THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM a real estate broker in St Louis, Missouri, United States of America. I have travelled to Jamaica for vacation for over 15 years and have found it very difficult to obtain a certificate of title to certain properties I have been interested in purchasing to clean up and repair.
First of all, all original certificates to property lie in Kingston, so if I need to search for a owner of a certain property in Negril I must travel to Kingston to do my research.
In the United States, every parcel of land is recorded in the county/parish the property lies in, making it easier for research. A clerk in the Kingston's title registry office isn't going to be familiar with a property in Negril, but a clerk in Savanna-la-Mar would be more likely to be familiar with a property in its own parish of Westmoreland.
Everytime a property is exchanged/sold there is a tax added to the sales costs, so in return if titles were held in each parish, real estate transactions could be simpler and faster to sell and the government of Jamaica would have more sales tax to contribute to the UDC for overall clean up in each parish.
Speaking for myself, if there was simpler access to certificates of title I probably would be a property owner in Jamaica paying taxes.
I am, etc.,
JEFF HOLLENKAMP
jeffhollenkamp@hotmail.com
St Louis, Missouri
Via Go-Jamaica
