There is a lot of information available detailing the benefits of purchasing an older Cayman Islands Home. Older houses have lower purchase prices in comparison to newer houses. They are usually situated in established communities, having an existing good reputation for schools, transportation and commercial centers. Older houses have mature landscape designs and period-style architecture and craftsmanship. If all this appeals to you, you might want to consider an older house. However, older houses will come with their fair share of issues. To enable you to make the correct home purchasing decision for you, here are a few important points you may want to discuss with your real estate agent. 

1) Structural Issues 

The structural condition of older houses will vary. If it has been properly maintained, the structure will probably reflect the standard craftsmanship of years gone by aand will only require minor repairs, reinforcement or maintenance. More recent building work that may have been carried out on the house may not have been built to the high standard of the original home, and may need major repairs or makeovers. When the original building has not been well - maintained, you may be in for a significant structural overhaul. Neglected crawlspaces might have foundation and floor structure defects. Continuous water encroachment or past fires might have affected structural areas which are now hidden. Make sure your house inspector looks into the structure of the older house completely. 

2) What Remodeling involves 

Lots of people purchase a mature home with the aim of remodeling it to make the house more comfortable and increase the homes value. As with many things in life, the choice to redesign an older home comes down to time or money. If you want to spend more of your time on the project ans less of your money, you will need to be handy and keep your weekends free from any other obligations for many months. If you are too busy to take the project on yourself and would rather employ someone else to do it, your realtor can recommend a contractor who is an expert in raising house value by remodeling older houses. 

3) Zoning Issues 

Before buying an older house with the aim of remodeling and raising the value, ensure you thoroughly investigate zoning rules. Many older houses include zoning limitations, including pre-determined setbacks from property lines, limits on roof height, etc. If the house is on the municipal historic register, rules will probably be much more stringent in order to preserve the homes historic character. If you are thinking about alternative ways to use your older house, like making it an office, building an in-law apartment, etc., make sure you speak to your realtor about zoning specifics.

4) Price of Operations 

Greater repair and maintenance expenses ought to be added to the budget when calculating the all inclusive costs for buying an older home. Makeovers, repairs as well as pre-purchase inspection costs could be substantially more than if buying a newer house. Also, the possible lack of modern insulation materials means bigger electric and gas bills in order to heat and power the home. And, major home appliances, plumbing and heating systems will probably need maintenance within the first couple of years of your possession. 

5) Termites 

In an older home, it is possible that termites along with other wood wrecking bugs might have broken timbers and structural supports for a long time before being detected. It is highly unlikely for any house stand for 100 years without any type of termite/ant/beetle infestation. It is important that you make it a priority to determine if there are any signs and symptoms of current infestation, and also to inspect the extent of the damage left from past infestations. If a wood insect has eaten away at the structural support of the house for a long time prior to being discovered, you may need to add reinforcement to the beams and posts in the basement. It's also necessary to safeguard the house against future infestations. You may want to consider employing a pest management company to carry out preventative treatments in addition to periodic visual assessments.

If you are looking at selling your Cayman Islands Home you might want to think about home inspections. Since many inspections fully check the home's infrastructure, foundations and roof, most property experts suggest that you search for issues before putting your house on the market. Though older houses may have more problems, houses of any age or type should receive a checkup by home owners before entering the market. This article describes the most common problems discovered by home inspectors while offering some suggestions on how you can ensure your home will pass its inspection. 


Plumbing Problems 

Fix leaks and clogs well in advance of the home inspection date. The inspector will check water pressure by activating multiple taps and flushing toilets simultaneously. Home appliances for example dish washers and washing machines are also going to be tested. Leaks and clogs will be evident during the checks performed by the inspector. 

The inspector may check the septic system. One method which may be used to test the system is to flush a dye down the toilet. The inspector will wait to see if the dye surfaces around the drainfield, showing a drainage problem. 

Insufficient or Inferior Electrical Systems 

An average home inspection will look into the electrical panel and circuit breakers that power your home for problems and test wall sockets throughout the home. The inspector will even look for ground fault interrupt outlets (GFIs) in the kitchen area and bathrooms. Configured to instantly turn off the power in the event of a short circuit, these special outlets are an essential safety feature for all homes. If your home is an older building, you may want to have GFIs installed and have your electrical system checked before your inspection. 

Other Systems 

The inspector will look into the cooling and heating systems, to ensure they are in correct working order and comment about their efficiency. The inspector will take a close look at the structure and foundation. All home appliances are going to be checked. The inspection report includes information about smoke sensors. 

Prior to the Inspection 

Do everything in you are able to make certain the house is in good shape before you try to sell it, try not to get frustrated when the inspection report has negative comments. Home inspectors write down everything they see. No house is perfect. 

Keep in mind that the home inspection report isn't a wish-list for purchasers. Read your contract carefully--it most likely states which systems ought to be in good condition at closing. For example, when the roof is older, but does not leak, it's in good condition. Should there be a leak, and it can be fixed, the roof will be in good condition. 

Your contract could also say that you're not obliged to undertake any repairs at all--even though purchasers may withdraw from the contract. Don't feel you have to adhere to any unreasonable demands for repairs.

 

WestStar TV and The Cayman Islands, will take a huge technological step forward with the launching of an optical fiber network to the home. 
The ground breaking project, which was launched on Tuesday, 1st May, was attended by Premier McKeeva Bush and members of WestStar's management team. 
"I am indeed pleased to learn that the intention is to provide faster, higher quality and more reliable service to the company's customers, a lot is at stake here, on the one hand our reputation as a sophisticated regime where world businesses can conduct their operations with ease, on the other hand our people must be able to reap the benefits of such sophistication."said Mr Bush. 
"We're going to build a world class fiber cable television system here in the Cayman Islands and it is going to keep the Islands not only up to date but ahead of 90 per cent of the markets in the world," added Rod Hansen, chief executive officer of WestStar. 
Although there will be an improvement in the quality of the images delivered, the main change consumers are likely to notice will be the high speed data services over the fiber network, offering the potential for greater download speeds than can be achieved currently. 


Source:compasscayman.com

 

Ease anxiety from office absence. 

The tough economic climate is threatening countless jobs around the globe and pushing us to work harder and longer so that we can survive through these challenges. Along with the pressures of the world is the need to ensure there is a balance between work and family, especially when you plan to take a vacation in the Cayman Islands which requires spending time quality together time together. 

Don't fret. You will find ways in which you can connect with your workplace, during your vacation. Here are a few examples: 

Document Sharing Tools 

It's not necessary to stay in your workplace to handle your workload. Document sharing tools like Google Paperwork permit you to manage your documents, presentations, excel spreadsheets and forms from your own laptop. You are able to upload, access and share your work with your co-workers and hierarchy without having to pay a cent! The effective posting and saving tools permit you to easily manage your workload. 

Remote Desktop Access 

You may have big plans for the family and wish to work at home or on vacation. But may be concerned that an excessive amount of information on you computer will not allow you the versatility. Technology will assist you with this by permitting you to access your workplace computer remotely with the aid of inexpensive desktop remote access software. 

Online Fax needed 

If you are unable to gain access to a fax outside of your workplace, it is possible to subscribe to an inexpensive online fax service, which enables you to send and receive faxes from all over the world. 

Remote Meeting 

Your manager would like you to attend an essential meeting which typically falls right in the middle of your long awaited vacation. Worry not! A web-based meeting service enables you to attend any meeting from a remote location. A regular messenger service like Google Talk or MSN Messenger will help you conduct a relevant video or voice call to your manager or co-workers. 

Private Data Assistants 

Nowadays all mobile phone companies are providing multi featured private data assistants PDA's) that will help you manage your workload with greater versatility. Full of effective communications and office management tools, they permit you to access your emails and manage your documents. 

The synchronization of worldwide communication systems means it is much simpler to remain in touch than in the past. Holidays should be a special time for not only you but your family and friends also. Having the ability to keep in touch with what's going with your business, when you can't be physically present can alleviate anxiety. 

Whenever you take your Caribbean vacation, ensure you set aside some time to enjoy your surroundings, but also to consider the possibility of a real estate investment. Speak to a Coldwell Banker agent to discuss the possibilities.