Releasing Equity From High-Value Property In The Bahamas

The Bahamas, with its advantageous business, legislative and regulatory environment and year-round sunny climate, draws significant numbers of high-net-worth individuals to the jurisdiction. High-net-worth families choose to structure their business interests, investments, and wealth through the Bahamas and go on to purchase prime real estate on the islands for holidays, as primary residences or as appreciating assets. Many of these individuals are from northern, central and southern America, given the Bahamas’ proximity to the whole of the American continent and easy access via commercial airlines and private jets, which are well-served by the island’s transport infrastructure, amenities and leisure activities. 

Much of the property in the Bahamas runs to millions of dollars, given the islands are home to some of the largest, most desirable and modern homes in the Caribbean.

Increasingly, many of the individuals that own property on the islands want to use capital tied up in their Bahamian real estate as a way to access liquidity quickly and efficiently without selling their property, which is often a long-term investment and is an appreciating asset that forms a considerable part of the owners’ net worth.

Bridging loans are always a type of short-term finance secured against property – in this case, unencumbered residential property in the Bahamas. A bridging loan will see you release equity from your Bahamian property and use it to fund various projects, investments, or purchases in or outside the Bahamas. 

Throughout the duration of the loan, you’ll still be able to use your property as usual, paying back what you have borrowed at term by selling the property, through a liquidity event or by refinancing the loan to a standard mortgage or conventional finance. 

Releasing Equity From Property In The Bahamas: What To Know

Bridging loans in the Bahamas remains a relatively niche sector of the lending market. Only a few lenders offer this type of finance, especially against a high-value property where you may borrow millions of dollars against a Bahamian asset. However, provided you have a reason for raising finance and can explain how you will manage the funds, lenders can usually consider offering you a loan, even if you have ambitious or unusual plans. 

• Lenders will want to structure the loan through corporate entities – releasing equity from Bahamian property in your own name is usually not possible in high-value deals
• Multiple corporate entities can be utilised in the same equity release deal to structure the loan efficiently if needed. This is especially useful if you will use the capital outside the Bahamas. For example, the Bahamian property can be held in one structure, with the borrowing entity being different and the exit potentially structured via a third. Provided the structure is clear and compliant, there are usually no limits on how the loan is structured, the type of entities used and their domicile
• High-value loans of $1 million or more are possible, and we can arrange equity release of several million dollars if the value of the real estate supports loans this size. 
• There is usually no fixed requirement for loan capital to be used in the Bahamas, although your plans for managing and deploying the funds will need to be laid out in advance with the lenders
• Lenders can offer loans in various currencies to facilitate using capital outside of the Bahamas, i.e., a Bahamian property is valued in USD, but the lender will write a loan in EUR.  
• An independent valuation will need to be carried out to define the value of the property
• The loan-to-value ratio lenders offer will depend on your plans for the capital, how long you are borrowing for, how you will manage funds and your exit. 50-60% is usual in most circumstances, but some lenders will offer more or less, depending on your plans and why you need the loan

Why Release Equity From Property In The Bahamas?

One of the most common uses for bridging loans is to complete property purchases without a mortgage. By releasing equity from an existing property in your portfolio, you can access the liquidity you need to make an onward property purchase. This is useful if you want to have the advantage of a cash buyer, if accessing a mortgage is challenging would take too long in the context of the timespan you want to complete your property purchase in, or simply because you do not want to use a mortgage to purchase a property. 

However, Bridging loans are a flexible type of finance, and they aren’t limited to funding a real estate purchase. Lenders can consider several scenarios for how – and where – you will deploy the loan. You may want to fund the growth of a business, invest in a specific project or cover a short-term personal or professional funding gap. Most lenders can consider lending as long as you have a solid plan of action and can document how you will manage the funds and repay the loan (known as your exit). Bridging loans can be advantageous when traditional financing options, such as bank loans or lines of credit, are unavailable.

How Enness Can Help         

If you want to release equity from a property in the Bahamas, you will need to structure and negotiate the loan carefully. These are only a few lenders that offer Bahamas bridging loans. Those who do will want exceptionally detailed plans supported by watertight documentation that provides clear information about structures, ownership, shareholding, proposed capital deployment, your exit, etc. Lenders will offer loans on a case-by-case basis, but you will usually get the most competitive offer when you have a broker to negotiate for you and ensure the lender has offered you their best rates and terms. 

If you want to explore equity release from a Bahamian property, get in touch. We are experts in arranging international, high-value equity release. We will explain more about how this type of finance works, how we will negotiate a loan and what financing will likely cost.