Moving to St Lucia
My wife and I are looking to move to St Lucia, current plans are to buy a small guest house/b and b.
We are looking to the north of the island and Gros Islet currently tops our choice. Its been a few years since I have been to St Lucia and would appreciate peoples thoughts on long term residence (both UK nationals). What is the local tax on top of house purchases? Can I import a container of home goods etc? Thanks for any advice, visiting in November for proper recce. Rgds |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Originally Posted by guscameron
(Post 9538165)
My wife and I are looking to move to St Lucia, current plans are to buy a small guest house/b and b.
|
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Originally Posted by guscameron
(Post 9538165)
My wife and I are looking to move to St Lucia, current plans are to buy a small guest house/b and b.
We are looking to the north of the island and Gros Islet currently tops our choice. Its been a few years since I have been to St Lucia and would appreciate peoples thoughts on long term residence (both UK nationals). What is the local tax on top of house purchases? Can I import a container of home goods etc? Thanks for any advice, visiting in November for proper recce. Rgds However I will say do your research carefully, it is hard to make a living here so I agree with the previous post, the worldwide recession has hit us hard and as the island relies on tourism for most of its income and tourist numbers are significantly down, hotels and guest houses are struggling badly, there are two hotels close to where I live, one has just gone into receivership and the other has 1 room occupied out of 30! So its not good at the moment, however I will say it is currently the low season ( our high season is December until May) so things are quieter anyway. On saying that I know of two guest houses that are for sale and they are very popular with lots of repeat business ( which really is the key), and as they are a small concern run by couples they are doing OK and the owners are making a living, both couples are ex-pats and they are looking to return to their own countries that is the only reason they are selling so you can make a go of it if you do not expect to make a fortune. In regards to your question about the local tax on top of a house purchase it is 2% (stamp duty). The normal procedure is that you put down 10% deposit, this holds the property whilst you apply for an Aliens Land Holding Licence, once this is granted you pay the balance, stamp duty I believe is paid on completion, expect to pay around 3% for solicitors fees. I understand that you can bring in a container of personal items duty free if it is within 6 months of your purchase. Hope this helps, Sarah |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Originally Posted by guscameron
(Post 9538165)
My wife and I are looking to move to St Lucia, current plans are to buy a small guest house/b and b.
We are looking to the north of the island and Gros Islet currently tops our choice. Its been a few years since I have been to St Lucia and would appreciate peoples thoughts on long term residence (both UK nationals). What is the local tax on top of house purchases? Can I import a container of home goods etc? Thanks for any advice, visiting in November for proper recce. Rgds |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Thanks very for all the replies, very interesting reading. We don't intend to make our fortune doing this and are just looking for a better quality of life. We will have additional monthly income so we are looking at it as it the Guesthouse isn't busy it will be all the more room for us.
Just means I will have to play more Golf...hehe (if I can afford the membership at the local club). I am also into sailing so a smally yacht may keep me occupied too. We initially looked at Margarita Island but was always concerned with the level of crime on the island, our mind was made up to look elsewhere after the Brit was killed in a B and B. Are their any issues on St Lucia with Robberies and home invasions etc. (they are common on Margarita). Well thanks once again for the advise...any recommends for a hotel to stay at during our forthcoming visit. Would prefer a larger hotel as this will be our annual holiday too and not just a fact finding mission. Thanks again folks very useful feedback. |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Originally Posted by guscameron
(Post 9541107)
Thanks very for all the replies, very interesting reading. We don't intend to make our fortune doing this and are just looking for a better quality of life. We will have additional monthly income so we are looking at it as it the Guesthouse isn't busy it will be all the more room for us.
Just means I will have to play more Golf...hehe (if I can afford the membership at the local club). I am also into sailing so a smally yacht may keep me occupied too. We initially looked at Margarita Island but was always concerned with the level of crime on the island, our mind was made up to look elsewhere after the Brit was killed in a B and B. Are their any issues on St Lucia with Robberies and home invasions etc. (they are common on Margarita). Well thanks once again for the advise...any recommends for a hotel to stay at during our forthcoming visit. Would prefer a larger hotel as this will be our annual holiday too and not just a fact finding mission. Thanks again folks very useful feedback. |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
This post is very informative to me and helps me in the future. I am also looking to move St. Lucia but before moving, i want to gain all the knowledge and information regarding to living and housing deeds at St. Lucia. The discussion is so insightful and clear my doubt up to some extent.
Regards Pearl ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looking for cheap flights visit at: Cheap Fly Tickets and Cheap Flights To Lisbon |
Re: Moving to St Lucia
Originally Posted by pearljhonson
(Post 9582525)
This post is very informative to me and helps me in the future. I am also looking to move St. Lucia but before moving, i want to gain all the knowledge and information regarding to living and housing deeds at St. Lucia. The discussion is so insightful and clear my doubt up to some extent.
Regards Pearl If looking to move to St Lucia I suggest that you peruse all the posts under: Living & Moving Abroad / Rest of the World / Caribbean which have St Lucia in the thread. There are actually not that many of them but they give an insight into what life is like here from the perspective of different individuals living in different parts of the island. I do not agree that there is crime in St Lucia like anywhere else. The level of crime in the Caribbean as a whole will give you pause for thought and St Lucia is no exception and it is not all gang-related but the key so far seems to be to live and frequent areas of the island(s) that are not known for trouble be they away from back streets and from isolated rural areas but preferably in areas known to be well patrolled by the police as a starter. |
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