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Barbados

PROPERTY SEARCH

Barbados, Barbados Gap Year Guides

Once you’ve read our island guide and decided which part of the island is best suited to your needs, you can get going on your property search!

If planning for a vacation you will be spoilt for choice, with a huge number of hotels and short term property lets available on the island. However, as Barbados is a popular holiday destination we would advise booking your accommodation as early as possible as you will have greater choice.

For mid to long-term rentals we found the search for accommodation on the west coast a little challenging. Due to the pandemic, property owners (in an attempt to recoup their losses), were offering mainly short-term lets at a much higher rate. This meant that there were very few properties available below $3000USD per month and those that were advertised were snapped up promptly. We used various websites in our search for both long and short-term options, as listed below.

Island Villas
Futura Barbados Properties
Terra Caribbean
NVest Estates
Chestertons
Long Term Rentals Barbados
Caribbean Island Properties
AirBnb
Vrbo

If however, trawling through property sites snooping at extravagant beachside properties – that you are unlikely to be able to afford – sounds like a chore, it is worth considering contacting an agent (known as a realtor) to do all the leg work.

They are knowledgable about the area and have relationships with a number of local landlords, so may know of a property that is yet to be advertised. Provide the agent with your requirements such as: location, number of bedrooms, budget and extra features you may require such as pool, garden etc, and you will be sent links to suitable properties. (If using more than one agent, be sure to let them know that you do not want to be registered exclusively to anyone, as you may have certain agents putting in all the hard work, providing countless options, but unable to get commission from the proprietors as a result). It is worth noting that regardless of the relationship you have with your agent, they will prioritise the interests of the landlord. So will attempt to negotiate the best deal for them, as ultimately their fee is reflected in the final price that is agreed; so you may end up in a bidding war with other tenants.

Below are a list of agents we have worked with:

Sharon Thomas @ Futura Barbados Properties

Justin Walcott @ Worldwide Dream Villas

Nicole Humphrey @ Caribbean Island Properties Inc.

Annalisa Sealy @ Terra Caribbean

Chantelle Gooding @ Seaside Reality Inc.

Tristan Blades @ Syzygy Consulting Inc.

We opted to stay in Fitts Village as it presented the best accommodation options during our search. The location is ideal, as it is situated just above Bridgetown – which meant we could be a thirty minute drive away to get our surf on at Freights, keeping the sport accessible. We were also a ten minute drive to Holetown with all its fanciful offerings; and a walkable distance to some of the islands top restaurants.

We can often be found sipping freshly made cocktails at La Cabane, Il Tempio and Cala Roca, watching the sky transform at sunset and then staggering back home merrily, before collapsing in a rum induced coma! It can feel touristy along the west of the island, with a higher proportion of westerners to locals. So we tend to enjoy our afternoons moving up and down the coast, hunting out the best stretches of tranquil, unspoilt beach (that seemingly only the locals have knowledge about), keeping our experience more authentic. We are absolutely loving life here on the west coast!

“Modern Beach Houses”

“Traditional Chattel Houses and Gated Community”

TIPS:

  • Research. If you are unfamiliar with the different coastlines, checkout our beach posts for advice. You can also spend time pin-pointing the apartments available on Google Maps and examining the imagery of the local beach to ascertain whether it is sandy or coral-heavy from the shadows in the water. Yes, such detailed research can be considered obsessive, but this scrutiny paid dividends for us as we now enjoy a sandy beach on our doorstep!
  • We also recommend that you spend time reading reviews of properties in the area. This can give you some invaluable local insight such as noisy traffic, rowdy dogs, good restaurants etc; to weigh up the pros and cons, so you are more prepared about what you are signing up to.
  • Modern v’s Colonial. There are various styles of accommodation available; from gated apartments, modern townhouse villas and traditional chattel houses that you’ll need to distinguish between. Although we loved the idea of the latter, after careful consideration we decided that the lack of air conditioning, the shuttered windows once open with its invitation to bugs galore would make this type of home simply intolerable for us.
  • We opted for a second floor secure apartment across from the beach, with pool and jacuzzi for those lazy days. Although, there is a natural draw for properties on the beach as you envisage yourself falling gently to sleep to the susurration of the waves – it is worth noting that you may have lots of unwanted critters such as crabs mounting the walls, so its not ideal for the squeamish!
  • Request Live Video Tour. It can be difficult to get a genuine feel of a property and its grounds from photographs alone on the websites. Often the glossy online imagery may not be up to date so you can find that the space and furniture are more jaded than you have been led to believe.
  • So if you are searching for a property remotely, you should shortlist your favourite apartments and ask the agent to provide live video tours of both inside and out, plus the local beach area. They will likely be getting one month’s rental as their commission from the proprietor, so they will be happy to investigate the area for you.
  • Negotiate. Once you have found your perfect digs, you should negotiate the monthly rental charge and whether certain bills and housekeeping are included within the final monthly rates. For a longer term rental, you can expect to pay anything from $2200USD per month on the west coast and $1250USD on the south coast. If you are willing to travel, properties inland can be more spacious without the hefty price tag. Note that a deposit of a month’s rent, plus your first and last month’s rental is typically required upfront.
  • Read our post concerning budgeting to create your forecast.

To make your money go further, consider renting your property back at home to help fund your new lifestyle in Barbados. Checkout our helpful guide: ‘Tips for Renting Your Home’.

RELATED GUIDES

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If you have any questions about your property search that we have not covered here but would be useful to know, please send us a message on our Say Hello page and we will endeavour to do our best to help.

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