Bahamas signs two more tax treaties

THE Bahamas has signed its ninth and tenth Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs), with France and Belgium respectively, leaving it only two short of the minimum 12 such deals demanded by the G-20/Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

The deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Brent Symonette, is pictured (top left) signing the Bahamas' agreement with Belgium at the Hôtel des Finances in Brussels.

Didier Reynders, deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Belgium, signs on behalf of that country.

10 Ways to Spruce up your Property

Are you in the market to sell or rent your Bahamas real estate? Do you want to get the most out of your sale or rental? If you are in the market to sell or rent your property it is in your best interest to spruce it up by removing any signs of age and injecting a warm inviting appeal to your open space.

Below are ten ways to spruce up your property to get your place rented or sold:

1) Un-clutter your Space
When someone rents a space and especially when they purchase, they want this space (whether it’s a condo, apartment, home or other) to reflect them and not the previous owner or the landlord. In order to achieve this, personal affects from the owner/landlord need to be removed so that there is space for the tenant or the new owner to display their personal affects.

Take a look at your space with different eyes. If you are renting your space with a lot of your personal items remaining on the premises, you must purge these items for the tenant’s sake. Do you have family portraits or framed photos of you and your family in the space? Do you have any sort of collection of ornaments on display like ceramic ducks, dolls, plates, silver spoons, medieval characters, sports memorabilia etcetera?

If you do, you must remove these items. Nobody wants to rent a space with personal objects there; they want a space for themselves. Remove your personal items and remove items in storage so they have the opportunity to store their items.

2) Fresh Paint Job
A fresh coat of paint goes a long way! That’s right. Did you know that this is the best way one can see a whole new space? A fresh coat of paint looks bright and clean, and smells new giving your space an immediate update. It is often a very good investment and really spruces up the appearance, adding dollars to offers.

When choosing your paint colours, rather stick with the neutral spectrum. Bright and dark colours change the feel of the size of any given room, and these colours are not the easiest on the eyes. Neutral paint colours will satisfy more people than bright and dark ones.

Painting the exterior? If the paint still looks good on the walls just repaint the roof boxing. The boxing should be painted an offset colour to the rest of the building.

3) Crown and Floor Molding – Install and Paint
Do you have crown moldings or floor moldings in your space? If you do, do they need to be painted? If your walls do not need a paint job, then consider just painting your crown and floor moldings to improve the space.

Crown moldings create a great first impression if installed in your entry and living / family rooms.

4) New Electrical and Light Switch Plates
This is such a minor, yet overlooked improvement. A lot of landlords leave the old faded and chipped electrical and/or light switch plates in their space. Most of the time if a painter is hired he/she will usually paint over these plates, which doesn’t make it look any better. This is the cheapest improvement in this list. Be sure to replace your plates.

5) Front Door
The first thing that is seen when entering a building whether it’s a home, condo, townhouse or the like, is the front door. It is the first impression into the space you want to rent or sell and so it must be in great condition. If the door shouts “Help me! I’m falling apart. I have termites. Please paint me. Look at my mold” or the like, your door is not leaving a very good impression on the rest of the space.

Assess the damage to the door and replace it if it’s necessary. Sand and paint the current door and leave open to dry properly, otherwise the paint will stick to the door frame.

If the door handle has a copper finish, polish it. Perhaps you may also want to change the handle if it looks old.

6) Update the Kitchen
The kitchen is usually one of the first major renovations / updates a house would have. Updating the entire kitchen will cost anywhere up from $30,000. One of the cheapest and easiest steps in updating your kitchen would be to update the faucets. If your cupboards look old and worn, try a coat of paint to breathe some life into them. Replacing the knobs on the cupboards is an inexpensive update that will transform the look of the entire kitchen. If you would like to spend some more money to make a dramatic difference, add a beautiful tile backsplash. The backsplash adds colour and dimension to your kitchen changing the whole feel of the space.

7) Update the Bathrooms
Replace your old stained shower curtains and continue the new theme with a rug and a few highlighted pieces like the soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, and tissue cover. The new theme that you pick for the bathroom should not be childlike. Pick a bathroom theme that is either a solid colour like burgundy, a relaxing theme like a sailing boat, or pick one that is of random colourful shapes.

To really make this space a cut above, update your faucets and towel racks. You can even replace the mirror or update it by adding a wooden frame.

8) Clean the Tile Grout
After long periods of time dirt and debris settle between your tiles in the tile grout which turns the finish dark and nasty. Removing this embedded dirt is going to take a little bit of hard work with a lot of elbow grease. There are many ways you can try to clean the tile grout; most will take a long time and not yield great results. The best method is to hire a professional who will use some version of acid. Do not do this by yourself if you do not know what you are doing. You can burn your skin and eyes very easily and further to that you can damage your floor if you are not careful. You can contact me (Brett Pinder) at RE/MAX Paradise Realty for a quote on your space.

9) Clean the Carpets
Carpets retain a lot of dirt and debris, especially in ‘high traffic’ areas, which can cause your carpet to look older than it actually is. The dirt and debris also aids to create a funk in the air over time.

To ensure that your space is ready for a tenant or new owner clean your carpet. There are two types of methods, the dry method and the wet method. Use either Carpet Powder with your vacuum cleaner or use Carpet Shampoo with a Carpet Shampooer.

10) Go Green and Add Plants
Plants can brighten any room. A room void of plant life is a plain room. A room full with plants is a room full of life. Plants calm our heat rate, lower our blood pressure, add oxygen to the air, help us relax and focus, and so much more.

Add plants to the inside and the outside of your property. The plants on the inside will make the space more appealing and should relax potential tenants or purchasers. The outdoor plants will do the same and also add curb appeal.

Lyford Hills $20-25 million infrastructure investment

The lead developer of Lyford Hills has told Tribune Business that some $20-$25 million will have been invested in the subdivision's infrastructure once it is completed, with some four to five lots being sold per month despite the recession.

Tennyson Wells, the former FNM and independent MP and Cabinet minister, said all the sewerage lines had been put in for the 126-lot Phase I at Lyford Hills, with 70 per cent of the trenching for electricial, water and communications lines, and "40-50 per cent of the water, telecommunications and electricity" piping installed throughout the three-phase project.

"The infrastructure is going in," Mr Wells told Tribune Business. "We opened it [Lyford Hills] in May of this year, and we have all the sewerage lines for Phase I in. The roads are in throughout the entire subdivision - the base roads for phases I, II and III.

"I was hoping to have Phase I completed by the end of November, but hopefully by the end of January we should have completed it. We are about a month-and-a-half to a month behind the schedule of where we thought we would be now. The main reason [for the delay] was equipment problems."

Still, Mr Wells said he and the development team expected to "roll into Phase II within the month", that stage featuring 95 lots available for sale, with the third and final phase including "150-something" lots.

Lot prices, the former MP said, range from the $120,000s to around $300,000, with some four to five lots sold per month in Lyford Hills since the development started in May.

"We have sold about 20, and for quite of number of others, people are in the banks dealing with funding," Mr Wells added. "The interest in it has been very high. A lot of people want it, and we have sold four times as many as in previous developments."

As for his other real estate projects, Mr Wells said sales at the 115-lot Yuma Estates had "been very slow this year" as the economic contraction bit, prompting himself and the other investors to "take the bank out of it".

"We have purchased some of the lots ourselves, and will hopefully take the bank out of it in the next month or so," Mr Wells explained.

"We still have 20-odd lots left. We think that's a very good subdivision, and are not going to reduce the prices on that." Lots at Yuma Estates, he added, are priced from $90,000 up to $105,000.

As for the 181-lot South Seas, Mr Wells said some "30-odd" of those had already been sold, and he now had approval from both the Bahamas Environmental, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission and the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) to cut the channel for the planned marina, something that had already started.

At South Seas, lot prices range from $90,000 to $205,000, the latter being for the likes of commercial lots, fourplexes and triplexes.

As for his latest acquisition, the former Bacardi plant adjacent to the South Seas development, Mr Wells said he and his fellow investors were "still working on" their plans for the site and would be able to say more in a month's time.

How much money will you need for retirement?

Most people understand that the sooner they begin planning for retirement the better, but the question invariably arises, "How much money will I need for retirement?" This is obviously a very important question, but it is also one that is very difficult to answer.

National Insurance, your company-sponsored pension plan, personal savings, longer life expectancy, inflation and your retirement needs (what you want out of retirement) are all factors that should be considered when determining how much you'll need to save for a comfortable retirement. It is however very important to get a handle on your current expenses as it is this component that will help you decide how much money you'll need. The problem is many individuals don't have any idea about what their expenses will be, hence they usually underestimate what their savings should be. Also, many individuals don't take medical costs into consideration or don't focus enough on the risk posed by inflation. Additionally, one of the most neglected facets of retirement planning is longevity risk. With the modern advances in medical technology, people are living longer than the country's standard life expectancy. Once you've considered all of these factors and gotten a good handle on your annual retirement expenses, you can then determine how you might pay for those expenses and thus, how much you will need to save for retirement.

It is estimated that an individual entering retirement will need approximately 70% of their pre-retirement income each year after they retire, to enjoy the same lifestyle they had while they were employed. However, if you look at what an individual may want to do when they retire, for example, increase travel or take up an expensive hobby, the 70% replacement income factor jumps to 100%. To take this one step further, individuals who retire before paying off their mortgage will need about 120% of their pre-retirement income to enjoy the same standard of living that they previously did.

Accurate estimates of expenses and income are invaluable as you plan your retirement and determine your savings need. After you've determined what you think you'll need to live on during retirement (expenses), one rule of thumb is to multiply it by 25. For example, if you think you'll need $40,000 a year, you'll need 25 times that amount or $1,000,000 in order to retire comfortably. Next, you need to consider what you are eligible to receive from National Insurance and/or your company pension plan, then identify their annual value and subtract that from your annual retirement expense. What's left is the amount of living expenses that must be made up either by investment income or other sources of income.

For example, if you expect to receive approximately $12,000 from National Insurance benefits each year and $8,000 in an annual pension from your company sponsored pension plan, you will only need half of the $40,000 each year from your savings. Since you'll only plan on pulling out about $20,000 each year, you'd need about $500,000 saved by your retirement date.

After determining your income gap (in this scenario $500,000 by your retirement date) you can easily calculate what you need to save to achieve your goal.

Another factor that will help you determine how much money you will need for retirement is to determine when you actually plan to retire. The younger you are when you retire, the longer you can expect to live during retirement. This means you need to have a lot more money saved. If you wait longer until retirement, not only will you be retired for a shorter amount of time, but you will also work more years, meaning you can save more. The younger you are and the more you have saved, the less you'll need to save in the future in order to achieve the same retirement standard of living as someone older or with less money saved up until that point.

This rule of thumb is not a rule of law but merely a guide. Everyone's retirement goals are personal and no one gets into trouble because they saved too much too soon. When it comes to how much savings you'll need for retirement, putting away more money while you're working, and working more years before retiring is a good form of insurance for ensuring a comfortable retirement.

Sean K. Longley, CPA is Vice President, Business Development/Client Relations - CFAL, a member of the AF Holdings Group of Companies.

Why should I use a Licensed Real Estate Agent?

If you are arrested and taken to jail wouldn’t you want a Defense Attorney who knows the inns and the outs of the Law to fight on your behalf? Or would you prefer a lawyer who was just called to the bar and has no experience? Personally I would go for the former and not the latter.

The same logic applies to having an estate agent fight for your real estate needs. On one hand you have a well educated estate agent whose day to day job is real estate, on the other hand you have your buddy who thinks he knows real estate, but his day job is an a/c repair technician. Who would you rather be looking after your best interests? The answer is clear.

A licensed estate agent has chosen real estate as their career so they have studied the law, passed courses and exams, earned designations in specific real estate fields, and work in the industry on a daily basis.

A licensed estate agent has the knowledge and experience to handle your real estate needs whether you are in the market to purchase or whether you are looking to sell. They have an extensive network of contacts within the real estate industry including, but not limited to, estate agents, appraisers, brokers, attorneys and architects.

The Bahamas Real Estate Association governs the real estate industry in The Bahamas and they have a fairly current online list of licensed estate agents throughout The Bahamas Islands which you can peruse at any time.

BREA urges land buyers to ensure they have proper titles

President of the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) William Wong yesterday urged all prospective land buyers to ensure that due diligence is taken when purchasing property, including making sure that they have "clear and good land titles."

His comments came almost two weeks after Canaan Baptist Church was demolished after losing a land ownership battle with Arawak Homes.

"It is really up to the buyer to make sure that they do the due diligence, making sure that their lawyer does all the proper checking before they pay for a piece of property. That is one of the fundamentals in buying real estate - knowing that you are buying a piece of property that has a good title and the person who is selling it has a right to sell it," Wong said

Canaan Baptist Church pastor, Rev Eugene Bastian said that he purchased the property from a local company back in 1999 for $30,000. But a September 1 court judgment found that Arawak Homes rightfully owned the Charles Saunders Highway property.

As a result of the court ruling, Arawak Homes demolished the church, sparking outrage among some members of the religious community. However, Arawak Homes chairman Franklyn Wilson told The Nassau Guardian in an earlier interview that even more churches are embroiled in land ownership disputes with his firm.

Wilson said the problem of people occupying land with no legal claims is an issue that needs to be tackled.

While not commenting directly on the Canaan Baptist situation, the BREA president agreed that there are cases of people squatting on other people's land without buying the property.

Wong also agreed that over the years, people have abused the Quieting Title Act. This legislation provides for individuals who have occupied or farmed land for 12 years or more to apply to the courts for legal title to the property.

"I have heard stories of certain people acquiring properties that they have no interest in. And I think by now the government has seen to this and they have taken measures to have it corrected," he said.

"I have heard stories where people have been quieting properties for their own benefit and they have no idea who these properties belong to. They figure it is vacant and they make a claim for it. But, I think that is quieting down these days and people are a bit more diligent."

As for the Association, Wong said, "our agents, they make sure that when they are selling somebody's property that it is up to the buyer to make sure that he/she is able to get good title before they purchase property."

New Paradise Realty Bookmarks

The website for RE/MAX Paradise Realty has recently added bookmarks so now you can bookmark and share Bahamas real estate listings with your family and friends on social sites like Delicious, Facebook, MySpace, Stumble Upon, Twitter and more.

The AddThis sharing bookmark tool is a quick and easy way to share what you have found on the internet. Try it out and let me know what you think.

RE/MAX Bahamas now on MySpace!

RE/MAX Paradise Bahamas Realty has now joined the social network MySpace! If you are a member of MySpace and you would like to be friends to stay up to date with real estate in The Bahamas and the RE/MAX company itself, just add them.

Find the profile here:
RE/MAX Paradise Realty on MySpace

RE/MAX Paradise Realty now on Twitter!

Looking to keep up with what's happing in real estate in The Bahamas? If you are then this is right up your ally.

RE/MAX Paradise Realty has now joined the Twitter community. Find RE/MAX Bahamas on Twitter right here at: http://twitter.com/REMAX_Bahamas

New RE/MAX franchise in The Bahamas

(Denver, CO – March 24, 2009) RE/MAX International Inc. celebrated the official signing of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas - the 73rd country to join the RE/MAX global network - with a flag-raising ceremony at its Denver headquarters.

One of the top Bahamas real estate companies have aligned themselves with the real estate powerhouse RE/MAX to serve you better. Formally named Paradise Real Estate, now RE/MAX Paradise Realty. New name, same great service!

If you are in the market for Caribbean real estate then why not consider The Bahamas? Real estate in The Bahamas is still doing well even with the economic down turn.

RE/MAX Paradise Realty now offers the worldwide brand name of RE/MAX along with their expertise.

RE/MAX Paradise Realty Ltd. is a full service Bahamas real estate firm that offers listings throughout The Bahamas islands including everything from waterfront to beach front homes, vacant land and acreage, luxurious rentals, and island getaways.