184 Belvedere
lots go on sale
BELVEDERE--After years of waiting to be developed, 184 lots in Belvedere will be put on sale by government next week with the specific criteria that buyers must have Dutch nationality.
Housing Commissioner Roy Marlin made this announcement at Wednesday’s Executive Council Press Briefing. The lots were to be developed by construction company BBW, but this agreement crumbled after the company had a change of management in 2005.
Marlin said many people have expressed interest in purchasing the lots to build a home. The Executive Council has agreed in principle to sell off the lots that have separate certificates of admeasurements and all basic infrastructure such as water and electricity connections.
The lots range in size from 300 square metres to 500 square metres and are priced between NAf. 25,000 and NAf. 70,000.
Lots will be awarded to qualified buyers based on a first-come first-service basis, the commissioner said. Once the criteria are fulfilled, a purchase agreement will be signed between the potential buyer and government. With this agreement, the buyer can approach the local banks to get a loan to purchase the lot.
Criteria that need to be fulfilled to come into consideration for a plot are: the potential buyer must be a Dutch national, registered as living on the island before December 31, 2006, must not own land already and must be employed.
Once the lot is purchased, there are stipulations as to how soon a two-storey single-family house must be erected. Parking provisions have to be made on the property. Buyers will not be able to sell their lots for five years unless it is for liquidation by a financial institution or a court verdict.
To ensure uniform design and aesthetics for the houses, an evaluation committee will be installed, comprising of representatives from St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation, Public Works Department and Projects and Planning Bureau.
The exact department to submit applications to acquire a lot will be announced later in the week and applications will be accepted as of next week.
“For those persons out there who have been trying to own a parcel of land to build a home, this opens up a great possibility,” the commissioner said. The price range is within the reach of potential buyers as banks are offering easy loans of thousands of US dollars to purchase cars and the same can be done to purchase the lots, he added.
Explaining the reason for selling the lots, Marlin said that over the years, government and his office in particular have been approached by civil servants and other professionals for land. However, government has very limited parcels of land to issue in long lease so this concept to sell the land was developed.
Belvedere is slated for infrastructure upgrade to the tune of NAf. 1.8 million, allocated from the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities Buyback Funds. Once this upgrading starts, the area will be better to live in and the property value would increase, he said.
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