We just bought a condo and Bonaire and we are having difficulty contacting an insurance company for coverage. Can anyone provide information to contact a reputable company. Also, what types of coverage would you recommend? It is located close to the water.


Thanks

Ted..What condo? Generally physical damage coverage on the condo premises (common areas) & liability coverage is arranmged by the condo association who is responsible for setting & maintaining this., i.e. the president or treasurer of the condo association should be able to provide you the carrier's name etc... On the master policy however there isn't any coverage for your PERSONAL contents in your unit.. I would imagine you can secure this from a local insurance broker on the island. Frankly, I'd just discuss with your realtor who I'm sure can provide referrals.

If possible, try to get the same carrier as the condo association uses -- that way there can be no squabbling about who's responsible, should anything happen - just about who's policy it falls under.

Hi Ted! I think we are neighbors now! I live at LBR and noticed your name as a new owner there. I use Valerie Stimpson at MCB Bank (location by Sandollar) Her office is on the second floor. I have my homeowner's insurance through her there. Very nice and helpful lady. You can email her at: valarie.stimpson@mcbbonaire.com Or phone her on island at 599-715-5527. If you want, you can email me for any questions you might have in that regard. My email is debbie@bonairevilla.com
We pay it annually and it is not a bad price.

Oh and Welcome to Bonaire Talk too!

Ted..If you have an UMBRELLA policy on your HO policy in Maine, that should also cover you for any potential liability exposure on Bonaire. Just get your carrier for Bonaire to cover your contents & you should be fine.
PS was just In Bridgton last week, great bass fishing on Long & Highland Lakes!! Welcome to the board.

Ted....hello neighbor....I have nothing to add to your ins question.....just wanted to say "hi"....I live in Raymond!!!

LaDonna

(Message edited by bamba on July 27, 2006)

Thank you all for the great advice! We should be all set. We can't wait to get down to our new condo at LBR #7.

LaDonna, We live the next town over from you on Little Sebago Lake in Windham. What a small world!

Ted...we are about 1/2 mile up from Little Sebago on Gore Rd......as you say....small world!!

LaDonna

Since you all own condos I have a related question, do you all live there year round? I have seen so many condos for sale with 4-6 weeks free owner stay and thought what a horrible idea not to be able to visit your own condo whenever you want, sounds like a timeshare! Is anyone in this situation or know what it entails? I am a real estate agent in CA, USA and my husband is a photographer, and we are both active scuba instructors; we prefer to first have a vacation home but would consider moving in the future once we learn Dutch (provided we are accepted through immigration). Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Jessica, I own my own condo and no one restricts me from coming and going. That sounds like a time share condo type when they bought it. LBR has privately owned condos and owners can come and go as they please. I could never buy something with a clause like that!! Oh, and a big welcome to BT! Just be careful where you buy first, some places do have that clause in them. Mine, thankfully does not! I do not live on island year round, but I do have someone who lives next door take care of my place when I am not on island. Having night security helps too!

Hi Jessica & welcome to B.T.... When we started looking for property we also ran across this & I didn't like it one bit.. This arrangement is known as a mandatory rental pool.. Notwithstanding that you must pay the price of the condo, the management feels the property is best used for tourism & simply put they want to control it. When you see 4-6 wks free for owner, that means they will pay the utilities & not charge you rent for the useage for that timeframe...Yes, you own the unit but they still want to charge you if you exceed this allotment..Personally this is not what I wanted.

On the other side of the coin, you would share in the rental revenue of the entire complex minus the expenses incurred by management & receive a check periodically according to the condos occupancy rate.. There are many condos on the island which use this format..If you only want to use the unit for a limited time (several weeks a year) & don't want to be bothered with the business end of things this MAY be a good idea. However if you plan on staying on the island for several months during the winter , it's certainly not what you want.

I like to be in full control of the condo (subject to the by-laws of course)& if I want to rent it out when I'm not using it, I'd have the flexibility to hire an independent property manager who will take a percentage of the rental or rent out myself..
If I didn't like the results from the property mgr., I'd be free to find another one. In other words I did not want to cede control of the unit in any way, shape or form..

Vince, well said. I feel the same as you do!

Thank you both for the great info. Now I see the benefit of both depending on my goals. After reading several other strands it seems very difficult for US citizens to immigrate and since our only skill is diving there is probably an overload of that anyway so it will not help us. Well, I guess I have a lot of thinking to do. Thank you again.

Thanks Debbie..Dare I say great minds think alike?
**Jessica** It may not be too difficult to emigrate to Bonaire assuming you have a nice trust fund behind you. If you have to be gainfully employed then that's a different situation. But at your age you've got plenty of time! Enjoy..

debbie, did you see my other post about all of us meeting at gibi's on feb 13? we'll give you a ride if you'd like

We visited Bonaire for the first time in September 2007. Loved it! We've just started looking at condos. Would love to know where LBR and what LBR is as well as if anyone has any suggestions as to where to look for available properties.
And anything to steer away from ;)
Thanks,
Julie

LBR is short for Lighthouse Beach Resort. It is on the south end of the island. Has a pool some units are on the water some are not. It is a nice place to stay. If I could afforded it, I would buy a place there myself. So for now I will stay at LBR#13 when ever I can.

Tim & Julie..>welcome to BT!! The first place to look is with the local realtors.. See this site under realtors..
Personally I've worked with Sunbelt & they were great! Any questions, feel free to ask!

http://bonairesite.homestead.com/

Hi Julie,
Welcome to BT!!!
My wife & I own a townhouse at LBR / Lighthouse Beach Resort & would be glad to answer any questions you might have. Click on my profile & send me an email - I'll help as best I can.
Gregg