AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life Living in Belize reef village condo purchase

Recently bought a 2/2 condo in reef village . I'm
from tampa ,fl. & I hope to make my first trip to
ambergris caye in august . I feel the price is the best on the island . I'm a real estate broker/
investor & condo/hotels on the beach near Tampa
are selling for 300K - 900K . Can anyone share their info. /thoughts on Reef Village ? Thanks
from the "REAL DEAL" in FLORIDA !!!

What's the completion date suppose to be? Haven't see ANY movement yet.

Are you saying you purchased a condo down here and have never even been in the country????? LOL, really????

2nd building is well on it's way up, stucco work is progressing on the 1st.

Thanks for the update SimonB !! I have been told
by the builder/developer bld.A facing the sea should be complete sometime in August . they will
be similar to the villas at banyan bay ,in fact
nicer I've been told !! They say Rome was not built in one day & we have no HOME DEPOT on the corner so, I feel the construction is going well !

Now , to answer govikes question . Yes ,I purchased this condo site unseen !! I did my homework on the internet ,I spoke to other investors in Tampa,Fla. who have purchased down there & stayed there & said it was Paradise !
I'm a real estate broker & full time Investor .I
was too busy to go down there at the time so I
made a calculated decision & went for it !!!
In Real Estate , you snooze, you lose !!
NOTHING VENTURED , NOTHING GAINED !!!!
There are 3 types of people in this world :
1. Those who Make Things Happen !
2. Those who watch things happen !
3. Those who wonder what the hell did happen !

I live 'across the flats' from Reef Village. Those of us who live here have watched the construction very curiously. I suggest you come down and see for yourself.
Our main concern is the dredging that has been done illegally. The lagoon is a precious special place that used to be full of wading birds. Since the dredging started the birds have left.
A notice was posted in Ambergris Today (weekly newspaper) that the Department of Environment plan could be viewed at the planning department.
The head of the DOE came out and said no such notice had been filed, no request for environmental impact had been filed and no permit for dredging has been requested. He shut down the dredging operation on Thursday.
There are not supposed to be any vehicles north of the cut larger than golf carts. ATV's have found that they could cross on the pull ferry and BTL has been taking large vehicles across.
There is a barge landing on the sea side of 'Bob's Flats' where MASH brings in the building material. Starting with Chris Barenfanger, who built the Villas @ Del Rio (where I live) MASH has been putting dump trucks and Bob Cats on the barges with the building materials and delivering them to the construction sites.
This used to be done by wheel barrel. The first project was justified as the trucks never went on the road.
When Reef Village started using these vehicles they crossed the flats and went up the road. In no time the road was totally torn up and when the rains came it became a lake. Bicycles and golf carts started cutting through our property as a means of avoiding the road. Last week I went up and talked to the supervisor. Within a few days they started adding sand and gravel to the mud holes. It isn't perfect but it is better.
The joke about the bridge is that it is a bridge to nowhere! Ask any government official and they will tell you 'there is no road up north.' Those of us who live there have to maintain it ourselves. We dread what we know is coming!

I've heard of Snooze you lose, but usually investors look for themselves or have an appraiser look for them. Hope it turns out for you. My concern here is that those on the board would think that if they did not buy today they will lose out. Belize is not Florida.

Hello indygal,
You're right , most investors should look for themselves ,however , I was also very fortunate to know some fellow investors in Tampa who had been down there several times , loved it , & invested down there !! I have a high regard for their judgement !! Let me re-phrase the "Snooze
you lose", If you dont buy today , there will still be many opportunities in the years to come tobuy in belize as long as the gov. allows it !
But the price might be a little higher. I plan to rent mine & visit as much as possible. Its the investors that plan to flip properties to dbl.&
triple their $$ that we should worry about !

Hello Scubaldy ,
Thanks for your input ! I heard from the builder/developer that some dredging would be
required in the lagoon . I'm sure he will get the
right pemits & do it the right way ! He's a nice man from my many talks with him & I feel his intentions are not to harm the environment .
There appears to be alot of construction going on
in the entire island & unfortunately construction ismessy & loud ! Maybe the noise drove some birds away?? Anyway, when its all done,it should look
nice! I'm sure the gov. will limit any over-development ? Any thoughts ??

Here's a question for the board ??
Many of you have either lived in AC for years and/or invested there many years ago & visit
whenever you can ! How do you feel about the rapid growth on the island & rising real estate prices?
I'm sure many of you feel the "newcomers" will spoil the island & overcrowd it?? Maybe..Maybe Not! I'm sure the same thoughts were made of you 5,10,20 yrs. ago when you first came down to invest .Just as you bought your slice of Paradise years ago ,Many of us have those same dreams today! Only it will cost us more! Hopefully development will be limited & monitored to protect its natural resources & ensure the beauty of this country for all to enjoy in the years ahead !!!!!!!!