What are the closing costs when you buy on Roatan?

I am an accountant by training, so this is the page I care about most, and it is also the page where I refuse to give you a number as if it were a fact. Rates and fees here are set by law and by each professional, they change, and the right figure depends on your property. What I can do is show you the lines, so that when your lawyer hands you the real sheet you already know how to read it.

Line one is the transfer tax, paid to the government when the title changes hands. It is calculated on the price or on the government's own valuation of the property, whichever is higher, which surprises people. By law and by custom there is a question of who pays it, buyer or seller, and on Roatan it is often negotiated in the offer. It is due quickly after the deed is signed, and late payment carries a penalty. Your lawyer gives you the exact rate and the deadline.

Line two is the property registry fee, for registering the deed in your name. It is a small line compared with the others. Line three is your lawyer-notary's fee for the title search, the deed and the registration. Ask for it in writing at the start; it is usually expressed as a percentage of the price, and it varies from one lawyer to another. Line four is the small items: the cadastral certificate, stamps, a tax registration number for you, the wire fees your bank charges.

If you buy through a Honduran corporation, there is a separate cost to set it up and a yearly cost to keep it in good standing. If you buy a property that is already held in a corporation, the transaction can be structured as a change of administrators rather than a title transfer, and some lawyers say the costs are lower that way. Whether that fits your case is entirely your lawyer's call.

Then there is what never shows on the closing sheet, and I want you to budget for it. A survey if your lawyer wants a fresh one. A building inspection, which I recommend on every home. Insurance from the day you own it. Furniture, because homes here are often sold with some and not all of it, and you should know which. The first year of repairs. Your flights and your stay for the visit. None of those are closing costs, and all of them are real money.

Put together, the closing lines add a meaningful percentage on top of the price. The published guides give ranges, and my buyer guide shows an example on a sample price so you can see the shape of it. Treat all of that as an illustration. The only figure that counts is the one your lawyer writes for your property, on paper, before you commit.