Barbados Property News August September 2017

EE NE FR NLI O &

Realtors - Page 15

Island Gold - Page 17

Property Holdings - Page 25

Endorsed by the Barbados Estate Agents and Valuers Association Inc.

BARBADOS PROPERTY

NEWS www.barbadospropertynews.com • August - September 2017 • Issue 112

Massy Realty - Page 20

Editor’s Comments Hurricane season is well and truly upon us! In this special hurricane edition of Barbados Property News we have been fortunate enough to get the expertise of David Brooks from the Facebook page ‘Barbados Weather Watchers’ to explain the mystery behind tropical storms. Thanks David for this very informative and interesting article. Preparation is vital as many of the island’s main suppliers could be out of action so read our Hurricane ‘to do list’ and don’t wait to implement some of the suggestions, especially having your home insured!

This is also Festival time in Barbados and Pamela Hiles, Editor the annual Crop Over Festival culminates in August. Many flock to this paradise island from around the world to enjoy the music and non-stop parties. It’s a fun time and visitors love the carefree atmosphere on the island.

It continues to be a buyers market on the island as the economy faces it’s challenges. Read what some of the agents think is going on with the market on page 52! Don’t miss out as there is only one Bajan rock and now is the time to get a piece of it. Take a look through our pages or visit us on www.barbadospropertynews.com. This is a marvelous place to live as anyone here will tell you.

On the Cover: Massy Properties Pamela

Publisher – Hiltop Publications Ltd, 11 Cottage Ridge, St George, Barbados, BB19071 Tel (246) 228-9122, Fax (246) 228-0243 Email: sportingb@caribsurf.com www.sportingbarbados.com www.barbadospropertynews.com www.caribbeanpropertymag.com www.caribbeanmortgageservices.com Editor/Advertising – Pamela L Hiles Design and Art Direction – 809 Distribution – Hiltop Publications Ltd, Brian’s Print Brokerage Printing – Coles Printery The Material and editorial contained in this publication have been deemed accurate at the time of going to print. The views expressed as editorial are those of the Editor unless stated otherwise. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the permission of Hiltop Publications Ltd.

If you would like to advertise in Barbados Property News call Pam at 228-9122 or 232-0692

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Real Estate News

Terra Caribbean Expands Top Insurance Company in Jamaica Enters Local Market their Sales team!

Terra Caribbean has expanded their sales team with the addition of Laura Rotchell! Although she was born in Barbados, Laura has her real estate roots in the UK, having started as a Lettings (Rentals) agent when she was 17. And when she decided to move back to Barbados, she was determined to continue her real estate career and has held some very notable positions here in Barbados.

She is welcome addition to the Terra Caribbean team and they are happy to have her on Laura Rotchell board! This brings their sales agent count to 12; with some of their agents focused on luxury real estate under the Terra Luxury brand and the others working under the Terra Caribbean brand.

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Renowned for its uniquely customer-driven approach, BCIC, Jamaica’s top insurance company launched its operations from Manor Lodge, St. Michael, on July 10, 2017.

Managing Director, Mr. Pictured (from left) are Systems Peter Levy, has stated that Administrator David Stewart, Insurance BCIC is inspired by the Officer Diana Lemo, General Manager Insurance Solutions Division (Jamaica) customer to constantly Dorothy Russell Clarke, Branch Manager evolve its products and (Barbados) Amanda Jayne Nurse and services, from sign up to Assistant Manager - Technical Services claim settlement. “We Mervin Ducasse. think first of what a customer wants and the situations that they face. If we can think ahead of them then we get to pleasantly surprise them and enhance their quality of life beyond their expectations.”

Highly regarded in Jamaica, the company’s knowledgeable and customer focused employees; thirst for insight and willingness to listen, have been cited as the main ingredients in their success over the years.

The ‘To-Do” List for the 2017 Hurricane Season Summer weather can be gorgeous in Barbados – lovely warm days, calm waters and holidays for the kids. However, this can all change in a day.

David Best from the Metrological Office or David Brooks at Barbados Weather Watchers Facebook page announces the pending arrival of a Tropical system and panic ensues. The supermarkets and hardware stores become jungles as people scramble to prepare and stock up. But, everyone could avoid this madness with preparation. Bad weather and the potential threat of hurricanes is often warned from many months in advance, although not always. Don’t be a victim. There are many ways you can prepare should you be caught.

Insurance Coverage Insurance coverage! This should be the NUMBER ONE not the last on your list. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Check your policy now and ensure everything has been covered. Many insurance companies give discounts for shutters and hurricane straps. Source what is best available out there to ensure insurance coverage is up to date. You have worked hard for your home – protect it.

Shutters Shutters are the way to go for many homes. Local companies can provide good advice from H Jason Jones, Oran, BRC and Carter’s. Your house can be protected completely. You can also get some useful burglar protection if you are leaving your home for a vacation. You need to plan shutters as the company has to quote, and if agreed, measure your windows and doors before construction and installation. This should not be a last minute option, nor will it necessarily be a cheap one.

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Generators Generators are an expensive item, but many people wish they had one when Tomas struck! Power could be lost for days or maybe longer. When the power drops the fridge won’t function so you have to use food or it will perish. Generators could avoid it. Think about this investment.

Water Tanks Water tanks can be very helpful in a disaster. It is a reasonably priced item, depending on the size. We have been experiencing more and more water problems on the island due to drought. Last month The Barbados Water Authority’s General Manager Keithroy Halliday rolled out a scheme- ‘BWA Personal Tank Programme’ providing those in the north of the island, especially who are more vulnerable, with a 400 gallon tank and it’s pump etc under a five year interest free hire purchase agreement. For those that cannot afford a tank, a means test would be carried out before being offered an interest free loan and possible funding from the COB. The Head of the BWA also warned that if disaster struck, we could be without water supply after a day. A sobering thought…

Tidy Property A good tip at no cost is to clean up your property. Get rid of anything that could become a missile in high winds. Cut down all bush and overhanging tree limbs from power lines and around your property.

Stock Up Stock up essentials long in advance of bad weather.

Tinned food, long life juices and milk, water, batteries, biscuits, granola bars – anything that won’t go bad quickly. Nothing will go to waste. When the season is over, you just eat it! Also, consider medication and your requirements?

Safeguard Valuables If a storm is approaching you may need to protect and

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The ‘To-Do” List for the 2017 Hurricane Season

safeguard valued items. This could include documents, passports, pictures, and paintings – anything that would suffer with water damage. Have plenty of old sheets and towels on hand, as wind tends to change direction in storms. Seal the windows and doors to avoid water penetration as strong winds force water into homes. If you have roof leaks you are too late to stop them. Just limit the damage and ensure they don’t happen again. Better still, repair the leaks long in advance!

Hurricanes are not fun.

Ask anyone in Antigua, Haiti, Jamaica or Florida. We have been fortunate, or lucky, to avoid the horrors of hurricanes many times, but we should never be complacent. Our advice is to heed the warnings, prepare in advance, and put all the systems in place.

Stay safe for 2017!

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Weather in Barbados

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by David G. Brooks, Barbados Weather Watchers Weather watching can be an exciting pastime for some of us who are in tune with nature or simply need to keep abreast of what’s going on around us. Of course, it can be a scary thing for some, especially when we don’t know or understand much about it.

David Brooks

The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially runs between June 1st and November 30th. While there is reduced activity in the other months, we can still have moderate to serious events that may cause flooding or even drought which disrupt the farmers and the average gardener or property manager.

Before I go much further, I want to stress that one should always take the advice of our local Metrological Office when making decisions, especially serious ones. Invariably, Insurance companies and the like, will base their assessments on the official advisories, reports and conclusions.

Lets start with some basic weather information and hopefully some analogous things that may help you understand what our weather is all about and the various things that can affect it one way or the other. During the Hurricane Season we are general affected by the following: Many times you will hear about High or Low pressure or a Ridge (High) or Trough (Low depicted on a map or overlaid of a satellite image, which is a ‘flat’ two dimensional presentation, but these features also have a vertical dimension and are present at various levels in the Atmosphere up to 40,000 feet or more.

the Tropical Atlantic between Africa and Barbados (and beyond) during the hurricane season but can start before it and continue after it, depending on conditions. These waves are of relative highs (ridges) and lows (troughs), normally oriented north to south.

If they develop further, as conditions allow, then they start to wrap around a general central point, much like a ‘sea wave’ approaching the coast line or beach – meeting high resistance (pressure) on the rising (higher) ocean floor and so when it gets to a point where it ‘breaks’ and starts to tumble/curl over and in effect starts the cyclonic action. This is a somewhat simple analogy but some surfers or sea goers that watch wave action may appreciate it as waves break left or right, from a high (reef or sand bar) to low (deeper) point. In the northern hemisphere the cyclonic rotation is counter or anti-clockwise, as viewed from above ... as seen from the surfer inside the tube (if breaking nicely) on a right break, as he/she would be at the centre of a low pressure point behind them pushing the out, but outsiders view of a left breaking sea wave would see the same anticlockwise curl of the wave like if they were seeing it from the satellite’s view. It’s all relative.

From Tropical Waves, if surrounding conditions are right, we progress to Tropical Disturbances (cresting waves), to Tropical Depressions (start of a breaking wave and just beyond), to Tropical Storms (wave broken and curling and spinning) but not too fast, to Hurricanes (waves in full curl spinning faster and

Air near the surface flows down and away in a High pressure system (left) and air flows up and together at a Low pressure system (right). These two basic systems or combinations of them ‘feed’ each other.

These and variations of them make the whole fluid dynamics of the atmosphere that surrounds the entire earth and so we have the following systems that affect us from time to time.

Tropical Waves, the train of systems that run east to west along 40

faster) ... of course, the size (height and width) depends a few other factors but it’s an analogy.

Once a system gets pass the Tropical Wave status then we progress as follows:

Weather in Barbados Tropical Disturbance A discrete tropical weather system of apparently organized convection - generally 200 to 600 km (100 to 300 nautical miles – a nautical mile is 1.15 times a statute or land mile) in diameter - originating in the tropics or subtropics and maintaining its identity for 24 hours or more. It may or may not be associated with a Tropical Wave or it might develop from some other form of trough-like weather system that may not start at the surface level.

Tropical Depression A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained wind speed is up to 38 mph or 61. Depressions have a closed circulation.

Tropical Storm A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed ranges from 34 knots (39 mph, 62 km/h) to 63 knots (73 mph, 118 km/h). The convection in tropical storms is usually more concentrated near the centre with outer rainfall organized into distinct bands.

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Weather in Barbados Hurricane When winds in a tropical cyclone equal or exceed 64 knots (74 mph, 119 km/h) it is called a hurricane (in the Atlantic and a Cyclone in eastern and central Pacific Oceans). Hurricanes are further designated by categories on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes are in categories 2 (96+ mph), 3 (111+ mph), 4 (131+ mph), 5 (156+ mph) with the last three being are known as Major Hurricanes or Intense Hurricanes. Peak gusts would be on the order of 10-25% higher.

The following – taken from the World Wind Map – shows a real scenario of the wind patterns and the resulting interaction at this time of year, where you can see the Northeast Trades winds meeting the Southeast Trades winds and the general line of convergence (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ) that is formed along the points where the meet and interact, in the case around 10N latitude from just off the west coast of Africa near 20W to nearly the Caribbean just past 50W. Note how the convergence has resulted in a low level centre of circulation nearing 10N 40W. A couple days later we have this further development, but still in the formative stages, as shown in this colour-enhanced infra-red (IR) satellite image. Note the convergence has given away to a fuller curvature in the higher levels of the atmosphere where we can see it in the cloud orientation as seen from the geostationary satellite (GOES-13) some 22,000 miles over the equator along 75W longitude.

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Weather in Barbados Of course, satellite imagery gives us a great wide view and an overall picture over a large region of the earth’s surface, yet its resolution (detail) is limited and that is where the use of Doppler Radar, usually based on land but they are also mounted on airplanes, i.e.

Hurricane Hunters, help when they get close to the system they are investigating.

This became Tropical Storm Don on July 17th after the Reconnaissance Aircraft (Hurricane Hunter) investigated it after a near 12 hour long flight mission.

To show the better detail of what radar can do here is what Tropical Storm Tomas looked like in the early morning as it approached Barbados on October 30th 2010. At that time our Radar was still in its testing stages even though operational for nearly two years and it stopped work the evening before and so we had to rely solely of the Martinique Radar for better detail. Had ours been fully operational we would have been able to give the public a much better ‘heads-up’ as to its continued developmen. As the range of these radars are about 400 km (250 miles), Martinique’s could only help us when it got under 100 miles or a few hours out from us, while ours could have given us several more hours before the heaviest winds and showers were likely to occur.

Since then our radar became operational sometime in 2011 but continued to be plagued by some issues, one of which was when the humidity got high – i.e. it was raining or very overcast conditions – it would shutdown (as it did the evening before Tomas) as the internal environmental controls for the operations centre was not functioning adequately. Then is 2014 it went down in November due to the failure of a critical part and did resume operation until August 2015. Right now it has been down since December last year and on the Barbados Met Office web site it says it is awaiting a critical part (again) which won’t be available until September later this year, when we are well into our Hurricane season and at its peak.

Well, we have a number of people that are interested in these things, as I said at the start, and a few years ago I started a Facebook Group called Barbados Weather Watchers, which had some early issues and I had to shut it down, but the new I started Barbados Weather Watchers Reloaded and we have over 5,300 members at this time and are doing well. Feel free to look it up and request to join if interested. You can also have a look at my web site – www.brohavwx.com – as I have my own images captured directly from GOES-13 satellite, my Personal Weather Station and Lightning Detector screen shots, etc. The remainder of the site is like a bookmark of other relevant weather related sites and links. I hope this has been informative of our local weather conditions that can affect us at any given time.

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The Barbados Estate Agents & Valuers Association News

Real Estate News

Latest News from the Real Estate Council The Real Estate Council is a newly formed group of elected real estate professionals operating under the umbrella of the Barbados Estate Agents and Valuers Association (BEAVA). It was born out of a constitutional change at the December 2016 AGM separating the governance of real estate practitioners and valuers.

The Real Estate Council members are all active, experienced and trained professionals in the practice of Real Estate in Barbados and aim to ensure the highest level of real estate services to the general public. Chairman of the Real Estate Council is Mr. Franklyn Jeffers of Churchfield Real Estate.

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Education

The Real Estate Council is eager to welcome new members and to have all existing real estate practitioners join us to strengthen our professional organization and positively develop the real estate industry in Barbados. In furtherance of this pursuit, the new council is focusing on education and working hard to offer members and all stakeholders and interested parties educational modules and seminars that are relevant to today’s market.

Our first Module for 2017 was held in June, presented by Gillian Clarke and Savitri St. John of the established firm Clarke Gittens Farmer. This excellent three part presentation centered on Real Estate Code of Ethics, the mortgage process and the new BRA Legislation. It was extremely well subscribed! This module is one of 5 that are needed in order to qualify for membership status, of which there are several categories: Broker, Salesperson, Trainee Salesperson, Property Manager and Associate Member.

For full details on our programs, membership requirements, upcoming modules and seminars please contact our Administrator Jeanine Jones at admin@beavainc.com or your preferred BEAVA agent for info! You can also visit our new website www.barbadosrealestateassoc.com for all of your Barbados Real Estate related questions and member info!

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Cornering The Agents

Real Estate

by Kim Goddard With the markets changing rapidly it is difficult to know how to position offers as a buyer and how aggressive to be as a seller in pricing a property. It seems that as one segment of the market goes down another starts to grow. Kim Goddard questioned two of our established real estate agents on the current strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats in the market that they are experiencing during the last two months and are looking forward to in the next two months in the Barbados real estate market.

Rae “Muffin” Stollmeyer - Sotheby’s International Realty Head of Sales

What strengths and opportunities are you finding in the current market?

What strengths and opportunities are you finding in the current market?

Purchasers:

Purchasers:

- Non national sales are happening at a low achieved price – a buyers market.

- Local market finding the lower interest rates attractive and stable rental markets make buying an investment property desirable.

- Local market is more active than non-national market - Returning national market is showing signs of growth either with people retiring to Barbados or buying a second David Coombes home. These are typically - Caribbean Island Properties cash buyers or people using credit facilities overseas to purchase in Barbados.

- A general sense that the property market/exchange rate with the UK/Canada is at or approaching the bottom and they are looking for improved confidence in Barbados’ economic performance before making a buying decision.

Vendors: - The price range with the most activity for non-nationals seems to be below USD$1,000,000, specifically between US$500,000 and $750,000.

- This seems to be a time when there is a lot of market research going on by potential buyers. This may lead into an uptick in sales this season as learning how the buying process works and the relationship building with an agent is well underway before arrival.

What weaknesses and threats are you finding in the current market?

Purchasers: - A tendency to be learning about the market now as a nonnational, with the expectation of moving forward on a purchase in the next 6 months. Some confusion on significantly varying list prices of similar properties and actual achieved sales prices of the same.

- Local purchasers concerned over local economy - International purchasers still cautious about the exchange rate resulting in delaying purchases.

Vendors: - Vendors who do not choose to readjust pricing expectations are not getting offers.

Vendors: - Sales seem to be happening with clients who have studied the market a long time and when a vendor drops a price to move quickly it is selling.

- Local Vendors are looking at how to get liquidity in their lifestyle and selling properties they previously may have held onto in a more prosperous economy.

- Property priced between USD$150,000-$300,000 are less affected than higher priced properties and are therefore moving the fastest and appear to be less affected by external factors like exchange rates and local economic outlook.

What weaknesses and threats are you finding in the current market?

Purchasers - Non national purchasers are feeling threatened by the uncertainty in the market and concerns over all the credit downgrades Barbados has experienced.

- Local purchasers feeling a loss of confidence in the economy and concerned over lower discretionary income.

Vendors - The numbers of transactions in Barbados has decreased and the number of listings are growing.

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