There are few investments more synonymous with success than owning your own private island. The image of reclining on a faraway beach, with palm trees swaying and tropical birds swooping through the air is as tantalizing as it is implausible, for the average person.
And if you’re not the average person? Well, if seaside cabanas and cocktails garnished with colorful fruit are calling your name, it might be time to start researching your next real estate investment.
After more than 20 years of working in private island real estate, Private Islands Inc CEO Chris Krolow is one of the foremost experts in buying private paradises. In addition to running the only international real estate web site dedicated exclusively to island properties, he is also the host of HGTV’s (WBD) “Island Hunters” and the forthcoming television series “Private Islands Inc.”
“I find islands that aren’t necessarily listed,” Krolow explained to Quartz. “I speak to half-a-dozen different island owners every week. Maybe they’ve just seen my show or they want to get an idea of what the island is worth. But all of these conversations get logged and all of these island owners are interested in selling at some point.”
If you’re interested in perusing Krolow’s extensive inventory and maybe finally making an island purchase of your own, there are some important factors to keep in mind before you contact island real estate experts.
Plan in advance. Way in advance
“Every week there’s a handful of buyers my team is really stoked about, that I see right through,” Krolow explained. “If someone inquires about 10 completely different properties, that’s a red flag,” he continued. “If they’re all over the place, it’s not going anywhere. Because even if you’re already honed in, it’s very difficult for an island to actually sell.”
Krolow and his team generally speak on the phone with individual buyers, to suss out their motivations and background, before he decides to contact any potential sellers. He emphasized that in private island sales – more so than a typical real estate transaction – it’s important that everyone involved in the process from the buyer, to the agent, to the potential seller, is truly committed.
This is for several reasons, but perhaps most significantly, it’s a simple matter of practicality. People don’t generally live near private islands – so if the relevant parties are going to make travel arrangements, especially to a remote area, they should be acting on a near certainty rather than a vague whim.
It is also frequently the case that the sellers themselves are busy individuals. After all, these are people who have found enough success that they already own a private island.
“I am not going to the seller when I have no idea who you are,” said Krolow. “I’m not going to bother the owner, on his yacht, on his vacation, with some stupid question.”
The buyers that Krolow does work with tend to have already developed their own expertise, through personal research, real estate experience, and a pre-existing passion for waterfront properties.
“It’s very rare for someone to call us and not know anything, to the extent that we have to hold their hand and say, ‘Here’s what’s going on. This is how foreign ownership works.’ Usually they’re very well informed,” he explained.
A hypothetical client, “has already purchased waterfront properties in the past,” said Krolow. “This is not his first luxury asset. He’s asking about comparables. He’s asking about staffing and how the locals feel about foreigners buying land. They’re asking about my projects and what kind of income they could potentially bring in.”
Consider the logistics of developing an island. Know what you want for the property’s future
Unless you have a longstanding envy of Gilligan, Robinson Crusoe, and Tom Hanks’ character in “Castaway,” the island paradise of your dreams presumably includes both basic amenities and luxurious perks. This is an area, however, where fantasy and reality can run up against each other. While some private islands are fully developed and ready for residents, many require a sizable investment of time and resources.
“A lot of people think they see an island for half a million dollars in Belize and assume they can build something for $50 per square foot. They add it all up and think, ‘I’m going to spend $750,000 or $800,000 in total,” Krolow said.
“That is absolutely incorrect. You need to think of these mangrove islands as basically unfinished. You’re probably going to spend another $300,000 to fill them. And then you need some kind of solar system backup generator. And very quickly, you’re up to $1.75 million to $2 million for anything decent or rentable.”
And if you’re going to make that investment, then the next logical step is to consider what will happen to the island, when you’re back on the mainland, enduring the practicalities of daily life. For Krolow and many of his clients, buying a private island goes hand-in-hand with developing a future rental property. Even if a potential buyer doesn’t need additional income, regularly bringing guests to the island can ensure a higher quality of life for everyone involved.
“When you’re a wealthy person, you want all these services and amenities. But you’re only there a few months a year, it doesn’t work,” Krolow said. “An aspiring chef, for example, isn’t going to stay and cook, for only two months. I push my clients to operate as a small boutique resort. It’s a win-win. They’re adding value to the island and making sure it’s turnkey for when they want to use the island themselves.”
Actually visit the island (and hope the weather is good!)
Even if you’ve done your research, found a broker, and determined what your future looks like – there is still one crucial step that remains on your journey: actually visiting the island.
“By the time we get to the process of actually visiting the island, I cross my fingers that the weather is good and we’re going to arrive safely with no hiccups because very often it doesn’t work out,” Krolow told Quartz. The weather, he explained, can play a far greater role in transactions than one might expect.
“Frequently, [buyers] get discouraged. There’s something to that. I’ve been stranded on my own island because of fog and rough weather.”
For Krolow, however, it’s important that buyers remember that while rain can happen anywhere, the experience of owning a private island is irreplicable.
“When you make the purchase, and you’re finally sitting down with the barbeque going and your ice cold beverage, it’s so much better,” he said. “You have this sense of accomplishment – there’s this little place on the planet that’s yours. And no one else is allowed on that place. It’s like you have control of the whole world.”
Click through to see the private islands available to rent or purchase through Private Islands Inc.
