ISLAND LIVING| Part 3| What Its Like Buying A VACATION RENTAL On An ISLAND 

Would love a walk through from start to finish for folks that want to do this

So excited for this!!

Hello, we're your (not so distant) neighbors on Coco Bay and see you've taken the plunge..welcome to the Cay! I posted a quick reply up on your Island Living Part 2 regarding your plans for a spiral staircase. It might seem sexy & a space saver but consider this. They really don't save much space at all and for most people are ergonomically challenging. A 5' diameter staircase is nearly useless and even 6' diameter spiral offers a small usable tread area and a large footprint. Carrying luggage up and down one is awkward to say the least and then there's the 'dizzy' factor many people complain about..and this is before consuming a few adult beverages. Building on an island is baptism through fire and if you can make it through to the end you'll achieve what many others couldn't. I'm a retired building contractor who's worked on island projects from Maine to the Bahamas. Our son designed two homes on the cay..'TurtleDreams' and 'Domino Dreams'. We were also the general contractor on our project. It's fun to dream about colors, furniture & tings but don't be too dazzled by shinny objects. Concentrate your limited time & energy on the fundamentals first. If you haven't done so think about hiring a designer or architect to achieve the most from thoughtful fenestration, layout & space allocation. They will also present ideas & concepts that you'll probably miss..guaranteed. Thirdly is communication..the 'Holy Grail' of building..and life in general. Even with clear instruction & directives some things will get done wrong..case in point your deck. I came down every month for a year and a half to coordinate & supervise. I think in retrospect we could of finished much earlier and at less cost if I had taken the year off and stayed on island to manage the project on a daily basis. Even with my background and some top notch trades people things still took twice as long and twice the price of building in the states. We'd also be happy to share our experiences if you'd like. Wishing you all the best in your new endeavor and we hope to the opportunity to meet you in person. Warm Regards, Bill & Susan Kennedy greenturtledreams.com/