- Buying a place in Cayman isn’t like buying a semi in the suburbs back home. There’s salt in the air, hurricanes on the calendar, and strata meetings that can feel like UN negotiations.
Here are 7 classic rookie mistakes — and how to sidestep them.
- Mortgage payment
- Strata fees
- Insurance
- Stamp duty
- A realistic maintenance buffer
- Recent AGM minutes
- Reserve fund balance
- Upcoming projects (paint, roofs, seawalls) Low strata fees today can mean massive special assessments later.
- Real annual premium examples
- Hurricane deductibles
- Flood/windstorm coverage details “Looks safe” is not an insurance strategy.
- Early morning (school/commuter traffic)
- Evening (kids, dogs, neighbour’s karaoke habit) A quiet 2 p.m. showing tells you nothing about 7 a.m. garbage trucks.
- Flag weird title issues
- Explain covenants and easements
- Decode all the “everyone usually signs this” documents Slow down here. It’s cheaper than fixing mistakes later.
