Buying land in Belize is relatively easy and straight forward. From your entry visa to the lands office, people are friendly and easy to deal with.
VISAS: When you enter Belize, you get your free visa for 2-4 weeks. A longer stay will require a visa for about $18. US per month (prices change frequently). A residency visa is easy to obtain, either a retirees visa (http://www.belizeretirement.org/incentives.shtml), a business visa (if you wish to establish a business), or a work visa. If you plan on working in Belize, a one year renewable work permit which includes your family is available, depending on the work you wish to apply for. Most people stay in Belize for 6 months on a standard tourist visa renewable monthly, meanwhile applying for a work permit and residence visa. After 5 years, a person can apply for nationality, if desired, and maintain a dual nationality if your country of origin allows it.
There are no capital gains or inheritance taxes. Nice.
BUYING LAND – easy as 1-2-3: There is no difference between the procedure for foreigners and the procedure for Belizeans. The transfer tax,, known as the ‘stamp tax’ is 5 % of the purchase price, after exemption on the first $10,000. US. There are a few other costs, itemized below.
Land in Belize, comes in 3 forms of title, all of which are guaranteed to be indefeasible by the government. There is not much you need to know about these, more than the following:
1. The oldest form of title THE CONVEYANCE,
2. THE TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, commonly referred to as the TCT.
3. The newest system is THE REGISTERED LAND CERTIFICATE.
Eventually all land will be transferred to the newest system.
As a purchaser, you need to ask your realtor which type of title the land you have chosen to purchase carries. Then, you and the realtor follow the following guidelines, according to type of documentation.
Registered Land Certificates are the most transparent and easy to transfer. Any lien or complication concerning the property is shown on this document, and, because of this, many purchases of this type, are consummated in either a realtor’s or a justice of the peace’s office, rather than through an attorney. It is common for titled land to be transferred without use of a realtor.
The One World Village and other properties offered by Bart and Suzi Mickler are all under the new system with clear titles.
Most of the rural Cayo District titles are still in either Conveyances, or TCT’s. It is recommended that you choose an attorney for the paperwork required for purchases of these types of title for the security of a complete title search, and to insure that the paperwork is correctly executed. We can provide you with recommendations of attorneys who specialize in real estate. Attorney costs for this (Conveyance, TCT, or Registered Land Certificate land sale) range from ½ % to as high as 2 % of the purchase price, with most firms having a minimum fee of $250. US.
Often in Belize, purchasers and vendors, agree on and then share the expenses of one attorney, to complete the transfer. Once you decide, you will need to insure that the paperwork for Registered Land Certificate Sale is properly taken care of. Most local realtors charge a fee of $250. US (including all trips to Belmopan) for delivery of title to purchaser. If paperwork has to be fedexed to either the purchaser or vendor, these fees are additional. In case you decide to purchase directly from the seller, make sure you are purchasing titled (not leased) land.
.
Summing up your costs, make sure to include:
a. Price of the land
b. Price for the paperwork – either, ½ % to 2 %; or $250. USD for land documented with a Conveyance or TCT for an attorney or realtor doing paperwork.
C. 5% ‘stamp tax’, or transfer tax, charged by the GOB (Government of Belize), on the actual selling price, AFTER, an exemption on the first $10,000. USD of the purchase. For example, for a purchase of $100,000., the stamp tax would be (100,000 less 20,000 = 80,000.) $80,000. x 5 % = $4,000.
d. First transfer tax on land parcels in new subdivisions, 10 % applied. You should inquire from your realtor, if these apply, and if they will be passed on to you as purchaser. This relates to new real estate laws here, so it’s best to inquire if and how it applies.
The time frame for most transactions, after completion of the document preparation (which varies) and signing off of all requirements by vendor and purchaser, the purchaser having provided a copy of their passport(s) (for identification and record of nationality in GOB’s records), and the necessary filing fees ( usually $15. US and sometimes included in the attorney’s fees,) is approximately 30 days.
PRICE INFORMATION; Land prices in Belize are always in US dollars. All other fees associated with land transactions such as lawyer’s fees, stamp tax, etc, are given in Belize Dollars. Contracts should specify in writing whether it is USD or BZD. Most attorneys and realtors offer escrow services for both Belize and U.S. Dollars. The Association of Real Estate Brokers of Belize (AREBB) is currently working with the GOB to standardize and facilitate many facets of Real Estate business in Belize. AREBB has recently affiliated with NAR of the United States too.