Frequently Asked Questions

Follow the next 5 steps for a successful property purchase.

1. What are you looking for?

Start by creating a prioritized list of features you want in your next home and the reasons why. Use it as your search guide, but remember that depending on your funding, you will probably need to make some compromises. In addition, talk to your real estate professional about where you want to live. Location is a huge part of any move. New Winds Realty professionals are trained to help their clients narrow down their choices by sharing market trends and local information.

2. What price range?

Now that you know what you want, it’s time to see what you can afford. You can start by crunching the numbers yourself. But the best way is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This process can often be performed in under an hour and it accomplishes two important goals. It will tell you how much you can afford and what your monthly payments would be. New Winds Realty can help you out with your mortgage as a free extra service.

3. Shopping for homes

Once you know what community you’d like to live in and have an idea of how much you can afford, its time to start checking out actual properties. Beginning this search online can help save you time since it can help you target homes that meet your search criteria.

Next, Begin visiting homes in person. Ask your New Winds Realty professional to arrange visits and attend open houses that are in your target area and price range. When comparing homes, make sure to look at all aspects of the property. Are both the houses renovated? Do they both have the same amount of bedrooms and bathrooms? Are both houses located on the same or similar streets?Remember to keep an open mind when you are looking at homes.

4. Making an offer

Once you find the home you want, you need to make an offer for the house. Typically this is a very difficult and trying time since both parties have totally different goals. In most cases it is better to have a third party, such as a real estate professional, negotiate the offer. If you have any personal interaction with the homeowner, don’t give out any information about your move, your current housing status, financial status or your feelings about their property – positive or negative. This could hurt you in future negotiations.

5. The final closing

Before you arrive at the closing, make sure all the necessary paper work and deposits have been completed. If the mortgage, title work, homeowners insurance and other items necessary under local laws are not completed and brought to the closing table, the closing may not happen on time. And, depending on what the contract says, this could result in further action including financial penalties and even the loss of your rights to the home.

Once you close, it’s official – you own the house! But there might be a few things you want to do before you lay out the welcome mat. These include arranging for an alarm system, turning on the electricity, subscribing to the local paper, arranging for lawn services, etc. This could also be a good time to make some needed renovations.

Yes, there are no restrictions whatsoever on buying property in Curacao.

The “Investors Permit 2014” is a residence permit for bonafide foreign high net worth investors who for reasons of their own wish to reside in Curaçao for a certain period of time.

The goal of the Guidelines Invertors Permit is to facilitate the investment in Curaçao by high net worth foreigners (among others, purchase of real estate property or making a business investment), thus contributing to our economy.

The guidelines contain among others, conditions and requirements, which have to be satisfied by the foreign high net worth investor, in order to qualify for an “Investors Permit 2014”

Conditions for residence of investors

For the temporary residence permit designated as “high net worth investor” it is required that the foreigner shall continuously and independently dispose of sufficient means to satisfy  the obligations issuing from the investment, whereby the foreigner shall show, by presenting official documents that he has made or intents to make a business investment of at least ANG. 500.000,00

The permit shall be issued for periods of one year at a time whereby the first permit issued is for temporary residence or for residence. The subsequent periods shall contain a promise to issue the permit,  which shall be converted into a permit pursuant to a positive review as consequence of an internal appraisal by the Immigration Services (Toelatingsorganisatie) well ahead of the relevant period.

In case of a business investment of at least ANG.500.000,- a residence permit for a period of 3 years shall be issued and will be renewed for similar periods if the circumstances remain unchanged. In case the requirements to obtain an extension are not complied with in time, the permit shall lapse.

In case of a business investment of at least ANG.750.000,- a residence permit for a period of 5 years shall be issued and will be renewed for similar periods if the circumstances remain unchanged. In case the requirements to obtain an extension are not complied with in time, the permit shall lapse.

In case of a business investment of at least ANG.1.500.000,- a residence permit for an indefinite period shall be issued.

For consideration of a request for a residence permit for a period of 3 years, payment of government fees in the amount of ANG.1.720,- and charges of ANG.145,- is required.

For consideration of a request for a residence permit for a period of 5 years, payment of government fees in the amount of ANG.2.860,- and charges of ANG.235,- is required.

For consideration of a request for an indefinite residence permit, payment of government fees in the amount of ANG.5.710,- and charges of ANG.460,- is required.

Periodic assessments will be carried out before expiration of a period; if it is found that action or omission in contravention of the permit conditions occurred, the permit shall be revoked and the payment corresponding to the unused period in which no permit existed shall be refunded when the revocation decision shall have become final.

Any foreigner who want to exercise a profession must have a work permit. The work permit will normally be granted only if there are no qualified persons available locally. In general, requests for work permits will only be taken into consideration if filed through a local employer, who has to accept full responsibility for any possible expenses to be made by the government relative to the employee.

In general, tourists are permitted to stay a maximum of 90 days on the island. In case they want to remain longer, an extension may be requested at the Immigration Office. American citizens may stay a maximum of three months without a residency permit. Citizens of the Netherlands may stay up to six months.