Offshore Living: St. Maarten/St. Martin Real Estate

By Pat Cantor

Although a mere 37 square miles, St. Maarten/St. Martin offers an amazing life for the adventurer who chooses to live here. There is a residence for every budget—and with the building boom on both the Dutch and French sides, there is a good selection of inventory at most price points.

You’ll find elegant villas, luxury condos, informal apartments, town houses and good time-share opportunities for those investors who want to own just a few weeks of vacation time on the island. If you want to find out what it’s like to live here without the investment, you can rent many of the villas and condos. They provide excellent income for the owners and help defray much of the overhead.

When you live here, you’ll want for very little. Being half-French and half-Dutch, the island is filled with a wide array of amenities. There’s the food, at places ranging from four-star restaurants with amazing wines to fabulous beach restaurants for laid-back “South of France” Sunday lunches. Or cook and entertain at home with supplies from the island’s excellent supermarkets, which carry a fantastic selection of foods from around the world to suit every palate, and wine stores that offer a vast array of fine beverages at duty-free/tax-free prices. While it is very easy to ship furnishings for your new residence to the island via one of the very reputable freight forwarders, you can also easily furnish your entire home right here. You’ll find a beautiful selection of indoor and outdoor furniture, artwork and decorative items, lighting, garden plants and supplies, and kitchen items from plates to pots—all from exotic ports of call like Morocco, Indonesia, France, Vietnam, Thailand and more. Need to upgrade or fix something? Hardware stores and handyman shops provide what you need for both the French and the Dutch side.

Ownership on either side is as simple as buying a house or condo in the United States. There are no residency requirements or legal restrictions limiting foreign home ownership. For extended stays, you will need to obtain the necessary legal status. Each side has its own rules. On the Dutch side, you can obtain temporary resident status by applying to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office in Philipsburg. On the French side, you must obtain a long stay visa through the French Consulate or Embassy in your hometown for visits extending past 90 days.

Closing on the French or Dutch side is similar, using the European notary system. The notary is a real estate lawyer representing both the buyer and seller. The Dutch side has no real estate taxes or capital gains taxes, and you may hold your home ownership in a U.S. trust, U.S. LLC, an offshore company or bearer share company, as well as in an individual’s name. The French side does have taxes, and there is a transparency tax agreement with the United States. The longer you hold your property in France, the less capital gains tax you will pay. The French government is looking at the tax laws for even more favorable capital gains implications.

On both the Dutch and especially the French side, it is highly recommended that you find a good accountant to help you with any billing, tax and financial issues you need to understand—even if you have a management company overseeing the rental and management of your villa.

To help you find the ideal residence to own or use for vacation, you have the services of local professional real estate experts and property developers who have in-depth knowledge of both sides of the island. It is important to have highly experienced professionals who can help you comply with the local regulations, provide management and accounting services, and more. 

Platinum Vacation
Platinum Vacation Properties was founded in 2002 by Frank Carter, the managing director and an experienced time-share broker. The idea for Platinum grew from Carter’s time-share clients who fell in love with St. Maarten/St. Martin and wanted to buy a condo or villa. Rather than turn them over to another real estate company, he decided to expand his portfolio into a full-service real estate and management company to include residential and commercial real estate, condo sales, land sales, vacation and long-term rentals, property management and appraisals for clients who wish to offer their properties for vacation rentals.

The company also retains its reputation as one of the premier companies for residential development. The entire team at Platinum is dedicated to making your real estate experience in St. Maarten/St. Martin a smooth process. Wai-Hing Yee, the assistant director, and Kenny Patterson, agent, have expansive knowledge of local and international real estate.

Platinum has expanded its horizons and has agents on the island and abroad to help you find that dream home, whether you are dreaming of short-term or long-term. The Platinum team is dedicated to helping you find the perfect home or vacation home. Contact information: Welfare Drive #6 Cole Bay, St. Maarten, N.A.; Tel: 599-544-5140; Fax: 599-544-5145; E-mail: info@platinumvacationproperties.com; Website: www.platinumvacationproperties.com.

Solutions Accounting
Whether you live on or off island, Solutions Accounting and Management N.V., established in 2003, will manage your personal and business investments. They are a full-service company that is completely equipped to provide extensive accounting and management services.

Catering to a wide range of investors, their knowledgeable and multilingual staff, speaking English, French and Spanish, provide clients with a wide range of services. They specialize in property administration and management services, including oversight of documents, collection of rental income, lease compliance and building management.

Solutions also provides property administration, including property employee management, property inspections, maintenance and repair of common areas, negotiation of contractor agreements and oversight of assessments—as well as full accounting and financial reporting, including bookkeeping and year-end statements, monthly payroll and meticulous business plans.
Services such as third-party presentations and administrative support to clients in terms of payments to suppliers and collection from customers are also offered. Solutions provides up-to-date communication with their clients and coordination of various activities, including preparation of board and annual meetings, and preparation and distribution of correspondence to owners when necessary.

Their services make island life and business run smoothly and be cost-effective. They can also facilitate the setup of offshore entities within the territories of Nevis, Panama, Tortola or Anguilla. They are trustworthy, secure and dependable. Contact information: S.B.Y.C. Unit #12 Welfare Road #68, Sint-Maarten, N.A.; Tel: 599-544-3922/26/27; Fax: 599-544-4070/545-3700; E-mail: solutionsabc@hotmail.com.

Turn to the island's professionals for assistance with business or to plan your trip back. Get contact information for business and real estate from our online guide.