ST KITTS & NEVIS Law and Practice Contributed by: Dahlia Joseph Rowe and Daisy Joseph Andall, Joseph Rowe, Attorneys-at-Law
ble to get documents notarised to facilitate real estate transactions. In clear cases, notarisation by video conference has been accepted togeth - er with an affidavit setting out the circumstances in which in-person notarisation was not possible. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence Purchasers usually engage the services of a local attorney-at-law, who will conduct due dili - gence on the property. The typical due diligence usually involves the following: • a physical search at the Land Registry to confirm whether the property is free from encumbrances (eg, mortgage, caveat, restric - tive covenants), and, if not, to identify the encumbrances on the property; • confirming that the seller is the registered proprietor of the property with power to trans - fer an interest in the property; • enquiring at the IRD to confirm whether all land taxes in relation to the property are paid up; and • enquiring at the electricity company and water department to confirm whether all the utilities are paid up. At times purchasers request a new survey of the property to confirm the boundaries; however, a new survey is not usually ordered as it is not required; it is customary for a surveyor to copy the previous plan of the property for the new owner. A survey and a physical walk-through of the property is always done in cases involving large tracts of land earmarked for development purposes. 2.5 Typical Representations and Warranties The typical representations and warranties in a purchase and sale agreement in real estate transactions include the following:
• the sellers are the registered proprietors of the property and have a good marketable title to the property in fee simple; • the property is free of all encumbrances save the customary encumbrance in favour of the government for land tax due and owed from time to time; and • the property is not subject to any other Pur - chase and Sale Agreement nor is the property subject to any agreement for a right of first refusal in favour of any third party. The authors have not seen new representa - tions and warranties driven by the coronavirus pandemic, per se, but the authors have noted an increase in the insistence on force majeure clauses. There are no seller’s warranties provided for under statute. The buyer’s remedies against the seller are the remedies available to the buyer under common law. Typically, if a purchaser breaches a contract for the purchase and sale of real property, the result provided for is forfeiture of the usual 10% deposit paid by the purchaser, ie, the deposit will be paid to the vendor. Representation and warranty insurance is not normally used in St Kitts and Nevis real estate transactions. 2.6 Important Areas of Law for Investors Typically, a large investor would negotiate and enter into a development agreement with the government that would set out the taxes and concessions applicable to the investor’s devel - opment. The Hotels Aid Act sets out the gen - eral regime applicable to investors in the hotel industry.
880 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook