Investing on Sal island

As you will have gathered, Sal has been one of the first of the Cape Verde Islands being developed for tourism.

Flights are now coming in from many parts of Europe so there is a mixture of Nationalities living and working on the island.

There are many small to medium sized commercial properties to rent, a few of the larger ones are taken up by furniture suppliers in Santa Maria.

A number of commercials remain empty but this could be for various reasons, such as not situated in the right area, not enough interest yet in renting a property for a business or office or some commercial property owners are asking too much for the rent.

Those that bought property on Sal in 2005-6 may be glad they did as the exchange rate from sterling to euro was more favourable then, others may be looking to sell for other reasons. A number of properties have been on the market as re-sales for years, this is unfortunate as there are now a lot more to consider as new properties have been built and are up for sale, re-sale and some as distressed sales and asking much less than the original value.

There are some fantastic resorts and some not so good. Some that have been built with no preparation of the ground to help prevent the salt creeping up the walls. There are of course always good and poor designs too.

Some of the older hotels are closed such as the Sab Sab and Hotel Djadsal. There are buildings in much need of care and attention and no one with money to repair them.

There are various management agencies on Sal to deal with the different developments or perhaps only a few in each resort and the odd ones here and there.

Security is an issue especially in areas where there is no security, places where there is nothing else around you or if you don't have any security locks or bars. There are opportunists about and many don't have the luxury of owning a property, computers and phones.

A number of services available on Sal will be available on other islands too. It may be better for you to deal with people who can speak your language to prevent any confusion verbally or in writing.

Lawyers are the same on all the islands, some better than others. However there are times when you may think you are going mad or get really frustrated when you arrange to meet Lawyers and they aren't there or they haven't told you they have gone away. Even worse if you have flown all that way to meet with them in person, at your own expense.

There is a lot to try and cram into this website about investing in Cape Verde, but in the end it is up to you to do your research as well as give consideration to the future. Some times you can't for-see things that will perhaps affect your situation and sometimes this is the case with developments, some of which have not progressed or been finished.

Look into the situation with deposits and the contracts before signing anything other wise you could loose your deposit or more.

There are some links within many of the pages and some advertisements from a number of businesses on Sal Island to view as these will provide you with further information about some developments, furniture suppliers, management and property services, resorts, water sports etc.

There are a number of resorts that have had approval. The west coast of Sal will be the main area of the island that will be developed. If you are looking at one of these Resorts, also look into whether furniture has to be replaced in 5 years, will you have the funds to replace it, does it have to be a certain furniture pack, are you going to be tied into a contract that you can't get out of, can you negotiate with the developers or suppliers, this is sometimes possible!