Is there anyone who has actually MOVED to St. Lucia? I would like some feed back.?

Question

My husband has been there on a cruise and fell in love with it. He is seriously thinking of retireing there. What is the money worth in US dollars? How much does it cost to live? I have health issues, how is the health care? We are lower middle class money wise and need to start now to research this. Thanks!

Answer 1

Buyer’s Guide
If you are a non national of St. Lucia, there are certain formalities which would have to be completed in order to purchase a property in St. Lucia. You would have to apply to the Ministry of Planning for an Alien's Landholding License. There is a fee of EC $500.00 which is to be paid to the Government upon application for the License and is non-refundable.

Upon application for the Aliens License application, you need to provide your solicitor with the following :-

Duly completed application form
Certificate of character in each applicant
Full set of fingerprints
Statutory declaration
2 passport size pictures of each applicant
A survey plan of property
The land register for the property (which should be obtained from the Vendor)
The map sheet showing the property (which should be obtained from the Vendor)
Receipt evidencing payment of application fee.

The procedure for an Aliens License takes a minimum of 3 months.

The price of the Alien’s Landholding License for under one acre of land is EC $5000.00. Above 1 Acre of the land the price is as follows: -

Over 1 Acre
And up to 10 Acres - $10,000 EC

Over 10 Acres
And up to 20 Acres - $20,000 EC

Over 20 Acres
And up to 50 Acres - $30,000 EC

Over 50 acres
And up to 100 acres - $40,000 EC

Over 100 Acres - $50,000 EC

Additional charges - Lawyer's fee are about 3 – 5% of the price of the building plus 2% stamp duty.

Property Tax
All property owners are liable to pay property tax annually; the amount paid is determined by the rental value of the property. There are no property taxes on un-developed land. All non-nationals have two years to build after purchasing land in
St. Lucia (this information is outlined in the Alien’s License documents).

Services
Tropical Villas can offer you a range of management/or rental services to assist in the removal of the day-to-day hassles that arises from absentee ownership.

Tropical Villas can also assist with acquiring the following services if needed: -
Lawyer
Contractor/Builder
Architect
Valuer
Quantity Surveyor

Selling
St. Lucian Nationals are only required to pay the following Vendor’s Tax:-

On the first EC $50,000 exempted
On the next EC $25,000 – 2.5%
On the next EC $75,000 – 3.5%
On the balance – 5%

Non national owners pay a 10% Vendor’s tax when they sell their property.

MOVING:
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~dbersier/mover.html
http://www.excess-baggage.com/moving.php?moving=+to+St+Lucia
http://www.escapeartist.com/st_lucia/st_lucia.html

REAL ESTATE:
http://www.guidetostlucia.com
http://www.bluereefrealestate.com
http://www.st.lucia.com/realestate_intro.htm

Answer 2

A lot of those island nations don't want a huge influx of people moving there so they make laws that make it very difficult and expensive for foreigners to buy real estate. For a lower middle class income, it would probably be impractical if not impossible. Sorry, not trying to kill your dream, I would encourage you to look into it but don't get your hopes up is all I'm saying. Good luck :)

Answer 3

nope. i haven't. sorry, can't help you there.