Creative Ways to Buy a Bahamas Home

With banks tightening up on mortgages, a person who would have qualified for a loan for a home in the Bahamas a couple of years ago may get turned down.
This can be quite frustrating, especially as Bahamas home prices have adjusted to more realistic levels. If you can afford to, this is a good time to make the leap into home ownership.
First time Bahamian purchasers who are in a position to do so will want to take advantage of the Government's stamp tax exemption on properties priced below $500,000. This not an automatic exemption - it has to be applied for.
If there was ever a time for creative financing, it's now. Avoiding banks entirely, if possible, has its advantages.
Occasionally vendors in the Bahamas are willing to finance the purchase of a home or property, sometimes at favourable terms. Generally this is more likely to be possible on vacant properties or those in an Out Island.
Ask your Bahamas Real Estate Association agent to be on the lookout for owner financing options.
In many cases, a purchaser will qualify for a Bahamas home loan that falls short of the amount they need to buy the home they desire.
That loan can be used as a stepping stone to a better home. Your first home may be far from ideal. However, you can renovate it as funds permit, all the time building equity towards the purchase of a nicer home down the road.
The first Bahamas home we purchased in the late ‘60s was with the down payment being a lot we had purchased the year prior and a mortgage for the difference. Be creatrive.