Real Estate Investment

If an applicant decides to use the Real Estate Investment route to acquire citizenship, the first step is to invest in an approved real estate project to buy a villa, condominium and/or Marina slips for no less than USD$400,000.00. These projects are not government owned, but are owned by private companies.

The projects recommended by Hardtman and Associates have different types of real estate options. These include:

1. Land ready for construction of private villas and/or large scale developments.
2. Private Villas in Citizenship by Investment
3. Full ownership of Condominiums in a Citizen by Investment
4. Fractional ownership of Condominiums in a Citizenship by Investment
5. Yacht Slips in a Citizenship by Investment approved project.
6. Dockominiums (combination of Yacht Slip and Condominium) both full ownership and fractional ownership in a Citizenship by Investment

These fees are in addition to the minimum amount of USD $400,000.00 spent on the purchase of the condominium, villa or marina slip.

The fees here are:

$50,000.00 for the main applicant/Investor

$25,000.00 for each dependent, spouse children under age 18 years

$7,500.00 for Due Diligence

$4,000.00 for Due Diligence for dependents over 16 years of age

1. Due Diligence process and period the same as the SIDF.
2. Lifetime Citizenship
3. A real estate purchase has long term retained value for resale. Each CBI purchase has another CBI application attached to it when resold after five (5) years.  This means if the new purchaser wants to apply for citizenship he/she would have to pay the seller the same price or possibly more for the real estate.  The seller therefore could get back possibly all or even more money than invested in the real estate option.  Coupled with rental returns over the period, it could be a sound financial investment.
4. Offers the purchaser the chance to establish immediate strong identifiable ties to St. Kitts and Nevis. These include:
   • A mailing residential address.
   • Utility bills in purchasers name.
   • Chance to quickly obtain other Governmental IDs such as social security card and drivers license.
   • By establishing a local presence, a citizen would be better positioned to take advantage of all the benefits of being a citizen in St. Kitts and Nevis such as establishing bank relationships with no currency control restrictions and Tax and Estate planning.  This is to take advantage of the fact that St. Kitts and Nevis has no personal income tax; no wealth tax and no inheritance tax.
   • By establishing a local presence, a citizen will be better positioned to take advantage of the benefits St Kitts and Nevis citizens enjoy in the other member states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the entire Caricom region on a whole.

1. Real Estate options are usually more expensive than the SIDF option. This is because it involves two (2) separate    One to the developer for the purchase of the real estate and another to the Government for processing the citizenship application.However projects recommended by Hardtman and Associates have different types of real estate options. These include:
   • Full condominium / yacht slip ownership.
   • Fractional condominium / yacht slip ownership.
   • Full private villa ownership.

   Based on the real estate option chosen, the developer may be able to offer an     attractive immediate return on investment through the rental program, and other perks      and incentives, thus making the real estate option very comparable and very competitive with the SIDF price.

2. Home Owners Associations (HOA) – Ongoing maintenance fees for the long term up keep of the real estate property. Hardtman and Associates recommended projects rental programs usually offset the Home Owners Association fees. Purchasers who enter in rental programs, not only earn money but pay no HOA fees.
3. As a condition of the CBI program, the real estate purchaser must maintain ownership of the property for a minimum of 5 years. Each CBI purchase has another CBI application attached to it when resold after five (5) years. This means if the new purchaser wants to apply for citizenship he/she would have to pay the seller the same price or possibly more for the real estate.  The seller therefore could get back possibly all or even more money than invested in the real estate option.  Coupled with rental returns over the period, it could be a sound financial investment.