Sunday, November 14, 2010

Top 2 Questions I'm Asked About Sanctuary Belize

I've spoken to a number of potential Sanctuary Belize investors over the past year and two questions consistently come up at some point during our conversation: 

1. Have I seen evidence of the community progressing according to the plan?
2. Do I trust the management team to deliver?

For anyone contemplating investing in Sanctuary Belize I thought that it may be worth while sharing my perspective on these two important questions.

1. Have I seen evidence of the community progressing according to the plan?

The answer to this question is "Yes" and here are a few examples of the progress:

Opening of Phase 2
Although the recent financial crisis has shaken the US real estate market the Sanctuary Belize community has continued to flourish.  Prices for lots have continued to steadily increase since I invested in my property (lot 13)  and the Sanctuary Belize management team has been able to stick to their original plan and open Phase 2 of the development.   Phase 2 includes waterfront properties that look simply awesome.  Some factors that I think are contributing to the strong demand and their ability to stay on plan with Phase 2 are:
  • There is continued demand for properties nestled in outstanding locations.  To me, proximity to the Caribbean Sea, the rainforest, and the near by mountains is the essence of the phrase "location, location, location". Based on the natural elements of Sanctuary Belize the community has high intrinsic value and people realize this despite the economic downturn.
  • Americans and Canadians are looking abroad for sound real estate investments beyond the borders of the US due to the instability in the US housing market.  Many are turning to the Caribbean and Latin America and are discovering countries like Belize and finding communities like Sanctuary Belize.  This is creating strong demand for premium properties like Sanctuary Belize.
Coupled, these factors seemed to have enabled the Sanctuary Belize team to continue to expand according to the Sanctuary Belize Master plan.

Homes Are Being Built
Several months ago the Sanctuary Belize team released a series of home designs and I was impressed with what I saw.  The bamboo designs seemed to be a good compliment between luxury and eco-friendliness and I look forward to being able to customize one of these designs over the coming years. If you haven't seen the designs let me know or contact the Sanctuary Belize team.  Already one private home has been constructed and I was informed that five other orders for homes have been received and construction will begin this year.  The community is GROWING.

The Marina
The Sanctuary Belize Marina is going to be nothing less than amazing!  The plans for the Marina are top notch and the good news is that the management team is bringing these plans to life.  As can be expected, the plans for the Marina span multiple years and the team is making good progress.  Recently, the development team successfully carved a 30 ft wide channel connecting the Marina to Sapodilla Lagoon and now people can navigate a boat between the Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea. With this milestone in place the team is going to be expanding the channel to 60 ft.  The dredging of the Marina Basin continues to progress and it is scheduled to be completed within the next quarter. 

Roads
All the major roads where in place when I visited Sanctuary Belize and recently I learned that the roads to Marina Island and Waterway Village have been completed. The roads within Waterway Village are currently in development.

So from my perspective, I've seen the Management Team create a vision, build a plan, and achieve some significant milestones.  In addition, while executing the plan, Sanctuary Belize has continued to generate strong demand for properties and I've seen the value of my land increase.  

2. Do I trust the management team to deliver?

The answer to this question is "Yes" as well.  For those of you who have met John Usher - you'll know what I mean - but the owner is fully committed to making Sanctuary Belize a resounding success.  John and his family live on site and he is personally managing the day-to-day operations of the project.  I think the milestones listed above are an indication of John's commitment to bringing the vision to life and his ability to get the job done.  I'm sure there are going to be some bumps along the way - there always are - but John and the team seem to be able to navigate the project well and keep the Community progressing.

If this type of information is of value to you please let me know by posting a comment or emailing me and I'll continue to provide some updates like this one.  Just let me know!

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