>>investment: islands<<
paradise found ANDY ROUND discovers why owning an island is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pharmacy for the soulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and, in credit-crunched times, not a bad investment
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Forsyth Island, New Zeala
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>>investment: islands<<
“It’s impossible to make generalisations about island prices. A lot depends on what is on the island, accessibility, international connections, infrastructure and where it is. We sell a very special commodity” www.vladi-private-islands.de
King Island, Nova Scotia
Great Hans Lollik Isl
and, Caribbean
Forsyth Island, New Zealand
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King Island House, Nova Scotia
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“Owning an island really lightens your soul.” And the good doctor should know, because for more than 20 years he has been in the business of brokering islands, or as he describes it, “the fine art dealing of nature”. Arez works for the biggest island selling company in the world, Vladi Private Islands, and while the eponymous owner Mr Vladi is in mid-air transit between Canada and his own piece of paradise off the coast of New Zealand (a 900-acre island home in the Marlborough Sound), Arez tells Jumeirah how islands are the perfect credit crunch investment. “These days many of our clients feel the need to get away from modern noise www.vladi-private-islands.de and daily sorrows and lighten up,” Arez says. “When we travel we put distance between problems and ourselves. On an island this healing feeling is magnified considerably. It’s a pharmacy for the soul.” Behind the poetry of ownership, of course, there is serious business intent. Many shrewd investors are seeking out islands for their rarity factor. Uniqueness always sells, and in volatile n globally uncertain times, times it’s wise to back sure-fire winners. it’s always good to have a few “At Vladi we have seen several economic certainties in life. And one of downturns and during these times I think the biggest of all is that nature clients come to us for reliable additions to their is not creating any more islands soon. Sure, there’s the occasional portfolios,” he says. “There is a finite supply of naturally created islands, nature really isn’t volcanic blip every century or making that many more, and clients like that. so and, of course, there are a They feel safe. They may buy an island from us cluster of man-made creations off the coast of the UAE. But for and only visit it for a day every three years, but they know that it’s steadily increasing in value.” your honest-to-goodness, never-to-be-repeatedThe natural art dealer believes that islands anytime-soon paradise lost, you can’t beat a consistently offer a return that comfortably naturally created island. As Dr Pedro Arez says:
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>>investment: islands<<
Isola Budelli, Italy
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“There are those who like to have something in the family portfolio. It’s nice to have a fat file in the library to show friends detailing your own island even if you don’t visit very often” “It’s impossible to make generalisations about island prices,” says Arez. “A lot depends on what is on the island, accessibility, international connections, infrastructure and where it is. We sell a very special commodity. Islands don’t follow normal rules of economics. Demand e www.vladi-private-islands.d depends on availability.” The joy of shopping Isla de Altamura, Mexico for an island, however, is that you can get involved in the market for under US$40,000. That kind of money would get you a “small beats inflation every year, and in some cases parcel of land with mixed woodland” on a the returns are astonishing. One New York Canadian lake in Nova Scotia. There are no island which was bought through Vladi in 1997 amenities, no electricity and, to be honest, was sold 10 years later by the brokers for a not a lot of people around. If you worry recession-beating US$18 million.
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about wireless connections or mobile phone reception this is probably not the purchase for you. However, a little more cash, say, around US$110 million more, and you could be the proud owner of the 10-acre Isola Marinella off the coast of Sardinia. With a main house of 250 square metres (three double bedrooms), a second villa and a quay for your yachts, the island is handy for Porto Rotondo and only 15 minutes from Olbia Airport. A too tad rich for your blood? Well, five million less allows you to let your Robinson Crusoe dreams run wild on the Caribbean island of Great Hans Lollik. Completely unspoiled with soaring cliffs, idyllic vistas, palm forests and crystal clear waters, this 500-acre island is perfect for recreating your favourite episodes of Lost. Most of the islands sell in the ‘mid-range’ of between US$3 million and US$5 million, says Arez, and Vladi caters to a wide variety of clients. The company has strict confidentiality
agreements and never discloses the client identity, whether it’s a Hollywood A-lister or your next-door neighbour, but the broker is happy to discuss buyer trends. “Our buyers are always individuals. We do sell to developers, but that’s not our main target group,” Arez says. “They can be all sorts of people, but if there are defining characteristics I would say they are usually inspired by nature and don’t want leasehold. They want to genuinely own the island outright freehold. One client of mine bought an island off the coast of Canada a few years ago. When we later asked him if he wanted to sell it for a 20 per cent profit he said no, he wanted to be buried there.” Another client bought an island because he and his wife found it was the ideal place to take the family – particularly their hyperactive son – on holiday. One of Arez’s recent sales was to an investor who has installed solar and wind power amenities to enjoy a castaway experience that is genuinely eco-conscious. “There are those who like to have something in the family portfolio,” says Arez. “It’s nice to have a fat file in the library to show friends detailing your own island even if you don’t visit very often. Families like the Rockefellers or Hennessys have had islands in their families for many, many years.” During one extraordinary sale, the broker found himself organising the purchase of a distant Orkney island off the coast of Scotland to five women from London. The owners, two women in their 80s, organised for a shepherd to bring the buying party from the mainland. When a heavy fog set in submerging any prospect of homeward journeys, Arez found himself stumbling around in the pitch dark among 300 sheep, looking for an ancient ‘guest house’ while the sellers and buyers made themselves at home in a cottage by a roaring fire. “I still keep in contact with the women who finally bought the island,” Arez laughs. “They often invite Celtic dancers over for entertainment.” Foggy shepherds and Celtic dancers aside, Arez stresses the importance of creating a strong dialogue with clients. Before setting up island visits, he likes to establish climatic preferences, airport and boat connections, international lifestyles, budgets, proposed usage (and expected investment) and the level of a client’s expectations. “I need to know if you enjoy a sense of isolation or if you would not feel happy being cut off completely from civilisation,” Arez says. “Accessibility is important for people as are the tax implications. And we always urge people to invest in a region that is politically safe and where the laws of ownership are clear.” Once the helicopter tour has been booked and the right island selected, reliable local lawyers are chosen, prices negotiated and deposits paid.
Private island north of Stockholm, Sweden
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Sanda Island, Scotland
“One client of mine bought an island off the coast of Canada a few years ago. When we later asked him if he wanted to sell it for a 20 per cent profit he said no, he wanted to be buried there”
Island buying and selling is inevitably a long, drawn-out process that requires the patience and international insight of a diplomat. Arez has to kindly inform clients that by buying an island they are not creating their own country or buying another nationality. He has to untangle the legal webs, family ties, ownership issues and the occasional greedy vendor that can suffocate an island sale while insuring clients make informed choices. For example, in the Philippines the islands are beautiful but cannot be owned outright by foreigners. So where are fashionable island buyers jetting off to? “Some areas such as the Caribbean or Indian Ocean will always be popular but availability is scarce,” says Arez. “In the Seychelles there’s nothing for sale now and in the Maldives there might be future environmental problems due to sinking, but these places are the perfect palm-lined island dream.” Areas that are becoming more popular, according to Arez, are good islands off Belize – with a wonderful colonial history and idyllic climate – and untouched areas of Scandinavia, where the atmosphere is as fresh as a fjord morning. But ultimately this natural art broker prefers to look beyond the economics of fashionable locations and return to the basics of what island ownership is all about. “I think in these challenging times a biologically created piece of natural paradise is the perfect way to unburden a heavy heart” n VLADI PRIVATE ISLANDS www.vladi-private-islands.de Tel: +49 40 338989, Info@vladi.de
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