Thursday, April 21, 2011

Increasing the value of your 2nd home


"3rdhome is at once beautiful & simple, the best idea I've seen in a long time."  Sheena Conolly, Cayman Islands Sotheby's International Realty.
It is advisable to choose your audience very carefully if you decide to vocalize the drawbacks of owning a luxury second home, but in the company of somebody who also finds themselves in this enviable situation it may not be too long before you are discussing a certain feeling of obligation to visit this second home as often as possible to maintain "value for money". Even if this second home is situated on Seven Mile Beach in the Cayman Islands, one of the finest stretches of sand in the Caribbean and looks out over the most beautiful crystal clear waters seen anywhere in the world, it just may be that you don’t want to visit the beach for every vacation & at every time of the year. It may occur to you & your consoling companion who also owns a luxury second home that, as his second property is in Aspen & yours is in the Cayman Islands that every once in a while you could each take a turn in the others home and thus mitigate this effect. But what if you could extend your network of friends across the entire globe so that this “problem” was actually turned on its head & that you had such a vast selection of luxury vacation homes to choose from, that you had trouble deciding where to go next? Enter 3rdhome the simple yet perfect solution. 3rdhome is an exclusive club of luxury second home owners, who just like you, want to maximise the value of their property but also want to see the rest of the world. The simplicity lies in the fact that members can submit weeks for their own property to be used & in return they receive "keys"which they can use to stay in any other property they like, they are not trying to arrange a direct swap with the logistical problems that entails. Based on the market value of your home you will be given between 1 & 5 keys for each week that you place into the system, all that remains then is to find another luxury home that is available with the number of keys at your disposal. The only cost involved is an administrative fee of $495 per vacation week  & this to stay in some of the most luxurious homes in the world, which in many cases are not available in the vacation rental market. Cayman Islands Sotheby's International Realty is exclusively offering free membership to property owners in the Cayman Islands simply register today: http://www.caymanislands.3rdhome.com/

Friday, April 8, 2011

Seven Mile Beach set for growth


With recent bench mark sales at the luxury end of the real estate market in the Cayman Islands & an increase in sales volume generally for Seven Mile Beach condos, prices seem set to rise again on one of the Caribbean’s most popular beaches for second home buyers. After a couple of years of unusually flat prices & a glut of inventory the recent surge of home buyers on the Seven Mile Beach is an encouraging sign. The Heritage Club, a popular but small complex of just eighteen units on the beach, has seen three sales since December with a high price point of US$685k for a well finished ground floor unit, still quite a considerable discount from the prices reached in 2007. Cayman Islands Sotheby's International Realty has been involved in a number of luxury sales along the Seven Mile Beach including the premier unit at The Sovereign owned by renowned author the late Dick Francis, a delightful apartment at The Water’s Edge arguably the most exclusive condo complex on the beach as well as two adjacent homes at The Avalon and another at The Meridian. Property buying seems once again to be among the top list of holiday pursuits in the Cayman Islands and the season looks set to finish on a high.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Open Houses - 2nd April 1pm - 3pm

Please join us Saturday from 1pm - 3pm as we showcase a cross section of great real estate in the Cayman Islands. See Facebook for more details.

From luxury private homes at the Britannia Golf Resort to a family home close to Seven Mile Beach on Raleigh Quay in Governor's Harbour. We also have a development opportunity in Hinds Way, South Sound a rare opportunity to buy a house with two land parcels. In Prospect with have a well appointed townhouse at Brenwood in Orange Drive, recently reduced & great value for the level of finish.