This Popular Antigua All-Inclusive Just Reopened

One of the most popular all-inclusives on an island that specializes in them, the Pineapple Beach Club has officially reopened its doors in Antigua, Caribbean Journal has learned. 

The adults-only resort officially relaunched on April 4, according to parent company Elite Island Resorts. 

The property, which is set on a quarter-mile-long beach, is set on 30 acres, with 180 rooms and two pools, among other amenities. 

It’s part of Elite Island Resorts’ portfolio of all-inclusive in Antigua, one that includes The Verandah, Galley Bay, St James’ Club and Villas and, its newest resort, the dazzling new Hammock Cove resort. 

The Pineapple Beach Club is providing rapid antigen testing for guests at the resort to help comply with the CDC requirements for returning travelers (ests are available with same-day results). It’s part of a broad set of health and safety protocols implemented by Elite Island Resorts at its regional properties.

The new beachfront infinity pool at the Pineapple Beach Club.

Antigua and Barbuda was one of the Caribbean’s first destinations to reopen in the pandemic when it did so in June 2020. 

For more on how to travel to Antigua, see here. 

For more, visit Pineapple Beach Club

— CJ

The post This Popular Antigua All-Inclusive Just Reopened appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The All-Inclusive Secrets St Martin Just Reopened

One of the most anticipated resort reopenings in the Caribbean is finally here. 

The all-inclusive Secrets St Martin Resort and Spa, which had just opened its doors for the first time a year ago, is officially back, Caribbean Journal has confirmed. 

Although it is unknown what the capacity limits for the hotel will be during the pandemic, the property offers a total of 258 suites.

A spokesperson from AMResorts did not have any additional information about the reopening for Caribbean Journal (CJ) at press time.

The property had initially been slated to reopen last fall, a move that continued to be pushed back amid changes to the French side’s travel protocols. 

However, during recent CJ trips to AMResorts properties in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, we learned that the company is capping guest capacity at about 50 to 60 percent at its Mexican and Caribbean hotels.

all-inclusive secrets st martin
The new Secrets St Martin.

Nonetheless, this is significant news for an island that has been decimated from both the terrible hurricane season of 2017 and now the pandemic.

The hotel is located 35 minutes from the Princess Juliana International Airport and is in walking distance to the Anse Marcel Marina.

Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa is also located just a short drive to Grand Case and Orient Bay, placing Secrets St. Martin central to all of the activity of the island.

all-inclusive secrets st martin

It’s the only all-inclusive on the French side of the island, and the first-ever AMResorts property anywhere in the French Caribbean. 

The hotel also offers a spa that includes such signature treatments as the hot stone massage, the “Seacrets Exclusive Facial,” and pedicure and manicure treatments. 

For more on how to visit St Martin and St Maarten, see the destination’s entry protocols

For more, visit Secrets St Martin

— CJ

The post The All-Inclusive Secrets St Martin Just Reopened appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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How Much Does it Cost to Sell a House?

Selling your home can be a pretty stressful process in some cases. In an ideal world, you would recognize the appreciated value of your home, decide that you’d like to move elsewhere with a little extra money in your pocket, put your house on the market, and it would sell immediately. 

That’s the way it’s often portrayed, but the reality is that sometimes it’s a little different. The process of getting your home listed, working with a realtor, and actually accepting an offer can be time-consuming and costly. 

We’re here to help you explore a few of your options. Luckily, there are ways to make the process smooth and effortless. 

We’ll explore a number of options, also answering the question “how much does it cost to sell a house?”

Let’s get started:

How Much Does It Cost To Sell a House?

The answer to this question is probably about as complicated as the answer to “how long does it take to get a job,” or, “is parenting right for me?”

The cost of selling your home is dependent on a number of factors. There’s a lot that goes into preparing your home so that you can get the most value at closing, finding the right people to work with in order to list your home, closing costs, the costs of moving, and everything else along the way. 

Selling your house is, in principle, moving your entire life along to a new phase. Not to mention all of the red tape and paperwork that goes along with the process. 

Before you rest your head on the pillow of your new home, there are a lot of expenses that have to take place. 

Those expenses will vary depending on your situation, but there are some trends in expenses that you can expect. We’re going to take a look at three different ways that you could potentially sell your home. 

All three come with different pros and cons. Let’s get started.

Selling a Home with iBuyer

iBuyer is a service that helps you get your home exposed to the market of potential buyers in your area. Additionally, iBuyer seeks to make the process of selling your home as easy as it possibly can be. 

The first benefit of iBuyer is an algorithm that helps you get a clear idea of how much potential buyers are likely to pay for your home. This estimate is based on a great deal of historical information from previous purchases and home values in your area. 

When you get an estimate that makes sense and seems right to you, we send that estimate along with information about your home out to a network of interested buyers. Those buyers will then examine your listing and bid against each other to purchase your home. 

This is an excellent way to increase the sale value of your home because it forces individuals to bid higher and higher until there is someone at the end who offers to pay more than anyone else. In this way, you receive the highest possible amount for your home based on consumer demand. 

If you should accept an offer, iBuyer helps work with you to take the following steps and wind up closing on your sale. 

This process is extremely affordable in comparison to other methods that we’ll discuss next. 

Selling By Yourself

Selling a home by yourself is another option that might be able to save you a little money. 

When you decide to sell your home on your own, you don’t need to adhere to the closing costs and commissions that real estate agents charge. This is an excellent way to sell a home if you’re familiar with a person who is interested in buying your home from you before you list it. 

For example, your best friend wants to buy your home and you’re ready to move, it wouldn’t make much sense to pay someone to market and sell the home for you. 

You’ll also save money if the buyer doesn’t have an agent that needs to be paid commissions. It’s also beneficial to sell your home on your own in some instances because you can dictate the terms of the sale and you don’t have to adhere to the opinions or ideas of the real estate agent they’re working with. 

At the same time, going through the process by yourself has some pitfalls. 

Negative Aspects of Selling Yourself

The first factor that stands out as a negative is the fact that most first-time sellers don’t know the legalities or the standard process of selling a home. There are certain things that need to get done to transfer a home to another person legally. 

Additionally, it’s difficult to find potential buyers if you don’t work through some kind of service. If you know of a person that wants to buy your home, this negative factor doesn’t apply to you. 

If, on the other hand, you just want to sell the home by yourself, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. 

First, the listing spaces that many homebuyers browse on are sometimes accessible only to licensed agents. Second, you might not get as much value from the sale as you would if you worked with a service like iBuyer. 

It’s tough to know how much to list your home for, even with a decent appraisal. There are various market factors that influence how people buy homes, what will work, and what will not. First-time sellers also tend to be inexperienced in the way of negotiation, and that can wind up hurting you.

You should also be aware that you’ll still have to pay the buyer’s agent’s commission fees. So, at the end of the day, you might wind up saving money on commissions and closing costs, but the total value of your home might not stack up at the sale price. 

You might also find that it takes a lot longer to get your home off of the market if you don’t have access to large pools of potential buyers, and your expenses will rack up as the house sits. 

Selling with a Real Estate Agent

Working with an agent is the way that most people go about selling their homes. 

Agents can help you access potential buyers, prepare your home for sale, and work with you on the various things that need to happen for the sale to go through. 

This makes the process simple for you, and the agent takes a lot of the responsibility into their own hands. At the same time, unloading the responsibility on the agent comes at a price. 

Real estate agents will ask for a percentage of the selling price. That usually stacks up to somewhere around 6 percent of your selling price. Depending on your home, that could be anywhere from $6,000 to $100,000.

It all depends on the value of your home. There are additional closing costs and the fee that’s attributed to the buyer’s agent if they have one. 

What About The Other Costs Associated with Selling?

The other costs that come with selling a home are really up to your discretion. This is because they typically have to do with making improvements to the home that will increase its value and help it get off of the market. 

Investing in home improvements is a great way to make a little more money when it comes to closing time. Bathroom and kitchen investments are typically ones that reap the best rewards, although there’s a whole lot that you can do before your appraisal to increase value. 

Those costs will vary depending on the size of the renovation or improvement. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that most of the renovations you make to your home will increase its value

Even small adjustments like paint color or the inclusion of a garden can make your home more appealing and help it get off of the market quicker. 

When it comes to the little things, it’s important to remember that appraisals are partially influenced by opinion. The appraiser is aware of different market factors, but their opinion of the home is what determines the last bit of the value. 

So, cleaning up your yard, improving the curb appeal, and arranging your furniture in a way that enhances space can all change your home’s value by thousands of dollars. 

Moving Costs and More

You then have to consider how much property you own, the costs of movers in your area, and what the general expense of transferring those belongings to a new space will be. 

In the grand scheme, though, be sure to weigh the moving expenses against the equity that you gained in the sale of the home. In most cases, the silver lining is that you make money after all is said and done.

Trying to Sell Your Home?

So, how much does it cost to sell a house? It depends on how you handle it. 

We’re here to help you sell your home in the easiest, most cost-effective way possible. Submit your address to get started selling your home. 

The post How Much Does it Cost to Sell a House? appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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Forest Service issues $193M to 41 states and Puerto Rico

… counties in 41 states and Puerto Rico.
“The Secure Rural Schools program … ,939
PENNSYLVANIA
2,641,850
PUERTO RICO
134,716
SOUTH CAROLINA
1 …

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