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Atoll Tale
Laura Walbert
08/02/2004
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A title search is much more than a
cursory procedure with island properties—especially those under foreign flags.
In the Bahamas, Christie explains, there must be evidence of clean and clear
title for the past 30 years for an island to be sold. “If someone was sloppy 20
years ago,” he warns, “you could have a problem.” Generally, however, the title
challenges for islands that we buy from other private owners prove less vexing.
A process called the “Quieting of Titles,” which involves contacting all
possible owners and advertising that the property is on the market, can resolve
some of the issues. This may take as long as a year.
In 1995, Brian and
Jennifer Hew began developing 96-acre Kamalame Cay, now an exclusive private
resort island in the Bahamas. Hew, who previously owned a horticultural business
in Florida, knew he wanted an island that felt remote, but had easy access for
guests and supplies. The Bahamian government did not make the process easy. “The
island belonged to the government, and we had to show them we were serious,” Hew
recalls. He ended up leasing the island with an option to buy while building the
resort; eight years later he was allowed to purchase the island outright. Now
the luxury resort boasts 25 700-square-foot guest rooms.
Whether we want to
create our own utopia, like Dean Kamen, or develop the island, the costs and
complexity of improving our investment are considerable. Wark says building on a
Canadian island costs about 125 percent the cost of building on the mainland.
The premium is even higher in the Caribbean; Dillard estimates it at 150
percent. “Clients will look at an undeveloped island and realize they must clear
and fill, or maybe dredge a lagoon to create a beach and deep-water access,”
Horsman says. “Then they realize it’s too much trouble, so they start looking at
developed properties. But others love the project.”
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