Self Storage Rewards- Belize adventure

[Henry Clark]

Couldn't find a place to put this post, so I thought I would stick with Commercial since we do Self Storage and this is one of the benefits of being in Self Storage.

Will take you through our Belize adventure ( its an investment, but not really) over the last 2 years and get you up to date.  Will do in segments, so I might get somethings out of date sequence.  This will be the good, bad and ugly.  If you have a question, ask, but the answer will probably be just because.

Why Belize?

I have had a thought of a foreign home/investment/place to go for about 20 years.  South Korea, Australia, Maui, Brazil, Belize, 

We like Belize because:

- Official language English

- currency is pegged at $2BZD to $1USD

- Property ownership laws are English based since they were ruled by England.  Very similar to the US.

- Living Price- far lower than the Caribbean, but higher than most Central America.

- Crime- Top 10 deadliest countries in the US.  Mainly Belize City drug wars.  Other than that, being a poor country, theft is a normal occurrence.

- Land price- we did look at the Beach, but we went inland to the San Ignacio/Santa Elena/Spanish Lookout area.  Price is all over the board depending on size, close to town, roads, electric, water, sewer, type of ground, size of property, Local or Expat, etc.  All land, housing and rental prices are almost always in US dollars.  The same piece of property could be $500/acre; $1,000; $1,500; $3,000; $10,000 depending on the variables I mentioned.  This is for farm ground and not a house lot.

-Victim- if you are a victim, act like a victim, set yourself up as a victim, you will be a victim in Belize.  No matter whether it is petty theft, your groceries out of the back of your vehicle or buying a beautiful condo overlooking a white sandy beach on the ocean.  Note, Belize does not have White Sandy beaches.

- Flight time- 2 to 2:30 hours from Houston or Dallas for your connection.

- Variety- Inland farming and fishing, snorkeling, golf carts on the Beach fronts, deep sea fishing, Mayan ruins, local people.

- Weather is a perfect offset to Iowa Winters.  Belize dry season is January thru May.

- Bugs/Snakes-   I'm originally from Louisiana; and Belize has far less bugs, Mosquitoes, and snakes than I ever grew up with in a Creek bottom in the middle of a National Forest.

- I love nature and trees.  Gives me a chance to learn a whole new area of the world.

If I don't reply to you, its because I'm telling an adventure and trying to keep it in sequence.  I'll cover all of the Real Estate angles as I go through the path we took.

[Henry Clark]

Investing/Living in Belize:

I will probably say some things or you might interpret them as callous or elitist.  You might be right.  But my intentions, without you having rubbed shoulders with both locals, expats and business people down there is to give you a sense of what it is like there.

A.  You will leave Belize at some point.  Sick, divorced, the dream isn't true, ran out of money, disillusioned, business idea didn't work, developed a medical issue not treatable there, missed kids/grandkids, or just grew old and found out there are no retirement homes there.  You will leave Belize at some point.  Any comment I make, there always is an exception.

B.  You are just a dollar sign and you are rich.  Your not even human.  Recognize your are fresh meat and a big whale and every one wants to land you.  At first this is uncomfortable.  Then realize no matter who you are talking with down there, the Dollar is King.  You control the power and the decision.  Remember that 10 years later when you go to sale.  You don't have the power.  Don't plan to make money down there, just a temporary lifestyle change.

C.   You can build your exact dream down there, or start with "A" above and adapt and pick up someone else's dream.  Your bargain is if you can "Wait" before investing in your plan and are adaptable.  If you build, it will probably take twice as long as in the US, for many reasons.  If it takes you three years to build and you only live there 10 years, most of your extreme memories will be of building.  Thus do you Buy and renovate instead.

D.  How much does it cost to live there.  The answer is all over the board.  The key is housing and also how far off the grid do you want to live.  I could "easily" live for $500 up to $3,000 per month with housing not included; depending on my live style and housing.  Take a cleaned refrigerated chicken for $2.50; or buy a "Local" live chicken for $20.  Both USD.  Buy a fresh Pineapple for $1 or a can of SPAM for $6.

E.  What kind of social person are you.  This will dictate which town or community you live in.  

San Pedro- touristy and lively, ocean, restaurants, entertainment (stop at the "Truck Stop" for family fun; it was for sale).

Belize City- Don't stay longer than 30 minutes.

Belmopan- Capital, not much going on.

Placencia- this is about a 20 mile peninsula about 400 feet wide.  Great place, not as touristy, more of a local neighborhood.  The best Gelato outside of Italy.  A $1mm house in San Pedro will be about $700,000 here.

Dangriga- go and live off the grid.

Hopkins- rive and beachfront town.  A little grimy, but great value.

San Ignacio/Santa Elena- inland area.  Tourists, but they are spread out.  You make your friends since a lot of people live on acreages.  About 500 feet off sea level, which makes for a slightly cooler temperature and less humidity.

Corozal- haven't been.  Close to Chetumal, MX; with big box store shopping.  Beach front community.

Spanish Lookout- Mennonite community; although they are progressive, it is still a socially closed community.

Make sure you travel around and get a sense of which community will be best for you.

F.  Local versus Expat price-  You will generally always pay higher.  My local contractor bought a lot for $3,000; I would pay $30,000.  Part of this is being in the right place and knowing about the deal.