See the complete purchase—not only the asking price.
Organize the acquisition into cash required, professional verification, recurring ownership costs and a realistic reserve.
- 1Set total budget
- 2Model cash flow
- 3Confirm with advisers
- 4Keep a reserve
On the Dutch side of the island, budget roughly 5 to 6 percent of the purchase price on top of the price itself. That covers the 4 percent transfer tax and the notary. If you take a local mortgage from a bank such as Windward Islands Bank, RBC or Republic Bank, the figure usually rises to about 6 to 7 percent, because a mortgage deed also has to be drawn and registered at the Kadaster.
That is the honest short answer. What follows breaks the number into its parts, works it through on a 650,000 dollar condo of the sort you would find at Cupecoy or Pelican Key, and then covers the costs that never appear on a closing statement at all: association dues, windstorm insurance, GEBE bills and maintenance. Those recurring costs are where buyers most often get the budget wrong.
Everything below is a guide. Confirm the exact amounts with the notary handling your file before you commit, because fee schedules and rates change.
The short version, in numbers
| Item | Dutch side (Sint Maarten) | French side (Saint Martin) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax or transfer duties | 4 percent of the purchase price | Included in the combined figure below |
| Notary or notaire | Roughly 1 to 2 percent | Notaire fees and duties together, roughly 7 to 10 percent |
| Typical total to complete, cash purchase | About 5 to 6 percent | About 8 to 10 percent |
| Typical total with a local mortgage | About 6 to 7 percent | Add lender and mortgage deed costs on top |
| Annual property tax | None | Taxe fonciere applies |
| Capital gains tax on resale | None | Up to 34 percent, with relief for a main home |
| Currency used in practice | US dollar | Euro |
You can run your own version of these numbers on the closing cost calculator in our property tools suite, which also includes a Dutch versus French comparison and a rental yield model.
What you actually pay at closing on the Dutch side
The deposit
A deposit becomes payable when the purchase agreement is signed, not at closing. It is normally held by the notary in a client account rather than handed to the seller, and 10 percent is a common figure. The agreement sets out when it is released or returned, so read that clause properly. If your purchase depends on financing, the agreement should say so and give you a defined window to arrange it.
Transfer tax: 4 percent
Sint Maarten charges a transfer tax of 4 percent of the purchase price. It is a single payment, collected through the notary at closing and remitted to the government. There is no annual equivalent afterwards. On a 650,000 dollar purchase that is 26,000 dollars, and it is the largest single line on most closing statements.
In practice the buyer pays it, and asking prices from Simpson Bay to Dawn Beach are quoted on that assumption. Like anything else in a contract it can be negotiated, so make sure the purchase agreement states clearly who carries it.
Notary fee: roughly 1 to 2 percent
The notary on the Dutch side is a neutral officer of the law. They do not act for you and they do not act for the seller. They act for the transaction. That means they verify title, search the Kadaster for mortgages, liens and encumbrances, confirm that outstanding taxes and GEBE accounts are settled, draft the deed of transfer, hold and disburse the funds, and register the transfer once it is signed.
The fee generally lands between 1 and 2 percent of the price, and the percentage tends to fall as the value rises. Ask for a written quotation early. A good notary will give you a line by line estimate before you sign anything, and there is nothing improper about asking two firms for a quote.
Registration and disbursements
Registration of the deed at the Kadaster, title extracts, cadastral searches and courier costs are usually invoiced within or alongside the notary account. They are small relative to the tax and the fee, but they belong in your budget.
If you are financing
A local mortgage adds a second deed. It has to be drafted, signed and registered, which is why the total typically moves from about 5 to 6 percent up to about 6 to 7 percent. Lenders will also want a valuation, will normally require insurance in place at closing with their interest noted, and usually charge an arrangement or handling fee of their own.
Ask any lender, whether that is WIB, RBC, Republic Bank or Orco Bank, for the full cost schedule in writing at the application stage: arrangement fee, valuation, mortgage deed and registration, and any cover the bank requires. Loan to value limits for buyers who live abroad differ from those offered to residents, so confirm what you qualify for before you make an offer rather than after.
Worked example: a 650,000 dollar condo
The figures below are an example built on the ranges above, not a quotation. They assume a cash purchase with no mortgage.
| Line item | Lower estimate | Higher estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | 650,000 | 650,000 |
| Transfer tax at 4 percent | 26,000 | 26,000 |
| Notary fee at 1 to 2 percent | 6,500 | 13,000 |
| Registration, extracts and disbursements | 500 | 1,500 |
| Total costs above the price | 33,000 | 40,500 |
| Costs as a percentage of price | 5.1 percent | 6.2 percent |
| Total cash needed to close | 683,000 | 690,500 |
Now the same condo with a local mortgage at 60 percent of value, again as an example.
| Line item | Amount in US dollars |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | 650,000 |
| Loan at 60 percent | 390,000 |
| Cash portion of the price | 260,000 |
| Transfer tax at 4 percent | 26,000 |
| Notary fee on the transfer deed | 6,500 to 9,750 |
| Mortgage deed, registration and lender costs | 6,500 to 9,750 |
| Total costs, about 6 to 7 percent | 39,000 to 45,500 |
| Total cash needed to close | 299,000 to 305,500 |
Two things fall out of these tables. The transfer tax is fixed, so the variable you can influence is the notary quotation. And a mortgage does not only change your monthly outgoing, it adds roughly one percent of the price to your day one cash requirement. Prices here are quoted and settled in US dollars, even though the Netherlands Antillean guilder is official at a peg of about 1.79.
The costs that start the day after closing
Association dues
In a condo building this is usually the largest recurring cost, and it varies enormously between one building and the next, even inside the same district. Dues typically cover common area maintenance, landscaping, pool, security, management, water in some buildings, and very often the master insurance policy on the structure. Before you make an offer, ask for the current monthly figure in writing, the last association accounts, the reserve balance and any special assessment under discussion. A building with low dues and no reserve is not cheap, it is deferred.
Insurance, including windstorm
Caribbean insurance is a real number, not a rounding error. Premiums depend on construction, roof, shutters, age, elevation and claims history. Hurricane Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017 as a category 5 storm and reset the building stock, which is why newer construction at Indigo Bay usually insures differently from an older building in Cole Bay. Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November, with peak risk from August through October. Ask what windstorm cover the building carries and what the deductible is. In many condos the association policy covers the structure while you insure contents and interior finishes.
Utilities
GEBE supplies electricity and water on the Dutch side and both are expensive by regional standards. Air conditioning drives the bill, so a unit that catches the trade winds on an elevated site such as Pelican Key or Almond Grove costs materially less to run than one that sits in still air. TelEm provides fibre in many areas, so check what is actually connected rather than what is available nearby. Ask the seller for twelve months of real bills, not an estimate.
Maintenance
Salt air is relentless, and anything facing the water at Dawn Beach or Guana Bay takes it hardest. Budget annually for exterior finishes, hardware, air conditioning servicing, appliances and anything metal. Owners who set aside a fixed sum each year are rarely the ones facing an unwelcome bill in year five.
We have deliberately not printed invented dollar figures for dues and premiums, because they differ so much between buildings that an average would mislead you. Tell us the building, or start from the current listings, and we will pull the association accounts for anything you shortlist.
How the French side compares
Cross the border at Cole Bay or Oyster Pond and the arithmetic changes. On the French side, notaire fees and transfer duties together generally run about 7 to 10 percent, so total entry cost is roughly 8 to 10 percent. On a villa in Terres Basses or an apartment near Marigot that is a meaningful difference in cash at closing, and it is one reason many investors buy Dutch.
The comparison does not end at closing. Saint Martin applies taxe fonciere annually and taxes capital gains on resale at up to 34 percent, with relief where the property was the seller’s main home. Sint Maarten has neither an annual property tax nor a capital gains tax. Over a long hold the gap widens rather than narrows. The French side also prices in euro rather than dollars, so a direct conversion of the percentages is never exact.
Frequently asked questions
How much are closing costs in St. Maarten?
On the Dutch side, roughly 5 to 6 percent of the purchase price for a cash purchase, made up of 4 percent transfer tax and 1 to 2 percent notary. With a local mortgage, expect about 6 to 7 percent.
Who pays the transfer tax, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer, in normal practice, and asking prices assume it. It is still a contract term, so confirm it in writing in the purchase agreement.
Is there an annual property tax on the Dutch side?
No. There is no annual property tax and no capital gains tax on resale on the Dutch side. Your recurring costs are association dues, insurance, GEBE utilities and maintenance.
Can I negotiate the notary fee?
You can ask for a written quotation and you can compare firms. The fee tends to sit at a lower percentage on higher value transactions. What you should not do is choose a notary on price alone, because the title work at the Kadaster is the part that protects you.
What do buyers most often forget to budget for?
Association dues and windstorm insurance. Both are ongoing, both vary widely by building, and neither appears in the purchase price. Ask for actual figures rather than estimates before you commit.
Getting your own numbers
The percentages here will get you within a few thousand dollars of the truth on almost any Dutch side purchase, whether that is a studio behind Maho Plaza or a villa above Guana Bay. The only way to reach the exact figure is a written notary quotation on a specific property, alongside the real association dues and a live insurance quote.
Run your scenario through the closing cost calculator in our property tools, then contact us with the property you have in mind and we will put the actual numbers in front of you. You can also meet the team who will handle the file. Rules and rates change, so treat this as orientation and confirm the final position with your notary and your tax adviser.
