Christmas on the Beach

I know that it is all over but the photos that friends are sending round are fun so thought I would share them.Now, before you get envious of us all on the beach on Christmas Day, I have to confess some of them were saying " It's not Christmas without snow and sitting in front of a log fire!"

I know they are mad but as they say "the grass is always greener".

Our children usually arrive for the holidays from USA and UK and we revert to being like house sparrows,flying around feeding them every couple of hours, trying to please them all knowing their trip is short. Our friends invite us to go and play out and we politely decline and say we have to be Ma and Pa to offspring who expect it.

Well this year they did not come over and I was a lost soul.; no gifts to hurriedly buy and wrap ensuring everyone has same value and same number, no baking,no freezer filled with goodies that I could miraculously and effortlessly pull out after a day out on the boat.

I felt disorientated but friends in a similar position said they would have breakfast with us and then hit the beach with champagne.

I felt better!

The day was fun with so many good friends turning up on Grace bay Beach, to share the sun, sand and fun ( and champers)

The evening was a great success with good friends, inviting us to a wonderful dinner with great company followed by Secret Silly Santa.

Now those who know Turks and Caicos, appreciate how difficult it is to get gifts. I foolishly picked the biggest out of the sack and found myself with a beige,embroidered padded toilet seat!!

I can see readers trying to picture this one...

Anyhow,we had a lot of laughs and at least it's practical!I am not one to be ungrateful!

New Years Eve was a hit, again on the beach with champagne and mince pies., turning up after 10 p.m after we had all been to different eateries. Year after year we do this as a tradition and I am always impressed with hundreds of people, all ages,different nationalities, in all stages of merriment but there is never any bad behaviour, language or drunkeness ( we hide that last bit well).

So now we are back to the grindstone.

As Anchor Realty opened a new satellite office on the beach, you'll appreciate it wasn't difficult coming to work.

Surrounded by people on vacation, relaxing and soaking up the sun, snorkelling around the reef , or sipping a cold drink in the new beach cafe, makes me appreciate my surroundings.

Although I missed my children a lot, there is always next year and in the meantime, sun, sand,warm seas and smiley,happy people will just have to do!

If you are booked to come over, come and say hi at Coral Gardens.

A warm welcome awaits you.

A Fun Day out in Turks and Caicos Islands

As my broker Terrance and I forge ahead with new listings, we decided to have a day in Middle and North Caicos as clients had asked me to list their land. I needed to get to know the area, sign the lots and take some pictures for my website.

We made a fun day of it and hooked up with friends who were also going over.Terrance arrived on the dock armed with newly made Anchor signs, whilst I had the step ladders, husband and packed lunch.

It was the perfect day with calm waters and slight breezes.Mark was waiting for us on arrival at North Caicos Marina with two hire cars so we all piled in and arranged our first stop at Monkey Hill.

We surveyed the area for possible lots suitable for clients and after a toilet stop at the airport we all headed off for the causeway over to Middle.

There was an incomplete house on a ridge top lot for $169,000 which interested our friends as a possible investment so we explored that and thought it a good buy.

The little bar below was calling and in the heat of the day, beers all round were ordered. Into the cars once again t head off towards Michelle and Malcolm's land which they had listed with me.

This is where the step ladder came in - as the foliage was so dense, I needed pictures from the steps to see the ocean. As Terrance is over six feet, I pushed him up the ladder for optimum vantage point!

We did the ceremonial " sticking the For Sale sign in the concrete earth" - true team effort( I held the ladder steady, husband measuring the width of lots and Terrance, still perched precariously up the steps. Two lots signed, we were off again for picture taking on the beach opposite.
You get a true sense of space, quiet, and sheer freedom over there; just no-one around and just the sound of the sea and endless pristine beach.

We all met up on Bambarra Beach for a picnic lunch. Again we had the whole place to ourselves.

After that it was sightseeing Mudjin Harbour. Its a true spectacle of natural beauty and with the warmth of the sun,it's hard to leave it. We needed to return for the ferry and stop via Kew In North to sign up two lots there.

Finding Kew was easy and such a pleasant surprise; neat gardens, tall trees and pretty homes along newly surfaced roads. It was tricky to identify the land from the map. The police station was close by and as luck would have it,with a policeman in it! He did not know the land so we had we had a guess and stuck the signs in, taking pictures of the surrounding area. They belong to Franklyn, who kindly contacted me from the Bahamas.

We were very impressed with the helpfulness of the people and the sense of community.

We missed the ferry by five minutes which gave us time to eat the remains of our lunch, Terrance's peppermints and watch the workers returning on their ferry from Parrot Cay.

On our return to Provo, we all felt we had had a special day out. We had accomplished what we set out to do, in an idyllic get away place where people are few and life is free and easy.

We had fun along the way - as tourists, real estate agents, friends ,clients and buyers.

We really do have a wonderful life here and I am grateful every day to be out of the stressful rat race, crowds, rain and cold.

Turks and Caicos Holiday Planning

We are back to normal on the island of Providenciales and although many hotels and restaurants are taking their well deserved breaks right now, they will be gearing up for a busy new season beginning in November.

The children around the world are back at school after the summer break, and autumn / fall will soon be upon those living in temperate climates so maybe now is the time to begin planning the winter holiday so you have something to look forward to as the nights draw in.

There is no better place to enjoy the winter months than in Turks and Caicos.

The weather is beautiful and the beaches are stunning, so it's a great place to recharge your batteries and dream of that vacation home in the sun...

We have many for you to choose from, to suit all tastes and pockets; villas with private beaches, penthouses with all facilities at your finger tips, luxurious condominiums in beach resorts, land to build your dream home - you name it, we can probably can show you.

It's a favourite destination for the rich and famous where they can be left alone to enjoy freedom from the press and fans so don't expect a bargain, but your investment will grow significantly as the islands become better known.

Deep sea fishing, scuba diving, island hopping for romantic picnic lunches on deserted beaches are some of the very best reasons to have your break away from real life...

So look at my website to get a flavour of what's on offer (there's lots more) and remember I am eager to help buyers meet their individual aspirations and I will do my very best for each one of you.

http://www.caribbeanhomefinder.net/

Life in Turks and Caicos Islands

As my mother-in-law said to me on my wedding day, thirty something years ago , "Life with Rowland will never be dull'".
How right she was...but to be fair the beginning of August starting off badly was not something I could credit or blame him for..and now the weekend is here, things have calmed down.

In a nutshell, my car decided to go on strike each morning just when I needed to go to an appointment or important meeting. It must have been the shock of being cleaned and waxed by my own fair hand last weekend.

I needed to check on on listing I have on my website, Villa Roi Soleil, and on the way, I practised my rally driving skills. As I approached a small hill , a truck was approaching down the middle of it.
Fortunately, I drive a large four wheel drive Nissan, so she came into her own as I veered to miss the truck ,swung across the road, spun round and ended up in the bushes on the opposite side of the road,with two flat tyres and a dented wing. I was fine except I have a For sale sign in the window and just thought " I'll have to drop the price now".
It was 6p.m. Luckily a truck load of construction workers pulled up, jumped out, pushed and jigged the car and after a hefty tip and lots of my business cards distributed ( they wanted to buy the car!)they went on their merry way.

With two flats, I needed to make a call to Mackey, the tyreman. He said he'd send a couple of guys and whilst I waited for them, several workers stopped to check and see if I was ok.
I had my doubts that help would arrive BUT they did and with all the gear.

We often think that life here is inefficient and laid back ( and that's what we like)but actually No, I can't say it is with that sort of service.

I forgot to mention that our tenants next door had reported no air conditioning working which meant an engineer had to replace the thermostat ( I had tried to fix it myself). Again, all done within a morning, with a cheery smile and another invoice.
They also reported no hot water. Things come in threes don't they?

As we live overlooking the marina where the Music Fest took place, (Lionel Ritchie was fab) we all have been surviving on four hours sleep each night as the main crowd puller didn't get on stage till 2pm.
All good fun until one morning we woke ,blurry eyed to see a torrent of water cascading over the balcony from under the door of the one bed apartment.When our tenants came out they were paddling! We all set about sweeping whilst Rowland looked for the stop cock. The water heater was the culprit so again another service engineer friend turned out to deal with it and soon enough, one new water heater and another invoice appeared.

So that was the beginning of the week.
It got better though, as some good friends asked me to sell their beautiful penthouse apartment and others gave me parcels of beachfront land on Middle Caicos to sell and I was published on Caribpro.com ( thanks to Susan) which has brought me all sorts of e mails from others wanting to change their lifestyles.

So what does next week hold I wonder? It's always busier and more fun that I could imagine.

For now, I am going to contemplate my navel ( as they say) and sit on the beach for a couple of hours; I get many of my ideas there and it sets my energy levels high ready for the whatever comes my way next week.

Just hope the invoices are a thing of the past, the penthouse is sold ,one investor buys all 40 acres on Middle Caicos and my car is happier. I'll let you know.

Turks and Caicos sucks you in

Yesterday, I was showing prospective buyers around the island. Even though it isn't where I was born and I am on a work permit, I am always excited to show the place off!

They had come from the US and were surprised to see that our house prices had not been affected by the US slump in the housing market.

Many of our buyers tend to be people looking for their second or third home from home and are spoiled for choice when they view the many individual styles of the properties, whether condos on the beach or houses.

There's something to suit all tastes which makes this job so interesting. I get to see these hidden away beautiful villas, architecturally designed, specifically for the owner or the newly built condominiums on the Grace Bay Beach boasting every modern day convenience and luxury you could ask for.
This is not an island of bulk 'samey' buildings, I am pleased to say..

It was hot yesterday that my husband and I decided to head for the beach for the afternoon.

Several people we know walked past and stopped to chat. One couple from Atlanta have been here a year with their three young children. They are disappointed that their time here has come to an end and are having to go back to the States when school is out.

The family have already decided that they are coming back for their fall break and the children have asked their mom if they can go to school here for their two weeks vacation. They have loved Provo Primary School and have their cousin going to school for this week as they want to share it with her!

Life here is relaxing, social and fun. You make good friends quickly whatever your age and make fun whilst you are all sharing this beautiful place, usually outdoors because the sun shines a lot.

Other friends were there with their two little girls. The girls were so excited as they had been snorkelling and seen an " iggle ray" and a "tortoise". I think she meant an eagle ray and a turtle! Sealife is in abundance and close to the beach around the coral heads where the tourists go to experience these fabulous sea creatures in their natural habitat.

The children have such an outdoor healthy life here exuding such enthusiasm for all their natural surroundings. It's a great place for young children when all they need is clear clean water, sand and sun.

Snuba Jodi was there for those of you who know her. She' had just finished one of her dives with a group of adults, who were all raving about the underwater scenery. She's a friend and I know people return to her each year for their snuba experience..she gets good write ups on Trip Advisor I see.

Friends who recently had to go back to their lives in UK, sent an e mail saying they have booked to come back here in October. They miss island life very much even though they have their new BMW's to play with ( there is no point in having one of those here as there are no long drives to do).

So whilst some are on their first visit looking to buy here, others live here and don't want to leave, others had to go and are already thinking of coming back...!

It holds a magic that you have to experience first hand in order to appreciate why people want to be here.













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Massive reduction in tax on new purchases

Great news for home buyers and investors in Turks and Caicos Islands, where the Government has announced a massive reduction in Stamp Duty on property purchases. Currently at a 9.75% level on Providenciales, the tax has been reduced for a limited period to 6%. The effective date is April 1st thru June 30th.

In Grand Turk, South Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos and Salt Cay, the stamp duty is reduced from 5% to 3%.

This means, of course, that any investor can save a huge amount of money on their purchases. So...... looks like the piggy banks are going to get broken open and that second or third home purchased in a hurry!

Caribbean Home Finder has some great buys at the moment.

Check out the website and get in contact!