Every professional has asked themselves this. Such a simple question if not answered correctly can make headaches appear and salaries disappear. Thankfully your reliable Real Estate Agents at Terra Caribbean are here to make this decision easier. In the upcoming paragraphs I will discuss the pros and cons of renting and buying, the costs, unseen cost and other factors that must be considered when making this important decision.

To buy or sell in 2012, what with Armageddon coming and all? Absent any ancient Mayan wisdom on real estate strategies, let's just hope the real cataclysmic event in the real estate market already has passed, even if the rubble from the bubble remains. Meanwhile, here are some tips for 2012, aimed largely at the group that needs the most help -- home sellers.

There is no doubt that the economy has changed within the last few years. Has Trinidad & Tobago’s mortgage market grown? The Central Bank’s website seems to point to this. Total Real Estate Mortgages as at October 2000 stood at $3.662 billion TTD compared with July 2011, the figure was $11.386 billion (310% of what it was 11 years ago). So there remains a substantial amount of mortgage activity in T&T amidst the noted inflation.

What does OSHA stand for? OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Who is OSHA? The OSH Agency (OSHA) is the government enforcing body, whose main objective is enforcement of the Act. This means that while voluntary compliance will be stimulated, enforcement actions will be used in case of unwillingness to comply in the case of fatalities, serious accidents or severe breaches of the law.

We have great expectations for 2011, and nonetheless is the resurgence of property prices. The expectation is that real estate prices will recover with the economy, and in fact there is already speculation by some that we may soon see an increase in property prices. However, such realizations have yet to materialize on a grand scale, at least in any noticeable way or trend. Whilst there are no established price index reports for real estate, we are able to ascertain from experience and observations that there has been a continuous decline in listed property prices since 2009.

When shopping for home insurance, remember this: Insure your house for the cost to replace it (i.e. construction costs), not its "market value, and don't factor in the value of your land.

Upscale properties in Trinidad and Tobago are considered to be those that are priced at $2M and upwards. A large number of these properties are owned by individuals who had the financial means to purchase these properties as an investment in addition to their homes.

Risk management involves identifying, analyzing, and taking steps to reduce or eliminate the exposures to loss faced by an organization or individual. Risk management is vital for small businesses, since some common types of losses—such as theft, fire, flood, legal liability, injury, or disability—can destroy in a few minutes. But while many large companies employ a full-time risk manager to identify risks and take the necessary steps to protect the firm against them, small companies rarely have that luxury. Instead, the responsibility for risk management is likely to fall on the small business owner.