need a year or more to spread the word on the mainland, but the committee is confident with their game plan that they will create this result.

This year’s committee has a total budget of almost $1.1 million. They are hoping to get $600,000 from the government, and they will raise the additional $500,000 from business sponsorships.
Again, Carnival opens April 6^th with the Prince and Princess Selection Show at 5PM at Lionel Roberts Stadium, and concludes when Carnival Village closes with a “Last Lap” from midnight to 2AM April 27^th. I hope to see you all there…