Does anyone have any suggestions for locating the owners of property on Bonaire? We have been visiting Bonaire for several years and there are a number of properties that would seem good candidates for new ownership.

You can go to the office of the Domein Beheer and request (for a small fee) information on any property. It's public information. The Domein Beheer (at least last I knew) was located in the old "Apna" building, which used to the large blue building on the left hand side as one would drive in towards the stadium from the airport, but now it houses the Regional Service Center, which is coordinating the political status switch, and it is orange. I can't remember what the fee is, but I'm thinking it's something like FL 15.00 per property.

Ooops, now that I've had my second cup of coffee, let me correct my own words. You need to go to the office of the Kadaster, not Domein Beheer.........same location as I mentioned! Thank goodness it's Friday, my brain needs a break!

Well James, here's another approach (harkens back to my days as a field investigator).

Why don't you just knock on the doors of the properties your interested in when you're on island (assuming they are not empty lots nor listed with a local Realtor) and ask to speak with the owner? May be a bit easier for you and sometimes the direct approach can yield more favorable results. Plus it'll be an interesting way to off load nitrogen.

James -

As Vinny said, knocking on the front door could work and you might even find the "real" owner, or not.

The only way to be sure who the owners is is to go to the office of the Kedaster in the Regional Service Center Building (RSC) as Susan said. As long as you know the EXACT location of the property (and can find it on a lot map) you can find out who the owner is. In some instances, this is not as easy as it sounds.

Make sure to try to to count down the number of lots (for example) from the corner, or something similar. As a note, sometimes it is hard to tell if the vacant land between the corner and the house you are interested in is ONE lot or TWO lots.

Once you find the lot you are interested in, the Kedasters office can make you a copy of the deed, and the cost is 15 nafl per page.

Here's a tip: A deeds can be 2 to 6 pages long, but the info you are looking for is normally on the first or second page, so you may only need to pay to copy the first two pages.

The first page always has the buyer and sellers name and usually the legal description of the property. The purchase price is normally on either the first or second page.

The challenging part of this if you are an American is that the deed is in Dutch. You will need to spend a few minutes translating some of the words so you know what you are reading.

The most important thing to remember is that the ONLY way to transfer property on Bonaire is via the Notaris office. NEVER give anyone (even if they claim to be the "owner" ) except the Notaris your money to purchase a property. If you give your money to anyone else, you will probably get ripped off. I can tell you stories, so it does happen.

I am always available via private e-mail to help you with any part of the process, just send me a private e-mail.