How to Own a Soneva Private Villa!
Saturday 30th of May 2020
How to Own a Soneva Private Villa!
Have you ever dreamt of being the owner of a luxurious private villa? Soneva can make this come true.
Soneva villas achieve a strong cash yield when rented out while owners are away from the resort and each villa is fully maintained by the resort estate management team. Further, as part of a villa transaction, Soneva offers many savings to owners including 20% savings on F&B and motorized water sports.
Construction
Handover of the villa can take from 6 to 18 months depending upon customization. Soneva uses top contractors and construction companies in the Maldives. For any new build villas, they commit to a one-year construction period, with construction commencing on the following low season (from May 15th of every year). Usually the villas are built well within the one year period.
Ownership
Ownership of a villa is transferred pursuant to Tourist Resorts (Transfer of Rights) Rules No: 2010/R-14 published in the Maldivian Government Gazette on 9 December 2010. On handover of the villa, an application will be lodged with Ministry of Tourism to obtain a ‘strata title’ which will be a conclusive evidence of ownership of the villa.
Ownership is leasehold. The villa ownership will be on a sublease basis for the duration of the lease of the island by Soneva and the Maldivian government. Any future lease extensions will be passed on to the buyer at a formal equal to [(1/total number of villas) x lease extension price for the island].
Ownership will be structured via a series of onshore and offshore legal agreements. These agreements comprise, but are not limited to, a Reservation Agreement, a Lease Agreement evidencing the buyers’ lease rights on the land, a Villa Management Agreement, showing Soneva’s exclusive right to manage the property on behalf of the buyer, and a Villa Rental Agreement, which shows the terms of rental of the villa (optional for villas yet to be built).
Payment
The payment schedule for a new plot on a villa yet to be built: A 10% deposit is required to secure your villa (refundable, on cancellation within 30 days), an additional 30% is due upon contract execution, a further 30% due upon ‘roof on’ stage and the remaining 30% is due upon completion/handover of your villa.
Taxes
Villa owners are primarily liable to two taxes i.e. (i) Tourism Goods and Service Tax, payable on the gross invoice value at time of purchase; and (ii) Annual Business Profit Tax, on the net profit from rental revenues.
Resale
Prior approval of the developer is necessary for re-sales, and you may choose to resell your villa once full payment for your villa has been received and only after construction has completed and the unencumbered title is received.
More info: https://sonevavillaownership.com/about-villa-ownership/