Closing costs on Roatan, in Honduras’ Bay Islands, typically run about 4.2% of the purchase price and are paid by the buyer. If the property is held in a Honduran corporation and the sale is completed as a transfer of that corporation — a “change of administrators” — closing costs drop to roughly 2.5% of the purchase price.
The other two numbers worth knowing are just as simple. The real estate commission on Roatan is the seller’s responsibility and amounts to 10% of the purchase price, and annual property taxes are modest by North American standards, at around 0.35% of a property’s registered value. Here is how each figure works in practice.
Closing costs: what buyers pay
In a standard titled sale on Roatan, closing costs come to approximately 4.2% of the purchase price, and by local custom they are the buyer’s responsibility. These are the charges involved in transferring the property and registering it in the new owner’s name.
Many Roatan properties, however, are already held inside Honduran corporations. In that case the transaction can be structured as a change of the corporation’s administrators: rather than re-titling the land, control of the corporation that owns it passes to you. Closing costs on this kind of transfer are normally about 2.5% of the purchase price. Your attorney will confirm which structure applies to the property you have chosen and handle the paperwork either way.
For the step-by-step purchase process — from the offer to the Notary Protocol that completes the transaction — see our guide to buying with Roatan Sotheby’s International Realty.
Real estate commissions: what sellers pay
The real estate commission on Roatan is normally the seller’s responsibility and amounts to 10% of the purchase price. Buyers do not pay a commission.
That figure reflects how much of the transaction an agent carries here. Compared with a typical North American agent, a Roatan agent — working with the brokerage and your attorney — obtains title copies, orders title searches, secures recent surveys, moves the file to closing, and can attend the closing on your behalf if you are off the island.
Who pays what
- Buyer: closing costs of approximately 4.2% of the purchase price on a titled transfer, or about 2.5% on a corporation transfer.
- Seller: the real estate commission of 10% of the purchase price.
- Buyer: an earnest-money deposit, typically 10% of the purchase price, transferred within 7 days once the offer is accepted and all conditions are removed. The deposit is part of the purchase price, not an added cost.
- Absentee seller: the cost of obtaining and registering an apostille or a Honduran power of attorney, which can add 2 to 3 weeks to the closing timeline.
Closing on a Roatan property is usually completed within about two months of the purchase agreement, though the timeline varies with the circumstances of the parties.
Annual property taxes and insurance
Once you own, the carrying costs are light. Annual property taxes on Roatan are low compared with what most North American owners are used to, running around 0.35% of the property’s registered value and paid once a year. Property insurance is about 0.4% of the insured value annually, and it is worth knowing that most island insurance packages do not cover theft.
The line item that deserves the most attention in an island budget is electricity, which costs more than most owners expect and rewards careful use.
Answers to related questions — financing, residency, remote closings, and the cost of living in the Bay Islands — are collected on our frequently asked questions page.
Buying through a Honduran corporation
Foreigners have been able to own property in Honduras since 1991. As an individual, a non-citizen of Honduras can hold up to 0.72 acres (3,000 square meters) of land. A Honduran corporation, by contrast, can own property of virtually any size, and any number of properties.
Forming a corporation is a straightforward transaction handled by a local attorney at a cost of approximately $1,800 USD, and ownership through a corporation entitles you to all the rights of a Honduran citizen with respect to your property. The structure also matters at resale: a property already held in a Honduran corporation can be sold as a change of administrators, which brings closing costs of about 2.5% for the next buyer rather than roughly 4.2%.
Whether a corporation makes sense depends on the parcel — many condos and smaller homesites fit comfortably within the individual limit. Browse current Roatan listings, and we will flag each property’s ownership structure early in the conversation.
Talk to us
Roatan Sotheby’s International Realty combines local expertise in the Roatan market with the global reach of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand, and we have walked buyers — on the island and remote — through exactly these numbers many times. Tell us which property you are considering and we will lay out the closing costs, structure options, and timeline before you commit to anything. Contact our team to start the conversation.