Pros and Cons of Investment Property in Belize

Summary: Looking at the pros and cons of investing in property in Belize for those seeking a new market for exploration

British, Irish and European property investors looking beyond boring Bulgaria, rundown Romania and turbulent Turkey for an emerging market opportunity where there is actually less risk, more substance and decent long term fundamentals for property price appreciation are now considering Belize.  (North American investors reading this may well be sniggering to themselves and saying ‘whatever next, let me guess, they’ll discover real estate in Mexico!’)

Yes, yes, yes, we’ve been slow on the uptake - US and Canadian buyers and baby boomers have been hotly tipping Belize as a great investment location for years - but then they can actually get to Belize easily…so in this article we look at the pros and cons of investment property in Belize for British, Irish and European investors based on North American investors’ experiences!

On the plus side Belize is stunningly beautiful and its tourism industry is thriving and growing.  Additionally, as stated it’s firmly in the sights of North American baby boomers who, just about now, are beginning to retire abroad to locations like Belize with its fantastic climate and excellent quality and low cost of living.

There are opportunities for investors to buy anything from a rundown wreck and transform it into a backpacking lodge on the Maya trail, to buy sophisticated condos ripe for rental to Americans in Placencia, to develop beachside homes to sell to retirees or to buy properties off plan and flip upon completion to other investors, holiday home hunters or those in search of their place in the sun.

On the negative side – Belize is particularly tricky for Brits, Irish and many Europeans to get to – you have to fly to mainland North America and then hop on down and maybe even get an internal flight in Belize as well depending on where you land and where you’re headed.  Mind you, if you’re buying to let this might not concern you if you get a decent management and rental company on the ground – of which there are many thanks to the fact the North Americans are already in this market, investing and demanding certain levels of service – thank you very much guys. 

Belize gets hurricanes and tropical storms, not only does this put the tourism element off for part of the year it can mean you need pretty expensive insurance and face an annual renovation bill as well.

If you don’t have the money in your back pocket to buy, or you prefer to utilise the power of other people’s money then you’ll be pleased to know you can get mortgages to buy investment property in Belize – the only thing is you can only get about 60% LTV at a rate of interest no lower than 8%...but there again, properties are for sale in US dollars and the pound and euro are riding everso high against the currency at the moment so us non Americans can of course bag ourselves a bargain!

So, let’s go shopping for a property in Belize – what are you waiting for?  A direct flight?!

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