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Archives for category: Beach & Boat
Right now there is tons of activity in the Private Island market in the Bahamas right now. At the moment there are three private island auctions going on.
One is for a group of cays in the North Abaco Chain being sold at Auction in the very near future. This is going to be one of those rare chances to buy real paradise for a fraction of the value. Big Grand Cay and its group of cays are spectacular setting and one of those rare playgrounds of sand sea and water that could be entirely yours. A total of 11 different islands, think of the potential to have a cottage on each one and rent out a little private island to honeymooners, with fully serviced amenities. The down side is the area is a bit remote but a Cesna Caravan can land at nearby Walkers Cay without a hitch.
check it out here:
have a look in the Cruising Guide to Abaco, it is one of the hot spot destinations for Anglers heading to Abaco for Fishing. and a key stop off for waterbourne commuters travelling between Abaco and Florida.
Also on Auction is Innocence Island in the Exuma Chain, a large private island with a very rare private runway. The Bahamas government has put a restriction on it and will not allow anyone to build private airstrips anymore due to the logistics of controlling the airspace here (read US government influence). In any event this is a rare chance to buy a cay with private runway. check out the video here:
Otherwise, around Abaco there are some neat options to have a private kingdom in paradise.
Joes Cay, beautiful beaches and only $2.25M:
http://www.hgchristie.com/properties/abaco/private-island/AS10800/joe-s-cay/
Bahama Cays, (formerly the artist known as Fish Cays) some unique features, almost completed mini boutique resort, could be great for the right person. all the hard work has already been done:
http://www.hgchristie.com/properties/abaco/private-island/AS12330/private-luxurious-island/
People have been wanting and trying to buy Johnnys Cay for decades, and now it is finally for sale. located between Elbow Cay (Hope Town) and Man O War Cay, you could not find a better strategic position for a private fiefdom anywhere in the world.
Cave Cay was the site of an attempted settlement many many decades ago. Had it survived it would have been another charming place to visit along with Hope Town or New Plymouth. It has caves and harbours and beaches and natural kaleidoscope of landscapes and waterscapes. it is just waiting for someone with vision to appreciate the natural beauty on offer:
And the much touted, much desired Sandy Cay (confusing but there are 3 Sandy Cays in the Abaco Chain) literally adjoining Man O War Cay. So you can have fresh baked bread every morning from MOW, swing by for lunch of hang out with the sail shop or boat building fellows. A unique proposition on offer, the cay has been lovingly enjoyed by 2 sets of extended families over the years. This is where family memories are made that will endure through to the grandkids of the grandkids. recently price adjusted to $8M, considering all the toys, boats and extras it is quite an attractive prospect.
http://www.hgchristie.com/properties/abaco/private-island/15135/sandy-cay/
Powells Cay is a developers delight. large, raw beauty with an excellent labour force minutes away, easy access to infrastructure, this spot is ripe for a unique getaway resort to be developed.
http://www.hgchristie.com/properties/abaco/private-island/AS12305/pristine-powell-cay/
And lastly, Walkers Cay is a fabled island, the most northerly spot in the entire Bahamas. There is history and fellowship and stories upon stories about this place in its heyday. begging for someone to come along and redevelop it to its former glory days. Recreate the celebrated luxury fishing camp and marina of times gone by. plus government supplied electricity and water, private runway, and deep water channel.
Contact me anytime if you have a serious interest and don’t miss out on the chance at the auctions if you can. dwayne@hgchristie.com
(Apologies for my last post, I wrote it and then it got lost when publishing and wordpress posted it to FB and LinkedIn before I realized the post was blank.)
A few weeks back everyone was talking about a recent video shoot for a new music video that Pitbull shot in Staniel Cay, Exuma. It shows some great images of the mesmerizing waters of the Exuma Banks, and some shots of the whimsical Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Staniel Cay is definitely one of those places in the world that should be visited at least once in your life. It is a magical place, the location of the cave scenes in James Bonds ‘Thunderball’ movie. At the dock, nurse sharks hang out all day and keep you company. Personally I don’t think the music video does the cay and the area justice, but it is worth a look:
In other news there is a rumor that Miley Cyrus may be spending time in Treasure Cay, Abaco. Reports are unconfirmed though. Treasure Cay is home to a fabulous beach and I’ve taken on a new home for sale, sited right at the end of the point, with the best location and positioning in all of Treasure. ‘Casa Bella’ is the kind of home dreams are made of and indeed made in. Endless memories will be created in this stylish beach home. Check it out click on the photo below for more details:
Recent happenings of note in the Bahamas include the Bahamas Speed Week which was another success but still lots of growing pains. The participants say it is one of the most striking places they have raced their cars. Hope Town held it’s annual Boxcart Derby (racing on a completely different level but just as fun) and despite inclement weather was another huge success – Once again I endeavor to enter a cart next year. We will see if I can pull it off.
Upcoming event – the 242 Colour run in Hope Town on the 28th December. This should prove to be an exciting event, where you run/walk/crawl a 5k and get covered in colourful paint? (?? Seems interesting, maybe I’ll try it out)
I would also mention that New Years in the Abacos is lots of fun. Very family friendly and each of the cays does it a little differently, but there is always great fireworks, usually some Junkanoo and great entertainment across the island. Pete’s Pub is often a low key but fulfilling atmosphere to ring it in. Book early though as all of the rental homes get booked solid for the New Years holiday.
Schooner Bay is now functional, with gas dock, marina, several different villas to stay in, the Blackfly Lodge is open for business and there are now 2 options for eating out plus a newly opened general store which is bound to expand and grow. Be sure to make plans for an afternoon relaxing by the harbour.
Otherwise in real estate news, it seems 2013 is finishing up on a low note, but signs are pointing to a very much improved 2014. Florida’s real estate market is 30% up year over year, and has steadied out with inventory dropping significantly. Typically we see spill over in the Bahamas from 6 months to a year later, so I anticipate we will see some big improvement in our local market in Abaco from around spring time through the summer.
That said, there is still a high inventory of real estate here in Abaco at 620+ listings, and over 230+ of those are single family homes. Homes are continuing to sell much faster than undeveloped land or multifamily properties. It is now the perfect time to buy, before the almost guaranteed upswing coming next year. Things have been improving in market but at a subdued rate over the past 2 years. Most brokers and agents I speak with around town all agree that there will be significant gains next year.
On the other side of the coin though, Abaco Beach Resort and Treasure Cay are both in need of a fresh injection of energy and would really benefit from new owners. If these to anchor properties in Abaco were rejuvenated it would have a profound effect on the rest of the Abacos. Both resorts could be an option for the right investor with the right vision. Send me a proposal if you are interested. In other news, there has been some recent activity in the commercial market in Abaco, with some significant properties looking to have new owners in 2014. All good signs but still fairly muted at the moment.
Newly redeveloped projects are doing extremely well – I mentioned Schooner Bay already, other places to check out are Firefly Resort, The Hope Town Inn and Marina, and Bakers Bay is setting new standards in Abaco. The Bluff House and the Green Turtle Cay Club are both undergoing improvement works and they’ve recently dredged the channel to White Sound to accommodate larger vessels. All good news and good things happening around the cays.
Finally, take a look at recent video I’ve shot of a beautiful home on Gillam Bay, Green Turtle Cay. This is almost the perfect home…http://youtu.be/W0yxqA3XWlc
Now in closing can I ask all my readers to please cross your fingers and send positive vibes that the new Marsh Harbour airport terminal will be finally opened and functioning in January 2014 as has been recently promised.
This may be my last post before the end of the year – Happy Holidays, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, may 2014 be another wonderful year to add to the memories.
About conch conservation in the Bahamas. Enjoy!
This week I am going to promote a project of 2 very good friends of mine. They are providing a wonderful service with no direct personal gain to themselves. Producing educational and informative videos and sharing them on the web for everyone’s enjoyment and edification.
Their most recent video is about the disappearing stocks of conch on the seabeds of the Bahamas. Please take a moment to check it out. It is entertaining and informative. I can personally attest to the depleted conch stocks in the waters. As a kid it was much much easier to go out and dive up a few conch than it is now. Fishermen was go further and wider to find enough to fill the hold an make a profit.
A recent ‘letter to the editor’ of the Nassau Tribune discusses fisheries in this country and the issues facing commercial fishermen. He makes a very good point that there is no point trying to push conservation and education to Bahamian fishermen, when we allow illegal commercial fishermen from the Dominican Republic to sneak into our borders and essentially rape and pillage one of the countries few natural resources. Take a read of his rebuke of the Bahamas Government and fishing at this url:
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/apr/21/fishing-in-the-bahamas/?opinion
Also, take a look around at the conchsaladtv.com website and the other entertaining videos they have done. One of my favourites is the one on lighthouses.
Happy Earth Day, and lets hope we are all still here next year and don’t get taken out by a massive asteroid! :0
This post will hopefully save some of my fellow real estate colleagues some grief, and may even helps some other business persons around the Bahamas as well. It is about how the Bahamas is large collection of scattered islands with travel infrastructure that is not like hopping on the London Tube or the New York Subway. It takes time to get from one place to the next and one island to the next.
I have a friend and fellow sailor (who happens to be the head of the Abaco Rage sailing syndicate right now), Stafford Patterson. He has a boat rental business (www.seahorseboatrentals.com) and he also takes folks out on charter day trips snorkeling or swimming or fishing or stopping at a few of the many eating establishments around Abaco (http://www.captplug.com). Stafford is a great guy with good sense of humour. He has shared a few tales about inquiries he receives from potential clients and it goes like this: They are staying at the big resort Atlantis for 5 days and want him to pick them up form the beach there one morning, go to Harbour Island for lunch, Exuma Sound and perhaps check out Mount Alvernia on Cat Island, maybe a quick run to San Salvador to see the Columbus monument and drop them back by 5pm. The problem is it would take about 5 days in a super fast boat and really really calm seas to make all of those stops and return to Paradise Island and Atlantis. Or, even if you had a seaplane it would still take you at least 2 whole days and some good weather.
This request is like calling up a tour company in the US and telling them you wan to see Liberty, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Arches National Park all in one day and be home for supper at 7pm. IT is not physically possible at least until we figure out teleportation (hello Startreck fans?? Help please?)
If only people visiting the Bahamas would spend a little bit of time doing some homework, we Bahamians would have a little bit less exasperation in our lives.
All the time, pretty much every week I get an inquiry from someone who wants to view some property (can you tell I’m in real estate yet?) in Abaco and the want to see one or two on each of the cays, a few in Treasure Cay, a few in Marsh Harbour and then a couple down south in Casuarina, Bahama Palm Shores and Schooner Bay. And everytime i have to explain the logistics of ferrys or water travel and time and distances between all of these places. To do all of the spots I mentioned above including the main outer cays (being Green Turtle Cay, Man O War Cay, Great Guana Cay and Elbow Cay) we are talking about a travel distance of about 100 miles. That 100 miles would include a few hours of driving at 50+ MPH, round trip on 4 different ferries and another possible hour plus of driving on rough unpaved roads (BPS, Casuarina, Schooner Bay). As you can see it is impossible to do in one day. Ideally one would need a week to really get to see all the key settlements and areas of Abaco and make an informed decision.
Please people – Do some homework, look at a map, check out the ferry schedules (Found here: Green Turtle Cay http://www.oii.net/Information/Ferry.html Or the ferry schedule for the other cays (Guana, MOW & Elbow) is here: www.alburysferry.com/schedule.html
To help you out a bit here are some approximate travel times form various areas, assume you are driving at 55mph on the highway:
Marsh Harbour to Treasure Cay – 35 minutes
Marsh Harbour to Green Turtle Cay including ferry ride – 1 hour but work around the ferry schedule, they will leave you on the dock if you are 5 minutes late.
Marsh Harbour to Schooner Bay – 50 minutes
Marsh Harbour to Hope Town, Elbow Cay – 25 minutes
Marsh Harbour to Guana Cay – 30 minutes
Green Turtle Cay to Hope Town – 9 am ferry from GTC, plan to get the 10:30 ferry to HT and arrive at 11, so 2 hours.
Now for travel among the islands of the Bahamas because I have people asking about real estate in Abaco and also want to look at Exuma and Eleuthera and perhaps check out GRand Bahama too just for good measure. It makes sense to cover all your options and make an informed decision when you are spending hundreds of thousands or even a million or two a home in paradise. But plan accordingly. With a few exceptions all the commercial flights use Nassau as the hub so you typically need to fly through Nassau to get form say Abaco to Exuma or Exuma to Eleuthera. Unless of course you have your own plane or charter a plane to take you around.
Hopping in a decent 6 or 8 seater charter plane is probably one of the best ways to see the Bahamas. It will cost you but you will love the experience, there nothing quite like flying only 800 feet over some of the most beautiful unspoiled tropical beauty we have to offer. Check out the facebook page for outislandflyer, he’s got some neat pictures.
Anyway, back to the point, if for instance you want to visit Abaco and Exuma you would plan to fly to Nassau, then onto Marsh Harbour. spend a night to two in Abaco and then plan to take the better part of a day to layover in Nassau and then get a connecting flight onto Exuma International. There are no flights directly between MHH and Exuma, sorry.
There are select flights directly between Marsh Harbour and North Eleuthera on Fridays and Saturdays with Cherokee Aviation. And there is a company that flies direct from Freeport to Marsh Harbour but all other routes go into or out of Nassau International Airport.
There, now we have it clear as mud, come visit the Bahamas, but plant to take your time to enjoy the trip and explore a little. There are some wonderful places to visit here, like Deans Blue Hole or Hole in the Wall Lighthouse.
Above: A beautiful 7 bedroom home on Treasure Cay’s world famous top ten beach. It is a stunning property with lots of toys. Contact me for details or check out more pictures at http://www.hgchristie.com/details/abaco/treasure-cay/house-as11990
Thanks for reading.
So I am terrible at this blogging thing. Its been a month since my last post and I had planned to post every week. This blogging thing takes a lot more determination and dedication than I anticipated.
Why haven’t I posted in a while you ask? well, I’ve been too busy with training for the triathlon, spending time with my wonderful daughter and keeping up with work. The other big time consuming activity lately – the real estate market in the Bahamas and Abaco specifically, has taken a significant uptick lately and I’ve been able to find the time to sit down and put together an update.
Since my last post, quite a lot has happened in Abaco. The Hope Town Museum Heritage festival, which is always fun and good to support the museum. – And any excuse to go have lunch in Hope Town.
There was the annual Man O War Cay flea market, where you can find some of the best fudge and home baked goods on the planet. It is also a great time to check out Man O War, see the museum, boat building works and history of the settlement.
There were 2 ‘Reef Balls’, one at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge and one at the Jib Room Marsh Harbour Marina. Both are held in aid of the programs and projects of the Friends of the Environment group. The ‘Ball’ is an elegant evening affair and a rare excuse to get ‘dolled up’ in Abaco. So fella’s pull out those rarely used suits and black ties while the ladies dig out the equally untouched elegant evening wear. They are wonderfully entertaining events with both live and silent auctions, and delicious meal followed by live music and dancing and libations. I’ve missed it for the first time in 7 years of living in Abaco, but the upside was avoiding the hangover the following day. Always a hoot though and definitely marking on your calender for next year.
Below are a few photos from the joint Interact and Rotary Club “Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival” back in January.
Above the winning entry for the Abaconian Newspaper, and below the entry for HG Christie.
I have also taken part in the Hope Town Sailing Club Sunday regatta on the 16th and took home the first place, narrowly pushing Andrew Wilhoyte out by 1 point.
Now this past weekend was the Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend and I completed my first triathlon. I did the ‘Sprint’ distance. I don’t know why they call it a sprint because there is absolutely no way anyone would be sprinting for a half kilometer swim, a 15km cycle and a 5km run – SERIOUSLY? Anyway, despite the cloudy day, cold water and rain it is a a wonderful day and a great place to do a triathlon. The beach at Treasure Cay is perfect, a long shallow water swim along the beach in calm water is unrivaled. The roads for the bike are pretty flat and there is really very little traffic that time in the morning in North Abaco. And then the run is down a scenic Windward Drive with several spots to see the water and canals. It truly is a great spot. The Treasure Cay Hotel was a great supporter of the event providing room discounts. The hotel rooms in Treasure Cay are reasonably priced for Abaco, and while the rooms could use updating and renovating, they are generally clean and maintained and the big plus is that they usually have a fridge, microwave and coffer maker in them. Plus they all the rooms have a porch or balcony looking out over the marina.
Above: A Beautiful sunrise swim to start of the Triathlon. The water was cold (65 degrees) but wonderful.
Below: me heading out on the run portion of the Tri:
I finished 19th out of 34 in my first triathlon using a fat tire mountain bike against mostly road bikes, with a time of 1h 45 minutes. Not bad for a guy that hates running with a passion. On the plus side i lost 15 lbs as a result of the training. and I’ve raised $900 towards the eradication of Polio Effort of Rotary International. Thank you to all the people who sponsored me to do this and for helping contribute to the end of Polio. I would not have done this excruciating task otherwise.
Next up on the calender – the Homer Lowe Memorial regatta held in Marsh Harbour.
In other news, the real estate market has shown serious signs of heating up lately. Just about everyone is in agreement that the ‘bottom’ was reached sometime last year and the housing recovery in the US is in full swing. As a result, many people who had been waiting and holding off on buying a home or lot or condo have realized now is the time to make that move to buy a vacation home in the Bahamas. Over the past 2 weeks, there will be about 5 homes in Abaco gone to contract int eh $200,000 to $400,000 price range. There is also some activity in the higher price ranges too. I’ve already witnessed twice, where a potential buyer wanted to make an offer on a home and it was already under contract…
My appraisal business has been non-stop too and I’m having trouble keep up with the demand. As I understand it, Bahamian banks have good liquidity and cash available to lend, but they are only considering clients with strong financial track records. So while lending is tight, it is loosening up a bit. As they say, in this market right now Cash Is King when making an offer on a home.
Thanks for reading.
Another Monday morning after another wonderful weekend. Ho hum well time to get back to work. Once again I find myself delinquent of not meeting my personal goal of one post every week – Oh well, goals are made to be set and broken right? In any event due to my lazy posting I find myself in a situation of having too much to write about. Some might say that is not a problem but a blessing. It is not a blessing when you have too much to do and too little time to get it done, especially for a Monday morning.
First off, while most of western world was watching the ever entertaining Super Bowl, the Bahamas once again ponied up for an advertising slot and aired a very nice commercial promoting the islands. It focused on the Exuma Cays natural beauty, but it speaks for most of the Bahamas as there are little hideaway spots like these hidden all over the archipelago. If you missed it you can see it here either on youtube or the Caribbean Journal site:
or
It is nicely done and does show off the Bahamas’ hidden “backwaters” well but I must admit I personally found it a little boring and i had no idea why it was felt that David Copperfield should be included… “my 2 cents” as we say around here.
What else happened recently?
Well on Saturday Pete Johnston turned 50 for the 19th time. It was a great time had by all, being a perfect family friendly party, fundraiser and celebration at Pete’s Pub. There were dozens of kids and families running around the sand and beach or mashing down on the pig roast or jerk smoked chicken which enhanced their usual menu of fresh caught fish. The day was a fundraiser which successfully raised funding for a young local man in Cherokee (I believe) who has cerebral palsy. Pete is also a recent grandfather. I was chatting Pete’s son Greg about the day and we remarked about how the event has changed dramatically over the years – It certainly was not family friendly 19 years ago when Pete first turned 50. My daughter has a blast and really enjoyed her lunch too.
The weekend before, 26th and 27th of January: this is another extremely busy weekend for me. It is a wonder I ever get any of the ‘honey do’ list done at home. Friday, Saturday & Sunday was the Bahamas National Trust’s “Art for the Parks” art show. I went and had a look at some of the promising and/or talented exhibitors there and our Rotary Club held out 4 the annual Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival fundraiser which beautifies the sidewalk along the marina docks near the art show tent. it raised $3,000 and is also a competition among artists.
The following day on Sunday, the wife Sheree, the daughter Clara and I got up early and hopped on the 9am ferry to Hope Town. We had a mouthwatering chicken souse at “On Da Beach” at Turtle Hill. This is a local staple for folks living in Abaco, our friends Matt & Lindsey have had souse there just about every Sunday for almost 7 years. Chicken Souse is a bahamian dish for breakfast and is a wonderful recovering meal after a long night ‘plying the party waters’. Which incidentally is on the market for sale if you know anyone interested, details can be found here: http://www.hgchristie.com/details/abaco/hope-town-elbow-cay/business-as11549.
Then Matt & I headed out to the crystal clear waters off of Hope Town to join the Hope Town Sailing club for one of the winter series sailing. We had 14 sunfish on the start line which is great size for a racing fleet. Several of the racers were in the 10-16 age group, a couple of which nearly beat me to the finish. It was one of those days of sailing racing that makes living here so perfect. The winds were NE over the north end of Elbow Cay blowing 8-12 knots. This made for inconsistent but constant wind shifts. I was the only one who brought a compass out to track the wind shifts and just beat out Dave to take first place on a tie breaker. It was some really tight sailing with all boats finishing within a couple of minutes of each other and it could have been anyone’s race. The HT sailing club is very keen and always a great resource. I must thank them and especially Dave & Carol Pahl for handling the thankless task of running race committee. If you want to get involved or learn to sail check them out: www.hopetownsailingclub.com. And thanks to them for this photo of me sailing:
So the year 2013 is getting off to a very good start, I hazard to say. Business wise, real estate seems to be showing good signs of improvement (check out my last post). I’ve been seeing good activity both in sales and appraisals. All price levels seem to be moving again, which is a good sign, but don’t think that prices are improving – remember we are in the ‘new market’ – good value is the key driver right now.
The first three weeks of 2013 have been absolutely stunning weather-wise in Abaco. perfect 75-80 degrees and sunny during the days and then a casual 68-72 at night. Could you ask for better? The water is a little chilly for Bahamians, but many of our visitors really enjoy it regardless of the 65F degree chill :).
Anyway, last Saturday, me, the wife and the kid went down to Little Harbour had a wonderful lunch with Heather and the youngest resident of the area Fletcher. The food at Pete’s Pub is always spectacular and in my opinion probably the best in Abaco period. The main reason for going down was to take part in the 2nd RC Laser regatta of Abaco for 2013. I missed the first one in Marsh Harbour due to work commitments and haven’t used the boat since last year. As usual, no one could top Jim Kaighan who took all the bullets in every race. I followed up with 4 seconds and 3 thirds, while Randy Key was closely on the heels with 3 seconds and 4 thirds. It was a tight fleet and a perfect day for it. The winds were medium and the sun was out. While the big boys played with their toys there were a few toddlers including my daughter Clara, who had a splashing good time running up and down the sheltered beach in the harbour and splashing into the calm clear waters.
For photos of the day check out:http://www.flickr.com/photos/amylillianphotography/8395846145/in/set-72157632559481265/
Above Picture: View of Little Harbour from one of my listings, ‘Top Deck’, AS11860
All in all, a wonderful day and everyone had a good time. Dad got to play, daughter got to splash around and exhaust herself, and mom got to relax in the sun. What more could you ask for right?
In other news, related to Little Harbour – The following day, Sunday 20th, 2013, friends of mine and members of the Friends of the Environment organization went on a spectacular kayaking trip up in to the timeless creeks behind Little Harbour to seek out a few of the mesmerizing blue holes to be found up there. It is a dreamy place to visit and can only be done by shallow draft boat, ie a kayak or a flats boat. This is where the Kayak Challenge happened last year and I did a 14 mile paddle to raise funds for charity. Little Harbour really is one of the hidden jewels of the world in my humble opinion. If you are in Abaco you should make the effort to go down for a Blaster and lunch with your feet in the sand.
This past Sunday, I hopped on the 7:30am Sky Bahamas flight that is usually running a bit early. They were early again this time too, but about 10 minutes. I was on my way to Bahamas Speed Week in Nassau. It was a neat trip and worth the effort. There were some really cool cars there, a couple of DB5’s like those seen with James Bond. There was a very rare original condition 375MM Spyder, a Delorean and I still like Jimmy’s Jaguar E-class the best. It was a short trip and I was back in Abaco by 4:30 that day, thanks to Sky Bahamas prompt service. For car enthusiasts it was a great event, with some great food, champagne and chocolates. Check it out at www.BahamasSpeedWeek.com.
^ One of the starts of the pratice runs around the track before the time trials begin.
Upcoming events include the Abaco Christmas Festival which is always a good bit of fun and well attended by locals, this coming Saturday December 8th.
Now a bit of advice based on a recent experience for friends, readers and potential home buyers or future builders in Abaco. It is not a good idea to leave furniture and bedding etc. at the port dock in Marsh Harbour. Clients of mine have had their stuff left on the port dock in Marsh Harbour both in a container and some items were shipped loose. They were left on the dock as a result of the contractor’s inability to finish their house (It still isn’t finished as I write). They were sitting on the dock in a container for 5 months, including Hurricane Sandy. When the furniture was taken to the house, the mattresses were wet and growing mildew, as were the couches. It would appear that neither the shipping company nor the shipping insurance company nor the customs broker will take any responsibility for the items condition if they are not collected within 30 days of arriving. So, just a word to the wise, don’t leave your stuff on the dock and expect everything to be fine. Take the time and pay the extra money to put it into a proper storage facility if you cannot put it anywhere else. 30 days is the magic number I believe.
This coming month of December is going to speed by as usual, firmly punctuated by the festivities of the year end holidays. I will plan to keep up with this blog posting once a week and we shall see how it goes.
And now a shameless plug for a potential new listing coming on stream – for a beautiful unique home in the vicinity of the idyllic cove between Great Guana Cay and Scotland Cay.
