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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Oct 2006 : 20:35:40
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I am interested to hear how Netherlands has managed to stop outsiders buying property. As it is a member of the EU you would think that would be illegal. As far as I am aware, in the UK if you have the money you can buy, the same in the USA, Spain and so on.
The second favourite place for Brits is Spain. Gambia is still a minority interest because it is further to travel and is considered a more risky investment.
Local people are not forced to sell their land to europeans. They are tempted by the cash. If they take a long term view for their families they are better to keep the land. But if they have no employment and school bills to pay, who can blame them selling?
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2006 : 20:45:21
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i think you're all panicking and overreacting! i do not know what percentage of land is under foreigner ownership but we MUST not forget that no one is being forced to sell their land. its a private decision they are making.
at least what i can see from the areas so far it is gambians, and gambians-living abroad who make up the majority of developers.
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 19:12:45
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Noone is panicking, njucks, I just see what is going on and will be. Money talks.
Kondorong, I agree with you 100%.
Gambiabev, the law (I don't know if they still have it - is there no Dutch around here to tell us?) was made in the 1980ies. In the 1970s and later many Germans bought old fishermen's houses as holiday homes at cheap prices in the small coastal villages. This happened mostly in the southern part of the country, close to Belgium. After a while there were almost no Dutch citizens to be found there, because they couldn't afford the prices. The law said that foreigners who wanted to buy such a house had to prove that they were living in the Netherlands for a certain time of the year. It worked, but of course you always find nominees... |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 19:56:52
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Njuks
I am not panicking. The problem is the state is not reserving land for future communal facilities like schools, car parks, markets etc. In fact the state is also in the rat race selling vast pieces of land at D185, 000.00 for an 18mx20m along the road to old yundum. The land used to belong to one Mr. Thomas.
We should avoid the planning mistakes in Serrekunda, Tallinding, Faji Kunda, Tabokoto etc. Wider roads and straight ones not like mosquito coil (MUNTAIGA). Any one involved in sale of land should be licensed and registered and trained on estate laws of the country. We need to start planning beyond one year but at least 100 years. I am sure the Russians have regretted selling Alaska to the United States. They only saw the snow covered land to be rid of but they never saw the strategic and natural resource potentials.
THE PROCESS OF LEASING LAND SHOULD BE FRIENDLIER AND RED TAPES REDUCED. ALL THESE AFFECT HOW MUCH YOU BUY YOUR LAND FOR, TAKING COGNISANCE OF ATTENDANT COST TO TRANSFER DOCUMENTS AND HAVE THE LAND SURVEYED AND RECORDED IN THE MASTER PLAN AT THE DIRECTORATE OF LANDS.
I am not very worried who buys these lands. But i would also want to see more Gambian faces in the neighborhoods. However, if non-Gambians want to buy homes, they must satisfy some residency status. In the west, like Britain, USA, you cannot buy land without some residency status. We need to account for who our neighbors are. The world has changed 360 degrees. Like they say in Britain, we need to curb "anti-social behaviours".
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 20:48:20
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
Njuks
''Like they say in Britain, we need to curb "anti-social behaviours".
i think this phrase is not just said in Africa, it is practised. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2006 : 21:11:13
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quote:
Originally posted by njucks
quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
Njuks
''Like they say in Britain, we need to curb "anti-social behaviours".
i think this phrase is not just said in Africa, it is practised.
There you go. Its not all that glitters is gold. |
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Momodou
Denmark
11641 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 16:19:09
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quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
I am interested to hear how Netherlands has managed to stop outsiders buying property. As it is a member of the EU you would think that would be illegal. As far as I am aware, in the UK if you have the money you can buy, the same in the USA, Spain and so on.
Gambiabev, it is forbidden for outsiders to buy real estate in Denmark too. This is one of the special exemptions they have for their membership in the EU. One has to be a resident in the country and I think there is a requirement for a certain minimum number of years.
It is done to protect their coast line being bought by wealthy Germans. |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 16:36:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
[quote]Originally posted by gambiabev
[
It is done to protect their coast line being bought by wealthy Germans.
Not the Germans again! beachtowels on the sunloungers by the pool at 6am as well !!!!
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 18:56:06
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Momodou and toubab1020, did you unite with a certain person and open up a front against Germans? Being a German is becoming more and more difficult in the Bantaba...   .
But in fact in was me who brought up the topic...damn... |
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Momodou
Denmark
11641 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 19:27:06
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quote:
Originally posted by serenata
Momodou and toubab1020, did you unite with a certain person and open up a front against Germans? Being a German is becoming more and more difficult in the Bantaba....
But in fact in was me who brought up the topic...damn...
Ooops! I am sorry, that was not the intention. |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 20:08:32
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No damage done, Momodou |
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njucks
Gambia
1131 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 20:11:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Momodou
Gambiabev, it is forbidden for outsiders to buy real estate in Denmark too. This is one of the special exemptions they have for their membership in the EU. One has to be a resident in the country and I think there is a requirement for a certain minimum number of years.
It is done to protect their coast line being bought by wealthy Germans.
i never thought of it this way. this is something that should be looked into seriously back home. i hope somebody at local government is reading.in our case its not wealthy Germans/Europeans.
the exchange rate favours almost everybody!!
i would suggest a residency of min. 20 yrs! |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2006 : 20:23:42
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Njucks, the 'wealthy Germans' are not so wealthy any more; as you may know, the reunion, high taxes and other circumstances still cost us a lot of money. But in the 60s, 70s and 80s they were, and I think these laws were made at this time.
20 years of residency sound not very realistic as a political postulation (think of all the Gambians in the diaspora), but one could try... |
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anna
Netherlands
730 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2006 : 11:14:12
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Didn't read the Bantaba for some days and now i am unpleasantly surprised to see my countrymen under attack.
Serenata is perfectly rigth: in order to stop some Dutch coastal villages becoming 'ghost towns', the Dutch government took measures in the early 1980's. Only a small portion of houses can still be bought by tourists under certain conditions. Before the measures were taken, however, quite a few Zeeuwen (people from Zeeland, the most popular province for foreign, mostly German, beachlovers) made very good deals with the selling of their small cottages. But the idea of trying to prevent the disturbance of village life in this way is a good one i think, and it could also be done in the Gambia. It is not good when the major part of the village is empty and dead in wintertime, and it is especially not good if foreigners are willing to pay such high prices that no ordinary Zeeuw in his right mind is willing to sell his house at a lower price to any starting Dutch couple on the real estate market.
As for 'throwing out the Dutch from Dutchtown Brusubi' and all the other accusations made by one of the members in that same posting on this forum...what can i say? I only know that there are Dutch people owning property in the Gambia, and mostly they are Dutch/Gambian couples who live there part of the year. My Gambian partner and i are dreaming of this too: after years of hard work, to be able to buy land and build a compound for his daughter's (then) family to live on and with a small apartment where we two could spend the Dutch winters. But we also look at the prices of land etc. and know it will be very difficult to make the dream come true. |
When an old African dies, it is as if a whole library has burnt down.
Amadou Hampate Ba (Mali) |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2006 : 18:37:55
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| can anyone get a gambian mortgage how does it work |
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