Zanzibar Estate Agent – OPEN East Africa Interview

Jan. 4, 2011 - PRLog -- It is an exciting time in Zanzibar; tourism booming, a stable and forward thinking government and huge potential for investment - Zanzibar is definitely an island with a bright future.

We caught up with Conor Crowley from OPEN East Africa for a quick chat earlier this week to ask him a few questions.

Q: So Conor, tell us about yourself and your role within OPEN East Afirca
A: First I’d just like to thank you for inviting me along – I’m a real estate broker at OPEN East Africa and my main role is client relationships, negotiation and facilitation.

Q: And tell us a bit about the company
A: OPEN East Africa, based in Stone Town, was founded to help facilitate the purchase and sale of property in Zanzibar for foreign investors. Traditionally it was very hard for foreign investors to buy land on the island as there is a very steep learning curve about local cultures and the processes involved. In addition, without the right contacts, completing a sale can take well over 6 months and in one or two cases, it has taken a couple of years.

Our focus is on providing a premium service which is efficient, practical, reliable and gets results fast. We’re very excited about the future of our estate agent and the services we can offer foreign investors

Q: What is generally involved in purchasing a property in Zanzibar?
A: We’ve made the first few steps extremely simple – people can browse through our portfolio of properties on our website and view pictures, descriptions and prices. We have all the documentation and paper work ready for each of the properties and when someone enquires, we send across the sitemap and any additional information they need.

We also have documentation ready which details all the steps involved in purchasing a property in Zanzibar to help educate the customers. The process can be quite involved so I’d invite anyone who would like to know more to get in touch.

Q: Any interesting developments happening on the island at the moment?
A: I can’t say much, but I’d say keep your eye on the Fumba, there is going to be some exciting stuff happening there in the near future.

Q: Sounds very intriguing!
A: Yes, soon more information will be released to the general public, but I can assure you that it’s going to be a massive boost to Zanzibar’s profile worldwide. It’s a bit of a game changer.

Q: Exciting times on Zanzibar – do you have any tips for foreign investors?
A: Yes! Act fast because the prime pieces of real estate are getting snapped up. Prices are going to be rising significantly over the next couple of years and we have already seen a 10 fold increase in prices from 5 years ago. They should head over to our site at http://www.openeastafrica.com/zanzibar-real-estate/ and check out what is available.

Q: Great! Thanks for your time
A: No problem, my pleasure!

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OPEN East Africa is a leading Zanzibar Estate Agent, based in Stone Town. If you are interested in contact Conor or one of his colleagues, you can e-mail info@openeastafrica.com or visit their website at www.openeastafrica.com