The industry-leading, national and international real estate webinar series by Haute Residence continued today with a panel featuring top agents from the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Monaco.
Diane Holowesko (President of Holowesko & Company, Bahamas), Laurent Locchi (Partner of Miells & Partners, Monaco) and Sue Nickason (VP Marketing & Sales of Provenance Properties, Cayman Islands) were hosted by Haute Living's Deyvanshi Masrani in a dialogue that touched on the different markets they represent and how each has experienced the last months of quarantine, both personal and professionally.
Watch the webinar below.
As we continue the Haute Residence series of webinars featuring top real estate agents, developers, brokers, and industry insiders, sign up for our upcoming ones:
Tuesday, June 16th at 4PM EST / 1PM PST
Join us as we talk to Keith Menin, Raymond Fort, and Alex Xakoustis the three industry leaders who have joined forces to bring to life Natiivo Miami, the revolutionary for-sale, homesharing-friendly development located in Downtown Miami. REGISTER.
Friday, June 19th at 2PM EST / 11AM PST
Penthouse Wars: Across-section of PH Residences across the Miami, NY, and SF markets
Join us as we showcase some of the top properties available in the SF, NY and Miami markets. REGISTER.
Top: Diane Holowesko, Laurent Locchi. Bottom: Sue Nickason
Highlight quotes from today's webinar:
Diane Holowesko: "we started a campaign that was called 'You were here for us will be you were here for us, we will be there for you,' promoting a message that, especially to our existing clients and our client database, how much we appreciate them and when we do open back up, we are going to be here for (them)... As of yesterday, the government started allowing private aircraft and yachts (into the Bahamas) from around the world... The possibility of COVID-19 coming along is somewhat high. So we need to position ourselves to be ready to service our clients and meet their needs virtually if we happen to go into another lockdown again come this winter... What we do is lay out our tax situation so that clients use the information to their benefit... The Bahamas clients come from the US, Canada, the UK, and South America. It's simple to purchase in the Bahamas. The turnaround time is 30-45 days. We help the new buyers set up bank accounts and establish accounts with the utilities... For $750,000, you can apply for permanent residency in the Bahamas, not requiring to spend a specific number of days (here)... The proximity to the US helps us because the government treats us more like family. I think a lot of our buyers and investors find comfort in that fact. We have the tax benefits and stability of our government.
Laurent Locchi: "(During the quarantine,) it was not really the moment for selling things. It was much more a kind of being strung together message than selling properties ... For foreigners, there is no income, capital gains, or inheritance tax, and you can be a resident by renting or buying a property... The best advantage we have is being a micro-state. The information (about COVID-19) was given in real-time, which was not really the case for other countries...Being a micro-state and having that proximity to the authorities helps. Everybody knows everybody and can share information with each other... The use of WhatsApp is incredible. I mean, the way we use WhatsApp groups (internally), for example, or just directly (with) the clients. It was really a big demand for real-time information because everything was frozen... Monaco is known for being the playground of the rich, but there's a real quality of life here in the middle of Europe with this Mediterranean climate. It is a dynamic state, always trying to reinvent itself, always welcoming to all foreigners. I know why everyone wants to live in Monaco, and I'm sure when you come here, you will know."
Sue Nickason: "We have been focusing on relationship-building, thoughtful analysis of the need of our customers, and producing content services to meet that need... Clients are looking for factual information and easy to find information. We've always positioned ourselves as trusted advisors to our clients. More importantly than ever, it's about being purveyors of that information.... The Cayman Islands attract ultra-high-net-worth individuals who are globally mobile and want to establish permanent residency here to take advantage of the tax neutrality... Buyers are coming to establish a permanent residence, vacation property, and investment properties... If there's any silver lining, it's that governments have made services more available on digital... Tax neutrality, low density, high standard of living, infrastructure, and we are the culinary capital of the Caribbean. We have a beautiful natural marine environment that invites amazing diving and marine activities. The Cayman Islands has everything to be as active or as relaxed as you choose to be here... We focus on developing places where people want to spend their lives. Safety and stability is going to be an important part of the value that we offer here going forward... We really are a pro-business environment. This is a place where you know we have very well qualified people in the private sector, a very efficient civil service that focuses on attracting new business and residents. That's all done through a beautiful Cayman-kind culture.
