Building in The Bahamas is not quite like building elsewhere. In the USA you may typically have access to Home Depot and the ability to order specialty items that arrive on your doorstep 24 hours later. You may also have access to qualified, reasonably priced labor and a competitive contractor's market.

 

In The Bahamas, everything is imported with a rate of duty from anywhere between 10%-45% on the total cost of the item (base rate plus shipping costs), so you can almost guarantee that any item you are shipping to the Bahamas is going to be about double from what you paid for it in the USA. The final cost is what we call "landed," meaning what you pay for it by the time it lands in The Bahamas.  

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The planning and permitting process is stringent in Nassau, the islands are less so. There is little regulation of contractors and builders so exercising caution when choosing your builder can be of the utmost importance. Most of the commercial construction companies are very versatile, meaning they know what it's like to build in remote areas, they have a good idea of what it's going to cost and how to get construction materials and labor to the jobsite. The typical planning process is upwards of 6 months in Nassau and to build is at least a 1 year process so you're looking at 18 months to 2 years from conception to completion. Construction costs are extremely difficult to pin down, but there are people in the Bahamas who specialize in putting budgets together. We recommend you use them. 99% of construction here is built to Cat 3-4 hurricane specifications, which is part of the reason it takes so long and costs so much, but you're typically getting a darn good house out of the deal. 

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For more information about our owner's representation and construction project management services please visit M&M Management