1910372019 ‘The beginner's guide to buying a private island | Financial Times Prime property The beginner's guide to buying a private island ‘Avoid becoming marooned in a sea of high casts anc red tape with our tips George Hammond MARCH 1, 2019 Estate agents are sometimes obliged to go the extra mile to sell a property. For most, that means an after-work viewing or a drive out of town. For Edward de Mallet Morgan, it meant s swimming with sharks. ripping off and De Mallet Morgan sells private islands in the Caribbean for Knight Frank. When some clients hips sw comicontenvO02"6a70-36ef-1169-bd3e-862821149005 ant1910372019 ‘The beginner's guide to buying a private island | Financial Times doubted that the native nurse sharks were benign, he was obliged to prove them wrong. Welcome to “the rarefied world of trophy assets’, he says. There are innumerable private islands for sale around the world, from three-acre outcrops in the Aegean to remote eco-outposts in the Bahamas and luxury resorts in the Seychelles. They are the of people with experience of private islands and selling them living on them to find out how to expensive, build costs can be astronomical, and there are many pitfalls. spoke to a number avoid disaster. Here are our seven tips for buying an island. Place yourself “The is special,” says John Bracco, sales director at Immobilsarda, an affiliate of Christie's International Real Estat islands offer privacy and a connection with nature, In the Mediterranean, he adds, there is a and is always a dream: it’s not something easy, it’s not something banal. It’s something . Bracco, whose business is mostly conducted in the waters around Italy, says that scarcity value: “It’s not like in the Caribbean where you have hundreds.” Wherever you buy there are complications. Off Italy, almost all islands are state-owned and not for sale, says Braeco. Those that are often have strict regulations governing development. Nonetheless, he says, “there are still people who want to buy islands they can’t build on”. Purchases in much of the Caribbean are governed by British law, making transactions relatively i take the straightforward. The freeholds to many are owned by holding compani form of share sales, says de Mallet Morgan. Twin sands, Alaska © vprivaeslandsde In Thailand and other parts of Asia, freehold islands are rare, foreigners are often barred from owning land and buyers can have difficulty establishing ultimate ownership, he adds. In Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, there is no freehold land but leases can be extended at any point for a fee. hips hw comicontenvO02"6a70-36ef-1169-bd3e-802821149005 amso0n2018 ‘The bogie’ que to buying apa islng| Fnac Tnes ‘Once you have bought your island, building on itis the next problem, Ownership rights on Caribbean islands extend to the high-water mark and jetties require special permissions. Business or pleasure? Buying an island for private use is similar to buying an expensive house, says John Christie, who, as chief executive of Bahamas agency HG Christie, “sells islands all day every day”. Ifyou plan to make your island a commercial proposition, however, things can get more complicated. In the Bahamas, commercial buyers need approval from the government's investment authority. Christie estimates that 80 per cent of buyers in the Bahamas are purchasing for family use, which helps them navigate the process quicker. Once the approval is granted, he says, some do edge towards moneymaking schemes. Brett Das Many of Christie's buyers “want to be like Richard Branson’, he says. The British entrepreneur was an island pioneer. In 1978, he bought Necker in the British Virgin Islands for $180,000 and has since transformed it into a luxury resort. A one-night stay on Necker now costs $5,000. For $77,500 a night, 30 guests can book the entire island. Little Pipe Cay, a 38-acre island in the Exumas archipelago of the Bahamas, was bought after its previous owners “weighed up the pros and cons of buying a superyacht or a private island. They seramt Fovr thy A has inh ae na anvie An Mallat Manaan Ranaht ana bitpsiiwo.comicontenv02TBa70-36c-11e9-bd3e-80282 1108005 ant