**** Deposit now taken on this property ****

We are selling our house in Cape Verde that we have owned for 18 years. We spent 3 weeks on holiday there in February/March this year.

Location

The house is located on a development called Villa Maris Ecolodge near to the village of Morro on the island of Maio. The beach is a designated nature reserve. The village with shop for fresh bread and groceries is a short walk away. The airport is a 5 minute drive, the main town is about 10 mins drive or just over an hours walk along the beach. In the town are supermarkets, restaurants, hardware stores and the ferry port. A hire car can be delivered to the Villa at reasonable rates. Local minibuses charge about 50p to get into town.

Facilities

The site has been managed by an Italian family for the last 10 years. The site has 24 hour security, laundry facilities, Wi-Fi, restaurant, solar electricity and mains water. Mains electricity is just about to be connected.

The House

We purchased the house off plan in 2006 and have been there on holiday many times since. Its current layout is 2 bedrooms and living/kitchen area plus bathroom with toilet, shower, sink & bidet. The bedrooms are extra king bed and very large wardrobe in one bedroom and two single beds and another very large wardrobe in the other. The second bedroom could be turned into a lounge area if required, we’ve never done this as there is a good sized patio/terrace area surrounding the whole property and most of the time you will be outside due to year round warm weather.

Last year the exterior of the house, including the windows and doors were painted with high quality exterior paint and varnish.

Included in the house

The house includes air conditioning in the main bedroom, all furniture, bedding & towels, cooker, fridge, television/dvd, 2 bikes, fishing equipment, snorkelling equipment, iron & ironing board, hairdryer, utensils and cutlery plus many other items that we have accumulated over the years.

Travel from the UK

Direct flights to Cape Verde go from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, East Midlands and Bristol. Flight time is usually about 5.5 hours. Fly to Sal Island.

To get to Maio a flight from Sal to Praia the capital of Santiago takes about 35-40 mins then either a further flight of 10 mins or 1.5 hours on the ferry. Ferries and flights to Maio both go 3 times a week, Sal to Praia flights are daily.

Fees

The site fees for security and maintenance are usually about £800-900 per year, this has included electricity, water, Wi-Fi and laundry costs, this year is a bit more at £1350 because a major upgrade in the electricity cabling is taking place to connect to the mains from purely solar. The local council tax is about £300 per year and is paid up until 2025, this is likely to drop because it is based on the property value and we are selling for a lot less than we paid.

Legal fees for property transfer are around 3% plus vat, property transfer tax is 1.5% of value. We have been told by a local solicitor that once the paperwork is complete the transaction can be completed in about a week. The process can take place remotely through power of attorney via the solicitor.

Wildlife and other information

The beach in front of the property is a nature reserve because turtles lay their eggs on the beach. You can also see humpback whales, manta rays, flying fish, dolphins, tuna and sharks. The lake that forms for part of the year also hosts many wading birds, the picture is a local Kingfisher taken outside our house. You can fish from the beach in front of the property.

The temperature is between 24-31 year round and the nights are very mild normally around 20 but usually with a breeze so not too hot.

I’ve included some pictures from other islands to show the variation in landscapes if you travel to different Cape Verde islands.

The price

The cash price is £25,000, which from checking some property websites is the cheapest house for sale in Cape Verde. We will consider a swap for something (car, motorbike, caravan etc) with a value of £30,000 or a lower p/x value plus cash.

Please contact me with any questions or offers. If a sale is agreed please contact me within 48 hours and a holding deposit of £500 will be required, this is to stop people messing me around, the deposit will be deducted from the overall price. The aim will be to meet with the purchaser as soon as possible after the sale has been agreed to discuss the legal process and agree the timeframe for completion. I can also share further details and provide useful English speaking contacts based on the island.

Thanks Mark