Monday, 24 April 2017

Come Home to Jamaica, Land of the Wood and Water!

Come Home to Jamaica, Land of the Wood and Water!


Jamaica has some of the most picturesque natural sites in the world, with climate and scenery’s to meet all tastes, a variety of vegetation and some of the purest water in the world.

Jamaica always has an abundance of beautiful, villas, mansions, houses beachfront, properties and land for you to choose from; there are plenty of offers up for grabs, it all depends on what you’re looking for and how much your wanting to spend, but I guarantee there’s something for everyone! There’s always bargains to be found and opportunity to negotiate on asking prices! Jamaica welcomes the investment from its citizens living abroad, as well as the professional expertise many returnees, including 2nd and 3rd generation Jamaican’s born overseas, can bring back home.

Due to the current economy, properties here in Jamaica do not sell quickly; properties can easily be on the market for two years or more. The average Jamaican’s don’t earn enough or have the financial resources to buy some of the larger or more prestigious homes on the island; leaving a window of opportunity for Jamaica’s living in the diaspora to own a piece of the rock as a holiday home, or just as somewhere to retreat to every now and then for some serious chilliaxation!

The rental return on holiday homes here is not to be sneezed at; increasingly seasoned holiday travellers want to experience Jamaica in a real way and not only from the perspective of a hotel guest but would rather interact with real people, living in safe local neighborhoods, establishing links and building friendships; this is an area that overseas owners can capitalise on.

Jamaica being a former British colony is also home to people of many other nationalities too;  there is and has always been established South Asian and Chinese communities resident here on the island, going back some 150 years or more. Increasingly many of the high street retail and supermarket outlets are now owned by Chinese and south Asian’s who have migrated to the island in the last 20 years or so. It would be great to see Jamaican’s in the diaspora coming home and having a presence in these markets and industries too.

What does Jamaica have to offer returnee buyers or holiday home owners?

Answer: Jamaica offers you lifestyle!

You can have a quality of life that may not be so readily available to you in the west, sun, sea, sand, lazy days filed with total relaxation, which you can come back to time after time. I’ve lived here continually for the past 18-months and have no immediate plans to return to the UK anytime soon, Hell NO!

Mandeville, one of my favourite places, has a climate that reminds me of springs and autumn times in London; being up in the mountains, Mandeville is much cooler than other parts of Jamaica, there-by attracting a large returnee resident community, particularly those from Canada and the UK.

Mandeville has some very grand and spacious properties and presently offers Lots for sale in prestigious areas like Ingleside, where you can build your own dream home overlooking the beautiful views of Mandeville town. For a town that’s not so big, Mandeville is a thriving commercial hub here on the island, you name it, and Mandeville has it and is only about a 70 minute drive to Kingston, just in case there’s that one little thing you can’t find.

The one thing Mandeville does lacks is night life, there’s not much partying that goes on here; when I want to party, I usually head to Negril’s Bourbon Beach to take in a stage show or Montego Bay or maybe Port Antonio over in Portland on the east of the island, to just hang out for a few days at Geejams, taking in the sea, sand and sunshine! One of my favourite places to stay in Portland is the Jamaica Palace Hotel or my friend Blue’s house, a beachfront property in Port Antonio.

The main highways are better than ever, so getting around the island, using the costal road, is becoming increasingly easier. The main cross-island bus service, the Knutsford Express has expanded its reach to include stops and pick-up points in most parishes. When I first used this service, back in 2008, you would have to get up at 6 am from Negril to take a taxi to Montego Bay to then pick up the Knutsford into Kingston; I must say that I’ve enjoyed my more recent trips using this service, it really has come on leaps and bounds, good service!

From where I live in Mandeville, I can get to the main airport in Kingston, Norman Washington Manley, in around 90 minutes and to Sangster’s International Airport in Montego Bay in about 2hrs 30 mins, depending on the traffic and the route, the shortest route is through the hills so if you’re not a very skilled driver, stick to the coastal roads, it’s safer and has the most beautiful scenery on the way.

If you’re thinking of returning home whether buying, selling or holiday renting in Jamaica, get in touch! As a research and customer services company it our business to provide you with a service that’s tailored to meet you specific requirements, we can assist you with all your property needs and signpost you to other services.
So contact us today for your free initial consultation or email me: 

Tel: +1876 486 6827

In my next Blog I want to talk about how crypto-currency is going to change the way we do things across the globe and how the buying and selling of property will become easier, as this new form of currency exchange takes hold.