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2 Say you saw it in the Jamaica Real Estate Guide
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Real Estate Symposium highlights
T
he Realtors Association of Jamaica ‘the voice for real estate’ in Jamaica, strives to raise the consciousness of our stakeholders including practitioners, government, investors and the general public about real estate issues. On November 20, 2009, we hosted our 2nd annual Real Estate Symposium ‘The New Paradigm in Real Estate for 2010’ at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston. The Hon. Orette Bruce Golding, M.P. delivered the Keynote Address on ‘The Government’s vision for Real Estate Investment in Jamaica 2010-2011’. The Prime Minister reminded the gathering that redevelopment of downtown Kingston is one of the highest priorities of the government. In promoting the area as a Financial District they are committed to fostering an investment climate that will facilitate mutual benefits to local and international investors who are interested in participating in the redevelopment project. In his presentation, the Prime Minister announced that cellular provider Digicel, would be re-locating to Downtown Kingston and constructing new regional headquarters on lands across from the craft market. This kind of investment will no doubt work in conjunction with other initiatives to stimulate renewed interest and increased economic vibrancy in the Downtown Kingston region. The Bill to Amend the Registration (Strata Titles) Act which was piloted by Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding was passed in the House of
and to establish a Strata Commission to supervise and assist with matters pertaining to strata living. Mrs. Sandra Watson, General Manager of The Real Estate Board in her presentation, ‘The Importance of Jamaica’s Strata Act on Property Investment’ highlighted the proposed amendments and how they will affect proprietors of such properties. Industry Outlook
EDWIN D. C. WINT, Dip LEVS, Dip Proj Man (RICS) BA MBA ICIOB MBIFM President, Realtors Association of Jamaica
Representatives on October 27, 2009 and is now before the Senate. There are some 2,345 registered strata properties in Jamaica; however, there have been many areas of concern for owners/investors in the operation of these corporations such as: g Executives of strata corporation not being properly elected and constituted; g Maintenance fees not being paid – light, water being turned off; g Buildings not being insured ; g No proper accountability for the funds received; g Strata owners keeping pets when it is prohibited by the by-laws; g Outstanding property taxes; g Value of property being depressed because of its poor upkeep. The Bill sought to amend the Act to address the shortcomings
Earlier in the year, the Government in an effort to stimulate the real estate market reduced the stamp duty and transfer tax applicable for real estate transactions, which was welcomed by all stakeholders. Whereas the global economic downturn has severely affected the property market in the United States of America, in Jamaica we have seen relative stability, trending to a balanced market for the most part but to a buyer’s market only in a few market segments. There has also been continued growth in property investments especially in Western Jamaica with developments such as: g
Falmouth Wharf
g
Palmyra
g
Whitter Village
g
Harmony Cove
Fairview Shopping Centre and Office Park
g
Investing is real estate is always a preferred option, therefore, my suggestion for homeowners and investors alike, would be to buy now and hold for the medium to long term.
Guide
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Publisher’s message
Say you saw it in the Jamaica Real Estate Guide 3
JaRealEstateGuide.com
Volume 5, Issue 1
W
elcome loyal and new readers of the Jamaica Real Estate Guide, locally and from around the world. We strive to continually provide you with resources helpful for the home buyer, seller about the process, finance options and of course real estate listings. In this issue, I believe we covered most of the bases. We welcome contributor Cherryl Hanson Simpson of Financially Smart Online with a helpful piece called, The Smart Guide to Buying Your Home (Pages 8 and 9). For home sellers, there is a great article with tips to prepare your home for sale in a slow market (Page 7). Yes the market is slow and times are tough, but if you apply these tips, it can only help you to attract the buyers that are out there. We also advocate using real estate professionals to help you along the way when buying or selling your home. There are many great Jamaican real estate agents out there, but how do you choose the right one for you? Read our quick guide with tips for choosing a real estate agent (Page 7). As you may have heard there have been some amendments to the Registration Strata Titles Act. Edwin Wint shares some important notes about these changes ( Pages 14 & 15). As always, do visit our website www. JaRealEstateGuide.com for more properties, calculators, broker directory, checklists and more. Sign up for our online newsletter and be the first to hear about new magazine releases, property listings from our advertisers and website updates. You may also join our social networks on Facebook, www.facebook.com/JamaicaRealEstateGuide and Twitter www.twitter.com/JaRealEstate and our YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/ JaRealEstateGuide. Thank you for reading the Jamaica Real Estate Guide, Serving Jamaica’s Real Estate Marketplace Stephanie Treasure, Founder & Editorial Director of the Jamaica Real Estate Guide.
Stephanie Treasure, B.S., MBA EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PUBLISHER Butterfly Publications CONTRIBUTORS Cherryl Hanson-Simpson Edwin Wint LAYOUT & DESIGN R. Leonard Simpson PRINTER Lithographic Printers The Jamaica Real Estate Guide is published quarterly by Butterfly Publications ISSN 0799-2335 P.O. Box 133, Kingston 19, Jamaica info@jarealestateguide.com www.JaRealEstateGuide.com ©2006-2010 Butterfly Publications Volume 5, Issue 1: Winter 2010
Publisher’s Policy
Reproduction of any photographs, artwork or copy prepared by The Jamaica Real Estate Guide is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher. All advertised properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Butterfly Publications or The Jamaica Real Estate Guide is not a real estate broker and this publication is not an effort to assist in the buying or selling of real estate but to provide information about real estate listed with a licensed real estate broker. The advertisers, publisher, printer and associates are not liable for misinformation, misprints or typographical errors. Advertising is not accepted from unlicensed real estate sales companies or private home sellers. Real estate advertised in this magazine is subject to the Jamaica Real Estate Board laws. This publication will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of these laws. Real estate advertised in this publication is available on an equal opportunity basis.