Vieques Travel
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Enchanted
Isles Vieques Island |
THE absence of traffic lights, duty-free malls and beach-row
condominiums is a source of pride on Vieques, a 21-mile-long island about 10
miles off the east coast of the main island of Puerto Rico. It boasts more than
50 sparsely populated white sand beaches, crystal- Close to 54 percent of Vieques — nearly 18,000 acres — is now a
wildlife refuge, the largest in the Caribbean. The Navy, which used the land for
60 years as a bombing range, turned it over to the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service in the spring of 2003. “It was a madhouse,” said Alex Mazzocca, an agent with Connections Real Estate on Vieques. “People were calling up and buying houses over the phone.” By 2006, prices had nearly quadrupled. Prices have since leveled off. Sheila Levin, a broker with Crow’s Nest Realty on Vieques, said prices were currently lower than they’d been in three years. Most of the activity is at the low end, which includes a lot of fixer-uppers in the $250,000 to $400,000 range. Interest in luxury properties, typically priced at more than $1 million, is very low. Most second-home owners are from the East Coast of the United States. Puerto Rican real estate laws are similar to those in the States, and property taxes are low. There is no transfer tax, and title insurance can be purchased from major companies. However, prospective buyers also encounter something less familiar: a distinction between titled and untitled properties. Titled property is subject to taxes. Untitled houses built on land that belongs to the municipality are not taxed and cannot be mortgaged, though the presence of a dwelling structure protects a buyer’s rights. But untitled municipal land is a riskier purchase, and some agencies won’t list it at all. Evelyn Delerme, Vieques’s mayor-elect, said she would expedite and expand municipal land titling when she takes office on Jan. 14. Real estate agents see this as good news for the market. Titled listings are far more desirable, and more titled land would allow more construction, though the nature preserve will limit development and protect open space. HIGH LOW |
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clear
water, a bioluminescent bay and hilly subtropical forest. The island’s two
coastal towns, Esperanza and Isabel Segunda, do have small bars, restaurants and
shops, but for second-home owners, these aren’t the point.
HOW
MUCH $350,000 WHAT 5-bedroom duplex WHERE Vieques, Puerto Rico
