F A Q PAGE
Q: How does one go about purchasing a Tongan property?
A: The process is quite simple; however there are many different ways to acquire a property here and the best rule of thumb is to do what makes you feel comfortable. Most clients submit a deposit to take their desired property off the market, which gives them 30 days to fly to Tonga and inspect the property in person. Other clients prefer to come and view a variety of properties before deciding on any one specific property. Still others are confident enough to buy a property sight unseen. No matter the kind of buyer you are, acquiring a South Pacific island property here in Tonga is extremely simple. Once a client has found their dream property, all the paperwork can be finalized, signed and completed in less then 24 hours!. If the land in question is a government property with a 99 year lease, everything can be ready for submission in 48 hours and at that time the property is yours to move into; however it will take up to 90 days for the government to stamp and register everything, although this is simply for recording purposes. The thing to remember is that you, the buyer, are the boss, therefore do whatever makes you feel comfortable!
Q: Are there different types of leases in Tonga?
A: Yes. There are government leases on government property which can have a maximum term of 999 years, though nearly all are for 99 years, government leases on noble property which can have a maximum term of 50 years, government leases on commoner property which can have a maximum term of 20 years and private tenancy agreements, which were created by the President of the Tongan Lawyer’s Association and are said to be able to have 1-99 year terms as well. Each and every one of these options is legal and common here in Tonga.
Q: Why does another property site say that tenancy agreements aren’t as good as government leases?
A: We are aware of one local commission agent, a Yugoslavian fellow who speaks very poorly of tenancy agreements; however we believe that this is simply due to a misunderstanding of Tongan law on his part. Tenancy agreements are as legal and binding as government leases, were created by the President of the Tongan Lawyer’s Association, and are even used by the government itself when they lease buildings. The misunderstanding and controversy seems to have come about due to the fact that tenancy agreements are specifically for buildings and not for raw land. The “local commission” agent who speaks so negatively about tenancy agreements does so because he has never listed or sold a business or home, but only leased raw land, therefore he simply doesn’t understand the legalities of tenancy agreements in relation to such things. Furthermore, while this fellow has written against legal tenancy agreements in the past, he is currently advertising and offering 50 year government land leases on commoner land, which is in fact completely illegal as commoner land can only receive a 20 year government registered land lease.
Q: Another property site speaks poorly of non-refundable deposits; why?
A: The site in question is operated by the same Yugoslavian fellow mentioned above in the last two question and answers. In regards to this fellow’s comments about non-refundable deposits, we must say that we agree with him for the most part and his statements are quite wise indeed in this area. Non-refundable deposits can and many times are wrought with problems, as they leave the buyer open to the character and ethical behavior of the seller or agent. In most cases, it is certainly advisable to fly here to Tonga, inspect the property in person and make an offer right here on the spot. However in other cases, this simply is not possible. For example, there have been many clients who have desired a particular business or property, paid for their flight tickets, arrived here to inspect and purchase only to find out the business or property had been sold already, sometimes less then 24 hours before they arrived! In North America realty companies often accept and even require deposits to take a property off the market, however in most cases (not all as we know of both American and Canadian companies that require non-refundable deposits up to 20% of the sales price) these deposits are refundable as the buyer is less then 3 hours away and can inspect immediately and without any hassle. Also the fact that there is a potential buyers market of millions within a couple hour radius allows North American companies to offer refunds as the next buyer is just around the corner, literally. The South Pacific real estate market and Tonga in particular however is completely different! Potential buyers are many times thousands of miles away and have schedules that simply will not allow them to inspect a property without 3-4 weeks notice. This makes it extremely difficult for a Tongan land owner to offer a fully refundable deposit as there is a chance that if the buyer backs out for a reason that is not the Tongan owners fault, the Tongan owner may not only have missed out on selling his land or business immediately (as it was “off the market” for up to 30 days waiting for the potential buyer to come and inspect it) but he may have just missed his only chance to sell his property for the next 2-3 years! All of this being said, rest assured Invest In Tonga does not require any of our clients to submit even refundable deposits, let alone non-refundable ones. We also do not have a concrete amount that we ask for in “time is of the essence” and “hot property” deals as we realize all buyers are different. If we know a property has a 90% chance of still being on the market in 30 days, we will not even suggest that you send a deposit of any kind, however if you are interested in a property that already has many other interested parties or is not expected to be on the market for 30 more days we may suggest that you consider sending a deposit to take the property off the market and reserve it to yourself, if you feel comfortable with that. We believe that the best way for a buyer to feel is “comfortable” and therefore it is our goal to make you feel comfortable every step of the way as you purchase your dream property or business!
Q: How are you different from other realty companies?
A: We get this question a lot, which is why we decided to just add a Q&A about it rather then constantly dealing with this question in personal emails with clients. A quick answer to this question would be to simply say that we are the only Tongan owned realty company that has multiple Tongans and palangis (foreigners) working together to insure both their client’s success as well as their Tongan land owners happiness. We are the only company owned by a Tongan husband and wife team, as well as the only company that has a former American real estate broker and a current American real estate broker (valid license in the state of Missouri) helping us as volunteer realty consultants. We feel that this mixture of backgrounds, minds and strengths as well as the common ground of friendship and love for Tonga enables us to serve our clients in the best way possible and our Tongan brothers and sisters with sincerity.
Q: What is the “cost of living” in Tonga ?
A: The South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga is a very cheap place to live, that much is certain. However to answer this question in depth, one would really need to know what your “standard of living” is. We will say this however; a single individual can easily get by here on just $300 a month if they own their own property and do not have to worry about monthly lease payments. With monthly funds in the $1,000-2,000 range, a single individual could live like royalty. We personally know of a two person ex-pat family living comfortably in Vava’u for under $500 per month and another eight person ex-pat family living very well in Vava’u for around $1,300 a month, and these include lease payments!
Q: What is the approximate cost of everyday items and market foods?
A: Here is a nice A-Z list for you:
A. Manual Labour: $1.30 Per Hour
B. Local Telephone Bill: $6
C. Water Bill: $7
D. Average Electric Bill: $50
E. Litre of Gas/Petrol: $1.70
F. 24/7 Monthly Internet Connection: $59
G. Internet Cafe Hourly Rate: $1
H: Taxi Ride: $1.50 per mile
I: Tree of Bananas (approx. 60 bananas): $5.00
J. Bunch of Bananas: $1.30
K. 25 Lbs Of Taro (like potatoes): $6.00
L. 25 Lbs. Of Breadfruit (like potatoes): $4.00
M. Box Of Small Pinneapples (approx. 8 Pineapples): $2.10
N. Box Of Green/Red Peppers (approx. 6 Peppers): $1.10
O. Fresh Tuna: $1.68 Per Pound
P. Chicken Legs: $.90 Per Pound
Q. Can of Mackerel: $.85
R. Carton of Ice Cream: $5.50
S. Can of Pop: $.47
T. Large bag of Chips: $3
U. Breakfast (juice, potatoes, omelette and muffin): $6.50
V. Lunch (4 BBQ chicken legs, potatoes and juice): $2.60
W. Large Pizza: $7
X. Cheap Restaurant Dinner (Fish, Taro, Drink, Ice cream): $4
Y. Chinese Restaurant Dinner (rice, meat, veggie, soup and drink): $6
Z. Italian Restaurant Dinner (wine, pasta, bread and ice cream): $9
Z. Fancy Restaurant Dinner (wine, seafood, potatoes, desert): $17
Q: Is Tonga safe?
A: Tonga (especially Vava'u, Ha'apai and the Niuas) is the safest country in the entire world in many of our ex-pat residents eyes and we mean that sincerely. From the friendly people to the humble police, the perfect weather to the hands-off government, the Christian culture to the pacifist worldview, Tonga is an amazingly safe country. It is one of the only countries on earth where one can not only feel safe to walk barefoot in the bush, but can also feel safe to stroll main street at midnight alone, and that is really saying something! We have many American and European ex-pats here that say Tonga is the safest, most peaceful country they have ever lived in and that they never plan to return home, which is just about the greatest stamp of approval one can give!
Q: What are Tongans like as a people?
A: We asked one of our resident ex-pats to answer this question, so there would be no personal bias and this is what he had to say, “Tongans are the most friendly and sincere people I have ever met. I have traveled to many different countries and continents and have never met a people so quick to accept an outsider as family. I have had Tongans invite me to family feasts, dances, sports events, etc, and once even had an elderly Tongan woman offer to carry my broken bag of groceries home for me, even though it was about a mile out of her way! I have lived in both America and Canada as well as spent considerable time in many other countries and I have never felt as ‘at home' as I do here in Tonga!”
Q: Where can I get hard to find info on all aspects of relocating to, doing business in, and living in Tonga ?
A: InvestInTonga.Com offers the only ex-pat geared e-book on Tonga, titled, “Retiring, Working and Doing Business in Tonga”, which is a veritable compendium of tourist, real estate and immigration knowledge. This book will give you all the information you need to not only retire, work and do business in the South Pacific’s last remaining kingdom quickly, easily and inexpensively, but will fill you in on the local property laws, real estate bargains, local culture of Tonga, language, news and the like as well. You may purchase the e-book here.
