How high are realtors' and lawyers' fees in St. Vincent & Grenadines? What about other property purchase costs?

Transaction Costs
		Who Pays?
Alien Landholding License (ALL)	4.00% - 10.0%	buyer
Legal Fees	1.50% - 5%	buyer
Registration Fee	0.25%	buyer
Stamp Duty	5.00% 5.00%	buyer seller
Costs paid by buyer	10.75% - 20.25%
Costs paid by seller	5.00%
ROUNDTRIP TRANSACTION COSTS	15.75% - 25.25%
See Footnotes Source: Global Property Guide

How difficult is the property purchase process in St. Vincent & Grenadines?

Foreign nationals wishing to purchase property are required to obtain an Alien Land Holding License.

When entering into a real estate transaction in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, lawyer's services are very much needed. The lawyer will provide the abstract of title and prepare a Deed of Conveyance. The lawyer will also handle the application for the Alien Land Holding License of the buyer. The License registration fee must be paid to the lawyer, while the registration cost of the Deed of Conveyance (transfer tax) must be paid directly to the Government.

A deposit of 10% is required as security to take the property off the market. After which, the lawyer will also take care of the application for required permanent residency.

The whole process of buying takes about 29 to 42 days.

---

Footnotes to Transaction Costs Table

The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property - lawyers' fees, notaries' fees, registration fees, taxes, agents' fees, etc.

Currency:
St. Vincent and the Grenadines uses the East Caribbean Dollar (XCD) which is pegged to the US Dollar (USD) at USD1 = XCD2.70.

Alien Land Holding License (ALL):
All foreigners must obtain an Alien Landholding License from the government to be able to buy landed property. The Alien Landholding License is around 4% to 10% of the property value.

Foreigners also pay ECD2,500 (US$357) annually for holding an Alien Landholding License.

Stamp Duty:
Stamp Duty on registration of the title deed is 10%, evenly split between buyer and seller.

Registration Fee:
Registration fee for the title deed is ECD40 (US$15) for the first ECD15,000 (US$5,556) of sales price plus ECD2.50 (US$0.93) per ECD1,000 (US$370) thereafter..

Legal Fee:
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Bar Association regulates the amount lawyers can charge. Legal fee for properties worth ECD50,000 (US$18,519) and above is ECD1,538 (US$570) plus 1.5% of amount in excess of ECD50,000 (US$18,519).

LEGAL FEE
PROPERTY VALUE, ECD (US$)	RATE
Up to 1,000 (US$370)	125 (US$46)
1,000 - 5,000 (US$1,852)	5% on band over US$370
5,000 - 10,000 (US$3,704)	4% on band over US$1,852
10,000 - 25,000 (US$9,259)	3% on band over US$3,704
25,000 - 49,999 (US$18,518)	2.25% on band over US$9,259
50,000 (US$18,519)	ECD1,538 (US$570)
Over 50,000 (US$18,519)	ECD1,538 (US$570) plus 1.5% on ban over US$18,519