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Mangroves and Parrotfish!

We have two small dogs that I take for walks twice a day.  There are a few different routes we go.  I try to vary it so as to give our two pets variation every day.  We always walk past the end of the airstrip on the eastern side.  The waters are dotted with tiny mangrove shoots coming up out of PVC pipes inserted into the water.  These were planted by the mangrove restoration society and shows why mangroves are so important to this and other islands.  They are one of the few plants that can grow in both salt water and fresh! 

Sometimes we follow the shore a little bit past the first tiny wooden house on stilts and with wooden shutters.  A few feet beyond that is a large open sandy area with a dock in the middle of it.  The area is seawalled and just off to the right about thirty feet from the shore is a cluster of mangroves. I’ve been watching this patch of shore just behind the mangroves for a few months and it’s been an education in how these islands came to be and how they will continue to grow and thrive!

On the shore opposite the mangroves are a cluster of trees.  For a while the sargassum would pile up on the shore just below the branches of the trees.  But over the months, the shore has gradually extended outwards towards the mangroves forming a tongue of land that looks to be reaching for their seabound cousins.  The shore looks to be reaching 10-15’ out into the waters now. 

It seems that because of the protective action of the mangroves in the water, sand that is carried on the currents to the shore has a better chance of staying an accumulating because they are not being pounded by waves constantly.

And, in addition, we can also thank our parrotfish population!

Why?

Parrotfish, besides being beautiful, are coral reef dwellers and eat algae off of the coral.  They then excrete the inedible broken-down rock in the form of fine white sand.  Parrotfish also feed on sea sponges and help keep the sponge population down which, unchecked, would overwhelm the coral reefs.

There’s an element of wisdom in making sure that the water adjacent properties do not go all the way down to the shoreline.  The area between your property line and the ocean is Crown’s Land and as it recedes or grows, it doesn’t affect your property lines or value.

There is a reality that with mangrove islands like ours, they shrink and grow depending on what we as humans do.  One of the things that made Hurricane Katrina so devastating for New Orleans is that the wetlands surrounding the city had been removed.  All the water and wind that would have been abated there was not.  In the same way, we may get rain and winds here but they’re blunted and absorbed by the mangroves and other flora here.

Home, condo or parcel?

So you've discovered this little jewel of an island called Caye Caulker and you're thinking about moving here and staying. What are your options?

The first option is simply a long term rental. This is what a number of people opt to do renting someplace for 5-6 months and then returning home for the summer. The challenge the first time is that there is no Craigslist to view available rentals. There are some rentals on various Caye Caulker FaceBook groups, some on VRBO and some on AirBnB but the vast majority are through word of mouth. Also many of the short term rentals will do a long term lease of 5-6 months. You just have to ask! As they say, you don't get anything unless you ask.

But if you don't want to rent, what are your options?

Like most of the rest of the world, you have one of three options. One option is buying a condo. As with condos worldwide you'll be sharing either a wall, floor or ceiling with someone else. Now the advantage of buying a condo is that it's already built and will probably have some sort of property management in place. You can let the manager know when you're coming and let them rent it out the rest of the time. Or they can keep an eye on your unit if you choose not to rent it out when you're not there. The disadvantage on Caye Caulker is that there is a very limited amount of condos available here so you'll probably end up paying more here than say, San Pedro or Placencia.

One of the differences between owning a home and condo in Belize, just like in the states, is that with a home/parcel you get a land certificate (deed) to prove owership. With a condo you get a strata title which shows your ownership. Also with a condo you will normally have an HOA fee payable to the condominium association for maintenance, insurance, repairs and insurance on everything outside of your unit. And, of course, there the usual CC&R's (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) dictating how the exterior of you unit can look and what you can and can't do.

As a side note, even though we have a small condo stock on the island, we have one set of condos that has no HOA and another where you don't get a strata title since you're not buying a unit, but instead buying into the shares of the corporation that owns the entire building. What this means in practice is that since you're not getting a strata title, you don't have to pay the government Stamp Tax (transfer tax in the states) of 8% for non Belizeans (5% for Belizeans). As a further side note, a Belize 250 company (LLC) allows you to buy the property as a Belizean. It's easy and quick to set up. If you need more information on that please let me know.

The second option is buying a home on the island. Depending on the home's location, size and amenities, you'll end up paying more or less for the home. For instance, a home on the eastern shore will usually cost double what a comparable home in Bahia would. (Bahia is the area just north and west of the airport where a majority of the locals live.) As with all real estate world wide it comes down to location, location, location!

But there are lots of reasons why someone might opt for a house instead of a condo. It could be space and the size of the house; privacy; the ability to add or subtract from both the interior and exterior; adding rental structures to increase your cash flow; adding a pool because, why not? and so on. But the entire cost of maintenance, insurance, repair fund, replacements and so on all fall on you. One good thing about owning property here though is that property taxes are extremely low.

And there is one other thing to consider when buying a home or parcel here on Caye Caulker-do you want to be on grid or off grid?

Caye Caulker is actually two island separated by The Split. The area north of Blu Zen on the north island and south of the airstrip are off grid, meaning that the home owner is responsible for their own power and water generation. Most homes here that are off grid opt for solar power systems and rain catchment or a well or both. With all of our breezes it would seem that this would be the perfect place for wind turbines but the relative cost for solar versus wind tilts the equation in favor of solar.

But some people actually prefer being off grid. Something to consider when trying to decide is whether you want to deal with installing/maintaining a solar power and rain catchment system or not. To put it another way, are you a plug and play or do you like tinkering?

Which leads us to the final option; buying a parcel and building your dream home and/or resort.

As with homes, the price of your parcel will depend on its location. The vast majority of empty parcels are on the north island and their price will depend on whether its beach front or interior and whether it's on grid or off. Beach front parcels will generally be two to three times or more the cost of an interior parcel. The parcels on the south island, where most of the shops, bars and restaurants are, are mostly south of the air strip and thus off grid. Those parcels that are in or close to the village and on grid will again be more expensive.

Another thing to consider when buying a parcel is how much work will it require before you can begin building. Is the parcel considered a "high parcel" or subject to flooding because of rain or tide?

One of the things to remember is that Caye Caulker is a mangrove island. That means that the island exists because some mangroves took root in shallow ocean waters. Over time the roots trapped sand, shells and other debris and slowly grew and grew with different types of mangroves, coconuts growing and dying and contributing to the biomass of the island. And the mangroves still perform the function of keeping and protecting the mass of the island.

Consequently if you buy a beach front parcel that is filled with mangroves and you want a beach you'll have to get a beautification permit as well as an environmental permit to remove the mangroves. Once you removes the mangroves you have to do what Caye Chapel did, encircle three-quarters of the island with sea walls!

Even if you don't want to remove all the mangroves, you still have to ask whether your property will need fill, retaining walls and so on. How much work will it require to build? If the parcel is high, all that may be required is for the land to be cleared and leveled. Just remember, the more work means more permits which means more money.

One other thing to remember is that we are an ex-British colony and as such, the rules and laws and modeled on British common law. One of the things that we inherited is the concept of Queensland. There are no restriction for foreigners to buy and own land if it's for sale unlike some other parts of Central America. Once they own it they can sell it, leave it to one of their children, donate it to a charity and so on. But if you buy a beach front parcel your property does not extend to the water. There is a strip between the edge of you property to the water that is called Queensland and is for all people. That doesn't mean somebody else can come along and clear or build here. You, the property owner in front of the ocean, is the only one allowed to make changes, add a structure, build a dock, clear the mangroves and so on, but only with permission. Depending on what you're trying to do, sometimes it will be permission from the Government of Belize and sometimes from the Village Council and sometimes both.

But if you've bought beach front property, this is what you've come for-beautiful sunrises/sunsets over the placid blue waters; sitting drinking your ice cold rum punch under your palapa at the end of your dock watching the pelicans dive for their dinner. The great thing here is that ther are a number of locals whose sole job and mission is to help you navigate the bureaucracy and help you get the permits to achieve your dream. Like everywhere though, there are competent and honest people and ones less so. Do your homework, talk to others of their experiences with that person and interview before handing over the first dollar. Never pay for a whole job but instead with the completion of different steps and if you're not available to oversee, find someone that you trust who will act as your proxy. Be sensible, be smart and build your dream home!

Easter and the Electrical Grid - 2023

There is the old saying that "April showers bring May flowers", but if that were true, we on Caye Caulker would be flowerless! We've had one day of rain so far this month, but all the spring flowers are in bloom! Luckily, our water table is only 2-3' below the surface and that's what really feeds our plants.

Easter is the high point of our high season and now we've settled into the slow and steady stream of backpackers and tourists coming to taste Belize and Caye Caulker for the spring and summer. Gone are the snowbirds back home for the summer before returning at the start of next winter.

Work is proceeding, albeit slowly (it wouldn't be Caye Caulker if it weren't!), on switching the island on to the Mexican grid. For those of you that I've talked to about this, feel free to skip ahead. For those who I haven't explained this to or would like a refresher, stay.

Currently all of our electricity is supplied by the giant diesel generators on the lee side of the island. That makes our electricity dirty and expensive, since the cost of fuels has gone up. Dirty also in that generator electricity is notoriously hard on modern electronics (memory chips and so forth). When we first moved here four years ago before I understood this, I had to have my laptop repaired within months of being here. Now all of our electronics are plugged into voltage regulator boxes in order to ensure maximum life span.

So, before the pandemic, it was decided that we should go on the Mexican grid like San Pedro. The plan is to run a cable to San Pedro and then to the tip of North Caye Caulker. The owner of the marina development at the tip of the north island has agreed to allow Belize Electric to put a substation at the corner of his property and BEL has run power poles up to that point.

From there the electricity will come south, cross the split and then go all the way to the southern end of the south island. But it doesn't stop there. After running the power lines through Eden Isle and South Point, the cables will be extended to the new Four Seasons private island resort on Caye Chapel. One of my compatriots said that those areas would have power in a few months, but I say that maybe by the end of the year. Either way, power is coming to all the off-grid areas south of the airstrip.

I think this will most affect the parcels in Eden Isle since newcomers will not have to install their own power systems to live back there. At this point they will need rain catchment, but that is not nearly the cost that a solar power system is. There are only third and fourth row parcels in Eden Isle still available and those are, currently, still some of the best financial deals for parcels on the island. However I wouldn't be surprised to see the prices go up once power is actually available down here. Currently lots are priced from $50k-$70k USD.

financing your property purchase

Happy George Price DAy!

Okay, who is George Price and why are we celebrating him?

George Price Day is officially the 15th of January and since that fell on a Sunday this year, today is the holiday. But that still doesn't answer the question of who is George Price and why are we celebrating him here in Belize?

George Price was born in 1919 in, what was then known as, British Honduras. He served as the head of government here twice, both before independence in 1981 and after Belize achieved independence. George Price is considered one of the principal architects of the current Belize and is also known as the "Father of the Nation". Today is the day to celebrate the man who helped make Belize free and independent! Here's to George Price!

Happy Garifuna Settlement DAy!  November 19th!

This Saturday was Garifuna Settlement Day here in Belize and will be celebrated today with banks and businesses closed. But the main thing about this holiday are the drums. Today is a day dedicated to the musical, culinary and cultural contributions of this proud people to the melting pot that is Belize.

The Garifuna are the descendants of African slaves who intermarried with the Arawak and Carib peoples of St. Vincent. After rebelling against the British, the Garifuna people eventually made their way to Belize where they settled. The center of the Garifuna culture here is around Hopkins, Seine Beight or Dangriga. If you were there today, you would be entranced by the canoes coming to shore reenacting their arrival and drums tapping out intricate rhythms of joy and laughter!

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