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Atoll Tale
Laura Walbert
08/02/2004
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 | | SECURITY IS a big issue when you are there. It is an even bigger issue
when you are not. |
Indeed, a credible island real estate agent will
usually respond to purchase inquiries by first emphasizing the challenges island
ownership entails. “I actually try to almost discourage people,” says E. Ted
Horsman, owner of RE/MAX in central Belize and Santa Rosa, Calif. “I ask them a
lot of questions. I ask them if they know the cost to deliver a $2 jug of milk
to the island.” Would-be islanders do need to carefully consider these types of
basic questions. In the end, pragmatism usually wins over romance: the
conversion ratio of inquiries to actual purchases is less than 50 percent,
according to Dillard and Horsman. Wally Gudgell, owner of Gudgell Properties in
East Sound, Wash., who has sold island properties for 30 years, says the
conversion ratio of inquiries to purchases is even lower, perhaps only 25 to
1.
Still, real estate agents say unhappy island owners are relatively rare.
Many islands stay in a family for generations. As much as any factor, Dillard
notes, boredom leads to turnover. “Like owning a yacht, owning a private island
is an experience that you want to have if you can afford it,” he explains. “And
after a while, some people tire of it.”
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