Places to buy property for vacation and future retirement home ?

Hi Jackie,

Welcome on board

We created a new thread as from your post on the Belize Forum for better interactions

Regarding accommodation you can check this section here ---> Housing in Belize

Thank you

Maximilien

Jackie and Hubby
Welcome to Belize.   I hope your first exploration goes well.  I am building a house on the very north end of the Placencia peninsula, near Riversdale and I love the area.  After looking all over the country we found this area to be the best fit for us.  We can go south down the peninsula for a great island/beach atmosphere with good food, diving, fishing, etc.  Or, go a short, short drive inland for all the jungle activities.

Be sure you come over to Placencia when you arrive with plenty of time to poke around the side streets. Talk to people hanging out, or building their homes, and get the real story on life in Belize.

RC

Thanks for the replies! Paradisebelize, how long did you spend checking out the country and looking at property? We are thinking of coming down for a two week trip but I am starting to wonder if we really should try and do a month. Would you suggest staying in one place for the trip and traveling around the rest of the country or staying in multiple places during the same trip? Also, are there more properties available than just what is listed online? We don't have a lot to spend right now but we do want to buy something before we can't afford it at all. We have about 15 years until the kids leave the nest, so our property will be for vacation until we can actually make the move down there. A lot of what I have seen online is not that much cheaper than US land and that was quite discouraging. Then again, maybe that's just the "Americans with money" price? We are by no means rich, which is why we started looking outside the U.S. In the first place. Any more info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

I see too many people come down with a week to devote and they are determined to buy and get building.   They usually don't last and don't become long time residents.   A week is not enough time to evaluate one specific area and certainly not enough time to check out the whole nation.
I suggest you make a first trip to check out Corozal, Orange Walk and San Ignacio.  Make no decision, just gather data and get a feel.
Come back another trip and spend a week looking along the Hummingbird Highway (Belmopan and east) and down the Southern Highway,  Hopkins,  Sanctuary, Placencia and even Punta Gorda.  Again, no decisions, just gather data and get a feel.   From those two trips pick an area you want to go back and spend more time.
People who rush the process pay too much, get properties that flood in the rainy season, find themselves too close to crime areas or too far from basic civilized need.
That third trip will let you focus in on an area and either like or dislike.   Even if you like the area, Keep digging.  There are a lot of details that need to be dug out and examined before you commit.
If you have a month to spend,  You might even look at this like a job.   do the first week inland (San Ignacio, Orange Walk, Corozal) then go up to Playa Del Carmen or somewhere nice in Mexico for two or three days to decompress and absorb the info.   Then go back for the southern leg of the trip.

Good Luck

Like paradizebelize, we took our time before buying anything - about a year and a half going back and forth to Belize for a week or 2 at a time. We chose a location that is close to pretty much everything, about 30 min to Belmopan, 30 min to the water on the inland coast, an hour from the Placencia beaches. We knew what we wanted, and where we wanted it, before we bought. Some property is expensive, but not compared to the US. You can't get good beachfront property in the US for anywhere close to the prices here. Timberland/native forest property in the US is much more expensive than here in Belize. It would have cost me at least 5X what I paid here, for comparable property in the US. If you want a high-end house/condo in San Pedro, it will be expensive. You can get a good idea of the price ranges looking at different real estate sites in Belize, but you could probably expect to pay significantly less than the listing price.

I'm enjoying reading your posts, KJ. You sound quite hospitable, realistic and down-to-earth.

We'll be heading to Belize for and "extended vacation" next year with the intention of getting a genuine feel for Belize and finding a home. Cayo definitely seems like where we want to be (we love Bullet Tree), but we're not set on anything, yet. We aren't looking for an ex-pat community either, but we do want to be relatively close to a few, basic amenities and since we're 10+ years away from retirement, we'd like to buy a piece of land where we can build a few, small cabanas to run a casual vacation spot. We'd love to find a few acres of riverfront property.

It sounds like you you've found the best of all worlds with your location. Where did you purchase your land and would you be kind enough to describe your area in more detail?

Thanks!

We bought a little over 50 acres, ¼ mi off the Hummingbird Hwy, around ½ way up. It had all the requirements we were looking for – secluded, native jungle with native hardwood, nice surface water - 3 streams, a range of elevations, about 5 acres of planted fruit, and enough property for some horses, a house, etc. Close enough to the water around Gales Point/Hopkins and the Sittee River Marina that putting a boat in will be quick and easy, even closer access for river canoeing/kayaking, close enough to Belmopan to go frequently if needed, not too far from Placencia or San Ignacio, or the Cayes, and far enough from the coast not to have to worry. Our little slice of paradise.
There is lots of waterfront/riverfront property available in Belize. We looked at a really nice piece in the Yalbac area, but ended up off Hummingbird instead. Good luck with your quest. Take your time and enjoy the visits.

I'm curious... if I find some land that I like, and utilities are nearby, is it difficult/expensive to get hooked up build the hookups to them?

For example, here in Washington state, if you build a new construction and want to hookup to electricity, the local utility charges $8000 USD to do it.  Sewer is about the same cost.  And you need to be very close to the supply lines.

Having septic and a well would avoid part of that.  But I'm not thinking of going fully off-the-grid.

BTW, it looks like electricity is outrageously expensive there.  We pay 8cents/kW, looks like Belize pays like 33 in parts.

Thanks all for the great information! 😊.
Karenjoe, the type of land and location you bought sounds a lot like what we are looking for!
We will definitely check out Hummingbird highway area when we come. We are looking for the jungle feel with mountain views and water not too far away but far enough not to flood out. We are also looking into being off-grid. I used to own an off- grid cabin in Michigan's Manistee National forest ( ex got it in divorce) and other than acquiring wood to heat it in the winter, it was a great little place. Wooded land  up there can be had for $2k or less per acre, but you have to deal with Michigan winters! I am really tired of living where it is so cold. I really don't believe humans were meant to live too far from the equator, LOL!
Good luck to all!

Our electricity in Belize averages about 19 US cents per kWh, depending on how much we use.Taking into account the standing charges and taxes in UK, it's probably cheaper here.

BEL rates are here    http://www.bel.com.bz/Rate_Schedule.aspx

Belize isn't the most expensive place!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing

We Bought 28 acres with good river frontage outside Belize City, It is very close to power lines, but we went completely off grid,water catchment, solar electric and until we secure larger water storage soil toilets. We went solar as much for the fact that there would be a fair amount of time delay  hooking up to the mains and having solar installed meant  it was up and running in a week. Initial cost of solar is not cheap but still have not been given full costings from BEL for mains hook up. and Running coasts on solar are about $2 every couple of months for the distilled water for the batteries. About to start ball rolling on our actual retirement home  and for that we will have mains hook up and we are looking into the feasability of a pipe line to bring in water from the river obviously  that would need a sophtsicated filtration and sterilization system..
Dont forget you will also need septic treatment for solid watse and probably a soak away for your grey water(washup water laundry water and shower water) mains sewerage is only available in the bigger towns.

CA to BZ, if you want to PM me, I can give you my real estate agent info, as I don't want to put it out there on the forum. They have listings all over Belize, though they concentrate primarily in the Cayo district. They can definitely find you what you are looking for, just be sure YOU know what you are looking for. I would also suggest you use a licensed attorney for closing if you are planning on buying property. It's not that expensive, and well worth it for the peace of mind and protection against any potential legal challenge.

Thanks--looks like I got some outdated info.  Someone had complained about their electric bill being super high.  I imagine I'll probably never turn the A/C off--but I better consider how spendy that gets!

Tesla is developing a battery bank for off-the-grid power applications.  Fast charge, long drawdown, cheaper than lead-acid batteries and a much longer lifespan.  Sounds great!  It sounds a few years away but I hope that is available to us there in the future.  I might go off-the-grid but still have a generator for those iffy moments.

Depends on where you live, and your house situation. I Don't have AC in the small house we have at the moment, it is on 9 or10 foot stilts  so manages to catch the breezes. We cope quite well with fans. I can not say AC would not be appreciated some of the days but  I don't feel it essential. Also until Tesla make those super efficient wall solar panels. I'm not sure the solar we have now would support an Air con system.

By the way temperatures can be considerably cooler in December and early January

Hi,  I see you are from Portland and basically have the same "game plan".  Really tired of working just to pay the mortgage.  I am in the process of relocating to Belize as well.  Am meeting with my Realtor Thursday to sell home here in Corvallis.  At any rate, I just wanted to reach out and say hi to a fellow Oregonian.

If you would like to contact me, I would love to hear from you guys and pick you brains.

Thank you,
Lisa
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