When it comes time to sell your Caribbean vacation home, for whatever reason, you want to sell it quick and you want to sell it for as much money as you can.  You may be fortunate and you’re putting your house up for sale in a seller’s market, but even doing the bare minimum of staging can net you a bigger sale.  If you’re selling in a buyer’s market, that means it’s important to stage your house so it stands out as an extra special house.

Tip # 1: Know Who Your Potential Buyers Are!

Staging a house means setting it up to appeal to buyers.  Know who your potential buyers are - young families, retirees, young professionals with no kids, etc.  This is the first step.  You can’t set up your house to appeal to everyone, so know who will be looking at your house and gear your staging for them.  If you don’t know, look to you and your neighbors’ lifestyles.  Are you a 20 something professional and your vacation home is an urban condo near a bike path?  Or is your neighborhood filled with gated-community Caribbean homes, families with young children and playgrounds?  These are big clues.  If you’re still unsure, ask a real estate agent for their input.

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One question I have when I watch my favorite home show on TV is “Why wait until you’re going to sell to increase the value of your home?”  Why not improve it and make it pleasing to you while you’re still living there?  Upgrading your home makes you feel good about living there.  Plus, it’s a lot less expensive to make small changes to your existing home than to buy a new one.

1.   Evaluate & Assess What Needs To Be Done

Before you can decide what to tackle first, you must take a walk around the inside and outside of your home and look at it with fresh eyes.  Take in details and think about the little things you can change that won’t take a ton of work or money, but can have an impact.

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If you really want the best deals in investment properties in the Caribbean, you have to increase your odds by finding more deals.  Here  are 8 easy ways to do just that.

1. Talk. Let people know you are looking and sometimes the properties will come to you. There are a lot of owners out there who want to sell, but haven’t yet listed their property.

2. Use the internet. Go to a search engine and enter the type of real estate you are looking for, along with the city you want to invest in. You never know what you might find.

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You may be surprised to know that there are many ways to buy a home, even if you have little or no money to put down.  Take a look at the 4 possibilities below and see which one may work for you:

1. Invest In Sweat Equity

Sweat Equity is a way to get a home by trading work for equity in the house. This could be used for a down payment or for purchase later.  This is a great technique if you are handy with tools, yard-work, and paint.

Look for fixer-uppers in neighborhoods you are interested in. Many times these homes will have a hard time selling and the owner is ready for just about any offer. You will find these houses ranging from just needing a little “cosmetic” work like landscaping or painting, to totally trashed out houses in need of some serious renovation. If you are into repairs, this is a great way to get a home for a good deal.

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Good News for anyone who wants to buy a Caribbean home.  If you are worried  that your budget cannot handle soaring real estate prices, then read on. There are things you can do to stretch your buying power. With the help of your   real estate agent – and these 4 tips – you can become a savvy Caribbean home buyer without breaking your budget.

1. Make sure to get pre-approved for your home loan. This means, fill out a loan application and go through the process of securing financing. That way, when you’re ready to seriously evaluate   real estate, you’ll know exactly how much home you can afford. And you can prove to a seller that your offer is sincere.  There are many local Caribbean lenders that offer attractive financing options to local and non-local buyers.

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If you have been to Curacao, then you know that this is really the last unspoiled treasure in the southern Caribbean.  Anyone who has ever been to Curacao will agree that it is a great island. But  Curacao has become known as a great place to relocate to for a variety of reasons.

Not only was  Curacao listed as the best place among the Caribbean islands as a vacation destination, but according to the Dow Jones Index Curacao is also the best place in the Caribbean to buy a vacation home.  Curacao is also home to some of the most  beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. Here are a few other reasons why Curacao is a good choice for relocation.

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Step #1 - Set your plan: Figure out what your long term real estate goals are (aka retirement and wealth building) and figure out what your short term needs are with regard to making money in real estate. Then, set up the proper entities and put the plan in place.  

Step #2 - Determine what your target market will be: You cannot be all things to all real estate markets. If foreclosures appeal to you, start investing in the foreclosure market. If you want to be a landlord, look to out of state owners to focus your real estate marketing efforts.

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When it comes to deciding where to buy land for sale, Curacao probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. However, there are a number of reasons why you should buy land in what  some people are calling “the Dubai of the Caribbean”.   Here are seven:

1.    The property is still undervalued.  Many agree that the pricing of land for sale in Curacao  is about two decades behind other comparable parts of the Caribbean such as Aruba, Barbados, and St. Maarten. In other words, you can get much more land for your money.

2.    The property taxes are low.

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If you are going to spend money advertising your vacation rental property on vacation rental websites, you want to make sure it is a success. Here are 5 things you can do to  ensure you receive the most “bang for the buck”.

1.    Be Realistic When Setting Rental Rates.  If you want your vacation property to rent, you must be realistic and optimistic, but not greedy! Set realistic rental rates for your property and ensure that the rates are correct on the site(s) where you advertise. You can easily research comparable properties in the same location as yours in order to get a good idea of the rental rate you should charge. Only charge a premium if your property has some distinct features. And, be willing to discount your property on occasion as needed. In this business, if you lose money for a week long rental, you can’t make that up!

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