The reasons why investors are choosing this Central America destination.
Belize is only a few hours away from many cities in the U.S, and accessible via short direct flights from many large population centers e.g. Atlanta 3 hours , Houston 2.5 hours , Miami 2 hours.
Belize has a strong stable economy aside from tourism and although tourism in Belize is booming, it only represents about 30% of GDP. The top export of Belize is raw sugar, followed by bananas, and then fruit juice.
Belize is the only country in C.A. with English as the official language. This is important, because when dealing with emerging/developing nations, especially in Central and South America, you don’t want to rely on someone’s translation for key documents you need to sign. English is the official language used for all real estate transactions, legal matters, and business contracts.
Belize is governed by British Common Law, which means real estate investors can have full property ownership with land title, and title insurance is available, just as in the US and Canada. There are no restrictions on foreign land ownership, and property rights are respected. Property is owned with fee simple title.
Taxes in Belize are very favorable for investors. The income tax rate on real estate rental income is only 1.75% and property taxes on most new properties are only a few hundred dollars a year. Also, Belize possesses some of the strongest banking privacy laws in the world and has decided not to sign information sharing and tax treaties with the United States.
The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest living barrier reef in the world, and Hol Chan Marine Reserve is one of the top 10 dive/snorkel locations in the world.