Roatan Third Edition Roatan Roatan Relocation & Investment Guide Relocation ROATAN RELOCATION & INVESTMENT GUIDE & Envision swinging in a hammock for hours, taking long walks on white sandy beaches, having a marine park at your door step, and being surrounded by lush tropical rainforests. Essentially living the lifestyle most people only dare to dream of. This is what living and Investment investing offshore is all about. Where can you find such a tropical paradise? Well the secret is out, Guide Roatan is where this and so much more can be found. Located in the Bay Islands of Honduras and only a 2-hour direct flight from the USA, Roatan’s beautiful beaches, clear waters, diving, sailing, unique culture, friendly residents and affordable real estate are all factors which are attracting more and more people to this Caribbean paradise. Roatan is the dream location, where reality truly is better than the dream. The Roatan Relocation and Investment Guide will help you, with a wealth of relocation and investment chapters such as Moving to Roatan, Day to Day Living, Residency Require- ments, Real Estate Information, Building on Roatan, Getting to know Roatan, Renting & Investing in Rental Properties and Fun things to do in Roatan. Design, Layout & Maps by PhunkiMonkey Designs [email protected] Text; 2011 Third Edition Tortuga Digital, All Rights Reserved Maria Fiallos Maria Fiallos Congratulations for getting as far as reading this book. Now let us help take you on the next phase of your journey. Our sole mission at About Roatán Real Estate is to help you through this process. We are aware that you may have many questions about relocating overseas. Our purpose in providing this book is to give you an easily accessed resource. We know that a well informed investor will be a happy investor Every person is an individual and has different priorities, likes/dislikes and goals. For example some are looking for a vacation rental, others for a retirement home. At About Roatán Real Estate we are well equipped to help you with any aspect of your purchase or relocation no matter what the reason. We have been through the process many times and there are no stupid questions. We are here for you from start to finish---and beyond. About Roatan Real Estate will be totally focused on Your needs. Our “Buyer’s Agent” will work for you and ensure you have an opportunity to see all relevant properties regardless of which company has the listing. Our website has many informative articles. and we will answer all inquiries and questions within one day, often sooner. We really are different, check us out and see why. ABOUT ROATÁN REAL ESTATE Marci Weirsma, Broker Philip Sampson, Sales Agent , developer Agent Annie Culp, Sales agent www.aboutroatanrealestate.com [email protected] Roatan Relocation & Investment Guide Third Edition Maria Fiallos Tortuga Digital, SA West Bay Mall Roatan, Honduras (504) 3373-0313 www.tortugadigital.com Copyright © 2011 by Maria Fiallos All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the Author and Publisher. Cover Photo: Devon Stephens, Roatan Photography Interior Photos: Devon Stephens, Roatan Photography Text Layout and Graphic Design: EJ Q’AniUno, PhunkiMonkey Designs Roatan Map Design: EJ Q’AnilUno, PhunkiMonkey Designs ISBN 978-99926-55-80-1 DISCLAIMER - This book is designed to offer information that will assist the reader in relocating and investing on Roatan. The author and the publisher are not responsible for any changes in laws, conditions or prices as stated herein and disclaim any loss or risk incurred by the reader as a result of the information contained in this book, either directly or indirectly. UPDATES - This is the third edition of Roatan Relocation and Investment Guide. We have added many pages and chapters of new information and removed and/or changed the outdated. This year’s business phone numbers and website addresses are not listed in the text, but we have included all the listings from the Roatan.Biz business directory as the last chapter of the book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of the information provided in this book as of the date of publication. The guide is updated regulary and to assist fellow readers, please advise us of any inaccuracies you find; or of any services we have not included that you found useful in your move to Roatan at support@ roatanguide.com. We will have all updated information posted on our website www.roatanguide.com during each edition and will add this information to subsequent editions of the “Roatan Relocation and Investment Guide.” Acknowledgements This book was written with the help of a great many people who contributed their time and energy to the project. Specials thanks to Dean Milverton, Keila R. Thompson Gough and Ron Hasz for reviewing the manuscript from start to finish. Also Liz Riggs for her invaluable input relating to her personal experiences in buying land and building on Roatan; Clemie Welcome for obtaining and validating phone numbers and information; Steve Hasz of Roatan Life Real Estate for his support of the project and for contributing his wealth of knowledge of all things on Roatan; Keena Haylock and Alex Villela for reviewing the legal information and chapters: Marcos Cáceres for his insight into recent political issues; Genny Ross Barons for the use of articles from the Roatan Vortex; www. roatanet.com for the use of various descriptions and the many people on the Yahoo Roatan group for postings of information and the many others not mentioned herein who provided important input and support of this project, which is intended to be a valuable resource guide for us all. We would also like to thank all our advertisers for making this project possible. Table of Contents Honduras .................................................................................. 11 Living Cultures ...................................................................... 11 Colonial Heritage and Independence ................................... 11 Government .......................................................................... 12 Recent Political Events.......................................................... 12 Economy and Currency ......................................................... 14 Geography and Climate ........................................................ 15 People and Languages .......................................................... 15 The Capital and other important cities ................................ 15 Roatan .......................................................................................19 History .................................................................................. 19 Geography and Climate......................................................... 22 Flora and Fauna .................................................................... 23 The Roatan Marine Park........................................................28 Population and Languages .................................................... 31 Economy and Currency ......................................................... 32 Transportation Guide ...........................................................35 Flights ................................................................................... 35 Taxi Transportation.............................................................. 39 Ferry Services ....................................................................... 41 Transportation on Roatan .................................................... 41 Transporting pets to Honduras ............................................ 42 Getting to know Roatan .......................................................47 Political boundaries .............................................................. 47 Coxen Hole ........................................................................... 47 French Harbour ..................................................................... 50 West End Village ................................................................... 52 West Bay Beach .................................................................... 55 Sandy Bay .............................................................................. 56 East End ................................................................................ 57 Real Estate ...............................................................................63 Roatan MLS Information ....................................................... 63 Roatan Realtors Association ................................................. 64 Real Estate Agent .................................................................. 65 Legalities ............................................................................... 67 Taxes..................................................................................... 70 Choosing Your Property ....................................................... 71 2011 Prices ........................................................................... 72 Commercial Real Estate ........................................................ 73 Selling your property ............................................................ 76 Investment Returns .............................................................. 77 Estate Planning ....................................................................