Monday, February 23, 2015
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE US Embassy is urging its citizens to be extremely careful when buying or selling real estate in The Bahamas, noting that there have been instances where American citizens have lost their entire life savings.
The warning, which was posted on the embassy’s official website on Friday, read: “A significant number of US citizens who have purchased or sold real estate in the Bahamas have reported tremendous difficulties in the process.”
Nonetheless, State Minister for Investments Khaalis Rolle said yesterday that the message is not a cause for concern, adding that Bahamians should also heed the warning.
Such warnings, Mr Rolle said, will not impact the real estate market in the country. “There is a huge appetite for real estate in The Bahamas by Europeans, Americans and Canadians,” he said. “If you look throughout the islands, we’ve had tremendous success with various developments. You have very influential individuals who are looking to purchase property in The Bahamas so the advisory is not a cause for any general concern but a call to be vigilant for something that could potentially happen, not only to Americans but Bahamians.”
The US Embassy statement on real estate in The Bahamas said: “It is important that US citizens work with a trusted attorney to make sure there is clear title to their property or proof that the sale was properly recorded or documented with the Real Property Tax Department. There are at least five law firms/real estate practices that offer title insurance, so please look into the availability of title insurance at the time of the purchase.
“Be wary of any firm/practice that tells you that title insurance is not available or that it is not needed in The Bahamas. Even with title insurance, US citizens still encounter large issues. US citizens have reported losing large sums of money after “purchasing” property in The Bahamas, only to discover that the seller did not have clear and/or indisputable ownership of the property.
“Court proceedings related to rightful ownership can be costly and time consuming. There are civil disputes regarding fraudulent real estate deals that have gone for many years. When selling a property, similar issues arise. If a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. Prospective purchasers are advised to check the veracity and status of the prospective seller’s ownership with a trusted attorney and/or title agency.
“A prospective purchaser may request that the Registrar General’s Office for Deeds and Documents verify the name under which a deed is registered. A prospective purchaser or seller may contact the Business Licence/Valuation Unit to check for any discrepancies in ownership of property, assessment for taxes and when taxes were last paid. For additional information to ensure the proper handling of title deeds, refer to this website.”
Comments
solejordan says...
Bahamians have been getting ripped off from their fellow men, nothing new there
Also how can u say(Mr. Rolle) there is no is no cause for concern but on the other hand take heed the warning? You guys will wake up and really try to fix all these problems when it's really to late i swear
Posted 23 February 2015, 2:22 p.m. Suggest removal
DEDDIE says...
A proper land registry that can be access over the internet will go a long way to alleviate the problem. It would not stop it all together because court cases involving property would not show up but it will help.
Posted 23 February 2015, 3:12 p.m. Suggest removal
Economist says...
You are correct, we need a proper land registry. To do that we need to pass the Land Bills that were on the Government website. The drafts have been there for 5 years. There is a group of lazy lawyers who are blocking it.
If we had a Land Registry you could go to the bank and get a loan much faster, and you would not need a lawyer to buy a lot in a subdivision. These lawyer are just pencil pushers, they are not real lawyers, and they are holding us, and the Bahamian economy, back.
Posted 23 February 2015, 3:35 p.m. Suggest removal
IslandTransPlant says...
Why is the government allowing something like this to go on in the country and the lawyers are a bunch of scumbags, just taking advantage of the situation the law in this country is so laughable no wander why we can't get ahead for a country being so close to the US you need to try and adopt some of the laws how could you not have a land registrar's office to record the sale of property that was sold, that is so 18th century.
Posted 23 February 2015, 4:26 p.m. Suggest removal
EnoughIsEnough says...
you forget that most of our ministers are/were lawyers. it is not in their interest to regulate this at all. the bulk of attorney's fees come from conveyance and they justify their percentage fee (as opposed to flat fees in many other countries) by saying they need to pay for title insurance. many countries don't require a lawyer to be as involved as we do - in the US the realtors handle most of the closings/paperwork etc. as long as the bahamian people continue to vote in lawyers to government nothing will change - the corruption and ineffectiveness means more butter on their bread.
Posted 23 February 2015, 5:08 p.m. Suggest removal
Observer says...
IslandTransplant is misinformed and ignorant with regard to land registration in the Bahamas. Any professional who is worth anything can guide land purchasers/sellers with the registration process. But, because fees are required for this service, some purchasers/sellers prefer the do-it-yourself route and they neglect to perform due diligence. Buyer beware is always relevant.
Posted 23 February 2015, 5:17 p.m. Suggest removal
Economist says...
You are talking about registering title as we are doing today, which is a very antiquated system.
A Land Registry would have a record of each individual piece of land, say Lot 3, Block 6 of the XXX Subdivision. All mortgages, charges, conveyances relating to that particular piece of land from the first conveyance of it, would be recorded under that one piece.
That way anyone could go to the Land Registry, look up Lot 3, Block 6 of the XXX Subdivision and the whole history would be right there. No need for a lawyer to do a title search.
Posted 23 February 2015, 6:03 p.m. Suggest removal
TheMadHatter says...
Something tells me that the XXX subdivision is going to be amazingly popular :-)
Posted 23 February 2015, 8:28 p.m. Suggest removal
Economist says...
That is what the proposed laws (now 5 years in the waiting) would create. It would be introduced in the subdivisions first because they already have a root of title.
Finally, the man in the street would benefit.
Posted 24 February 2015, 12:14 p.m. Suggest removal
ted4bz says...
It's a buddie buddie ring thats how we operate and get away. It's about who is who and who knows who. If you get that right you can do anything you like and get away with anything and nothing happens. What a country.
Posted 24 February 2015, 10:28 a.m. Suggest removal
cdenise1021 says...
It is very difficult for non-domicile citizens that have property left to them by ancestors to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. The proper channels are not followed when contacting the rightful owners if they live abroad. The filing system is antiquate. Pages from files are missing and have been taken out of files to keep those documents from being received and viewed. If the right amount of money is produced you can get anything done! So where does that leave the person that has limited monetary resources when it comes to retrieving what is rightful theirs. A land registry would be beneficial for those land owners that live in other countries so they can keep track of what rightfully belong to them. It would also minimize the constant removal of important documents from cases and "Cause files".
Posted 28 February 2015, 12:08 p.m. Suggest removal
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