Caribbean villa

Real Estate Investment in Montserrat

The Montserrat government welcomes overseas interest in local property and has made it easy for visitors, either to purchase a dream villa, or to purchase land to build a villa of their own. All real estate purchases are ‘freehold’ and are conducted in US Dollars. There are no currency restrictions.

Owning your own piece of paradise can be an attractive life-style and economic proposition. There are several large and very desirable areas where property can easily be purchased by non-Montserratians, such as Isles Bay, Old Towne, Olveston and Woodlands, all along the West coast.

For non-Nationals (non-Montserratians) an alien Landholder License is necessary to purchase that perfect property and this can be secured through a local attorney. The cost of the Landholder's License has recently been reduced from 10% to 5%. The total cost of the Landholder’s License, land transfer, stamp duty, tax and legal costs is approximately 10% of the net purchase price (less the cost of any furnishings the villa may contain). See my blog entry for more information.

When several individuals choose to buy a property together, they may prefer to establish a Registered Company in Montserrat and it’s the Registered Company that would purchase the selected property. Buying property in this manner also affects the amount paid in Landholder’s License fees. For any such decision we recommend consulting a local law firm.

The firm of Lawyer Kenneth Allen, QC (Queen’s Counsel) will handle the contractual part of our own property’s sale. We have been dealing with his associate, Lawyer Kharl Markham; he can be reached by

e-mail: markhamkm@candw.ms

tel: 664-491-2498 or fax: 664-491-2493.

You may be interested to know that The Queen's Counsel or QC is the title given to a senior barrister who is recommended as counsel to the Queen by the Lord Chancellor. QCs are senior to normal barristers and solicitors, but they have no extra duties to carry out within the courtroom. Lawyer Kenneth Allen is the only QC in Montserrat.