What obstacles would you see, if you decided to build your own home, obviously it would take more than 90 days.

Nothing that a lot of money, time and patience won't solve.

Hi, anyone have any advice? I was interested in the El Pueblo project. It seems it is sold out, along with Waterlands. Would it be better to buy a piece of oceanfront land first, and have a home built on it? Are there good builders on Bonaire? Do they have offices in the downtown area? I would like to get in touch with one of them by e-mail, can anyone recommend one? We will be there in September, bt would like to get some info before we leave. Thanks, Allan

Hi Allan..You'll see that good oceanfront land (if you can find it) on Bonaire is EXTREMELY expensive. Oceanfront land at sea level; quite a bit less so. Yes there are some excellent builders on the island. My advice however is to pick a good real estate agent first to begin your search. I'd recommend the folks at Sunbelt since I've had first hand personal dealings with them.
Good luck with your endeavors

Hi Vince, thanks for the info. I am already in contact with Anja from Sunbelt. Why do you say land at sea level is less expensive? I would think it would be the other way around.

Allan,

Bonaire may be out of the hurricane belt, but it can and does experience surges. Lenny, for instance, caused surges so strong that it wiped out the docks for most of the resorts, leveled a restaurant at Sand Dollar (the legendary Green Parrot) and did lots of other damage - all with the sun brightly shining.

Hi
How often do the surges happen? Will home owners insurance cover such occurrences?

Thanks Susan, I didn't know about the surges. How far did the surge come up from the regular water line?

Surges of the magnitude of that from Lenny I think are pretty infrequent. They do happen sometimes, though.

If you search, you can find some photos on-line that document what happened then. Here's what Jake and Linda wrote, back when they were doing Bonaire E-News:
Lenny surge

Thanks Susan, interesting pictures of Lenny's surge. I my self have been through several hurricanes, so I know what to expect. Allan

Allan..Working with Anja I believe you're off to a great start!
**Susan** Thanks for posting the link. It's always good to remind us what mother nature is capable of doing even on tranquil Bonaire!

Susan,
Thanks for the link... had not seen these before...Jake & Linda... thanks for taking the pics

I bought my property through Sunbelt in the Sabal Palms development and found them very helpful, they were very knowledgeable about all the procedures for a non Dutch or non native citizen regarding buying land. I am amazed, however, how property costs have risen over the last three years.
The people in Bonaire are really friendly, I came for the scuba diving, but the place is really terrific. With the wind power fields going up on the eastern side of the island, there's a big push to keep the island "green" which is very admirable. I'm not sure how much development can continue though, water, which comes from the desalinization plant, is at a premium. Bonaire is not like the commercial oriented Aruba, Bonaire is quiet, small and I hope it more or less stays that way.