Taxes, laws, languages and openness to foreign property buyers vary widely across the Caribbean.
Among the most tax friendly and welcoming to overseas buyers is the British colony of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Foreigners can buy homes anywhere in the archipelago and there are no taxes on inheritance, capital gains, income or property.
The Global Property Guide considers the Turks and Caicos rental market pro-landlord. However, home transaction costs are high, averaging 19 per cent of the value of a property when buying and selling fees and charges are combined. They include legal fees, estate agents fees and notary fees. The situation is nearly identical in British colony the Cayman Islands.
The cost of buying and selling a property can touch 20.5 per cent but there are no taxes.
Foreigners are free to buy property in Barbados. They need permission from the Barbados Central Bank, but this is a formality.
There are no capital gains or inheritance taxes, but homeowners can pay 20 per cent income tax on rental income if they let their properties out.