Category: Property Tours

Old Town Key West is one of the hottest vacation spots in the world. It is also convenient to Fort Myers Beach with a ride on the Key West
Express. So, I decided to explore the possibility of owning a vacation rental.

Vacation rental property in Old Town is very controlled and limited.
The rental licenses are limited and nearly impossible to acquire. I worked with a local real estate agent looking for a property I could rent out for a week or less. The list was whittled down property by property. Some had too many restrictions, while others had never been a rental and did not possess a rental license.

The only property development that offered anything close to the type of rental I was looking for and was walking distance to all Of Old Town, is the Truman Annex. More specifically, the Shipyards Condo complex. It is located south of Southard St. and west of Thomas St.

We toured a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo, on the second floor. The unit had been recently remodeled and would make a great vacation rental.

The property was not ideal in that it overlooked the parking lot. It does have a balcony, and two full bathrooms is rare in this complex.

We evaluated the numbers; cost, taxes and monthly fees in relation to neighboring rental incomes. We did not love it enough to jump. Ultimately, we decided to keep an eye on the complex, and shop a little farther out next time. How far away from Old Town do we need to get, to have more rental freedom?

Vacation rental condo shopping

A year after the big hurricanes of 2017 and Sint Maartin is back in business.  Sint Maartin is the Dutch side of the island, and post hurricane, the vast deference between the the Dutch and French sides has grown very apparent.

The last major hurricane to hit the island was about 22 years ago. The Dutch side of the island decided to use the damage as an opportunity to upgrade. They chose to invest and upgrade the electric supply by burying the electric lines.  Because of this, there was electric back on the Dutch side within the week. The entire island is still in a state of repair and clean up, but much more of the Dutch side is open for business than the French side.

Talked to several residents who were on island for the most recent hurricane, and a few who were there for the previous. They are very proud of the the Dutch government for supporting and choosing to invest in the future of the island. They have various opinions and rumors as to why and what has caused the stall in recovery on the French side, but what became crystal clear, is that if I want to run a business on St. Maartin, my only choice is the Dutch side.

Purchasing Property

As for purchasing property on the island, there is a lot of information on the web about the differences between the Dutch and French sides. In general, the Dutch side is more attractive with approx. 6% transfer tax, no land tax, and no capitol gains tax. Financing must come from a local ST Maartin bank. A 35%-50% down payment will be required (Some of this may come from a USA loan, and will be factored in your loan application). Working with a good local realtor and bank is a must!

Went on a wonderful property tour with a fantastic Realtor from the Island Real Estate Team. The island does not have a common MLS, but a good Realtor will know what is available and where. All of the properties we visited had no damage from the Hurricane.

Condo at Oyster Bay

This is a two bedroom, two bathroom condo located within the Oyster Bay Beach Resort, with views of Captain Olivier Marina. The condo looks out over the marina at the French side of Oyster Pond. Pre-Hurricane Irma, the ferry from St. Martin to Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts) departed from this Marina. One year later, there is still much clean up and repair needed. The ferry will run again someday.

The Real Estate listing for the “Spinnaker Condo”.

There is an infinity pool, shared by the Spinnaker units that is also overlooking the marina. There is a patio and outdoor grill as well. The owner of the condo and their guests also enjoy full access to all the amenities of the Oyster Bay Beach Resort.

This quaint property is very attractive. I would love to sit on the balcony and watch all the boats come and go from the marina with the picturesque French architecture on the hillside beyond. There is potential of increased property value as Oyster Bay Resort makes their improvements and opens their property. The marina was not operational during our visit, but Oyster bay will repair it’s portion, opening up the opportunity to purchase a boat slip to compliment the condo.

Oyster Bay Resort had very nice reviews pre-hurricane, and includes hotel and time share units. There was a lot of repairs and construction underway while we visited the property. The 2019 season reviews will say a lot about their progress.

Indigo Bay Villa

Indigo Bay is a planned development in its early stage of build out. We toured a new construction two bedroom and a three bedroom villa that are located next door to each other.  The architecture is very clean, modern European, and incorporating amenities to withstand the next Hurricane.  In addition to the build quality of the villa, the Ocean vista views are lovely.

Indigo Bay is under construction. The planned development will incorporate various levels of residential, commercial, and retail properties. As a long term investment, there is wonderful potential, but currently, there is not enough built to be there without a car. Click this link for further information about investment opportunities at the Indigo Bay development, and they also have a nice summery of reasons to purchase in Sint Maartin.

Coral Shores Town Home

The three bedroom townhouse has an oversize, ocean front terrace with waves lapping at the coral shore just below. Coral Shores is in the Pelican Key Community with lush landscaping, a community pool, sun deck, and ocean access. The location is close to shops, restaurants, casinos, and night life. The town home has been completely renovated with vacation rental in mind. The improvements and amenities are clean and modern. The property is turn key and ready for vacation renters.

Sapphire Beach Club, Beachfront Villa

Sapphire Beach Club is a property that includes condos, hotel, timeshare and villas. At the time of our visit to the Villa, the Sapphire Beach Club was not open, but repairs were under way. At this time, I am unable to find a dedicated web site for the property and their Facebook page has not been updated in many months. My local contact says that a section of the hotel is supposed to reopen in December 2018, and the rest of the inventory will be available in different stages over 2019.

The Villa we visited was lovely and did not get damaged during Irma.

The Sapphire Beach Club and Villa is located in the desirable Cupecoy area, close to restaurants, beaches, the golf course, and the French border. There are some very nice new developments under construction in this area as well.

The villas are located below the resort, along the sea shore. There are approx. 14 villas in all.  Access to the small beach is convenient, and each unit has a small plunge pool on the first level balcony. The ocean view is beautiful, and with the architecture walls between unit balconies, the feel is very private.

As part of the Sapphire Beach Club, property owners and guests have full access to the amenities of the property which include a pool, fitness center, business center, etc. The potential for a really good vacation is there, but…traveler reviews of the Sapphire pre-hurricane were less than favorable. It appears that the property was in dire need of updating and repair even then. I will be watching for future updates and reviews.

New Construction at Mullet Bay

Pre-construction pricing of a new high rise development in a very desirable area of the island. Famous Mullet Bay adjacent to the golf course!

Would you like to tour property during your next vacation? Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments!

Why own a vacation rental?

Can I afford to buy a vacation rental?

Where should I own a vacation rental property?

Why would I want to own property outside of the USA?

I have a second home, why should I rent it out?

Thank you!

 540 N State St. Chicago IL, Downtown Dreamer

Unit #4601 at 540 N State St. Chicago IL is also known as the Downtown Dreamer. The building is entirely rental apartments. The apartment complex is allowed to rent a portion of the building as short term.  This unit can not be purchased, but there is a neighboring tower of condo units that are individually owned. They are very similar to the rental apartments.

Both the rental apartment portion and the condo units share the building amenities. Pet Friendly! Rooftop pool and lounge area! Fitness Center! Running Track! etc!

This property is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment. I found and booked this property through VRBO and it is managed by Vacasa. I learned a lesson; my rental bill would have been a bit less if I had booked directly through Vacasa. Vacasa is a big enough management company that I did not need the added fees for added protection from VRBO. (The big vacation rental advertising sites currently keeps approx. 8% of the bill, most owners add that to the total rent.) Moving on…

The views from the 46th floor are spectacular!

I have included links to the Vacasa listing for this property, their pictures are lovely. The apartment rental income generated can help offset HOA fees for the entire property.

I found similar condo properties in the neighboring tower for sale for approx. $500,000. Short term vacation rental is very restricted in Chicago. One Real Estate Agent said that the condo building is one of only 2 high rise buildings in Chicago that allow short term rental. These condos are allowed to rent at no less than 31 days.

VACASA

Working with Vacasa was fine. The VRBO posting said that the unit had two bedrooms and slept six. Booking through VRBO would only allow me to designate 4 people in my party. Vacasa said, “we know there is a glitch, don’t worry about it.” Vacsa required me to print out the contract, sign it, then fax, or scan and email it back to them. I don’t know how they new I put my signature on a screen rather than with pen and paper, but they did, and I had to print paper. As a rental gift, Vacasa provided a shopping bag and wine cork screw. There is a grocery store located next door to the entrance, so the gift was perfect.

Check in was at 4:00, we collected the keys and info from the doorman, and up we went. We like the added security of the doorman. Our ears popped in the elevator every time we went up or down. All the common area and amenities, other than the front lobby, are located on the 9th floor. The elevator conversation included other guests who were also happy with the location, units and amenities.

 540 N State St. Chicago IL

After we got our things into the unit, we went to check out the 9th floor amenities. There were many people enjoying the outdoor common areas, visiting with friends and enjoying an afternoon drink in the lovely weather. Several owners and their dogs are enjoying the dog park.

We spent two nights in the unit. The unit has a balcony with wonderful views, but there is no patio furniture. The view down from the balcony made is a bit dizzy. We were surprised at the volume of city noise that drifted up to us while we were outside.

Downtown Dreamer

One bedroom has a king bed and the second bedroom has a queen bed.  There was enough room in the second bedroom for a king, I would prefer both rooms to have king beds. I think a queen is only comfortable for 2 people who sleep together regularly.  The listing said that it slept 6 and that the third bed was a futon. The futon was actually a foam pad stored in the closet that could be unfolded onto the floor. It is a bit tough for some people to get onto the floor like that, and unfortunately, the foam cushion had stains and did not look very nice.

The property location is  great and this complex has great amenities. The fact that owning a condo in the second building, would allow some rental is very appealing. If you are interested in owning property in down town Chicago, it will be very important to work with a realtor who is familiar with the Chicago zoning laws and rental restrictions as well as the individual property HOA rules.

If you are traveling with family or a group, and prefer the residential type rental rather than a hotel room, this pace is great. We walked from Olgalvie Transportation center, Navy pier, and Millennial park.  We could see the Chicago theater sign from the balcony.  Fabulous restaurants, Macy’s, and gold coast shopping are also close.

Would you like to tour property during your next vacation? Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments!

Why own a vacation rental?

Can I afford to buy a vacation rental?

Where should I own a vacation rental property?

Why would I want to own property outside of the USA?

I have a second home, why should I rent it out?

Thank you!

Condo shopping by the beach

Playa Del Carmen Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Quintana Roo, east coast, with sunrise over the Caribbean.

We were scheduled to go to St. Maarten, but then hurricane Irma did too much damage.  The only cost effective airline reschedule option we had for the Caribbean, was to fly into Cancun.  So, one big upside to this area, is that there are a lot of cost effective flights!

The ride from Cancun airport to Playa Del Carmen is about 90 minutes.  Easy to book the ride ahead of time, or at the airport. We chose to go to Playa Del Carmen rather than stay in Cancun partly because we have stayed in both before, and partly because there are more Condo-Hotel properties in Playa.  

I found some rental availability through a well known vacation rental site, inquired, then booked directly through the owners management company.  We stayed in a two bedroom penthouse condo in Aldea Thai Luxury CondoHotel by Mistik.  The condo units surround a very large and lovely pool area with swim up bar, one of the only ones in Playa, according to them. 

The unit had a rooftop patio and private pool, fabulous! The units seemed a little dated, no dishwasher, no laundry in the unit.  We send laundry out, it came back clean and folded. The Aldea had some resale condos that looked very interesting. 

Playa Del Carmen

We love 5th Avenue; a pedestrian street lined with shops and restaurants.
There is a plethora of restaurants to choose from and interesting shops that go way beyond t-shirts. Saw some ladies getting a fish pedicure, the little fish eat the dead skin off your feet….

We went on a guided walking food tour and learned that Playa Del Carmen is a fairly new city, a growing melting pot of residents from all over the world.  We really enjoyed the wide selection of cuisine! Bonus: Because PDC is a newer city, it is built to handle a hurricane!

Lots of new construction in PDC.  The architecture has gone from the traditional Mexican wood pole, plaster and thatched roof, to a European sleek and modern.  

Oceana Residences

We toured a new construction condo complex Oceana Residences.  The entire complex is not very large, but the location is great with some nice views too.

The location of Aldea and Oceana are wonderful; a block from 5th avenue and a block from the beach. Mamita’s Beach Club is a great place to enjoy the sun, surf, and lunch.  

The Beach!

The beach is beautiful!  Powder sugar sand and great surf.  A lot of local boats moored to the shore.  There were piles of sargassum too, that can get a little stinky.  The snorkeling is wonderful, warm clear water, lots of reef and sea life.  We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Fuego Cantina at the Mahekal Beach Resort. Then moved on to cocktails at Diablito Cha Cha Cha.    

The parks that are located near this area are wonderful.  A great place to bring active kids. So much to do and see!  

The process of Americans purchasing in Mexico has gotten better and easier. Much more common than when I first went to Mexico 20 years ago. Made some Real Estate connections and will continue to consider purchasing here.  

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, September 24 – 30, 2017

Would you like to tour property during your next vacation? Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments!

Why own a vacation rental?

Can I afford to buy a vacation rental?

Where should I own a vacation rental property?

Why would I want to own property outside of the USA?

I have a second home, why should I rent it out?

Thank you!

Grenada is known as “The Spice Island.” Locally grown spices include cinnamon, cloves, ginger, bay leaf, turmeric, nutmeg, and chocolate!

We toured two Luxury resort properties while visiting the island. Both properties are located in a popular tourist area know as Grand Anse.

Silver Sands

The first development we visited was Silver Sands.
This is a view from one of the beach front villas. This beach is absolutely beautiful, and farther to the right is a view of the port. The Silver Sands developers have tried to design the property so that it blends into the natural beauty that surrounds it.

The design and furnishings at Silver Sands is very all cool white stone, straight lines, and modern.

These beach front villas are very expensive but do offer entire or proportional ownership. Silver Sands is also in the process of building the Hillside Villas which will be a bit less expensive. On site management will rent the Villas as part of the Silver Sands Resort while the owners are away. This is a very high-end luxury property on a beautiful beach.

Mount Cinnamon

The next property we visited was Mount Cinnamon Residences. These residences are built on the property of the Mount Cinnamon resort and spa.  USAToday Readers Survey ranked Mount Cinnamon as the #1 resort in the Caribbean in 2018.

Mount Cinnamon sits on the hillside with a short walking path to the beach club which is directly on the white sands of Grand Anse Beach.

The views from the properties are wonderful! On site property management will rent your property as part of the resort when the owners are away.  While owners are on property, they can enjoy all the amenities available at the resort.

The furnishings in Mount Cinnamon varied from eclectic in the older villas to very sleek and modern in the newer units. I enjoyed the bold tropical colors and interesting architecture and furnishings in the older properties.

Granada

Grenada does have a citizen by investment option, but make sure you understand all the taxes and transfer fees first!

While on the tour bus, I saw a sign for a new development in the same Grand Anse area called Kawana Bay. One more property to explore the next time I visit!

We stayed an extra few hours at the Mount Cinnamon beach club to have lunch and enjoy the Grand Anse beach. Grenada was the tour groups favorite island. As we drove through town, noticed the old style architecture and narrow streets. We saw lots of businesses, commerce looked plentiful and interesting. We were told that Grenada is outside the Hurricane belt, witch was a big bonus! A quick check to Wikipedia says that the island had been hit 3 times in the last 50 years, ..so not completely outside 😉

After a beach walk back to the Silver Sands Property, we were able to catch a water taxi back to the ship dock.

I really did like the look and feel of Grenada.  I would really like to spend my next vacation exploring the local culture, properties, and opportunities.

Grenada, January 18, 2018

Would you like to tour property during your next vacation? Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments!

Thank you!

Why own a vacation rental?

Can I afford to buy a vacation rental?

Where should I own a vacation rental property?

Why would I want to own property outside of the USA?

I have a second home, why should I rent it out?