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The Cottages are being managed and maintained by the same management team that manages and maintains The Beach House resort (which is right there). Beach Properties Barbuda Limited, an Antigua Corporation, is the legal entity that owns The Beach House. The address for the corporation is: Ann Henry, Barrister at Law The standards which have been achieved and are being maintained at The Beach House are critical to continuing guest satisfaction and similar exacting standards must be continued with the Cottages. Does an owner have anything to say about the design of the Cottages? No. The Cottages have been and are being designed with similar architectural characteristics as The Beach House which has been critically acclaimed internationally. Many improvements are also being incorporated in the design which will allow the Cottages to compliment the natural surroundings. The nature of Barbuda and the placement of the Cottages in the dunes on the water lend itself to eco- sensitive considerations. Like the resort, the Cottages are more laid back ‘barefoot in the sand’ than ‘fancy’. Does an owner have anything to say about the interior furnishings of the Cottages? No. The Cottages have been and are being furnished with furnishings equal or better than the resort (which has been noted is pretty good). World class linens and custom designed furniture is being provided, installed and arranged. (The only flexibility would be if one did not want their Cottage in the managed rental pool, in other words for dedicated personal use, in which case they could furnish it how ever they wanted). What about insurance? The insurance for the cottages will be under the same insurance policy as the resort as a ‘named structure’. Owners will be provided with a copy of the policy indicating their coverage. Where does the water come from? The resort has two wells that bring up water that is run through one of two desalination plants and then provided to the resort and to the Cottages. The water has been and is being continually tested and monitored and has always been found suitable for drinking. Nevertheless, some guests prefer to drink commercially bottled water that is available and provided. Where does the electricity come from? The resort has a series of diesel generators that provide electricity to the resort and the Cottages. Great efforts are being made and will be implemented in replacing (as much as possible) this source of electricity with wind power and solar power as soon as possible in an orderly manner. Do I get Title to the property? In Barbuda no ones has title to property, not even the Barbudians. This is different even from Antigua, which is the same country, but not different from many island countries in the Caribbean and Bahamas. This is a legal concept of ownership in use in England and elsewhere sometimes referred to as ‘Queen’s Chain Land’. One has a 99 year lease, just like we do at the resort, which started in 1995 which gives us to about 2088 at which time these leases automatically re-new. The local legal license term is a “Sub Alien Landholding License’ which all Cottage owners would receive and be named individually. Do Cottages have a ‘plot of land’? Not in the sense that there are stakes in the grounds and here is your acre. Each cottage is being allocated an acre and so you can think of it that way. The land is being held and shared ‘in-common’. Think of sand and dunes and beaches (no lawns). We have 90 acres on the point of the island of Barbuda (see aerial photo) and about ten acres is allocated to the resort. The remaining 80 acres (less about 17 acres to supporting infra structure) leaves about 63 acres allocated to the 63 Cottages which is the maximum allowable build out. Overcrowding will not be a problem. Your acre is leased for $120 per year. Buying an acre on Antigua like these is about $1MM USD. What is the ‘Reservation Deposit’? This Reservation Deposit of $10,000. secures your position as a prospective buyer of a cottage. There will only be 63 Cottages ever on this 90 acre point of the island. You have three months to go to contract after we receive the deposit. You can visit and stay at The Beach House, you can decide to buy and all of your expenses at The Beach House for your exploratory trip will be credited against your purchase: or you can decide to cancel your sale and your deposit will be refunded from the escrow account at Stewart Title directly back to you. Where and how does the closing, transaction and accounting occur for all of this? The sale and management of this transaction is being handled the Antigua corporation, Beach Properties Barbuda Limited and by Ann Henry, Barrister, Antigua. This means that revenue and expenses will be maintained there and accumulate there. Any local taxes and taxation will apply. Any monies repatriated to an owner’s country (or any other country) will be the responsibility of the owner. What about telephone calls and Internet connections? A few years ago this was a serious problem. Today, at the resort, we have WiFi through out and this enables us to have VOIP through out also. This means you are connected, to where ever you want to be connected, when you want to be, at high speed, for almost no cost. International calls over VOIP are almost free using our available VOIP Mobile phones. There are also cell phones available which calls you pay (a lot) for. We have Cingular / AT&T cell phone service and if you have that you must tell them where you are going if you want to use your own cell phone. We have a laptop for everyone’s free use in the Clubhouse. What about TV? We have a TV room but no one goes there. We do not have TVs in the rooms and everyone complains before they get there and then they stop complaining and apologize after the first 24 hours. After 48 hours ‘old’ guests are greeting new guests at the door when they arrive and are telling them to just relax, they will get used to it. How do I know my cottage will be rented out? You don’t. All we can say is that we will try. Our trying so far as made the resort a success and one might assume that our current occupancy rate will be the same as the Cottage occupancy rate: in which case it will be an outstanding success. We have a demand for Cottages now and we can only assume that when we get them built the demand will continue and be there then. How long can I stay at my Cottage? As long as you want. But remember: we can not rent it out while you are there. What is the expectation of rental revenues and expenses? These assumptions, based on a relatively recent successful history of the resort, are available by calling Grace Grillo at 516 767 3057. When traveling to any foreign country you undoubtedly have more than the locals that are taking care of you. One should take reasonable precautions. We can tell you (which is true) that any real crime on Barbuda is almost non existent. We do have a secure safe in the main office of the resort. We do have a gated entrance with a security guard and we have a ‘roving’ guard at night. We have video cameras and trustworthy, dedicated, long time employees. How are monies being escrowed? We have retained the services of Stewart Title, one of the largest title companies in the United States (see stewart.com) to handle this for us. They even have an Eastern Caribbean Division that is familiar with any local nuances to expedite the transaction from ‘Reservation Deposit’ to closing. Who are the developers of the Cottages? The developers of the Cottages are the owners and managers of The Beach House. What experience do the principals have? The experience of the team assembled for this project is extensive. Who are the designer and architect? The designer is Fred W. Jackson, Jr., Director of Beach Properties Barbuda Limited, Antigua and CEO of the U.S. parent, The CCI GROUP, Inc., New York. He has experience in designing and building homes in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York and partnered with Luciano Colombo of Milan, Italy in the design and renovation of The Beach House. The Architect is Mitch Stuart, Sr. Architect at OBM, the largest firm of its kind in resort design (see OBMI.com). He and his firm have many projects going on all over the world and we were fortunate to retain Mitch and OBM out of their Antigua offices. Who is the engineer? The engineer is David Crump on Antigua. David has been the leading engineer with the local knowledge that others have relied on in Antigua and on other Caribbean islands for 27 resorts. He has been the consulting engineer for The Beach House on Barbuda for 4 years and knows how things work and how to get the job done. David has a B.S and a Ph.D. from the University of London. He was the Director of Engineering for Caribbean Hotel management Services Group responsible for 1,200 hotel rooms in the Caribbean and Kenya. He is experienced in many disciplines including but limited to energy conservation, utility infrastructure design, construction project management and planned maintenance programs. Who is legal counsel? Our attorney (sometimes called Barristers there) is Ann Henry on Antigua. Ann is corporate counsel for Beach Properties Barbuda Limited, Antigua, the past President of the Bar Association on Antigua, and is an attorney of impeccable credentials and well known at all levels of Government. All real estate transactions, accounting, legal work, expenses, revenues and bank accounts will be maintained on Antigua. Who is the construction company? The construction company is Horizon’s Construction in Antigua. Horizon is the largest construction company in the Caribbean having built hundreds of homes and resorts in the Caribbean and on Antigua. We are fortunate to have them consider us. They have developed some new building techniques that lend themselves to the unique characteristics of Barbuda. What is the overall concept of the Cottages? The overall concept is not any different than the concept of The Beach House. An outstanding and unique natural setting in the world backed up by great service and very good food. (Sounds simple). “A great, seamless, experience is the result of the execution and delivery of a thousand details.” (Fred W. Jackson, Jr.) We have a unique opportunity to not ruin: by over population, over building or going too upscale, this precious point of island called Palmetto Point on Barbuda. Anyone’s (and everyone’s) view of the aerial approach photos show that this is an unspoiled island with no pollution (no industry), a beach that goes on for ever and a local people that enjoy the fact that we are there! There are just not a lot of opportunities left like this. What is the local currency on Barbuda? The real local currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar which is exchanged (currently) at a rate of 2.67 ECD to 1 USD or 5.00 ECD to 1 GBP, but everyone takes dollars or English pounds. Remember there are no cash transactions at The Beach House, no chits to sign, no tipping, nothing to take your mind away from relaxing. What is the local language on Barbuda? English. Is it safe and easy to travel around the island of Barbuda? Yes. One of our goals was to find an island that we would feel comfortable. We did not want a resort where the doors closed behind you and you never experienced the local culture. One quickly finds on Barbuda that the citizens are happy, friendly and willing to help. Guests develop a relationship with our Service Ambassadors unlike anywhere else they have ever been. Locals are happy to share their island with you. Guests have been to Fiji and Guam and the Galapagos after The Beach House and have told us they did not know why they went there when they could have just gone back to The Beach House Please Note: Prices, plans, artists or computer renderings, photos, land uses, dimensions, specifications, improvements, materials, amenities and availability are subject to change with out notice. This is not an offering of real property or condominium units and offers may only be made at the offices or resort of Beach Properties Barbuda Limited, Antigua. Void where prohibited by law or where there are other qualifications to advertising real property. This is not an offer to sell homes or home sites in any jurisdiction which requires registration or in which homes or home sites are not registered for sale.
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