House Hunting in … Bermuda

The property market was bifurcated, Ms. Fox said, “to preserve the majority of the housing stock and undeveloped residential land for Bermudian ownership.”

Non-Bermudians will need to retain a local lawyer to oversee due diligence of the property, particularly the title search. Bermuda “has an unregistered land system, so the deeds need to be inspected,” said Mathew Kelly, the director of real estate for the law firm Chancery Legal, adding that the country is now in the process of putting in place a centralized system for registering titles. “Eventually it will catch up with the modern world.”

It is not necessary for buyers to appear at the closing; power of attorney can be granted to the buyer’s lawyer. The purchasing process typically takes four to six months to complete, local lawyers say, and closing occurs only after an acquisition license is obtained from the government. Sales are typically made in Bermudian or American dollars.

WEBSITES

Bermuda Tourism Authority: gotobermuda.com

Government of Bermuda gov.bm

Bermuda Chamber of Commerce: bermudachamber.bm

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

English; Bermudian dollar (1 Bermudian dollar = $1)

TAXES AND FEES

Sellers typically pay the sales commission, which is usually 5 percent of the purchase price.

Buyers are responsible for a number of closing costs, including the acquisition license fee, which is 8 percent of the purchase price for a house and 6 percent for a condominium unit.

Buyers and sellers split the stamp duty, which is 7 percent of the purchase price for properties that sell for more than $1.5 million. (Mr. Kelly estimated that the buyer’s closing costs on a $3 million house would be around $420,000.)

The annual property taxes on this house are $21,456, Mr. Rego said.

CONTACT

Buddy Rego, Rego Sotheby’s International Realty, 011-441-292-3921; regosothebysrealty.com

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