Filling A Market Need Creates A Cash-Flow Opportunity In Cayo, Belize
We’ve been reporting on the simple, back-to-basics lifestyle on offer in the region of Belize known as Cayo for years. This remains one of our favorite go-off-grid escape zones.
And we’re not the only ones enamored with what Cayo, Belize, has to offer. This is the fastest-growing area of the country. More tourists than ever are passing through—backpackers, sure, but more discriminating travelers, too. New businesses are opening. And growing numbers of would-be retirees are making their way to this region of rivers and rain forest to see if it might be a place they’d be happy to call home.
All this attention is creating an opportunity.
The rentals market in Cayo is thin. You can shop for weeks or longer and not find a place to rent that’d qualify as comfortable by North American standards. All the would-be retirees interested in trying Cayo on for size are competing for a relative handful of suitable rental properties. The demand for quality rentals is heating up.
At this week’s Global Asset Protection and Wealth Summit in Belize City, developer Phil Hahn, with more than a decade of experience building in this country, presented a new investment offer that addresses this growing need. Phil has launched a phase of his riverside Carmelita Gardens community where he is building a cluster of turn-key rental units to be known as “The River Club.”
Carmelita Gardens is a planned sustainable development where every house will be self-sufficient through the use of alternative energy and rainwater catchment systems. This is the first master-planned off-grid development in Belize, and it’s not just the off-grid element that makes the community sustainable. Carmelita Gardens has been planned to include communal gardens and orchards so that every homeowner can grow his own food if he’d like. You could farm and garden all day every day if you wanted and live completely off the land…or you could be a “weekend gardener,” growing some fresh vegetables to complement your weekly visit to the grocery store. It’s up to you.
Having a mile of river frontage gives residents at Carmelita Gardens access to water activities, as well as a nice breeze to help cool things off on hot days. Now, along the river, on one of the river village lots, Phil has decided to build a group of 15 cottages intended specifically to serve as rentals.
These one-bedroom, one-bath River Club homes will help meet the need for rentals both in Carmelita Gardens and the greater Cayo region. Many owners at Carmelita Gardens are starting construction of their houses and need places to stay when they visit to check on progress. Some would prefer to live on the property full time while their houses are under construction. Right now, only one of the handful of finished houses at Carmelita is available for rent, and it’s full much of the time.
Elsewhere, options for accommodation are mostly US$250-a-night jungle resorts and lower-end hotels and hostels. The new eco-rentals at Carmelita Gardens will fill the gap and offer an upscale, comfortable place to stay for a reasonable cost.
In theory, you could live in one of these 512-square-foot River Club cottages; however, they have been designed as rentals and with the investor in mind. They will be built using the same sustainable technology as all other structures at Carmelita Gardens, including solar electricity, treated catchment water systems, and eco-friendly septic. Each unit will come fully furnished and with appliances installed, ready to rent.
Of the 15 units available at River Club, 7 have been reserved. The remaining units start at US$76,500. Property management will be in place, and projections are for cash flow to begin within 18 months.
Based on current and expected demand and assuming a reasonable nightly rate, the projected annual yield from these units is 10%. Plus, owning one of these River Club units would give you a ready place to spend time in one of the world’s most appealing get-away-from-it-all destinations.
If that’s something that appeals to you…and you’re in the market for a good rental investment opportunity…I’d recommend following up on this quickly. As I said, inventory is limited.
For more information on Carmelita Gardens and The River Club, you can get in touch here.
Kathleen Peddicord
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